The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company has provided support to a Jurby museum by helping bring two former Manx buses home.
Jurby Transport Museum brought the 1951 Leyland/MCW Olympic HR40 and 1972 Leyland Atlantean PDR2/1 back to the Island from Heysham on the Ben-my-Chree. The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company provided assistance with the trip.
Chairman of Manx Transport Trust Richard Davis said: “The 1951 Leyland/MCW Olympic HR was always something of a rarity and road services were the main customer with eight examples - this one is the sole survivor. The 1972 Leyland Atlantean PDR2/1 retains its Isle of Man Transport colours and is complete with adverts for Laxey Heritage Trust!
“The trip was trouble-free and gained a lot of interest with many people stopping to photograph the buses en-route. A special thanks to the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company for making the rescue mission possible and to the port and on-board staff for their excellent co-operation in bringing the buses back to the Island.”
The two buses are now installed in Jurby Transport Museum, which is expected to open in time for Easter 2010. The museum is also planning a major vintage transport event in July 2010.
Jurby Transport Museum is operated by Manx Transport Trust Ltd and is based in unit 230 – a World War II hangar.
The museum features displays of public and commercial road transport using a combination of vehicles on loan from the Department of Tourism and Leisure and privately owned vehicles, giving a total of around 25 exhibits
Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Chief Executive Mark Woodward said: “It is important we help to maintain the Island’s heritage in any way that we can, so we were more than happy to provide assistance towards the transportation.”
