Almost hidden in plain view, in a dark corner of the Museum of London can be found a working model of the London Underground.
Simplified, and part of a display that shows the changing forms of transport in 1930s London, it’s catnip to kids who like to push model cars and trains around, but also rather good fun for tube geeks.
A lower set of trains can be pushed around by hand, or if you press the correct button, the roar of the Underground fills the air, and a motorised train rushes around the upper sealed-off tracks.
A few other buttons illuminate the darkness within a deep sewer been cleaned out by workmen, or a higher level tube train running over the main line.
Period adverts adorn the tube stations, both on platforms and ticket level, and tube geeks will delight to see a replica tube map.
Even the design of the model shape has a distinctly 1930s feel to it with the wide curving corners. Not unlike a cocktail cabinet.
You can find this model railway in the Modern London, People’s City gallery on the lower floor of the Museum of London, next to the telephone kiosk.
My elder grandson, who is the ultimate transport geek, absolutely adored this – we must have spent a good 45 minutes there when I took him to the Museum of London nearly two years ago now!