Historic buses go on city jaunt

Scale models and the real things were moved out of the museum

Historic buses rolled out of London's Transport Museum on Monday as part of a £18.6m refurbishment.

Museum director Sam Mullins drove the B-type omnibus, from 1911, out of the museum in Covent Garden.

The buses were in service from 1910 to 1919 and 1,000 of them were used to carry troops to Western Front trenches during World War I.

Thousands of exhibits, including models and 12 full-size vehicles, are being moved to the museum depot until 2007.

Mannequins, horse trams, and scale models of buses were also among items being moved out on Monday.

But some trains have proved too difficult to shift and will stay in place while the museum is refurbished around them over the next 18 months.

Historic vehicles are being moved into storage at the museum's depot

Curator Oliver Green said they had employed specialists to make sure the historic exhibits were protected.

"It's relatively straightforward, it's just that it looks like it might be complicated," he said.

The museum, housed in a grade II listed Victorian flower market, will include the history of cycling, walking, taxis and the river, as well as the buses, trams and Tube exhibits.

The refurbishment is aimed at creating more display space and a 100-seat education room to keep the museum "vital and lively for the next 20 years".

It is hoped a new floor will give visitors a more logical trip through London's transport history, from "horse buses" to the first underground railway.

The Transport Museum will continue to put on talks and activities at other locations during the closure. It should re-open in spring 2007.