When we head down north, many of us will go to Ramsey, Dhoon Glen or the Point of Ayre, but head inland and there is a real gem in the heart of an industrial estate, Jurby Transport Museum. This week Sam Turton went to find out more.

Housed in a former RAF hangar, the museum has been running since 2010, but, lost in my own ignorance, I only discovered it recently.

Inside the museum, which is free entry but a donation is gladly welcomed by the volunteers, there is a real mix of the old and the relatively new.

There are old buses, a snow plough, a unique tramcar, wooden boats and a collection of cars but, while the vehicles themselves are fascinating, it is the memories behind them that make the museum.

Take, for example, an old Dublin bus that was bought and run in the island. To some people it is not a lot to look at, but I remember when it did the school run from Park Road up to St Ninian’s and into Onchan.

It had something unique on a Manx bus - an extra two-person seat behind the driver’s that faced sideways so when you went round a corner you could grab the bar above you and tilt forward.

The Coca-Cola bus that supported the Olympic Torch relay in the island is there too.

And that is why the museum is so much more than vehicles, it is the social history that goes with them.

While at the museum, I spoke to chairman of the museum, Chris Machin, who summed it up perfectly when he said the museum and its exhibits were ’preserving the history of the Isle of Man’.

He added that without the museum providing a dry safe location to store the cars and buses the museum features, much of the history ’would be lost and gone forever’.

Examples of this include an extremely rare Ford Prefect Tourer, which it is believed is one of a mere handful left in the world.

Chris said it was bought by a 21-year-old who went off to war in 1939 and never returned, it passed through several hands but never left the island.

After it spent some time sat in a shed, a widow offered it to the museum where it sits, looking as good as new as a demonstration of the former majesty of car designers.

Chris said: ’Even today it is amazing what can be found in sheds and barns across the island, some great cars and little artefacts.’

These little artefacts are displayed in a small garage-like structure that the museum built to display some of the tools and machinery which has been used in the island, including old workman’s tools and an unusual air compressor that is a model of the Michelin Man as well as collection of old lawn mowers and a Second World War era fire hose pump.

Towards the back of the museum, there is a piece of Ramsey’s history, the train that once ran the length of the Queen’s Pier and carried Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother during her visit to the island in 1963.

Out the back in the museum’s compound, there is old coaches which would inspire memories of school trips, rundown horse trams, a former ambulance and a heritage bus taken in that day.

The museum helps Bus Vannin in the maintenance of its heritage bus fleet which is used on special occasions.

Chris admits this is part of the fun of the museum as it allows them the chance to ’run, work on and play with some great vehicles’.

In a room to the side, the museum houses a collection of model cars and incredible little artefacts that include items from Manx Airlines, EuroManx, Emerald Airlines and Manx2.com.

And in the middle, they are working on building a model railway which will be the centre piece of the room.

Back in the main room, there is the finest exhibit, an example of a former Douglas tram car.

This is truly unique, in that is it two cars made into one after they were used as housing in the north of the island before being found by enthusiasts and used to form one tram.

Due to the nature of the museum, where almost all the exhibits are privately owned, it is constantly changing, owners of vehicles pay to keep them in the building which goes towards paying the rent and other costs.

Chris said: ’When we first wanted to open the museum up, we had a few issues but the government and Chief Minister at the time Tony Brown really supported us.

’Now we have running costs like everywhere else but we get by.’

One of the key attractions of the museum is its open door policy, if a bus has its doors open, people can climb aboard and have a look around.

Chris said has made the museum a popular destination for children and school groups.

The museum is open Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and bank holidays 10am to 4pm through until October and is clearly signposted throughout Jurby.

The museum is also seeking volunteers or for people to become members, for more information, email [email protected] or search Jurby Transport Museum on Facebook.