“But I thought, ‘why just MG’s, why not all of the British transportation industry, everything British’,” he said. “So I pitched the idea to Mike Edgerton, another local car enthusiast, and pretty soon, we got a plan together,” Smith said recently.
While the dream is not fully realized, it’s really close, now that the British Transportation Museum has acquired a building at 321 Hopeland St. in Dayton. As the official address of the facility, it’s humming with volunteer activity on a daily basis.
“We spent years going to car shows and car clubs talking about the museum,” Edgerton explained. “We asked for money, donations of literature, collectables, cars, anything that relates to the British auto industry. It was a slow process, meeting monthly, achieving 501c3 status, doing all the necessary things to be a museum, and people also began to donate items and cars.”
After finally securing a site in 2015, an old three-story factory a stone’s throw from Edwin Moses Boulevard, the dedicated group of volunteers began getting all the cars and such in one place. And this isn’t a collection of just a few cars — the museum owns 38 British vehicles, along with a number of British bicycles, and a slew of manuals, periodicals, parts catalogs and signs. It recently received an old NCR brass cash register that was built for use in England.
The collection is not just MG’s and Triumphs: Austin, Daimler, Humber, Jaguar, Lotus, Mini, Morgan, Peerless, Rover, Sunbeam and Vauxhall are in the collection. While the 1938 Vauxhall and Humber Super Snipes are quite rare, Dick Smith thinks the most unique car in the collection is the 1936 Austin 20 Mayfair bodied limo. “There are only 11 left in the world, and this is the only one in North America. It is unrestored and in great condition,” Smith said.
Owners from 16 states including California and Delaware have donated the cars.
Current museum president Pete Stroble can be found onsite nearly every day.
“We had cars stored at two different locations, (courtesy of) people who donated space to preserve the collection while we searched for a building,” Stroble said. “This building has pretty much everything we need: two loading docks, a freight elevator and lots of space.
“We keep the cars on the first floor, but we hope to make a library on the second floor, and we’ll figure out the top floor later, but right now, we desperately need to get more funding together to comply with the American Disabilities Act. We can’t open to the public every day until we are fully up to code on that, and it takes money.”
Memberships to the museum stands at right about 100 families from all across the country. There is a core group of about 20 local members who are active and attend the monthly meeting. Various fundraising events are held each year, and the main one is the British Meet at the Market, an all-British car show held at the Webster Street Market. In its 15th year and will be held this year May 28.
“There are over 100 automotive museums in the United States, but we are the only one dedicated to British transportation. If we can get some more funding and get the improvements done, I’m sure we can get the museum open on a regular basis. We just need to keep moving forward,” Stroble said. “But we’re still going to host open houses and groups who want a special tour. “
To learn more about membership, upcoming events or to arrange a tour, go online to www.britishtransportationmuseum.org or call (937) 546-0039.
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