London Transport Museum - Engineering inspiration from London Transport Museum

 

This week is British Science Week! To celebrate this inspiring week, we are taking a look at the engineering wonders and innovations that have formed a crucial part of London's transport history, as well as giving you an insight into what we're doing to inspire the next generation of engineers.

Object of the Month Photo of Helen Clifford Our Object of the Month is this portrait shot of Helen Clifford, taken in 1986 by JA Ballard. In 1984, at the age of 18, she became London Transport's first woman bus mechanic after completing a course at West Ham garage. She was also a qualified bus driver. Discover more in our Collection

More engineering wonders from our collection... From traffic lights to computers, uniforms to rectifiers, we've got so many fascinating engineering wonders to explore in our collection. Click on the images below to learn more about these objects through our Collections Online!

Engineering wonders  Over the last 200 years, engineers have grappled with many challenges facing travel in one of the world’s busiest and most complex cities. In this story, we take a look at ten of the most significant engineering wonders and the problems they solved - from steam locomotives to a spiral escalator. 10 engineering wonders

10 significant road vehicles From a horse bus to the Chocolate Express, discover ten of the most significant road vehicles from our collection. 10 significant road vehicles Steam to green We explore some of the big transitions in London’s public transport over the last 200 years and their environmental impact. Steam to green

Inspire Engineering This week at our Depot in Acton, we're welcoming secondary school students to take part in our Inspire Engineering days to discover how important engineering is to our world in the past, present and future. After exploring our historic collection, students have the chance to interview engineers from Transport for London and Thales before putting their problem solving skills to the test as they design a city of the future.

Find out more about Inspire Engineering

See our Depot for yourself Want to discover our Depot for yourself? This enormous working museum store is an Aladdin's cave housing over 320,000 objects. Tickets are now on sale for all three events this year: April, July and September. Each event has activities for everyone to enjoy - with April's event all themed around the art of the poster.  Depot Open Days

Discover engineering wonders Did you know you can see some amazing examples of London's architecture and engineering on our Hidden London tours? From the completely subterranean station at Piccadilly Circus to the Greathead shield at Moorgate (pictured), the only one of its kind on the network, you're sure to be amazed!  Hidden London tours

Kids toys and clothing  Our shop is packed full of toys, clothing and gifts that kids love! Manage your very own little city with our wooden City of London train set, or become a London Transport Museum engineer with our exclusive high-vis vest and hard hat. You can get 10% off your first order, and every purchase helps support the Museum. Shop all kids

Activities at home Engineering activities at home Looking for fun engineering activities to do at home? Download our Going Underground card game and help solve real engineering problems; make your own robot; and design a bridge or a train with our Future Engineers inspired video tutorials - they're fun for all ages. Future Engineers activities

We're winners! We're proud to announce that we've been named Visitor Attraction of the Year at the London Tourism Awards last week! Plus our Front of House team has been shortlisted in this year’s Museum + Heritage Awards. Why not come and see our award-winning day out for yourself? Plan your visit

We recommend... Old City Hall: A Virtual Experience with the New York Transit Museum

In 1904, New York City’s first subway ride left from the City Hall station amidst great civic pride. The station featured innovative vaulted tile ceilings, elegant chandeliers, leaded skylights, and graceful curves. Join the New York Transit Museum online for a digital discussion diving into the creation of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, early subway construction, and the City Beautiful movement that led to that momentous day. In this virtual experience, you'll look closely at the decorative flourishes of the decommissioned station with historic photographs from the Museum's collection, maps, architectural drawings, and photos of the station today. Book now