Opportunity to give Cheltenham's historic last tram a new life
Offers are being invited to give a town's last surviving tram a new lease of life, after being in storage for more than 30 years.Tram 21 operated in Cheltenham 100 years ago but since 1992 it has been stored away from the public at the town art gallery and museum, The Wilson.The museum has said the tram is too large to display and too costly for it to restore, and as a result, Cheltenham Borough Council has offered it to anyone who is interested in doing something with it for the benefit of the community.Councillor Martin Horwood said: "I'd love to see it have a new life even if that's in a slightly different form, but somewhere where the public can see it and its story can be told."
He added: "Council took the decision recently to deaccession it because at the moment it's just languishing in storage and personally I think that's a bit of a waste really it's an important part of Cheltenham's history." The decision means that the tram will be taken out of the museum's collection if the council feels it can find an appropriate home for it.
The history of Tram 21
Trams operated in Cheltenham from 1901 until 1930.They ran from the railway station to the town centre, going to places like Charlton Kings, Leckhampton Hill and Cleeve Hill.Owner of Cleeve Hill Hotel, Lindsey Holland, said they were a big part of the hotel's opening. "The whole reason Cleeve Hill exists today is because there were a few entrepreneurs who wanted to create a resort," Ms Holland said."The idea was that people could come and take the spa waters and then take the tram up to the hill and take the fresh air."The trams were retired, making way for buses, which could get to more places for a lower cost.
Tram 21 ended up on a Gloucestershire farm as a chicken coop but was rescued in the 1960s by a group of enthusiasts who set about restoring it to it's former glory.Founding member of the Rolling Stones, Brian Jones, was among those who were part of the restoration project.The tram ended up going on a tour around the country, spending time at the National Tramways Museum in Crich, Derbyshire, and then Bournemouth, before coming back to the town it served in 1992.
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