Dundee Museum of Transport has today announced their successful bid for the Maryfield Tram Depot after four years of campaigning. The category B listed building has been marketed by Scottish Water since 2005 and has been on the agenda for the group since negotiations began in 2010. The organisation now aim to begin a funding drive after which the group will restore the building to its former glory and relocate from their current premises by the end of 2017.
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| Jimmy McDonell outside the Maryfield Tram Depot. Photo: Alan Richardson |
Dundee Museum of Transport’s chairman, Jimmy McDonell said: “We are thrilled that we have succeeded in our mission to secure the depot for use as our permanent home and we thank Scottish Water for making the right decision and also to all the support we have received from Dundee City Council, MP’s, businesses and the local community.”
“The news also came on the day that we received a full-sized licensed replica of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for a long-term display so it puts meaning to the saying that good things come in two’s”
The museum opened its current premises in April to critical acclaim, receiving a 3-star rating from Visit Scotland and rocketing into the top 5 visitor attractions in the Dundee area on review site TripAdvisor. Led solely by volunteers from the local community, the organisation focuses on the restoring, preserving and displaying transport-related memorabilia and vehicles, including Dundee’s last remaining horse drawn tram from a garden in Perth earlier this year.
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| Chitty Chitty Bang Bang licensed replica which is now on display until next year. Photo: Alan Richardson |
Discussing the future of the museum, committee member Matthew Jackson said: “We are pressing on with our sustainable business study which was funded by the Historic Lottery Fund and alongside our consultants will include a refresh of the feasibility study to produce a quality plan for Maryfield as we progress towards the next stage of funding”
“This is an exciting time for Dundee and our project and we will be looking to consult with the local community as soon as possible to get the very best out of this excellent opportunity.”
National Express, the museum’s main sponsor also welcomed the sale. Managing director Phil Smith said: “I’m extremely pleased that Dundee Museum of Transport’s bid for Maryfield Tram Depot has been successful - it’s great news for this excellent visitor attraction. Transport is an important part of Dundee's past, present and future. I wish them the very best of luck with planning their move into this fantastic historic building.”
Today, Dundee Museum of Transport (DMofT) has received £10,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to aid the development and to establish a permanent home for the recently-opened museum in Market Street, Dundee. Led solely by volunteers from the local community, the organisation focuses on the restoring, preserving and displaying regional transport-related memorabilia and vehicles, including Dundee’s last remaining Horse Drawn Tram which was reclaimed from a garden in Perth earlier this year. However, even prior to opening its temporary premises to the public in April this year, the museum reported that it was already over-capacity.
The project will be for an external business consultant to undertake a an in-depth business assessment to review and further aid the development of the organisation and how the museum can benefit the local economy, not just as a base for heritage restoration but as a permanent visitor attraction in the city, also. Although based in Dundee, the organisation has the end aim to represent the transport heritage of the east coast and beyond.
Commenting on the award, the museum’s chairman Jimmy McDonell said: “We are thrilled to have received the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund and it comes on the back of us being awarded three stars as a visitor attraction by VisitScotland. We are confident the project will guide us further in our aim to become not only a home for transport heritage, but a sustainable and well-used visitor attraction.”
Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) aims to make a lasting difference for heritage, people and communities across the UK and help build a resilient heritage economy. From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions, we invest in every part of our diverse heritage. HLF has supported almost 35,000 projects with more than £5.3bn across the UK.
Dundee Museum of Transport has been negotiating to purchase this historically important building since 2010. Scottish Water has now set a closing date for offers - 12pm on Thursday 10 July 2014. They claim a developer is interested in the site and that it could be bulldozed for housing. We need as much support as possible to finally secure this building for the future.
Dundee Museum of Transport is delighted to announce that National Express Dundee has become its main sponsor. A number of exciting joint ventures will take place over the coming months and the Museum's main display area will now be known as the National Express Dundee Exhibition Hall.
National Express Dundee announced as Museum’s main sponsor. Dundee Museum of Transport's Chairman Jimmy McDonell (left) with Yvonne Wilson from National Express Dundee holding an old Dundee Corporation ticket machine. Photograph courtesy Alan Richardson.
Chairman of Dundee Museum of Transport Jimmy McDonell said:
“It’s fantastic to have National Express Dundee on board as the main sponsor of our Museum. The whole team has been working extremely hard to establish it as a home for some of the area’s most important heritage and to remember those local pioneers who may have been forgotten over time.
“We’re really looking forward to welcoming the public through our doors. I’m sure people will be delighted to see some of the displays we have for them and we can’t wait to show them off!”
Managing Director of National Express Dundee Phil Smith said: "We are delighted to be entering into this partnership with Dundee Museum of Transport. Not only are they celebrating Dundee and Tayside's 'hidden heritage', they're celebrating the heritage of our own business, displaying some of the vehicles and memorabilia used by the bus company in its former guise as the Corporation. "This new attraction is an excellent boost for the city of Dundee and we are very much looking forward to supporting Jimmy and his team on their opening weekend and beyond." The Museum will house a collection of vintage vehicles, memorabilia and transport-related items some of which relate directly to the main sponsor National Express Dundee when it was owned by Dundee Corporation.
Dundee Museum of Transport will be opening its doors for the first time on Saturday 26 April 2014 from 11am to 4pm. The celebrations continue on Sunday 27 April 2014 from 11am to 4pm which includes National Drive It Day organised by the Scottish Vintage Vehicle Federation.
With a Jazz Band, bouncy castle, stalls, etc this will be a great family weekend. Market Street will be closed and over 150 vehicles, ranging from vintage to military and commercials, will be on display. Refreshments will also be available on both days.
More details about the opening weekend, admission charges and membership packages will be announced nearer the time.
DUNDEE - Monday 16th December 2013
From left: Jack Reilly and Jimmy McDonell
Dundee Museum of Transport (DMofT) announced on Saturday that their current premises at Market Mews will be opening to the public on Saturday 26th April 2014 after nearly four years of planning. The announcement came during a book launch aboard the Frigate Unicorn for Jack Reilly’s book, “The Caledon Shipyard” which was in partnership with the museum. The book has generated significant interest which tells the story of the Caledon Shipyard from his mass collection of images and information that he collected whilst working there from the 1950s onwards. Its launch, which was host to ex-Lord Provost John Letford who was also a worker in the shipyard, was an overwhelming success with all available copies at the event sold out.
From left: Stewart Hosie MP, Marjorie Knowles, Murray Thomson, Norman Robertson, Jimmy McDonell, John Letford and Joe Fitzpatrick MSP
Chairman of the museum, Jimmy McDonell explained his delight surrounding the book launch,
“Today has been a fantastic event, which superseded our expectations. We are thrilled to be able to announce the opening of the museum so that we can re-live the rich transport heritage that the Dundee area has to offer”
Their current premises will act as a temporary museum whilst work behind the scenes will continue to acquire and develop the Maryfield Tram Depot as a permanent location for DMofT. Jimmy also announced at Saturday’s book launch that the initial stage for Heritage Lottery Funding has been reached today, with the submission of an enquiry and it is hoped that the outcome will be received by the new year.
Further to recent posts seeking funding - see this post and this post - we are delighted to announce that author Jack B. Reilly, in association with Dundee Museum of Transport, is holding a formal launch of his book "The Caledon Shipyard: the foundation, the people, the ships and its demise".
The event takes place on Saturday 14 December 2013 at 2pm on board HM Frigate Unicorn, Victoria Dock, Dundee DD1 3BP. All are welcome and tea, coffee and light refreshments will be available.
Support Dundee Museum of Transport by buying your 2015 calendars and diaries from our Museum shop or click to buy online now.
Further to this post in August 2013 we are delighted to announce that Dundee Museum of Transport amassed sufficient 'green chips' at Asda Milton of Craigie to receive a cheque for £200.
Pictured are Yvanne McLaren, Community Life Champion at Asda Dundee Milton (right) and Museum Chairman Jimmy McDonell.
Many thanks to everyone for their support.
Further to this post in May 2013 we are delighted to announce that we have secured the necessary funding for "The Caledon Shipyard - The Foundation, The People, The Ships and its Demise" by Jack Reilly to be published.
In particular we would like to thank the following for their support in making sure this very important book can now be sent for printing:
William S. Phillips fund
Alexander Moncur Trust
D.C. Thomson Charitable Trust
Creative Scotland Quality Production Arts Programme
Dundee Museum of Transport has a box for customers to put green plastic chips into at ASDA, Milton of Craigie, Dundee. If we collect the most chips we can win £200 for the Transport Museum and it ends very shortly
Currently we are doing very well but we need as much support as possible. So if you are out shopping please put a chip in OUR box which is located at the checkout just beside the toilets.
Scotland's newest Transport Museum needs your support. Things just don't happen, we need to make them happen.
Kindest Regards
Jimmy McDonell
Chairman, Dundee Museum of Transport
Dundee Museum of Transport is working hard to secure funding to pay for the publication of Jack Reilly's incredibly detailed book "The Caledon Shipyard".
Our target is to raise £10,000 and we have just managed to secure a donation of £1,000. This, along with two £2,000 donations, now means we are half-way there.
This book is an incredibly detailed history of a very important part of Dundee's ship-building heritage and deserves to be read by as wide an audience as possible. See more images on the Scotland's Places website (external link).
If you or someone you know may be willing to make a donation towards the remaining £5,000 then please get in touch. All our details are on the contact page of our website.
Dundee Museum of Transport registered as a charity in Scotland, number SC041529, in June 2010. Since then we have been working very hard to establish a museum in Dundee to showcase our local hidden transport heritage.
We have been very fortunate to receive a number of grants for which we are very grateful. However you can also make a donation to help us with our project by visiting our Donate page.
All donations are processed by PayPal which is 100% secure and they will not pass on your financial details to anyone, including Dundee Museum of Transport. You do not need to have a PayPal account to make a donation as they will also accept most major credit or debit cards.
Dundee Museum of Transport registered with RBS CommunityForce, an initiative which sees them working with local communities to support the people, projects and charities making a real difference where you live.
Voting was open for four weeks from 26 September 2011 and in the Dundee area we received 765 votes making us the regional winner.
Our grant of £6000 will be used for our feasibility study, equipment for a mobile exhibition stand for educational purposes and the production of brochures and stationery to help us actively seek volunteers and raise awareness of the project.
None of this would have been possible without the help and support of everyone who got involved in our campaign, including The Rotary Club of Abertay, Dundee Civic Trust, Dundee Historic Environment Trust, The McManus Art Gallery and Museum, Dundee Central Library, Taybus Vintage Vehicle Society, Dundee Partnership, Maryfield Community Forum, Clark Thomson, Dingbro Auto Parts, Nortruck, Airport Travel Dundee, Autorent Self Drive, Claverhouse Group and Joe FitzPatrick, Shona Robison, Gregor and all at the Dundee SNP office.
Many congratulations also to the two runners up in the region who each also received an RBS CommunityForce grant - Angus Riding for the Disabled (755 votes) and Brae Riding for the Disabled (640 votes).
Voting on the RBS CommunityForce website (external link) is now open until 23 October 2011. Please tell as many people as you can and make sure they place their vote for us!
If we receive enough support the Museum could receive a grant of £6000 so every vote counts.
Dundee Museum of Transport has registered with RBS CommunityForce. This is an initiative which sees them working with local communities to support the people, projects and charities making a real difference where you live.
If we receive enough support the Museum could receive a grant of £6000. Part of the grant would go towards our feasibility study which relates directly to the regeneration and re-use of the former Maryfield tram depot. It would also help contribute towards equipment for a mobile exhibition stand for educational purposes within the community. In addition the grant would help with the production of brochures and stationery to assist Dundee Museum of Transport to actively seek volunteers and raise awareness of the project.
Voting starts on Monday 26 September 2011 so please tell as many people as you can and make sure they place their vote for us!
Dundee Museum of Transport is delighted to have received a five-figure sum from the Dundee Historic Environment Trust supported by Historic Scotland to fund a full feasibility study of the former Tram Depot in Forfar Road, Dundee. This money is in addition to that already received from Destination Dundee for the same purpose.James F. Stephen Architects will now carry out the full study on behalf of the Museum and we hopefully move ever closer to acquiring the premises and already some further concern have been raised about its deteriorating condition.
Great news. Dundee Museum of Transport has been awarded a grant of £2000 from the Innovation and Development fund for use toward a feasibility study. The letter states that demand for funding was very high in this round but the panel recognised the merit of our application. Pretty good as this was our very first application for funding of any kind. Bodes well for the future.
More news on other developments soon.
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