Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Start your engines! Classic car cavalcade to return as Grampian Transport Museum marks 40th anniversary

A rare Bond Bug and the world’s second oldest Rolls Royce are just few of the new special exhibits for this year's celebratory season.

Grampian Transport Museum anniversary
Allan Grant and his wife Dorothy in their 1922 Swift on the Alford Cavalcade in 1979. Image used in Evening Express in 2017.

Grampian Transport Museum (GMT) will take motorheads on a journey through time to bring back treasured memories for its 40th anniversary.

The award-winning museum in Alford opened doors in 1983 following more than five years of hard work and perseverance by a dedicated group of enthusiasts.

It has since gone from strength to strength, bringing unique collections of rare vehicles – from travelling chariots to some of the fastest cars in the world – to the north-east.

Now, volunteers are gearing up for a special celebratory season as they open doors to welcome visitors for the 40th time in the museum’s long-running history.

Unforgettable experience for visitors

To mark the milestone, GMT will bring its historic Alford Cavalcade back to life in July.

The event was one of the most popular shows among audiences of all ages in the 1970s and 1980s and played a central role in helping raise the money to build the museum.

This will be just one of many special treats planned for motor enthusiasts this season.

GMT has prepared a “unforgettable” display of extraordinary vintage vehicles and a brand new interactive exhibition of motoring computer games Racing Through Time.

This year’s stars also include the world’s second oldest Rolls Royce, built in 1905 and known affectionately as The Old Girl, as well as a now rare three-wheeled Bond Bug.

Grampian Transport Museum anniversary
Rally-winning car – The David Sutton/Works Ford Escort RS1800 – is on display at GMT. Image: GMT/Supplied.

Visitors will be able to see the only Scottish exhibition of the Guy Martin collection and the complete history of the bicycle – from the earliest “balance bikes” right up to date.

Meanwhile, rally fans will have an up-close look at the David Sutton/Works Ford Escort RS1800, once driven by Ari Vatanen and David Richards in the Rothmans livery.

The world’s second oldest Rolls Royce has been given on loan to GTM from the Royal Scottish Automobile Club. Image: GMT/Supplied.

Museum manager Ross McKirdy said volunteers have put an enormous amount of efforts over the winter period to plan an “unforgettable” experience for visitors.

He added: “We are very grateful for the financial support we have received from Museums and Galleries Scotland, enabling us to greatly improve our energy efficiency.

Racing Through Time will give  mums and dads an opportunity for mums and dads to remember how they spent their ‘screen time’ and to show their children some forgotten skills. Image: GMT/Supplied.

“This means that despite the current increased cost of living, the museum is able to maintain its entry costs and membership fees at last year’s levels, which we hope will help every visitor to have a great day out.

“We hope to make this year’s season an unforgettable one, as we celebrate 40 years of preserving and showcasing Grampian Transport Museum’s amazing collection.”

Grampian Transport Museum anniversary
A display of bicycles through the ages will also be on display. Image: GMT/Supplied.

GMT will open doors to visitors this Friday. During the school holidays, itt will be open seven days a week and then Thursday to Monday for the rest of the season.

Conversation