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Events at the Depot

Our Depot is only open for special events.

Explore our transport treasure trove with one of our guided tours or at an Open Day. Find out more about our upcoming Depot events by clicking on the links below!

Depot guided tours, including private tours, are currently available to book up until Sunday 31 March 2024.

Cab It!

Date(s)
Multiple dates from Saturday 11 May 2024 to Saturday 25 May 2024

Get into the driver’s seat! Guided by our specialist volunteers, experience an Underground train from the driver’s cab and explore a variety of static vehicles built between 1930 and 1983 – including the Museum’s 1938 Tube stock.

Close up of the front of a train in the Depot

Depot Open Days: London by Design

Date(s)
Multiple dates from Friday 26 April 2024 to Sunday 28 April 2024

Join us for three days celebrating the history of London Transport design, and explore our collections store with its treasure trove of over 320,000 objects.  

Racks displaying roundel signs for Hammersmith, Aldwych and more

Depot Open Days: From Past to Present

Date(s)
Multiple dates from Friday 5 July 2024 to Sunday 7 July 2024

Join us at the Museum Depot in Acton, west London to discover the story of transport past and present, imagine what a green future could look like for London, and explore this treasure trove of over 320,000 objects.  

A photo of people walking between buses in the Acton Depot bus shed. Red buses on the right and Green and yellow buses on the left.

Depot Open Days: Connecting the Capital

Date(s)
Multiple dates from Thursday 19 September 2024 to Sunday 22 September 2024

Tubes, trams, bicycles, buses and cable cars have all played their part helping people navigate London. Discover almost 200 years of transport history in our collections store, with its treasure trove of over 320,000 objects.  

Child walking in to historic Underground train carriage painted red

Design icons tours

Date(s)
Multiple dates from Saturday 13 April 2024 to Saturday 17 August 2024

Discover the stories – and the people – behind some of London’s most enduring designs. From the iconic roundel and font to Harry Beck’s pioneering Underground map.

A mounted old tube map

About the Depot

The Museum Depot at Acton holds the majority of the Museum’s collections which are not on display in the main Museum in Covent Garden.

It is only open to the public for special events including our Open Weekends (held three times a year) and for pre-booked guided tours (held on some Fridays and Saturdays).

Also at the Depot is the London Transport Miniature Railway - a working miniature railway based on real London Underground locomotives, carriages, signals and signs. Discover more about our miniature railway here.

Did you know

When our Depot first opened on its rail-connected site on 14 October 1999, it was the first museum store in the UK to be specifically designed with regular public access in mind - part warehouse, part rail depot, part workshop, part education space!

Facts about the Depot

The Depot houses over 320,000 items of all types, including many original works of art used for the Museum’s celebrated poster collection, vehicles, signs, models, photographs, engineering drawings and uniforms. Together these form one of the most comprehensive and important records of urban transport anywhere in the world.

The Depot’s main purpose is to act as a working museum store. It provides 6000 square metres of storage space in secure, environmentally controlled conditions. Here our curators and volunteers work to catalogue and conserve objects to preserve our heritage for future generations.

Two rows of roundel signs in the Depot
A men and two children walking by a red tube train
Three girls standing on the top deck of a heritage bus

Top things to see at the Depot

To mark the Depot’s 20th birthday in 2019, we chose our top 20 don’t-miss objects that you have to see when you visit! Check them out through our Google Arts and Culture story below.

Getting Here

Where to find us

2 Museum Way
118-120 Gunnersbury Ln

Acton
London

W3 9BQ

what3words: riots.flows.spends

By Underground

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

By Bicycle

There is some bicycle parking at the Depot.

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.

Plan your Journey

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

Event information

Find the answers to common questions about the Depot below.

  • When can I visit?

    Our Depot is only open for special events: Guided Tours and Open Days.

    Please ensure you have a ticket before travelling to the Depot.

  • When should I arrive for my event?

    Please arrive 15 minutes before the time of your Guided Tour, or on the stated time of your ticket for Open Days.

  • Can I get on the vehicles?

    Our Depot is a working store and restoration centre, to which we allow special access to our visitors during tours and Open Days.

    There are certain areas to which access cannot be permitted, marked by signage or barriers. Please do not go into these areas; if in doubt please speak to a member of LTM staff.

    Some vehicles are open to public access and you’ll either be led by your guide (during a tour) or will be manned by our team of staff and volunteers (on Open Days0 who will be able to answer any questions you may have.

    The cabs of the vehicles are out of bounds at all times.

    Please do not touch the objects on display, unless specifically invited to do so as part of one of the activities on offer.

  • Is the Depot accessible?

    The Museum Depot is fully accessible to wheelchair users, however due to the nature of the collection not all vehicles are accessible.

    Inside the Depot there are ramps and wheelchair platforms to some areas.

    Whilst we take every care to eliminate all possible trip hazards, there are rail tracks and grooves set in the floor which may not be suitable for those with a visual impairment or general mobility concerns.

    Only service animals are permitted inside the Depot building.

    Accessible toilet facilities are available on the ground floor. 

    Parking spaces at the Museum Depot are limited. During open weekends, parking is only available to blue badge holders, on a first come first served basis.

  • Is there a cloakroom?

    Yes, limited cloakroom facilities are provided free of charge.

    All large bags and backpacks, tripods and scooters must be left in the cloakroom. As a guide, bags exceeding 20 x 25cm in length and width will not be allowed into the Depot; our cloakroom staff will advise whether your bag is suitable to be taken into the building or not when you arrive.

    This area will not be supervised so items left here will be at your own risk.

  • Can I eat and drink in the Depot?

    No food or drink is allowed inside the Depot building, except for still bottled water. 

    During Open Days, there will be a picnic area and catering available to the back of the Depot building.

Explore the Museum Depot

Explore the Depot on three open weekends each year. Discover rare road and rail vehicles spanning over 100 years, signs, ceramic tiles, original posters, ephemera, ticket machines, and more.

People walking between trains at the Acton Depot

Go behind the scenes on a guided tour at our working Depot in Acton and explore the treasure trove of items from our collection.

A group of people between red and green buses at the Depot

The London Transport Miniature Railway is a working miniature railway based on real London Underground locomotives, carriages, signals and signs. It is located at our Museum Depot in Acton and is open for rides only during our Open Days.

A family on a miniature railway vehicle at the Museum Depot