The Vale & Downland Museum in Wantage will celebrate a unique chapter in Britain’s transport history this autumn with a new exhibition on the Wantage Tramway, the bucolic roadside line once hailed as the world’s first steam-powered tramway.
Wantage Tramway: The Story of a Bucolic Roadside Steam Tramway runs from 20 September 2025 to 31 January 2026 and marks 100 years since the tramway’s passenger services ended, as well as 200 years of the modern railway.
A small line with big ideas
Co-curated with historian Dr Richard Marks, author of The Wantage Tramway (Pen & Sword), the exhibition traces the tramway’s story from its opening in 1875 to its closure in 1945.
Backed by Colonel Robert Loyd-Lindsay (Lord Wantage), the line linked Wantage town centre to the Great Western Railway at Wantage Road. For over 70 years it carried market-day travellers, coal for the gasworks, flour for Huntley & Palmers, and wartime supplies for the RAF and USAAF.
It was also a testbed for steam tram technology, hosting prototype locomotives from Merryweather, Hughes and others, innovations later exported worldwide.
The exhibition brings this history to life with photographs, artefacts, and original documents, along with quirky tales, including American military trucks mistaking the line for a road.
Dr Marks said:
“The Wantage Tramway may have been modest in scale, but it was revolutionary in spirit. It showed how local ambition and ingenuity could transform a community and influence transport far beyond Oxfordshire.”
Museum staff said the exhibition would appeal to “railway enthusiasts and casual visitors alike”, capturing a story of local pride, rural character, and industrial invention.
Visiting information
- Exhibition: Wantage Tramway – The Story of a Bucolic Roadside Steam Tramway
- Dates: 20 September 2025 – 31 January 2026
- Venue: Vale & Downland Museum, Church Street, Wantage, OX12 8BL
- Admission: Free (donations welcome)
- Website: valeanddownlandmuseum.org.uk
How to get there
- By car: Wantage is located off the A338 and A417. Public parking is available in the town centre, a short walk from the museum. Use Portway Car Park (OX12 9BU) or Limmings Car Park (OX12 9AJ).
- By bus: Regular Stagecoach services (S9 and S8) run from Oxford to Wantage, stopping close to the town centre.
- By train: The nearest station is Didcot Parkway (10 miles), with bus and taxi links to Wantage.
- On foot/cycle: The museum is in the heart of Wantage, easily walkable from town car parks and cycle-friendly routes.
Accessibility
- Step-free access is available at the Vale & Downland Museum.
- Café and toilets are on site.
- Assistance dogs welcome.
While you’re there
- Vale & Downland Museum café: for homemade cakes and lunches.
- King Alfred’s statue in the Market Place: celebrating Wantage’s most famous son.
- Local shops: Wantage has a range of independent boutiques, antiques, and bookshops worth exploring.
