Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
A view of Brașov’s Old Town.
Romania • 12 days, 11 nights
Legends of Romania: Castles, Ruins & Culinary Delights
from
Balkans road trip
Bosnia and Herzegovina • 9 days, 8 nights
Balkans Road Trip: Serbia, Croatia & Bosnia and Herzegovina
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Stonehaven Boardwalk Sculptures
Leather belts running from the generator to the fans on the top floor.
Heritance Tea Factory
Yamataka Jindai Zakura
Ñaño house with mausoleum skull in foreground.
Ñaño Casa Museo
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
L’Escamoteur
Names on the bartop.
The Dive
Cacio e pepe lasagna combines two classics.
C'è Pasta... E Pasta!
Spaghetto taratatà is named for the sound of rattling sabers.
Giano Restaurant
The gnocchi here get blanketed in a sugo with braised oxtail.
Cesare al Pellegrino
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
This event showcasing the bounty of the Traverse City region’s amazing agriculture, craft, and creativity culminates with a Grand Tasting on August 23.
The Atlas Obscura Guide to Traverse City’s Event Season
about 2 hours ago
She’ll get you and your little dog too.
Dear Atlas: Where Can I Explore Witch History Without the Kitsch?
about 3 hours ago
How to Turn Your Road Trip Into a Nature Scavenger Hunt
about 3 hours ago
Graceland Cemetery.
Prowling for Coyotes in Chicago’s Graceland Cemetery
about 4 hours ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United Kingdom England London London Transport Museum Depot
AO Edited

London Transport Museum Depot

The majority of the museum's large collection is held in a storage space open to the public a few times a year.

London, England

Added By
srfmoyle2010
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
A look inside the Depot.   Ian Taylor
A look inside the Depot.   Ian Taylor
The London Museum of Transport’s Depot, an off-site storage space for the Museum’s collection.   Ewan Munro
Some of the vehicles on display at the Depot.   Mark Percy
A London Underground map from 1910 displayed at the Depot.   Ian Taylor
  Snowdrop68 / Atlas Obscura User
  Snowdrop68 / Atlas Obscura User
  Snowdrop68 / Atlas Obscura User
  Snowdrop68 / Atlas Obscura User
  Snowdrop68 / Atlas Obscura User
  Snowdrop68 / Atlas Obscura User
  Snowdrop68 / Atlas Obscura User
  Snowdrop68 / Atlas Obscura User
  Snowdrop68 / Atlas Obscura User
  Snowdrop68 / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Ordinarily a tour of a storage facility wouldn't be all that exciting. But the storage facility of London's Museum of Transport is something entirely different. The museum depot holds the 90 percent of the transport museum's collection that is not on display—a mishmash of some 320,000 items showing the history of London's transportation system.

Open to the public just twice a year, the nearly 65,000 square feet storage space gives a behind-the-scenes look at the museum's collection, its curation process, and its preservation. There, curators and volunteers catalog and conserve objects from the collection, which shows the evolution of urban transportation over the last 150 years.

Tours of the facility give an up-close look at the museum's poster collection, filled with transportation posters created by notable artists such as Man Ray and Edward McKnight Kauffer; its vehicle collection, including a restored 1938 Tube train; and a look at the design process involved in creating signage for the transit system.

The Museum of Transport describes the depot as providing "a living link of how London itself has evolved since the early 19th century." The story of how a city moves, how it gets its citizens from place-to-place, and the evolution of those methods is all part of a much larger story of technology, art, and industry in the European metropolis. 

Related Tags

Museums Transportation Design Trains Subways Art Technology Museums And Collections

Know Before You Go

Depot "Open Weekends" are held thrice a year, typically around April, July, and September. Guided tours are also available, must be pre-booked. Cost is £12.

Community Contributors

Added By

srfmoyle2010

Edited By

erjeffery, zydeko, Xoan, Snowdrop68...

  • erjeffery
  • zydeko
  • Xoan
  • Snowdrop68
  • Ashawnta

Published

October 18, 2017

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://www.timeout.com/london/museums/london-transport-museum
London Transport Museum Depot
118-120 Gunnersbury Lane
Acton Town
London, England
United Kingdom
51.504703, -0.281223
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

'Treatment Rooms' Mosaic House

London, England

miles away

Horizon Insects

London, England

miles away

The London Museum of Water & Steam

London, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of London

London

England

Places 536
Stories 109

Nearby Places

'Treatment Rooms' Mosaic House

London, England

miles away

Horizon Insects

London, England

miles away

The London Museum of Water & Steam

London, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of London

London

England

Places 536
Stories 109

Related Places

  • Art Nouveau Vestibule

    Prague, Czechia

    Prague Hlavni Nadrazi Vestibule

    A historic and beautiful Art Nouveau chamber in a historic railway station.

  • Inside the museum.

    Cuernavaca, Mexico

    Museo Robert Brady

    An incredible little museum of interior design full of artifacts collected from around the world.

  • The corridor that connects the two hallways.

    Madrid, Spain

    Carpetana Metro Station Museum

    Replicas of fossils unearthed during renovation work reveal how this area would have looked millions of years ago.

  • Toledo Art Station of the Naples Metro.

    Naples, Italy

    Toledo Art Station

    This shining multicolored metro station deep under Naples is said to be the most beautiful in Europe.

  • Snowplow engine.

    Edmonton, Alberta

    Alberta Railway Museum

    Ride aboard a centuries-year-old steam engine and explore dozens of trains parts, including an unusual "comboose."

  • Kungsträdgården metro station.

    Stockholm, Sweden

    Kungsträdgården Metro Station

    Stockholm's deepest subway station is also a stunning ecological wonder.

  • Tracked Levitated Research Vehicle.

    Pueblo, Colorado

    Forgotten Grumman TLRV

    A futuristic hovertrain is parked unceremoniously alongside a nondescript road.

  • An antique bike.

    Bailleau-Armenonville, France

    Musée Ateliers des Pionniers

    A small museum of antique transport that's a must-see for bicycle lovers.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.