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The Trust Many of us took for granted the buses on which we travelled to school, or to work, or to shops in the nearby town. We may have memories of red buses in the towns or of green buses in the country, of single-deckers or double-deckers, of buses with conductors or buses where you paid the driver. Apart from some Routemaster buses still running in central London, what happened to all those other "proper looking" buses? The bad news is nearly all were scrapped when their service days were over. And the good news? Well, a few somehow managed to escape the breaker's blowtorch and some can be seen at Cobham Bus Museum, home of the London Bus Preservation Trust Limited (LBPTL), a registered charity. The Museum houses a remarkable collection of around 35 buses and coaches, the widest selection under one roof of ex-London Transport motor buses in the world. About two thirds are owned by the Trust and the remainder by individual members. Some buses have been fully restored, and have won many awards, while others are currently being restored or are waiting their turn for attention. The Trust's vehicles are all of London origin and date from about 1875 to 1979. Items of street furniture and other transport artefacts are displayed around the Museum. The origins of the Trust date back to 1966 when bus preservation was in its infancy. Mindful that a whole generation of London buses was in danger of extinction, a small group of far-sighted enthusiasts worked hard to secure premises with garaging and maintenance facilities to help ease the plight of would-be bus preservationists. The Cobham site was acquired in 1972 and the story has been one of steady progress since that time. Much has been achieved but much remains to be done. The Trust's reputation for restoring old London buses is now known internationally. Unfortunately, our existing building has now become time expired and has limited space for our ever expanding collection; therefore the Trust's board has taken the decision to move to a new site, within the Brooklands museum complex. A purpose built structure will be erected, which will allow the Cobham London Bus Museum to open seven days a week, providing the opportunity to see our vehicles and artefacts in a much improved environment and on a more regular basis. Due to this move, our present site in Redhill Road is closed to the general public while the collection, supporting materials and spare parts, are readied for the transfer to our new museum building. However, at least some of our vehicles will continue to operate over the months ahead, even though our main building is shut, so please look out for more information on the events page. Current plans envisage that the new museum will open in July 2011. Please look at the news page on this website for further information and updates. Registered Office: Room 6, Tudor Business Centre, Kingswood Station, Waterhouse Lane, Kingswood, Surrey, KT20 6EN Registered Charity No. 1053383   Registered Company No. 1061762 A list of directors may be obtained on request from the registered office.

The London Bus Preservation Trust Ltd, Redhill Road, Cobham, Surrey, KT11 1EF Tel. 01932 868665

Registered Charity No. 1053383

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