Below is a list of commonly asked questions, which will hopefully answer most queries. If the information on this
page does not address your needs, please use any link associated with the individual question, as this will help
direct emails to an appropriate person who may be able to answer your questions. Please remember, that we are all
unpaid volunteers, so if emails are not answered immediately, it may be that the officer concerned is on holiday
or otherwise pre-occupied. Your enquiry will be answered as soon as possible.
Q1 - What days/times are you open?
A1 - Please see the Visiting the Museum page for full information.
Q2 - Can I arrange a private/group visit?
A2 - Yes, this can usually be arranged for a mutually convenient time, please contact us via
email.
Please mention on whose behalf you are requesting a visit, the proposed number of
people and whether any of them are children, elderly or disabled. Depending on the nature of the visit, there may be
an admission charge payable. On occasions, it may be possible to arrange a ride on one of our preserved buses -
please indicate if this would be of interest.
Q3 - Can I hire one of your buses for a wedding or a private party?
A3 - Sorry to disappoint you but, as a Museum, that is not what our vehicles are for and we do not, therefore
engage in commercial hirings. However, if you
click this link, to send a blank email, you
will receive a list of companies and individuals who may be able to help you. Please note that this list
is provided for information only and the Museum does not endorse any of the hirers concerned nor does it
undertake that they will provide any particular service.
Q4 - Are your buses available for film work?
A4 - Yes, on occasions, subject to other commitments, both our vehicles and our premises can be made available.
A fee is payable to the Museum at a rate subject to negotiation and all such hires are subject to contract.
Please contact us via email.
Q5 - Can I make some sound recordings of your buses?
A5 - Yes, the best way of doing this is to come to one of our public event days (see
Museum Events page) when a number of our vehicles will
be running. If you would like to make recordings of specific vehicles at other times, we shall endeavour to
make suitable arrangements but a fee will be payable. Please
contact us via email for further details,
stating which vehicle(s) you wish to record.
Q6 - Can I come and photograph your buses?
A6 - Yes, the best way of doing this is to come to one of our public event days (see
Museum Events page) when a number of our vehicles will
be running. If you would like to photograph specific vehicles at other times, we shall endeavour to make suitable
arrangements but a fee will be payable. Please contact
us via email for
further details, stating which vehicle(s) you wish to photograph.
Q7 - Are your buses available to visit schools?
A7 - Yes, we are pleased to arrange visits by our buses to schools and other educational institutions in the
local area. Please contact us via email.
There will usually be a small fee payable to cover our costs.
Q8 - Can I drive one of your buses?
A8 - Unfortunately, no. Unlike some of the preserved steam railways, the Museum cannot provide opportunities
for the public to drive its vehicles. Legal, health & safety and insurance issues preclude this. Even
our members can only do this after a rigorous training programme.
In practice, those members who volunteer their services to help at the Museum on a reasonably regular basis
can have the opportunity to receive training to drive the buses and be 'passed out' by one of our in-house
examiners. However, this procedure is not the equivalent of PCV training (although some of our members
already possess PCV licences) and does not provide qualification to drive buses in public service. It would
be wrong also to give the impression that a new member could expect to be at the wheel within a few weeks
of joining!
Members who are regular volunteers at the Museum also have the opportunity to act as conductors on our
buses and, again, full training is given for this task.
If you would like to become a Member, please see the Join Us page for details.
Q9 - Can I garage my bus at Cobham Bus Museum?
A9 - Unfortunately, no. Providing space for other vehicles would be inconsistent with the Museum’s objectives.
From time to time, a guest vehicle may accepted for display in the Museum for an agreed period of time if
said vehicle fills a gap in our Collection or otherwise complements it. Please contact us via
email if you have an ex-London bus or
coach which you would be prepared to make available for display.
Q10 - Can you help with a technical problem with my preserved bus?
A10 - The Museum is unable to provide technical advice to the general public, but one of the many benefits of
becoming a member of the London Bus Preservation Trust Limited is to meet other members who may own
similar vehicles.
Why not become a Member? Please see the Join Us page for details.
Q11 - Do you buy and/or sell old buses?
A11 - No, we are not a bus dealer. Bus magazines such as Bus & Coach Preservation regularly advertise
buses for sale and there are some commercial companies which deal in older buses. Details of these can be
found by searching on the internet.
Very occasionally, we may be interested in acquiring a bus for our Collection. Please contact us via
email if you have an ex-London Transport
bus or coach which you wish to donate or sell.
Q12 - Do you sell spare parts for buses?
A12 - No, we do not sell spare parts for buses although we may be interested in acquiring parts if they
are suitable for the Museum’s vehicles. Please contact us via
email.
Q13 - Can I make a bequest to Cobham Bus Museum?
A13 - Yes, we welcome legacies and bequests and would be most grateful if you were to mention the Museum
in your will. This will enable us to continue our work of restoring and maintaining London’s older buses
and coaches for the benefit of future generations. Please contact us via
email if you require any help
or guidance with this and our Treasurer will be pleased to assist you.
Q14 - Are you interested in acquiring collections of items such as bus tickets, timetables,
enamel signs, badges, photographs and other memorabilia?
A14 - Yes, we welcome donations of items which relate to London’s transport history, either to help us
to develop our collection of small exhibits or to be sold to raise funds for our restoration projects.
Very occasionally, we may have very limited funds to acquire such items but, generally, donations are
much preferred. Please contact us via email with details.
Q15 - Do your buses attend other events such as transport shows or carnivals etc?
A15 - Yes, the Museum’s buses attend many major events such as the annual London-Brighton Commercial Vehicle
Run as well as vintage bus running days in London and the surrounding area. We are also very willing to
support community and transport-related events in our area, subject to availability of buses and volunteer
crews. If you would like us to bring a bus to an event, please contact us via
email and we shall
endeavour to make suitable arrangements.
Q16 - Can someone give a talk about your Museum to our group?
A16 - We may be able to provide a speakers for transport-related societies or other historical groups in our
area but we are limited by the availability of our volunteers, many of whom live a considerable distance
from the Cobham area. Please contact us via email with details.
Q17 - Can you help with a question about London Transport buses and their history?
A17 - The Museum is unable to answer questions from the general public but one of the many benefits of becoming
a member of the London Bus Preservation Trust Limited is to have access to the Museum’s archives and to meet
other members, many of whom have a considerable amount of knowledge on which to draw.
Why not become a Member? Please see the Join Us page for details.
Q18 - Can I buy items from the Museum Shop, either by post or on-line?
A18 - Postal and on-line sales are temporarily suspended due to changes of Shop personnel but we hope to re-start this service asap.
Q19 - Can I book a sales stand at your events?
A19 - Yes, please see the Events page on our website or contact us via
email.
Q20 - I’ve seen reports that your Museum is moving to Brooklands. Is this true?
A20 - The London Bus Preservation Trust Limited has reached provisional agreement with the Brooklands Museum Trust
to move Cobham Bus Museum to the Brooklands site and planning permission has been obtained from Elmbridge Borough
Council for the erection of new, purpose-built premises for Cobham Bus Museum there. At present, the timing of
the move remains unclear while funding is arranged and/or the disposal of the existing Redhill Road site is
negotiated. However, it is planned to make material progress on this during 2007. In the meantime, events based
at the existing site will continue (see Events page for details) and updates on the
situation will be posted under Museum News.
Finally, any enquiries under the Data Protection Act should be made via
email.
