The London Transport Museum...

Today saw our first visit to the London Transport Museum in bustling Covent Garden. We were in the capital for a concert later on in the evening and so decided to fill our time by visiting a couple of attractions during the day. After an hour or so at the amazing Freddie Mercury exhibition at Sotheby's, we made our way across the city to Covent Garden for our 3pm timed entry slot. In the past we've always missed the London Transport Museum, although I've always been determined to eventually find time to visit. This museum, located right in central Covent Garden, was opened in 1980 and includes a pleasant exhibition space spanning three floors. After making our way in via the entrance hall, we made our way up to the third level where this 1882 Stephenson horse tram caught my eye. It seems so obvious when we think of it now but back then it must have been a huge step forward to have a rail mounted tram instead of cart wheels. I'm certain the horses would have found it easier to pull than a carriage...

Making our way down to the second level we found what I consider to be the pièce de résistance of the museum: Metropolitan Railway A Class No23 of 1866. This remarkable sole survivor was one of a batch of 66 locomotives built by Beyer Peacock for the Metropolitan between 1864 and 1869. Amazingly, it survived in service until 1948, ending its career on engineering trains. Today, 4-4-0 No23 and 0-4-4 Met No1 (based at Quainton Road) are the only two surviving ex-Metropolitan steam locomotives. It was interesting to study the condensing gear fitted to the exhaust steam pipes on No23. The lever, driven from the cab, would alter the direction of the exhaust steam away from the blast pipe and reroute it to the water tanks where it would be condensed. This would aid both conditions and visibility when working underground...

Though the condensing gear was a good plan in principle, it had a few drawbacks. One was that the exhaust gases entering the water tanks would heat up the water to the point that live steam injectors would no longer pick up (these preferring a cold water feed). The solution was to fit two large water pumps between the frames, driven from the motion of the moving locomotive, allowing the boiler to be topped up...

Another issue was that the locomotive would no longer have a positive vacuum in the smokebox, therefore the fire would no longer be drawn through the tubes, reducing efficiency and increasing the risk of a blowback. From what I've read about engines with condensing gear, the planned efficiency never came to fruition as what was saved by condensing the exhaust was lost by the lack of vacuum drawing more heat into the boiler tubes. Below can be seen the open cab of No23 which includes just a spectacle plate for crew protection. The engine's designers felt it wouldn't need a cab if it was working in a tunnel so didn't provide it with one!...

Despite the elderly nature of the engine, most of the cab fittings were reminiscent of much younger machines and it was easy to pick out the controls. What a lovely old thing and how very interesting. She definitely deserves pride of place in the museum and it was a pleasure to see her today. Alongside No23 was the slightly younger electric locomotive No5 "John Hampden", of 1922 vintage. These powerful 1200hp machines came along to help with the ever growing requirements of the Metropolitan and this one was built along with 19 others across 1922-23. Most of the class remained in service until loco haulage ended on the Metropolitan in 1961. Today, only No5 and No12 "Sarah Siddons" survive, with the latter being in operational condition...

Leaving the two Metropolitan locomotives on the second level, we wandered down to the ground floor where the rest of the exhibits awaited us. I couldn't help but grab this rushed shot of the impressive main exhibition area...

Though the Metropolitan Railway holds the title of the world's first underground railway, the honour of being the first electric underground railway goes to the City & South London Railway. This 1890-built little locomotive and it's 'padded cell' style coach are the only surviving vehicles from this pioneer electric railway. They were withdrawn from service in 1922. It's important to remember that they paved the way for the system that London depends so greatly upon today. What a great little survivor...

With all the recent talk of ULEZ it's amazing to think how far ahead of their time the electric trolleybuses were. Here is an example of one in the LTM...

Across the way from the trolleybus were these two fine conventional buses. It's always a pleasure to see vintage vehicles like this, particularly the AEC Routemaster which has cemented its place in London transport culture...

After a pleasant hour or two and a look in the gift shop, we left the museum in search of a Covent Garden restaurant. If you haven't been to the London Transport Museum before then I would recommend it. I'm glad to have finally ticked it off after many years planning to. Cheers all and thanks for reading, Sam...