24/9/2021 London Transport Museum Acton Depot

I was absolutely fascinated by the recent Secrets of the London Underground series on Yesterday TV. Some of it was filmed at London Transport's Acton Depot. I thought this looked a really interesting place - and wouldn't it be great if you could actually go there and have a look around?  Then I found out that actually you can. I put that on my list of places of interest to visit... A while later I discovered that the lovely presenter of the TV series Siddy Holloway was giving a talk at the Depot - so what better time to pay a visit?

It was very easy to get to on the tube - just one train direct from Cockfosters to Acton Town and the Depot is only a few minutes walk from the station. It's actually an outpost of the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden which holds larger items that can't fit in the smaller central London museum as well as storing a load of other stuff - much of which is accessible to the public. There are many buses and trains on display from all eras of public transport in London - some you can see in the process of restoration. But there is much more to be found here.

I loved the Yesterday TV series partly because it was so interesting, but also because it features many places which I have been to in the past - some of them quite regularly. But even the places I have been to many times are shown in a new light and some things are revealed about them that I knew nothing about. Holloway Road tube station is a place I have used countless times over the years and continue to do so. I was particularly fascinated by the first episode in the TV series as it featured Holloway Road station and revealed that the world's first and only spiral escalator was installed here! As far as I was aware there had never been an escalator at this station and access was only by the two lifts and the spiral staircase. I never knew that such a thing as a spiral escalator had ever even existed - let alone at Holloway Road! Sadly there is no trace of it to be seen at the station these days and the shaft that once housed it is now disused. It's story is told in the TV series, and the only surviving pieces of it were salvaged from the bottom of the shaft a few years ago - they can now be seen at the Depot.

It's probably of zero interest to almost everyone, but I was absolutely fascinated by this - it's my favourite thing that I saw on my visit!

Apparently although it did actually work it wasn't considered safe enough to be used by the general public so it was never put into service and eventually cut up for scrap - apart from this small part which was discovered at the bottom of the shaft many years later. You can find the full story in the TV series, but I loved being able to examine a piece of the actual thing and figure out how it worked.

I also enjoyed discovering other items from places that I know like this machine from the signal box at the now disused York Road Station on the Piccadilly Line.

I only know York Road Station from above ground and seeing the darkened disused platforms between Caledonian Road and Kings Cross as I pass through on the tube, but this station is also featured in the TV series. As well as the programme featuring Holloway Road, I also found the one about the disused Highgate Station particularly interesting.

There are many old station signs on display - some from stations I know well.

Something I found fascinating are some old signs showing the Underground network as it used to be many years ago.

It's very interesting to contrast these old Underground maps with the network as it is now.

I wasn't really bothered about all the old buses, although the chassis of an old petrol-electric bus was interesting - I didn't know such a thing ever existed. Much more of interest to me were all the old tube trains. There is also some passenger and goods rolling stock from the days of steam power. There is an old red train of the pre-war 1938 Stock which has been restored to working order and sometimes ventures out onto the modern tube network for special trips. I remember travelling in the 1938 stock on the Piccadilly and Northern lines towards the end of it's time in service. Also I found part of a set of 1930's Q Stock cars from the District Line under restoration. Two guys working on them were inviting people in to look around and see the work that was being carried out - I even got to go in the driver's cab for a look round! The guys were only too happy to explain about the work they were doing. I noticed that it seemed to be to a very high standard and some of the electric and pneumatic equipment looked like new - it turned out that some new items were being installed or upgraded, because this train is being restored to full working order and will be run on the current Underground network on special trips like the 1938 Stock has been.

There really is a great deal to see at the Depot on it's open weekends, and it's shop is very good too. However, there was another reason for my visit. I was only made aware of the Depot by the excellent Yesterday TV series Secrets of the London Underground. The series became a big hit on the station in 2021 - partly because of it's engaging and knowledgeable presenters Tim Dunn and Siddy Holloway - one of whom is giving a talk at the Depot this afternoon. Actually Siddy Holloway is giving two talks as this has proved very popular and the room they are being held in only holds 60 people. Seeing there is a huge queue for the limited capacity room an hour before the first talk is due I decide to explore the Depot instead as it looks likely I would queue for an hour and still not get in before the room was full. After enjoying looking round the Depot I manage to get in for Siddy's second talk without much trouble and luck into getting a seat in the second row from the front. The talk is aimed at fans of the TV series and tells much of the background about how it was made. We learn many things that weren't on TV, and how and why certain things could or couldn't be done. The illustrated talk is very good and it's speaker is engaging, informative, and very knowledgable with huge enthusiasm for her work. There is a Q&A session after the talk - Siddy answers most of our questions before we can even ask them. Of course the one question on everybody's lips is "Will there be another series?" Siddy certainly hopes so, and reveals that discussions with the TV company have already taken place due to the huge success of the programme. Nothing has been decided yet, and although Siddy can't confirm anything she says she thinks it is currently highly likely that there will be a second series.

It's great to end on such a positive note! I celebrate by going to a pub up the road - where I find some highly suitable ale before the long tube journey home.

A nice end to a really interesting day out - I will have to pay another visit to the Acton Depot at some point.