The Manchester Transport Museum Society Ltd is an established charitable organization, founded in the early 1960s as the Manchester Transport Historical Collection.

The primary objective of the society was the restoration of the Manchester single deck California car 765. After rescuing the derelict tram body from the moors above Huddersfield, the MTMS transferred it to the tramway museum at Crich in Derbyshire for early restoration work, which was later completed in Manchester. Upon completion of the restoration 765 was returned to Crich, where it operated for two seasons.

The Societies aspirations to run Manchester 765 in its home city led to the development of a plan to reopen the former, 280 yard long, tramway siding in Heaton Park, which had fallen into disuse in the 1930's but was still intact beneath a layer of tarmac.

The three-track siding was initially built to facilitate the transport of Sunday School parties from various parts of the city to the expansive grounds of Heaton Park.

In the 1970s, the Society contacted Manchester City Council and, following negotiations, commenced unearthing the existing tram rails.

In anticipation of the city's unpredictable weather, a large waiting shelter had been constructed at the end of the siding, providing shelter to passengers awaiting their return journey. During the restoration of the siding the waiting shelter was converted into a depot with walls built around the perimeter, the floor lowered and one of the three tracks forming the siding relocated into the new depot.

The MTMS and City Council established a jointly owned company, The Manchester Tramway Company Ltd., with a formal constitution to oversee the tramway. The Lord Mayor of Manchester officially inaugurated the tramway during Easter 1980.

Over the years, the original line has been extended three times, to Whitegate, Old Lakeside and in 2011 we reached our current terminus at Lakeside. With the running line now spanning a length of 0.52 miles we have further aspirations to extend the line for another quarter of a mile.

Our fleet has been expanded to 14 trams with a second depot constructed in 2013 at Lakeside to accommodate the growing fleet.

The tramway is run entirely by volunteers, and new members are always welcome.