Later this month there will be an occasional open weekend at the Transport Museum’s overflow depot at Acton.
While the museum’s base in Covent Garden is their main home, the Acton depot is far larger, and houses all the buses and trains that can’t fit into the central London display.
It also has a large collection of random transport ephemera that fills the gaps between, and an upper floor mezanine.
Highlights of the weekend include talks, interactive displays, bite-sized tours and family activities, rides on a miniature railway, vintage and Police vehicles.
You can pay on the day, but often the queues are long, so it’s best to buy in advance. Tickets cost £12 for adults and £10 for concessions and are valid for one day – book here.
The open weekend takes place on 23rd & 24th September, 11am to 5pm.
Full agenda:
Join Georgia Morley, project curator at London Transport Museum for a talk celebrating Britain’s Transport textiles. Morley will take you through the history of London’s iconic Moquette seating fabric or and its importance to public transport.
Join the Transport for London industrial design team for a lecture and workshop about the process and inspiration behind the everyday design details on the transport system.
Sit back and watch a selection of transport film clips from the 1950s to present day, chosen with the theme of Moquette seating fabric.
Watch demonstrations of original Underground signalling equipment and have a go at operating it for yourself.
Take a ride on a miniature railway.
Join a bitesize family tour and listen to highlights about the Depot’s collection.
Handle some of the Depot’s quirkier artefacts and discover the stories behind them. For example visitors can try out the Gibson Ticket machine and learn how it dispensed tickets used on all London Transport buses between 1953 and 1993.
Visit the pop up food village for teas, coffee and a Routemaster Bus Bar, as well as food, all served from a variety of vintage vehicles.
Hop on a heritage bus ride around Acton Town.
Please keep me informed of future dates at the London Transport Overflow Museum at Acton. Unfortunately, I can’t make this one.