London Transport Museum closing soon - wanna visit?

[mango5]

It's closing for an 18 month refurbishment at the end of August, so I'm going to be indulging in a little nostalgia this Saturday afternoon 20th August.

If any of youse fancy joining me, I'll be in the Chandos Pub (St. Martin's Lane) from 1pm aiming to be at the musuem for 2.

mmm buses

:)

[lizzieloo]

I like the London Transport Museum

You can drive a tube train :)





Sort of.

[comstock]

18 months!

That's some revamp! What they doing?

[bluestreak]

Whitewashing the walls, but they've put Railtrack in charge of it so it takes 18 months, cost 12 millions quid and will result in 13 deaths.

[bluestreak]

and four injuries.

[bluestreak]

there will subesquently be seven enquiries....

[bluestreak]

that will result in nine arrests and end the career of at least one politician.

[bluestreak]

and you'll still be able to see the old colours underneath.

[wiskey]

i've always wanted to go to this

and i'm working this weekend

that sucks

[Phototropic]

That museum proper rules :cool:

[Donna Ferentes]

Is that the one just round from King's Cross? I've not been there, but there's an enormous and offensive gated development just down the street.

[Phototropic]

Is that the one just round from King's Cross? I've not been there, but there's an enormous and offensive gated development just down the street.

Nah off Covent Garden.

Or is there more than one :confused:

[Mrs Magpie]

This thread really alarmed me till i saw the magic word 'refurbishment'

[lang rabbie]

It's also probably the last chance to see many of the exhibits in daylight. :(

As I understand it, one of the reasons for the long closure and a bill approaching £13million for the work is the need to replace much of the single glazed roof with something opaque to reduce the solar gain that is literally frying the paintwork :eek: on some older vehicles in the collection.

[mango5]

I wonder if they'll increase access to collections at the depot in Acton. There's an open weekend there at the end of October. Might be worth a geeky trip.

[Cadmus]

Do they already have the Tavistock Sq No 30 bus there?

[Donna Ferentes]

Real hardcore transport fans will surely have already visited the Bus Museum at Long Hanborough. Rabbie?

[lang rabbie]

Real hardcore transport fans will surely have already visited the Bus Museum at Long Hanborough. Rabbie?

Never heard of it. I've never spotted a train, bus or tram in my life. :)

That doesn't mean I can't write at length, and too often in terms worthy of Pseud's Corner :o , about:
(i) public transport systems as the creators of the "modern" city - both architecture and sociology, and
(ii) the advent of the car as its nemesis leading to the disintegrating physical form and social structures of today.

And ANYONE can see that the Routemaster is a better piece of industrial design/"moving street architecture" than a bendy bus! ;)

[Mrs Magpie]

Although they are not wheelchair accessible I know people with disabilities (eg very bad backs, brittle bones as two examples) who prefer Routemasters because all the modern buses are very 'jolty'.

[butterfly child]

Although they are not wheelchair accessible I know people with disabilities (eg very bad backs, brittle bones as two examples) who prefer Routemasters because all the modern buses are very 'jolty'.

I'd have thought that was more to do with crap driving?

[mae]

Damn :( I'm gonna miss this & I've been wanting to go for YEARS & never got round to it.

18 months is ages.

[Onket]

Has anyone been recently? A colleague went recently & said that some of the exhibits had already been closed down.

I might go this weekend actually. Been meaning to for ages.

[mango5]

Erm, yes. We went on Saturday and very good fun it was too. No obvious closures. I think it closes on 5th September for the refurb.

[Onket]

Erm, yes. We went on Saturday and very good fun it was too. No obvious closures. I think it closes on 5th September for the refurb.

So you did go! Good news about the closures. I think I am going to try to get down there this weekend then. Was it busy?

[lang rabbie]

Unless you are bringing your own young 'uns*, you might want to get there in advance of the final week 29 August - 5 July when "Bob the Builder™" will be in residence every day. I hear the museum staff are expecting to be inundated with five to eight year olds.


* or following years of student/slacker watching of daytime TV, you just have a desperate need to be photographed with Bob! ;)

[Major Tom]

I like the London Transport Museum

You can drive a tube train :)





Sort of.

i drove one for real once - on a little bit of test track down at Ealing :cool:

[Cadmus]

As it closes today, here's a little something (http://rapidshare.de/files/4711222/LTM.wmv.html) (scroll down, chose Free download) for those who didn't get a chance to visit (warning: 23.3 MB download, WMV file, not many spoilers inside)

p.s. notice the tacky dolls!! features Bob the Builder too!!

[JWH]

Donna, are you thinking of London Canal Museum on York Way?

[Onket]

As it closes today

Bugger. I'd forgotten about this.

:mad:

[citydreams]

The depot is still open.. Would be happy to see how many people I could get in on my staff pass.

http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/depot.html

[mango5]

This is the one with an open day in October. Was considering visiting. Have you been there?

[citydreams]

Not yet. I'll give 'em a phone now.

[citydreams]

Well, the bloke on the end of the phone wasn't able to tell me if we could book as a group for the October Open Day (29th October). Also, at the moment it seems that there are no guided tours available as part of the open day so we wouldn't have access to the whole collection.

I've got an email contact I'm going to give a try.

[citydreams]

Well, we can't book as a group and they won't give a staff discount.

[mango5]

poo

[1927]

Never been to Covent Garden,but i did many years ago see much of the collection when it was originally in Clapham.

[lang rabbie]

Never been to Covent Garden,but i did many years ago see much of the collection when it was originally in Clapham.

In a former bus garage - now the site of Sainsbury's - along with a lot of what later became the National Railway Museum at York.

Edited to add: image links deleted, as Science Musuem photo library links no longer work directly :mad:

Try this link for exterior (http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10449424&wwwflag=2&imagepos=5), this one for interior (http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10449425&wwwflag=2&imagepos=6)
and this one for poster (http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10171114&wwwflag=2&imagepos=3)

[1927]

In a former bus garage along with a lot of what later became the National Railway Museum at York.

Yeah I remember that,in fact one of the things about the museunm in Clapham was a platform ticket machine that took old happennys and you had to buy them from the shop cos they had just been taken out of circulation so i guess it would have been about 1971!

[citydreams]

The next guided walk around the London Transport Depot is on Saturday the 26th November, at either 11:00 or 14:00. It costs about a tenner, but there's more open to the public than the open house weekends. Booking in advance is advised.

[mango5]

Anyone else up for this?

[Maggot]

I'm up for it. :)

[marty21]

we went to the museum at the last bank holiday, alas it was "bob the builder" day, so we were the only people who didn't bring kids....we didn't stay as long as we planned to, we'll go again when there's less little darlings there :)