La Spezia Transport Museum (Italy)

The La Spezia Transport Museum is a bit of a misnomer. In fact it is only a collection of vehicles - brought together, I am told, by an ex-General Manager of the La Spezia undertaking. They are stored at the trolleybus depot in the town and are not readily accessible. Visitors have to enquire at the gatehouse and, if they are lucky, someone will be found to take them round.

About half the vehicles are stored under cover, but not enclosed, the other half in a weatherproof building. There were no visible attempts at restoration while we were there (October 2000), but at least they were safe for the time being. The collection consists of trolleybuses from all over Italy, and some from farther afield, and also some motorbuses.

	Three trolleys in the outside storage sheds. These sheds are cut off from the main depot by a new road, accessible by a small pedestrian tunnel under it. Most vehicles were in poor condition, several having gutted interiors which doubled as storage space for spare parts.
	Another example in the outside storage area. Most were difficult to photograph, being boxed in by other vehicles. Don't ask me what they all are, as they were difficult to identify, and our guide didn't know many of them either!
	Inside there were about 8 trolleybuses squashed in. These were in better condition, due no doubt to their proper storage.
	One unique trolley was a Milan 6-wheel articulated example (yes, that's 4 axles!). With a long articulated section as well as a long driving section, it must have been over 18 metres in length!