Next stop…2024!
As 2023 draws to a close, it has been four months since I had the privilege of taking on the role of London Transport Museum’s new Director and CEO.
What a year it’s been!
We kicked off 2023 celebrating 160 years of the London Underground, the world’s first subterranean railway network.
To mark the occasion, we created a stunning new range of accessories inspired by the Underground lines with Wallace Sewell, and launched a new Hidden London tour at Baker Street, one of the original Metropolitan line stations.
Unlocking the door to long-closed parts of this historic station, our new tour gives people the chance to experience this history right where it happened. Discover original platforms, disused lift shafts and corridors that are hidden in plain sight and hear how the first Victorian passengers felt about this revolutionary way of getting about town.
Since it opened, the Tube has not just taken people from A to B. It’s helped us to make the most of life the Capital, connecting people from the suburbs to the heart of the city, buzzing with its opera houses, theatres, galleries, and museums.
In April we teamed up with English National Opera, London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Opera House, and Southbank Centre to celebrate this legacy with a series of four re-imagined Tube posters promoting some of the wonderful art and culture we can enjoy here today. There was poetry, tutus, and yeomen guards – and it was fabulous!
As the weather warmed-up we got back out onto the city’s roads and rails with a bumper programme of heritage vehicle journeys.
We took our beautifully restored 1938 Tube train out on the Piccadilly and Metropolitan lines. Our Patrons joined us on our Guy Special single deck motor bus for the annual Cart Marking celebrations in the City of London. And a team of us headed to the annual Imberbus event in Wiltshire, with our RF type bus. This was my first trip to Imberbus and I have to admit I’m a complete convert and fan.
Over at our Depot, our brilliant team of volunteers have also been working hard on the restoration of the last surviving Q stock Underground cars. We’ve also restored RM1, the prototype of London’s famous Routemaster bus, to working order ahead of its 70-year anniversary next year.
In September, we said a fond farewell to Sam Mullins OBE, our colleague, friend and London Transport Museum’s leader for the past three decades.
Sam’s departure was a moment to reflect on the incredible journey he has taken the Museum on since 1994. Major refurbishments and re-displays, charitable status, huge city-wide celebrations for Tube 150 and Year of the Bus, and most recently keeping us on track during the pandemic.
Sam will continue to work with us as an author and historian so watch this space!
We ended our year with the opening of our new Global Poster Gallery. This stunning new exhibition space gives a permanent home to the story of twentieth century poster art and design in the UK.
Its opening show, How to Make a Poster, is a real celebration of commissioning, creativity, and artistic talent that reveals the evolution of design styles and techniques over more than 100 years.
The exhibition includes one of my favourite works of poster art in the Museum’s collection – Music in London - by Hans Under and Eberhard Shulze (1964). I was delighted when our team animated this image to feature as part of our festive greetings for the end of 2023. Isn’t is lovely?
So, next stop, 2024!
For now, all that remains for me to say is thank you.
Thank you for visiting. Thank you for donating. Thank you for sharing the fun you had during your visits with us. And of course, thank you for stopping by our Shop to buy a staggering 28,093 pairs of moquette socks!