Heaton Park, at around 600 acres, is the biggest in Manchester. It contains a full size 18 hole golf course, a pitch and putt course (also 18 holes), tennis courts, a boating lake, playground with paddling pool, Pet's Corner, a Hall, one Papal Monument, lots of trees and grass and the Heaton Park Tramway.
The Park was sold to Manchester Council in 1902, by the Earl of Wilton, to be kept for the enjoyment and recreation of the public. So it has remained to this day.
The Manchester Transport Museum Society was born in 1961 with the aim of creating a Museum in which the public could view the Society's various exhibits. It was decided that Heaton Park would be a suitable site for such a Museum and proposals were made to the Parks Department of the Manchester City Council.
Unfortunately the original idea, which was to construct a new tramway from Grand Lodge to Heaton Hall, was deemed too expensive. Therefore a new scheme was proposed that would open up the old Manchester Corporation Tramways spur from Middleton Road to the old tram shelter some 300 yards into the park. The original track was buried under a layer of tarmac and when cleared would form the basis of the society's operations.
It was in 1979 that the depot building was finished and the trams arrived. The official opening took place on the 28th March 1980.
When I first became involved with the M T M S (coincidentally on Saturday 28th March 1981) there were only the two original trams at Heaton Park. 765, the restored Manchester "California" Car and Blackpool and Fleetwood "Box Car" 40 which was on loan from the Tramway Museum Society and under restoration by the M T M S.