All aboard for nostalgic journey back in time

SWANSEA is about to be taken on a unique trip back in time courtesy of the award-winning Swansea Bus Museum & Transport Heritage Centre, based in Swansea Enterprise Park.

Run by a dedicated group of enthusiastic volunteers, it houses a unique collection of vehicles from distant days, including a number of the red AEC Regent V double-deckers which once carried passengers on the city’s streets and in surrounding towns.

Progress and one-person operation saw the buses disappear 40 years ago, and to commemorate the event the museum is holding a series of events.

Among these is a cavalcade of the museum’s Regents around Swansea Bay from its base to Bracelet Bay, along with a running day when enthusiasts and members of the public can ride on the vehicles once again.

Titled Regents Return and held at the museum’s base in Viking Way, Winch Wen, SA1 7DA this Sunday from 11am-3pm, it will revive the sight, sound and smell of these wonderful passenger-carrying workhorses.

Among those taking part in the event will be long-serving city bus driver and volunteer Peter Nedin, who drove one of the last AEC Regent vehicles delivered to the former South Wales Transport Company on its very last late-night service, a vehicle that is part of the museum’s collection.

This year also marks the start of a love affair between Swansea’s SWT Company and the AEC bus manufacturer, which on occasions used the city as a test area to develop new vehicles because of its hilly and demanding routes.

Swansea Bus Museum & Transport Heritage Centre not only restores, displays and operates buses that were once in regular use across South Wales, mainly vehicles operated by South Wales Transport, but is also home to an impressive selection of commercial vehicles, Land Rovers, motorcycles and American cars.

As well as these vehicles, visitors can admire a series of model railways and also a slot car racing facility surrounded by the trophies born of the success of a number of Welsh motorsport greats. Smaller displays hint at local links between early photography and Swansea Bay locations, models and some proud, nostalgic motoring mementos.

The museum and its friendly volunteers are developing a facility that Swansea and the surrounding areas can be proud of. It is a working entity and offers a chance to see real-time restoration.

Additionally, the museum welcomes organised groups and parties of visitors, particularly schools, by appointment.

Volunteers are always assured of a warm welcome. No skills are needed, simply a passion for preserving the proud transport past of South and West Wales.

Admission on non-event days attracts a small charge, which helps to pay for its upkeep.

Swansea Bus Museum & Transport Heritage Centre is a member of the National Association of Road Transport Museums and the Road Transport History Association. Its ethos is “look, touch, feel and try”.