London Transport Museum will host its first Depot open days event of 2026, ‘Icons of London,‘ from 9 to 12 April, inviting the public to go behind the scenes of its working collection store in Acton Town, West London. Guests can explore a transport treasure trove that’s only open to the public on select dates throughout the year.
The event celebrates a year of milestones: 120 years of the Bakerloo line, 120 years of the Piccadilly line and 70 years since the Routemaster first took to London’s streets. Visitors will be able to discover the Museum’s collection of more than 320,000 objects not on display in the Covent Garden Museum and uncover transport figures that have shaped the capital’s identity.
Across all four days visitors can enjoy a line-up of talks from curators, historians and experts from the transport industry and take part in a variety of hands-on family activities inspired by this year’s anniversaries. Guests will also be able to get up close to objects in the collection and watch live demonstrations of historic equipment.
Alongside the programme, visitors can climb aboard historic trains such as the 1927 standard stock and 1938 stock, get up close to the pioneering RM1 and RM2 buses, and explore rare signalling equipment, models, maps, station architecture, and the Museum’s world-renowned art and poster collection.
The Depot open days programme includes:
A programme of talks (select days and times)
- Icons of London: Art on the Underground with curator Jessie Krish
An exploration of how landmark artworks have shaped the visual identity of the Tube, marking the launch of the new Art Map (Thursday)
- Building an icon: The Thames Tunnel with the Brunel Museum’s Helen Bannigan
A look at how the world’s first underwater tunnel became a Victorian tourist sensation and helped to launch Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s career (Thursday)
- Mind the medal with curator Henry Flynn
A journey through London’s transport history told through its smallest treasures. Medals and badges uncover stories of early transport pioneers, wartime bravery and milestones in London’s transport network (Saturday)
- Secrets of the Bakerloo line with Chris Nix and Siddy Holloway
An exploration of 120 years of the Bakerloo line from its beginnings as the Baker Street & Waterloo Railway to its surprising extensions, hidden spaces and enduring quirks (Saturday)
- The meridian and the metropolis: Greenwich, London, and the British Empire with curator Sam Carter
An examination of Greenwich’s global significance, tracing its path from maritime powerhouse to modern transport hub and exploring icons like the Royal Observatory and the creation of the DLR (Sunday)
- Rail shed talks: a history of the Underground in 10 minutes
A whistle-stop introduction to the history of the Underground. Led by one of the Museum’s knowledgeable volunteers, this talk gives a lively overview of the world’s first underground railway (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
Activities for families and big kids (select days and times)
- Design and colour a Routemaster badge to take home, using the iconic Routemaster bus as a template (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
- Make and take a pop-up picture celebrating 120 years of the Piccadilly line, using simple pop-up techniques (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
- Test your knowledge of a variety of famous past and present moquette patterns (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
- Sit aboard on an iconic rail vehicle and take part in a quiz of all things London Transport (spaces available on a first-come, first-served basis, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
- Join intrepid storyteller Olivia Armstrong for an interactive storytelling adventure along the Bakerloo Line to celebrate its 120th birthday (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
Heritage demonstrations, displays and stalls (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
- Try out some of the ticket machines and tickets from the Museum’s collection at the object handling trolley
- Learn more about the Museum’s heritage train signalling equipment with live demonstrations
- Find out more about supporting London’s transport heritage by visiting the London Transport Museum Friends desk
Other activities
- Visit the Museum Depot shop for exclusive gifts and souvenirs – from moquette pattern socks, scarves, and cushions, to posters, prints, and authentic Tube station signs and collectables
- Enjoy tasty food and drinks from Mini Bean Coffee, Well Nice Fish and Chips and Crepe Salute
- Experience music out in the Yard to celebrate TfL’s Busking Scheme, first introduced in 2003
Book in advance online at ltmuseum.co.uk.
