A chance spot on the Ian Visits newsletter presented me with the chance to tick off somewhere I've always wanted to visit, but never found the time - Acton Depot. Home to the bulk of the London Transport artefacts collection.
The depot doesn't host that many open days, and by chance this time it was a Friday/Saturday session, so I quickly booked the end of the week off work, and bought myself a ticket. Weirdly, this works better for me than weekends, which are in short supply at this time of year.
Entry is timed, but they were pretty relaxed about this, letting me in an hour early. I wasn't sure how long it would take me to cross town, less than expected thanks to an efficient underground system!
The depot is big. Eight platforms of underground (not just tube) trains, plus buses and a couple of trams. Plus half a million smaller items apparently.
It was all a bit "woah!" to start with. I needed three circuits to get my head around it properly. I won't claim to be any sort of LT expert, but I can respect the work that goes into restoring these things.
My favourite though, has to be a battery loco.
Mainly because they are ugly workhorses, but also because I built a model of one years ago as a magazine project. This loco is still in "as used" condition, and all the better for it. I've only ever seen these from a distance before, and so loved the chance to get up close.
A trip up on the mezzanine saw me with another item that I have a tiny connection with.
I often look at maps and find myself fascinated by places, and in the 1990s, one end of the tube map showed a place called "Ongar". I knew nothing about it, and there wasn't an internet to consult quickly, but when I read in Railway Magazine that services were to be abandoned, I took a day off my job at the Ministry of Agriculture, and hopped on a train.
Ongar is Chipping Ongar, and the ride included an awful lot of countryside. Riding on an underground train through this was fascinating, and a bit weird. I spent a couple of hours wandering around and caught the train back into the smoke. The line closed in September 1994, and is now run by the Epping Ongar Railway.
As a day out, it was well worth it. Not somewhere I feel the need to go regularly, but I hope to be back one day. If you've not been, add it to the list.
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