Leyland Lion bus leaves after decades at Amberley Museum to return to the north-east

Beamish, the Living Museum of the North, has acquired the Leyland Lion LT1 as part of its transport strategy to focus on increasing the use and display of regionally-appropriate vehicles.

A conversation that began some years ago resulted in the owner, Southdown Omnibus Trust, transferring the bus from Amberley to Beamish on Tuesday, January 10. The bus was given to the trust by Michael Plunkett, who rescued it for preservation when it was withdrawn from service in 1959.

Alan Lambert, trust chairman, said: "Michael Plunkett had the foresight over 60 years ago to acquire and preserve BR7132 and then to restore it to original condition. Thanks to him, the bus is a time capsule of how people travelled in a time well before car ownership was commonplace. The time the bus spent on the Channel Island of Jersey means it also has a tangible link to one of the most turbulent periods of the 20th century.”

One of 12 Lions purchased by Sunderland Corporation as replacements for trams, the bus was sold to a dealer in Hull in 1934 and then moved to Jersey for service with Tantivy Motors.

It survived the German occupation an was reportedly one of only four buses licensed for service by the end of the Second World War – and the only one still running on petrol.

In 1946 the bus was acquired by Jersey Motor Transport and served for another 13 years. After Mr Plunkett purchased it, the bus was returned to the UK and the body was restored to its original specification before appearing on the rally scene in the late 1960s.

The bus has been popular at Amberley, where volunteers have used their skills and dedication to keep it in working order, offering rides on it around the museum during the twice-yearly bus days. The museum currently has opportunities for volunteer bus drivers, bus maintenance and bus restoration. More details can be found at www.amberleymuseum.co.uk

The Leyland Lion had been driven back to the north-east twice before, for the anniversary celebrations of the transport departments in Sunderland and Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Paul Jarman, assistant director at Beamish, said: "The arrival of Sunderland Corporation No.2 to join the collection at Beamish is a significant moment for the museum – adding a local corporation bus to the fleet, where it will sit alongside other north-east buses and trams in what is now one of the biggest collections of working historical and regionally significant transport in the UK."

"We are humbled that the Southdown Omnibus Trust and Michael Plunkett have placed the bus into our care and we look forward to studying the bus and introducing it into the fleet.”