Museum's £100k project to restore 1920s 'hybrid' bus

Ipswich Transport Museum has begun to restore the old Eastern Counties bus from the 1920s

A museum is trying to raise money for a £100,000 project to restore a bus from the 1920s.

Ipswich Transport Museum has launched a campaign to restore the Eastern Counties bus known as the Tinkling Tilling.

The bus was given the name due to the distinctive noise it made while in motion.

Owen Phillips, project leader and volunteer at the museum, said the service helped to bring affordable mobility to rural Suffolk.

The buses were considered ahead of their time due to making use of both petrol engines and an electric motor

It was believed the body of the bus was made in 1921 or 1922 and it was the oldest surviving part of an Eastern Counties bus in existence.

"Unlike the electric trams in Ipswich, which drew current from overhead wires, these buses had to run outside the borough, so they used a petrol engine to drive a dynamo and electric motor," Mr Phillips explained.

"These petrol-electric buses were in effect early hybrid vehicles - ahead of their time really.

"They established bus services across Suffolk and brought affordable mobility to many rural places for the first time."

Museum chairman Mark Smith added that this particular bus was built in Ipswich and had survived on a farm in Witnesham before the museum acquired it.

The buses used a petrol engine to drive a dynamo and electric motor

More than £40,000 has already been raised and used toward restoring the body of the bus.

The chassis is already running and driving, but more money was needed to help with restoring the rear tyres, lights, seats, upholstery and more.

It was hoped the bodywork restoration could begin later this year or early next year.

Once complete, the bus would be displayed at the museum and used for demonstration rides at special events.