Brussels Urban Transport Museum

The Brussels Urban Transport Museum (Musée du transport urbain bruxellois (MTUB); Museum voor het Stedelijk Vervoer te Brussel (MSVB)), also known as the Tram Museum (Musée du Tram; Trammuseum), is a transport museum in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, a municipality of Brussels, Belgium.

Located in an old tram depot, the museum displays a collection of trams and buses from different eras in the history of public transport in Brussels. It is situated at 364b, avenue de Tervueren/Tervurenlaan, opposite Woluwe Park. This site is served by the bus and tram stop Musée du Tram/Trammuseum (on lines 8, 36, 39 and 44).

Location
The museum is housed in part of an old tram depot in the Brussels municipality of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre. The tram depot consists of two parts: one part containing the museum and maintenance areas for the historic trams and the other part that is still used by the Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company (STIB/MIVB). The Musée du Tram/Trammuseum stop along lines 8, 36, 39 and 44 is also located at this depot.



Tram depot
The first tram depot at this location dates back to 1897 and was built as part of the International Exposition of 1897. At that time, a tramway line was drawn along the newly constructed Avenue de Tervueren/Tervurenlaan to connect the two sites of the exhibition: the Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark and the Palace of the Colonies. This line was originally narrow gauge, so the depot consisted of only a small maintenance shed with an administrative annex. After the exhibition, the tram line came into the hands of Tramways Bruxellois, which converted it to standard gauge in 1899, like the rest of the Brussels tramway network. The depot was further expanded in 1907–08. The original depot was replaced by one with a larger capacity and with more halls; it then remained virtually unchanged until 1941, when it operated 14 tram lines and had a capacity of 285 vehicles.

Museum
Around 1976, the first two halls of the depot were out of use. STIB/MIVB decided to convert these halls into an exhibition space where historic vehicles have been on display since 1977. In 1982, STIB/MIVB decided to entrust the operation of this makeshift museum to a non-profit organisation: Brussels Urban Transport Museum (Musée du transport urbain bruxellois (MTUB), Museum voor het Stedelijk Vervoer te Brussel (MSVB)). It consists entirely of volunteers, many of whom are also (former) STIB/MIVB staff members. Although both the buildings and the collection are owned by STIB/MIVB, they are maintained by the volunteers of the non-profit organisation.

The building became a protected monument in 2001. It was thoroughly renovated between 2006 and 2009. Over the coming years, it will be partly rebuilt to its 1945 condition.

Exhibits
The museum has a collection of around 130 vehicles (including trams, trailers, buses and trolleybuses)—all owned by STIB/MIVB—which, over the course of 150 years, have operated public transport in Brussels or, in the form of work wagons, helped support it. There are five horse-drawn trams, dating from 1868 to 1891; a steam tram from 1920; and 30 electric trams dating from 1888 to 1963. There are also 11 trailers dating from 1888 to 1935. Road vehicles include 22 buses, dating from 1939 to 1978; and two trolleybuses, from 1939 and 1956. Many of the motor vehicles are in roadworthy condition and some are operated with an (open) trailer. In addition, the collection includes a number of service vehicles, including ladder trucks and a car, as well as other items relating to public transport, including destination plates and an electrical substation.

Tourist trips
In 1988, the museum trialled vintage tram rides round the city on several Sundays in Summer. The response was very successful and trips now take place on Saturdays and Sundays in Summer using both trams and buses. In addition, special runs are made along the Rue Royale/Koningsstraat and the Avenue Louise/Louizalaan on certain days of the year.