Miniature Tube Trains, Wapping Shafts & Red Buses - Open Weekend at London Transport Museum Depot - 10th - 11th March 2012

Definitely one for your diary. There's a fun filled time to be had at one of the popular London Transport Museum Depot, Acton open weekends on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 March 2012. It's one of the rare times you'll see the London Underground run like clockwork, as model train layouts are exhibited by professional and amateur modellers. Displayed in various sizes and scales, and in intricate detail, the display covers all modes of London travel from Underground trains to trams.


Lego tube by jemimahknight
In addition to pretending you're a giant amongst all of the model trains there is a fantastic collection of  over 370,000 objects at the Museum Depot, which includes road and rail vehicles, posters and artworks, engineering drawings, signs and ephemera.


You can also go on a curator led tours of the small object store, ride on the Depot’s miniature railway, which features steam and electric trains and take a trip on full size heritage vehicles. The Wootton Electric Tramway, has been brought over especially from the Isle of Wight, and will carry visitors along its own tracks around the Depot powered by overhead electric wiring.


Miniature steam train by johnzebedee
Plus there's a series of talks over the weekend. The puntastic Robert Hulse, Director of the Brunel Museum, will give a talk entitled "Victorian Engineering at its best" on Saturday 10 March 2012 at 12.30pm and 3.00pm. He'll discus the famous Victorian Father and son engineers Marc and Isambard Brunel whose best known achievement was the Thames Tunnel, the world’s first under water tunnel.


On Sunday 11 March 2012 it's the turn of buses.  At 12.30pm and 3.00pm, Roger Torode, author of the newly published book Midland Red Style (written in partnership with Malcolm Keeley), will be talking about the Midland Red bus’ style, engineering and design along with the bus’ surprising life with London Transport. Roger will also be signing copies of his book and answering bus related questions.


Midland Red 6249 WHA249H by AndrewHA
Book tickets as soon as you can as these are seriously very popular weekends and the queue to get in is normally very long.


Wootton Electric Tramway by johnzebedee
Tickets cover both Saturday & Sunday and cost £10.00 for adults, £8.00 for senior citizens, £6.50 concessions and £5.00 London Transport Museum Friends. Accompanied children under 16 get in free.

I'll be there (with Jemimah Knight) geeking out over the mini Tubes and some of the wonderful signs and ephemera. Plus it will be a great opportunity to hear Robert Hulse speak again and I'll time how long it takes him to make a pun about Wapping Shafts.

Update - here's my blog post of my visit to the Museum Depot on Saturday 10th March

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