Exciting Day at London Transport Museum

The London Transport Museum in London’s Covent Garden is full of interesting artifacts and exhibits along with knowledgeable staff.

It has an iconic collection of old London buses, tube trains, trams, trolleybuses and black cabs. It also houses an excellent collection of art deco posters (some of which are the original artwork) as well as photography through the ages.

The collection explores the link between transport and the growth of the UK’s capital city London, as well as its culture and society. This covers past, present and the future with the early buses and steam trains running into Baker Street on the Metropolitan line, and now the new cross London service the Elizabeth line (originally called Crossrail) named for Queen Elizabeth II.

It is best to start from the 2nd floor which has the horse drawn trams and stagecoaches and all the history around their development, and then doing down one floor we have the early trains that ran on the Metropolitan Railway from the 1860s, steam originally, before electric traction was developed and introduced. The only surviving stream engine from the 1860s. No 23, is on display on the 1st floor of the museum.

The Metropolitan Railway was designed to link three of London’s main line termini with the City of London. The first section from Paddington to Farringdon opened on 10th January 1863. A second underground line, the District line began operating 5 years later and the two were eventually linked to form the Circle line in 1884.

The first electric traction trains were introduced from the 1890s and meant a cleaner journey into London rather than steam hauled trains.

The deep underground part of the London Underground started to be built and come into service in the early twentieth century including the Bakerloo, Piccadilly, Northern and Central lines. The museum has an early example from the Waterloo and City line as well as a type 38 train from 1938 in red, which is very recognisable which styling going forward similar. The sub level lines the Metropolitan & District had taller tunnels so their stock is much more spacious with luggage racks and strap handles.

There are examples of the classic Routemaster buses from the late 1950s as well as earlier post World War II examples. There is also double deck trolleybus & trams examples which reached their popularity in the late 1940s, and then faded away to be removed by the early 1960s.

Trams had also gone by the 1960s and were not to be send again in London until a line was built in South London with a route that includes Wimbledon & Croydon.

Sources: London Transport Museum guide & Wikipedia