East Anglia Transport Museum

11/7/2010

Tucked away behind housing estates in a sleepy corner of Suffolk at Carlton Carville, lies the East Anglian Transport Museum, East Anglia's 'Premier working transport museum'. As the name suggests, this open air museum plays host to transport from days gone by, old fashioned trams and buses trundle around the grounds, giving tourists a taste of what it would have been like to travel by tram in the 1920s or by bus in the 1950s, complete with the ticket collector and his hole punch.

The transport museum

Throughout the year the Lottery funded EATM puts on themed experience days, where transport enthusiasts can come and ride on the vehicles that the museum owns.These events can range from trips to Blackpool to the 'ever popular' Trolleybus weekend. This year I went to the annual bus and coach event day, where a large number of both modern and vintage buses were on working display, using local bus routes to ferry people to and from the nearby towns of Beccles and Lowestoft. As well as riding the buses, you could also climb aboard the trams that travel around the museum grounds and go on the narrow gage railway train.

Over head cables that are used by trams

We rode on the green one

After paying £6.50 to enter the museum, Joe and I queued up to ride on one of the trams, I insisted we go on the top deck to get the optimum tram experience. As the tram filled up, we pulled away started our journey round the park, after a 5 minute journey, we came to the end of the track and had to turn around. The tram was electric and for us to be able to travel back, the electric cables that the tram uses as a power source, have to be unhooked and rehooked to the back of the vehicle. When this happens the lights turn out - I thought this was quite exciting. I wish we had more modern day trams in cities, they are far more exciting than buses and trains. Below are pictures of the interior of the tram.

Top deck

More comfortable bottom deck

Narrow gage railway

Don't know why this was here

Buses that took people to Beccles and back

Vintage cars

The museum was really busy, there were lots of children around, with parents and grandparents, who all seemed to enjoying themselves. We had to wait 3 times to get on the narrow gage railways because it was so packed. Joe and I stayed about a two hours, we walked around the museum park, which as well as housing buses and trams, also displays vintage cars and motor cycles and has several old fashions shops that you can look around. We only rode on the tram and narrow gage railway, which were both fun, but after a while - since neither of us are vintage transport enthusiasts - the novelty wore of and we went home.

For times and prices visit the EATM website: http://www.eatm.org.uk

East Anglia Transport Museum Society Ltd.
Chapel Road, Carlton Colville, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR33 8BL

Poppy Line Stream Train, Sheringham, Norfolk

28/6/2010

'WE'RE MOVING!! WE'RE MOVING!!' screamed Ellen as the steam train pulled out of the station. Ellen and I were just a little bit over excited - then we heard the train whistle shriek and saw the smoke streak past the window we almost exploded with excitement. Although we have both lived in North Norfolk we had never taken a trip on Sheringham's top attraction: the award winning Poppy Line Railway until now, where an authentic 1940s steam trains make the short half hour journey between Sheringham and Holt (stopping at Weybourne and Kelling Heath holiday park on the way).

Sheringham Station, I love the roof

The train departed from Sheringham Station at 10.30am, and we arrived early so we could have a good look around before we climbed aboard. We purchased our tickets, which were a little bit pricey (£10.50) and then went to check out the noble stead we would be travelling in (pictured below). The station is decorated as though its still 1940, old suitcases and trunks litter the platform and vintage posters and adverts cover the walls, it all looks very beautiful and authentic. We both wished we had dressed up ourselves - although it would have looked a bit odd as we would have been the only ones.

The steam train we rode on

Authentic 1940s accessories

The special Ladies only waiting room

Ellen modelling the carriage

We then found an empty carriage an clambered in, the interior looks exactly like the inside of the Hogwarts Express in the Harry Potter films, there was even a luggage rack above our heads. The seats were upholstered in red velvet and were pretty comfortable/incredibly bouncy as long as you didn't sit on a spring. There was also some olden day graffiti that declared 'I love wayne' and a window that you had to pull down in order to open the door. We were sharing the carriage with 4 proper grown ups (pensioners) who gave us disapproving looks whenever our excited screams grew to loud!

Ellen being a rebel - we weren't allowed to lean out of the windows

On the journey to Holt

We then set off on our epic voyage - it was brilliant! As soon as we pulled out of the station we stood up and leaned out of the windows, even though we weren't supposed to lean out (we were proper rebels!) the clacketty-clack of the train on the tracks and the swaying of the train increasing the excitement of the experience. We went past the most beautiful scenery (one side you could see all the way across kelling heath on the other you could see all the way to the sea) and waved at lots of children in cars as we pulled along side the road heading towards Weybourne, where we stopped to let the Diesel powered train pass. I wish we had been able to get that train home, it looked like a tram and there aren't enough of those about this side of Germany.

We arrived at our destination: Holt Station

All too soon we arrived at Holt where we all had to get off the train while it went to turn around. Except that it didn't turn around. The engine detached itself from the carriages and then reversed down the tracks and attached itself to the back carriage - backwards! So in effect we were reversing all the way home! It was very odd. Ellen and I brought an ice-cream and a postcard apiece and then got back on the train. This time we sat at the front rather than the back and had a slightly more bumpy ride back.

It was a really fun couple of hours out, in our carriage there were some over 60s and on the same train there was also a coach load of school children and everyone seemed to have a great time. 

Poppy Line offers lots of different events throughout the year, it holds a beer festival in July , has its annual 1940s weekend where visitors are encouraged to dress up and ride the trains and it also holds several murder mystery evenings thought the year. 

Passing through Kelling Heath Park on the way home

Weybourne/ Cley

Both sides of the station

Plant holder

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