National Transport Museum

Big Nasty

Seeing as the weather was so good today it would have been a sin not to go out for a spin. A few of us took a drive out to the National Transport Museum in Howth. Fantastic collection of buses, trucks, trams and army vehicles. Once they're not too busy they have no objection with you getting up into the vehicles. It's very good value @ €3.50 ea. and my only complaint is that the vehicles are packed in side by side and it's very difficult to take good pics or get full view of some of the exhibits. Grounds there are great mind you!

Here's some pics (probably more of our own then the museum though! ):

Big Nasty

Big Nasty

Big Nasty

Big Nasty

Big Nasty

chevyv8

some great vehicles out in the museum john, rellly enjoyed the day out, weather was fantastic and i thought the trams and omnibus were fantastic, man do i remember them old buses.. ha:D

mk1esc

never knew this place existed..looks like a good place to go......

love the 4 cars outside though...love the ss...was admiring it at terenure....:D

Arthur Daley

Must pay a visit here myself this year. Need to get out there and support it as if we don't support it nobody else will and we will lose vehicles that are our heritage.

It's a catch 22 as it's really run on a showstring and the premises are cramped, but in order to invest they need paying punters. It's a good afternoon out, combine it with a trip to Howth for a good cheap afternoon out for all.

Nice motors btw

Big Nasty

Arthur Daley wrote: »

Must pay a visit here myself this year. Need to get out there and support it as if we don't support it nobody else will and we will lose vehicles that are our heritage.

It's a catch 22 as it's really run on a showstring and the premises are cramped, but in order to invest they need paying punters. It's a good afternoon out, combine it with a trip to Howth for a good cheap afternoon out for all.

Nice motors btw

Yeah, it's definitely underfunded and layout could be better if they had more room but certainly well worth it @ €3.50 a head. The chap there was more than willing to discuss the different vehicles too.

hi5

What a dump!
A few ex public service vehicles shoved into a galvanised shed.
A duster and some decent floor covering would be a start:)
Maybe that nice Mr NAMA would give us a loan of a nice shiney vacant building somwhere.
All though I seem to recall the IVVCC or someone were trying to do something about it.

Here is the best museum I've been to so far.
But then I like my yank stuff;)

http://www.petersen.org/default.cfm?docid=1001

starsinmyeyes

hi5 wrote: »

What a dump!
A few ex public service vehicles shoved into a galvanised shed.
A duster and some decent floor covering would be a start:)
Maybe that nice Mr NAMA would give us a loan of a nice shiney vacant building somwhere.
All though I seem to recall the IVVCC or someone were trying to do something about it.

I think your comment is a disgrace. I happen to know the people who run this museum. They get no funding what so ever. Every person who works there is a volunteer and is passionate about what they do. They spend all there spare time fixing up vehicles. They restored two of the original Howth trams to absolute pristine condition. These trams are often brought around the country to various shows. As the original post said they only charge €3.50 a head. Which helps cover the electricity costs. I think you should be ashamed. The photos are absolutely beautiful and obviously a very enjoyable day was had, one which I think you would be hard to come by anywhere else in Ireland for €3.50! Perhaps if they had some funding they could get it to "yank" standards and lose all the charm this lovely place has.

starsinmyeyes

Well done on a great post. Look like you had a great day. Nice to see people appreciate things and show this museum and vehicles in a great light

Thinkingaboutit

hi5 wrote: »

What a dump!
A few ex public service vehicles shoved into a galvanised shed.
A duster and some decent floor covering would be a start:)
Maybe that nice Mr NAMA would give us a loan of a nice shiney vacant building somwhere.
All though I seem to recall the IVVCC or someone were trying to do something about it.

Here is the best museum I've been to so far.
But then I like my yank stuff;)

http://www.petersen.org/default.cfm?docid=1001

They rely on volunteers particularly for cleaning and they don't get state funding.

hi5

It sells itself as 'The National Transport Museum of Ireland'
http://www.nationaltransportmuseum.org/
Dont get me wrong it is what it is and probably worth the €3.50 entry,I take my hat off to the volunteers.
The point is this, I would have expected a little more with such a grandiose title and I certainly believed wrongly there was some state involvement with such a name.
If you want to sell it as a 'charming' then do so but seldom are national museums anywhere in the world sold as 'charming'.
Charming is a word estate agents use to describe a property when nothing else fits,I would try avoid using the word.
But to be honest if thats the best a first world country can do for a national museum then yes I am ashamed.
Its about raising standards.
If you need funds you have to lobby for them, especially these days.
The government take about 5 billion from motorists every year,a little something back to preserve the heritage should not be too much to ask.
The vintage and classic scene could be a powerful lobby group if they wanted
but if you want to keep things underfunded and charming then so be it.

alastair

hi5 wrote: »

The vintage and classic scene could be a powerful lobby group if they wanted
but if you want to keep things underfunded and charming then so be it.

I think, even in the good times, there were rather more pressing priorities for state spending. How much did State government contribute to your lauded Petersen museum?

Like it or not, the National Transport Museum is the best the Irish vintage and classic scene can leverage at the moment. The Ulster Folk and Transport museum is indicative of what's possible with a much bigger budget and full time salaried curators, but that's not remotely likely in the near future, so your shame is likely to continue. As to the 'grandiose title' - it's a transport museum, and it's scope is national - don't see the problem - it's a pretty good collection, even if restoration is an ongoing work-in-progress - the quality of the volunteers' finished work is impressive.

ahal

I agree with the derisory comments to an extent. At the end of the day joe public sees what he/she sees and doesn't care too much about the detail. On the other hand I applaud the committed enthusiasts who keep the show on the road. It's really a Government issue. FFS look at the state Dev's Dodge ended up in, and how it ended up being restored (a volunteer iirc?)

It's shameful that country with a motoring heritage - and particularly a motor racing heritage - like ours has no proper home or support. These guys are obviously going above and beyond the call of duty out of passion, but in terms of widespread appeal and as a bigger attraction, as alluded to the ordinary individual sadly doesn't care.

kja1888

Spent a fantastic afternoon a while ago wandering round their storage facility, where they keep all the stuff that is going to be restored, its an amazing place, and for someone like me who believes no vehicle is too far gone to be brought back to life, it was a joy to behold them all, silent rusting and decaying as they were. If just a small proportion of the money that is being wasted on the likes of FAS was given to the Transport Museum, they'd obviously be able to improve the facilites, but lack of funding has plagued them for years.

mk1esc

what are the grounds like for walking around????

i agree with hi5 to a degree, but we are a nation that dont look after its transport heritage...look at the trams system....it went a now its back as the luas....if the government were involved it would be greed.....
we would nee a place like donington park in the uk, race track with a fantastic motorsport history & musem.....
why arent there more army vehicles in ther???? because the government cut em up without selling em on to the collectors...