Charity Bus Pull at Transport Museum Wythall

Published: 03/11/2020

Charity Bus Pull contributes £500 to the Museum

Members of the Gladiator Barbell Gym in Kings Norton, Birmingham which specialises in powerlifting and fitness training, raised over £500 for the charitably run Transport Museum Wythall on Sunday November 1st with their special Bus Pull event.

Buses are normally used to move people but the tables were turned on Sunday with people moving buses. Thirty male and female competitors fought in open, masters and several weight categories, pulling a 9 ton double decker and 7 ton single decker over 15 metres and 10 metres respectively. Club members and their families, suitably social-distanced, cheered on the competitors. Even the kids had a go so a fun time was had by all.

Like many charitable organisations within the Heritage sector, TMW has lost a significant amount of its income in 2020 as Covd-19 has taken its toll. The 100% volunteer-run museum was closed until August and has only managed to open under strict Covd-19 guidelines, restricting visitor numbers, until the end of October.

Gladiator Barbell member Helen Walcott (Helen and her husband Andy are also members/volunteers at the museum), said: ‘Lockdown put paid to the Big Bus Pull event we had planned for the Spring so rather than wait until our 2021 event, our willing members were happy to pull together this one-off special to help support the museum which has been denied much of its income in 2020. We look forward to coming back next year when the public will be able to join us as spectators’.

Category winners were presented with certificates with the first in each category awarded a model bus trophy in recognition of their efforts.
A bigger public event is planned for 2021 and will be announced through social media channels.