Engineering stories
Introduction
Over the last 200 years, engineers have grappled with numerous challenges associated with travel in one of the world’s busiest and most complex cities.
Explore the marvels of engineering that have kept Londoners moving - from buses and trains to escalators and ticket machines.
Discover more through our collection
Stories
Our Metropolitan Railway coach dates from 1900. Read more about one of a group of coaches designed to be hauled by steam locomotives on the Metropolitan Railway.
Our West Ham Corporation electric tram dates from 1910. Learn how electric trams operated in London from the early 1900s to the 1950s.
As well as the red bus, the other iconic vehicle of London’s streets is the black cab. Read a short history of the Carbodies FX4S Plus taxi.
From 'safety bicycles' in the late 1800s to the familiar red Santander cycles on the roads today today, discover the history of cycling in London
Read about some of the big transitions in London’s public transport over the last 200 years and their environmental impact.
Learn more about ten vehicles at the Museum Depot with some kind of ‘green’ story to tell.
Read more about the abandoned tunnels of an Underground station that has lain incomplete for over a century.
Winter weather presents numerous challenges for a public transport system, from snow on the tracks to icy roads and station platforms. Learn how LT kept London moving in winter.
Vernon Robertson was a senior engineer in the transport sector whose career was punctuated by war. Learn how he served as London Transport’s most senior engineer, overseeing the company’s engineering activities during the Blitz.
Here we focus on ten road vehicles that have interesting stories to tell about how travel in the capital has changed.
Ten significant engineering wonders of London’s transport history and the problems they solved, some more successfully than others! All can be seen at the Museum’s sites.
Here we focus on ten significant and unusual rail vehicles that have interesting stories to tell about how travel in the capital has changed.
Other stories
Tom Eckersley: master graphic designer and king of collage. Read more about an influential poster designer with a distinctive style.
Our Metropolitan Railway coach dates from 1900. Read more about one of a group of coaches designed to be hauled by steam locomotives on the Metropolitan Railway.
Our West Ham Corporation electric tram dates from 1910. Learn how electric trams operated in London from the early 1900s to the 1950s.
Our Leyland X2 type bus was one of the ‘first generation’ of motorbuses to run on London’s streets. Learn more about one of the earliest surviving motorbuses in the country.
Abram Games was among the most influential poster designers of his generation. Learn more about his commissions for London Transport.
Edward McKnight Kauffer made his name as a master of poster design in the UK. Read more about the star designer of LT's posters.
As well as the red bus, the other iconic vehicle of London’s streets is the black cab. Read a short history of the Carbodies FX4S Plus taxi.
London’s public transport system is known the world over. Learn how and why posters were first commissioned by the Underground.
Learn about LT's advertising across history, from enamel signs in the late nineteenth century to digital screens in the twenty-first
Hans Unger was one of the UK’s most important post-war graphic designers. Explore Unger’s lively and varied LT posters.
Since 2004, London Underground have commissioned a variety of British and international artists to create covers for their pocket Tube maps, representing one of the largest public art commissions in the UK.
A look back on the occasions when King Charles visited and travelled on London’s transport network.
Browse more stories by category
From the logo to the map and posters to moquette, London’s transport design is known across the world. Discover the stories behind them here.
Read about all of London's modes of transport from riverboats in the 1800s to Tube trains, buses, bicycles and even cable cars of today
Discover the fascinating stories of the people behind London’s transport – including directors, drivers, canteen workers, architects and designers.
London’s transport played an extraordinary part in both world wars. Find out more about the efforts of staff at home and overseas.
