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Guide to London Transport Museum

London Transport Museum explores the heritage of London and its transport system, and the stories of the people who have travelled and worked in the city over the last 200 years.

Find out more about our galleries and exhibitions below, as well as some of the must-see objects at the Museum!

Galleries and exhibitions

Discover our permanent gallery dedicated to commercial poster art and design. See more than 100 poster artworks and posters, and explore the poster-making process in our exhibition How to Make a Poster.

Busabout poster by Hans Unger

Open now, Legacies: London Transport’s Caribbean Workforce exhibition celebrates the huge contribution people of Caribbean heritage have made to transport history and British culture.

Montage of Caribbean maps, flags and people

Discover how Underground stations and metro systems provide shelter to citizens during war, with historical images from our collection and new documentary photos from Ukraine.

A black and white photo of a crowd of people in 1940s clothing sheltering next to a train carriage on the platform of an Underground station, and a colour photo of a young person looking out from a pop-up tent with a row of shoes in front of it, along with other people and bedding, in an Underground tunnel

Discover what transport was like in London in the 1800s, from riverboats, the first omnibus, trams and early railways.

A green and cream coloured horse-drawn bus with mannequins resembling driver, conductor and passengers

In 1860, work began on the world's first underground railway - the Metropolitan line. See the only surviving 1860s steam engine in the Museum.

A black steam train displayed in the Museum, with a touch screen display in the foreground

London’s population grew rapidly in the 19th century as the railways and the underground began to expand out, reaching villages like Brixton, and further out into new 'Metro-land', creating the first suburbs.

A man and a woman pointing at a vintage map of London

Construction on early underground lines was expensive and chaotic. Explore how the Greathead shield made digging deep tunnels much easier and helped build the world's first electric railway.

Two women looking at a screen showing tunnel construction

How did London Transport first form? Find out how and why Lord Ashfield merged all of London's transport operators in the early 1900s.

A young woman looks at a display of old underground maps

From horse-drawn vehicles to trams, trolleybuses and the first motor buses, discover what surface transport was like in the first half of the 20th century.

A brown and cream coloured trolley bus

London by Design celebrates London’s transport design heritage, including the iconic roundel, map, font, posters and more.

Two women smile at each other in front of a display of underground roundel signs in different colours

Through both the First and Second World Wars, London’s transport system and its staff played a vital role in keeping the city moving and contributed to the wider war effort.

A man and a woman walk around a gallery with first and second world wars objects on display

Test your STEM skills, solve transport conundrums faced by modern day engineers, and enjoy a series of fun interactive exhibits in our Future Engineers gallery.

A young woman stands next to a young girl sitting in front of a train simulator

Explore London's surface transport after the Second World War to today's modern organisation run by Transport for London.

A red, gold and old fashioned bus inside the Museum galleries

Discover the central role of civil engineers in the fight against climate change in this exhibition by the Institution of Civil Engineers, and explore how they are developing sustainable solutions to reduce carbon emissions. 

Our All Aboard playzone is full of mini vehicles and perfect for kids age 0-7 to dress up, try out the interactive activities and play in!

Three children in the All Aboard play area

Museum floor plan

This floor plan shows you where the Museum galleries and facilities are located, to help you plan your visit.

Map of levels 1 and 2 in the Museum
Map of the Museum Ground Floor

Past exhibitions

Planning your visit

Find out about our Annual Pass options to visit the Museum. Passes are valid for a year, and kids go free!

A draw showing a collection of heritage tickets

We are committed to ensuring that every visit matters, as does every interaction with our customers. Find out how we are making sure the Museum is accessible for everyone.

Two red Routemaster buses and a blue and yellow Leyland bus at London Transport Museum. In the foreground, the bottom of traffic light showing a green light is visible

It's easy to get to London Transport Museum by Underground, bus, rail, boat, car or bicycle

Two women standing in front of a large vintage map