London Transport Museum

On Wednesday I headed over to the London Transport Museum. It was a museum that I had wanted to go to the last time I was in London, only they were closed for a renovation. So, I headed over there now to check it out!
Other than the fact that the models are kind of creepy, just imagine getting carried around in one of those. It's pretty dang tiny.

These are called a sedan chair. Remember on my Eccentric London walk I was saying how the doors needed to be wide enough to allow a sedan chair to go right into the house - this was what I was talking about.

They were first introduced in London in the 17th century and were still in use on the streets of London in the 1800s.

As a side, did you know that it wasn't until 1835 when a law was introduced to keep traffic to the left? Before that, it didn't matter what side you were on - that must've been a pain!

As well, did you know that most of London's rapid expansion in the 19th century was completely unstructures and thus unplanned. Cities like Paris and Vienna had a very structured expansion plan. That may be why London can be such a mish-mash of roads and alleys.

Here's a lovely little green trolley. The horses' mouths moved and they talked when you walked by - kind of creepy.

This is a little diorama of how they used to vent the steam from steam engines when they ran on the underground. I can't imagine that its a very pleasent experience to have steam from the engine flying into the street.

This is engine number 23. It is the only locomotive to survive from the early days of the underground. It was built in 1866. When the passenger services were electrified in 1905, this engine was kept for the engeineers' trains.

Here is the inside of a first-class part of one of the first underground trains. Looks cozy, hey?

Hows about this?! You got £875? Now all you need is a time machine and for a mere £25 downpayment you can own this house. Damn. If only.

They appear to be big on the fake people in this museum. Creepy. Here is the inside of a london underground train, circa what would seem to be the 1960s. Oddly enough, they kept this decor pretty much straight through until the 90s.

A couple of old school buses and trolleys!

Here's another did you know! Did you know that Hampstead Tube Station is the deepest underground station at 192 feet. In other words, its a third deep as the Calgary Tower is tall. Got it? Yeah...

Did you know that the first 'moving staircase' or 'escalator' was put into Earl's Court tube station in 1911? However, in 1987 at King's Cross station, 31 people died when a discarded cigarette ignited dirt and grease that had built up under an escalator. Only after that did they ban smoking on the underground. (Can you imagine how gross it must've been for people to smoke down there? It already smells!)
Here's another one of the lovely posters that the London Underground puts up to remind us of how running on an escalator can lead to injury.

Here's another lovely reminder that buzzes whenever you walk over their makeshift rails. Yes, there is a current that runs through the rails. Don't step on them, and don't pee on them.

Here are some more buses!

All in all the museum was a lot of fun. Unfortunately this wasn't one of the free museums in London, so it did cost me £5, but I think it was worth it.