Depot Open Days: From Past to Present

Talks

Note: Places for talks are limited and allocated on a first come, first served basis. 

Welcome to the Depot

11:00, 12:30, 14:00, 15:20 | Holden Room | Talks last 15 minutes

What is the Museum Depot? Which vehicles and objects of transport history can you explore? Join us for a short 15-minute talk to discover what the Depot is and highlight a few collection favourites for you to look out for during your visit. 

From Horse to Hydrogen

11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00 |Bus Shed | Talks last 10 minutes

Join us for a 10-minute bus shed talk, as we speed through the history of bus power - from horsepower to petrol and diesel engines, to the electric trolley bus, ending on the modern technology of hydrogen power.

Sarah Siddons and the Electric Met Locos

11:30, 14:30 | Holden Room | Talks last 30 minutes

Join TfL’s Principal Signalling Engineer, Charles Horsey for an overview of the hundred-year story of Sarah Siddons and the fleet of twenty Metropolitan electric locomotives. This talk will cover the origins, their operational careers to 1961 and the activities of Sarah and a few others in the many years after this. 

Planning the Journey Towards a Green Future for London

13:00, 15:45 |Holden Room

Join TfL’s Principal City Planner, Donald Yell as he looks at what a green future for london could look like. How can we shape the transport system to help create a greener future? What have we done already? What is underway? And what could the future hold for London’s transport system?

Tours

Note: Places for tours are limited and allocated on a first come, first serve basis. Sign up on arrival at the Museum Depot at the individual Tour Meeting Point to book your place.

Electric Posters: Mini Poster Store tour

11:00, 11:30, 12:00, 13:30, 14:00, 14:30, 15:00, 15:30, 16:00, 16:30 | Sign up at bottom of yellow stairs | Tours last 20 minutes

Join us for a 20-minute mini tour of the world-class Poster Store, as we explore some of our favourite poster highlights and see how they link to electric power and changing technology.    

Mini Station Models tour

11:00, 11:30, 12:00, 13:30, 14:00, 14:30, 15:00, 15:30, 16:00, 16:30 | Sign up under the Sign Mezzanine | Tours last 20 minutes

Take a tour to discover London Underground stations … in miniature! Explore captivating, lifelike models of stations such as Acton Town, Aldwych and Piccadilly. 

Pallet Racking Curator tours

11:30, 13:30, 15:30 | Large Objects Store | Tours last 30 minutes.

Take a one-off, behind the scenes, look at some of our special and unique objects, uncovering the mysteries of the Depot. #LTMMysteriesOfTheDepot

STEM Zone

Along with changing technology to support greener modes of transport, advances in technology support many different areas of public transport to bring us from the past to the present. Visit our STEM zone to discover more. 

TfL Systems Performance Demos

11:00 – 16:30 | Mezzanine

Join TfL’s Systems Performance team as they demonstrate different technology used on London Underground. Visitors can expect to see and even try out:

VirtuRail: TfL’s visualisation tool allowing users to see the outputs of our in-house Railway Engineering Simulator (RES) in 3D. Participants can use an Xbox controller to navigate around the network, on trains, take a bird’s eye view and watch passengers on platforms. VirtuRail also provides simulated CCTV for our Line Controller Simulation suites.

RailVR: Developed by a VR company in collaboration with TfL, it uses assets from the VirtuRail project. RailVR uses a Virtual Reality headset to give the user an opportunity to be fully immersed on a London Underground platform, board a tube train, and drive a train.

AI Traffic Light - drop in activity

11:00 – 16:30 | Mezzanine

Join Yunex Traffic with an interactive activity aimed at children aged 7 – 13, demonstrating AI technology to control a set of traffic signals.

Coding the Capital - drop in activity

11:00 – 16:30 | Mezzanine

From the oldest underground network in the world, to the advances that coding has bought to our signalling, in this problem-solving activity, families can work alongside STEM Ambassadors from Transport for London using coloured tiles to code ‘driverless trains’ around a track in their own ‘capital city’, illuminating how coding and automation can be applied to the real world. 

Suitable for children aged 7+.

Heritage Vehicles and other displays

Think Green!

All day | Large Objects Store

Share your most fun and creative ideas on our Think Green! board. Draw or write your best and brightest ways that public transport in the future can be green and sustainable.

Tickets Please! Object Handling

All Day | Bus Shed

Come along to our object handling trolley and try out some of our wonderful collection of ticket machines and tickets through time.

TfL E-Scooters

10:30 – 16:30 | Yellow shutters near Train Shed exit

With examples from Lime and Voi, join the team behind Transport for London’s e-scooter trial to learn more about the first new mode of transport to be launched on London’s streets in more than a decade! 

Guess the mystery object

10:30 – 16:30 | Large Objects Store

Try your hand at guessing what some of the more unusual objects in our collection are in the ‘Guess the Mystery Object’ drop-in game. #LTMMysteriesOfTheDepot

Hidden London interactive stall

All day | Entrance to Train Shed

Meet our terrific Hidden London guides! Learn more about our exclusive tours that take you into closed-off parts of the Underground network, including disused stations, filming locations and secret wartime shelters. 

Signalling Interpretation

All day | Bus Shed

Learn about our heritage train signalling equipment with our live interpretation.

London Transport Museum Friends

All day | Bus Shed

Find out more about supporting London’s transport heritage and visit the Friends desk in the Bus Shed. 

Visiting Vehicle: Transport UK London Bus Electroliner

All day | Yard
See an electric, zero emissions Electroliner bus on display, and climb aboard it to chat with representatives from Transport UK London Bus about their electric bus fleet.

SEND Friendly: We have a special 10:00 session on Saturday 6 July for visitors with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities to ensure a quiet and warm welcome to the Depot. Advanced booking essential.

Talks

Note: Places for talks are limited and allocated on a first come, first served basis. 

Welcome to the Depot

11:00, 12:30, 14:00, 15:20 | Holden Room | Talks last 15 minutes

What is the Museum Depot? Which vehicles and objects of transport history can you explore? Join us for a short 15-minute talk to discover what the Depot is and highlight a few collection favourites for you to look out for during your visit. 

From Horse to Hydrogen

11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00 |Bus Shed | Talks last 10 minutes

Join us for a 10-minute bus shed talk, as we speed through the history of bus power - from horsepower to petrol and diesel engines, to the electric trolley bus, ending on the modern technology of hydrogen power.

London’s Electric Past (and Present) with Matt Brosnan

11:30, 14:30 | Holden Room | Talks last 30 minutes

Join Head Curator, Matt Brosnan, to hear about the use of electricity on London’s public transport network, from the switch from steam to electric on the Underground, to electric use on trams, trolleybuses and road vehicles.

Tours

Note: Please note that places for tours are limited, you must sign up in advance. Places are allocated on a first come first serve basis.  

Electric Posters: Mini Poster Store tour

11:00, 11:30, 12:00, 13:30, 14:00, 14:30, 15:00, 15:30, 16:00, 16:30 | Sign up at bottom of yellow stairs | Tours last 20 minutes

Join us for a 20-minute mini tour of the world-class Poster Store, as we explore some of our favourite poster highlights and see how they link to electric power and changing technology.    

Mini Station Models tour

11:00, 11:30, 12:00, 13:30, 14:00, 14:30, 15:00, 15:30, 16:00, 16:30 | Sign up under the Sign Mezzanine | Tours last 20 minutes

Take a tour to discover London Underground stations … in miniature! Explore captivating, lifelike models of stations such as Acton Town, Aldwych and Piccadilly. 

Pallet Racking Curator tours

11:30, 13:30, 15:30 | Large Objects Store | Tours last 30 minutes.

Take a one-off, behind the scenes, look at some of our special and unique objects, uncovering the mysteries of the Depot. #LTMMysteriesOfTheDepot

STEM Zone

Along with changing technology to support greener modes of transport, advances in technology support many different areas of public transport to bring us from the past to the present. Visit our STEM zone to discover more. 

TfL Systems Performance Demos

11:00 – 17:00 | Mezzanine

Join TfL’s Systems Performance team as they demonstrate different technology used on London Underground. Visitors can expect to see and even try out:

VirtuRail: TfL’s visualisation tool allowing users to see the outputs of our in-house Railway Engineering Simulator (RES) in 3D. Participants can use an Xbox controller to navigate around the network, on trains, take a bird’s eye view and watch passengers on platforms. VirtuRail also provides simulated CCTV for our Line Controller Simulation suites.

RailVR: Developed by a VR company in collaboration with TfL, it uses assets from the VirtuRail project. RailVR uses a Virtual Reality headset to give the user an opportunity to be fully immersed on a London Underground platform, board a tube train, and drive a train.

AI Traffic Light - drop in activity

11:00 – 17:00 | Mezzanine

Join Yunex Traffic with an interactive activity aimed at children aged 7 – 13, demonstrating AI technology to control a set of traffic signals.

Coding the Capital - drop in activity

11:00 – 17:00 | Mezzanine

From the oldest underground network in the world, to the advances that coding has bought to our signalling, in this problem-solving activity, families can work alongside STEM Ambassadors from Transport for London using coloured tiles to code ‘driverless trains’ around a track in their own ‘capital city’, illuminating how coding and automation can be applied to the real world. 

Suitable for children aged 7+.

Family Activities

Make your own Station Garden

11:00 – 17:00 | Yard

Taking inspiration from TfL’s station gardens, draw your own station garden on our seed paper. You can then take your drawing home with you and plant to start your own garden.

Create your own ‘Green’ Vehicle

11:00 – 13:00, 14:00 – 17:00 | Portacabin

Using recycled materials, families can take inspiration from current green and sustainable public transport vehicles, or even think of future technologies and ideas to make their own green vehicle that they can take home with them.

London Transport Miniature Railway

Museum Depot Entrance

Ride on our working 7¼ in gauge London Transport Miniature Railway: it’s based on real London Underground locomotives, carriages, signals and signs. 

Suitable for all ages; tickets sold separately on the day.

Heritage Vehicles and other displays

Think Green!

All day | Large Objects Store

Share your most fun and creative ideas on our Think Green! board. Draw or write your best and brightest ways that public transport in the future can be green and sustainable.

Tickets Please! Object Handling

All Day | Bus Shed

Come along to our object handling trolley and try out some of our wonderful collection of ticket machines and tickets through time.

Guess the Mystery Object

10:30 – 16:30 | Large Objects Store

Try your hand at guessing what some of the more unusual objects in our collection are in the ‘Guess the Mystery Object’ drop-in game. #LTMMysteriesOfTheDepot

Hidden London interactive stall

All day | Entrance to Train Shed

Meet our terrific Hidden London guides! Learn more about our exclusive tours that take you into closed-off parts of the Underground network, including disused stations, filming locations and secret wartime shelters. 

Signalling Interpretation

All day | Bus Shed

Learn about our heritage train signalling equipment with our live interpretation.

London Transport Museum Friends

All day | Bus Shed

Find out more about supporting London’s transport heritage and visit the Friends desk in the Bus Shed. 

Visiting Vehicle: Transport UK London Bus Electroliner

All day | Yard
See an electric, zero emissions Electroliner bus on display, and climb aboard it to chat with representatives from Transport UK London Bus about their electric bus fleet.

Talks

Note: Places for talks are limited and allocated on a first come, first served basis. 

Welcome to the Depot

11:00, 12:45, 13:30, 15:00 | Holden Room | Talks last 15 minutes

What is the Museum Depot? Which vehicles and objects of transport history can you explore? Join us for a short 15-minute talk to discover what the Depot is and highlight a few collection favourites for you to look out for during your visit.

From Horse to Hydrogen

11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00 |Bus Shed | Talks last 10 minutes

Join us for a 10-minute bus shed talk, as we speed through the history of bus power - from horsepower to petrol and diesel engines, to the electric trolley bus, ending on the modern technology of hydrogen power.

Siddy’s Favourite Stations

11:45, 14:00, 15:45 | Holden Room | Talks last 30 minutes

Join Siddy Holloway, presenter of Secrets of the London Underground, for a talk about some of her most memorable and favourite locations visited in the hit show. All locations on the show are amazing and unique, but perhaps some have stood out more than others and, in this talk, Siddy will share which stations stick with her to this day, why, and show behind the scenes footage from filming. 

Tours

Note: Please note that places for tours are limited, you must sign up in advance. Places are allocated on a first come first serve basis.  

Electric Posters: Mini Poster Store tour

11:00, 11:30, 12:00, 13:30, 14:00, 14:30, 15:00, 15:30, 16:00, 16:30 | Sign up at bottom of yellow stairs | Tours last 20 minutes

Join us for a 20-minute mini tour of the world-class Poster Store, as we explore some of our favourite poster highlights and see how they link to electric power and changing technology.   

Mini Station Models tour

11:00, 11:30, 12:00, 13:30, 14:00, 14:30, 15:00, 15:30, 16:00, 16:30 | Sign up under the Sign Mezzanine | Tours last 20 minutes

Take a tour to discover London Underground stations … in miniature! Explore captivating, lifelike models of stations such as Acton Town, Aldwych and Piccadilly. 

Pallet Racking Curator tour

11:30, 13:30, 15:30 | Large Objects Store | Tours last 30 minutes.

Take a one-off, behind the scenes look, at some of our special and unique objects, uncovering the mysteries of the Depot. #LTMMysteriesOfTheDepot

STEM Zone

Along with changing technology to support greener modes of transport, advances in technology support many different areas of public transport to bring us from the past to the present. Visit our STEM zone to discover more. 

TfL Systems Performance Demos

11:00 – 17:00 | Mezzanine

Join TfL’s Systems Performance team as they demonstrate different technology used on London Underground. Visitors can expect to see and even try out:

VirtuRail: TfL’s visualisation tool allowing users to see the outputs of our in-house Railway Engineering Simulator (RES) in 3D. Participants can use an Xbox controller to navigate around the network, on trains, take a bird’s eye view and watch passengers on platforms. VirtuRail also provides simulated CCTV for our Line Controller Simulation suites.

RailVR: Developed by a VR company in collaboration with TfL, it uses assets from the VirtuRail project. RailVR uses a Virtual Reality headset to give the user an opportunity to be fully immersed on a London Underground platform, board a tube train, and drive a train.

AI Traffic Light - drop in activity

11:00 – 17:00 | Mezzanine

Join Yunex Traffic with an interactive activity aimed at children aged 7 – 13, demonstrating AI technology to control a set of traffic signals.

Coding the Capital - drop in activity

11:00 – 17:00 | Mezzanine

From the oldest underground network in the world, to the advances that coding has bought to our signalling, in this problem-solving activity, families can work alongside STEM Ambassadors from Transport for London using coloured tiles to code ‘driverless trains’ around a track in their own ‘capital city’, illuminating how coding and automation can be applied to the real world. 

Suitable for children aged 7+.

Family Activities

Make your own Station Garden

11:00 – 17:00 | Yard

Taking inspiration from TfL’s station gardens, draw your own station garden on our seed paper. You can then take your drawing home with you and plant to start your own garden.

Create your own ‘Green’ Vehicle

11:00 – 13:00, 14:00 – 17:00 | Portacabin

Using recycled materials, families can take inspiration from current green and sustainable public transport vehicles, or even think of future technologies and ideas to make their own green vehicle that they can take home with them.

London Transport Miniature Railway

Museum Depot Entrance

Ride on our working 7¼ in gauge London Transport Miniature Railway: it’s based on real London Underground locomotives, carriages, signals and signs. 

Suitable for all ages; tickets sold separately on the day.

Heritage Vehicles and other displays

Think Green!

All day | Large Objects Store

Share your most fun and creative ideas on our Think Green! board. Draw or write your best and brightest ways that public transport in the future can be green and sustainable.

Tickets Please! Object Handling

All Day | Bus Shed

Come along to our object handling trolley and try out some of our wonderful collection of ticket machines and tickets through time.

Guess the Mystery Object

10:30 – 16:30 | Large Objects Store

Try your hand at guessing what some of the more unusual objects in our collection are at the ‘Guess the Mystery Object’ drop-in game. #LTMMysteriesOfTheDepot

Hidden London interactive stall

All day | Entrance to Train Shed

Come meet our terrific Hidden London guides! Learn more about our exclusive tours that take you into closed-off parts of the Underground network, including disused stations, filming locations and secret wartime shelters. 

London Transport Museum Friends

All day | Bus Shed

Find out more about supporting London’s transport heritage and visit the Friends desk in the Bus Shed. 

Visiting Vehicle: Transport UK London Bus Electroliner

All day | Yard
See an electric, zero emissions Electroliner bus on display, and climb aboard it to chat with representatives from Transport UK London Bus about their electric bus fleet.

Shop

Pick up a stylish gift or souvenir of your visit at the London Transport Museum shop or visit the Museum Friend’s Shop selling second-hand books, signage, maps, prints, photographs and transport ephemera.

Live music: Busker

12:00 – 16:45  | Yard
Enjoy some fun, relaxing music out in the Yard as we celebrate busking on London’s transport.

Food and drink

Fancy a hot drink and a sweet treat, then head to the Mini Been Coffee mobile bar.

We have dedicated the 10:00 session on Saturday 6 July for visitors with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities to ensure a quiet and warm welcome to the Depot.

Advanced booking is essential as places are limited, and must be booked online.

Please note: tickets for the 11:00 session are available for the general public.

Address

2 Museum Way, 118-120 Gunnersbury Ln, Acton, London W3 9BQ

By Underground

The closest Underground station is Acton Town (2 mins).

By Bus

The closest bus stops to the Museum Depot are Gunnersbury Lane (Acton Town station) 70 or E3.

By Car

There is no parking available at the Depot, except for disabled badge holders.

Planning your Journey

To plan your journey to the Museum Depot, we recommend using TfL’s Journey Planner or downloading the TfL Go app.

Most areas of the Depot are accessible, however due to the nature of our collection, some of the vehicles may not be fully accessible to wheelchair users. 

Read more about accessibility at the Depot. 

The Depot is a working building, and whilst we take every care to eliminate all possible trip hazards, there are rail tracks and grooves set in the floor which may cause uneven surfaces.

Accessible toilet facilities are located next to the main reception and in the Yard.

Service animals are permitted inside the Depot building.

Visitors who require assistance due to disabilities are able to book a carer/companion ticket free of charge.

Photography is allowed for private purposes in the main shed only, but tripods are not allowed. 

We do not allow photography in any of the small stores.

Scooter, backpacks, rucksacks and other large bags can be stored in our free cloakroom, as they cannot be taken into the Depot. 

Small bags such as handbags, camera bags and tote bags are allowed into the Depot.  

There is space in the cloakroom for buggies to be left. 

Yes, toilet and baby changing facilities are available. 

Toilets and accessible toilet facilities are located next to the main reception and in the Yard.

Food and drink are not permitted inside the Depot, except for still bottled water. This is to protect the collection objects from damage caused by food residue or pests.

There will be a sheltered and unsheltered eating area available in the Yard for visitors to consume food and drink.

There is no permanent café onsite. 

For our Depot Open Days events, there will be a food truck and refreshments available for purchase; packed lunches are also allowed for consumption in the Yard. 

On the day of your visit to the Depot Open Days, please note some activities will only be available on a first come first serve basis.  Please refer to the programme on the web event page, or the programme map located in the entrance way of the Depot for more details. 

You can pre-book tickets for this event, there will also be a limited number of tickets available for on the day walk ins.