Working with the Q stock restoration team

May Half Term: Routes and Roundels

Join us during May Half term to celebrate the iconic London transport roundel. Follow a trail around the Museum galleries to discover its history, create your very own design and enjoy storytelling sessions for little ones.

Down Street: Churchill's secret station

Experience the Railway Executive Committee’s bomb-proof headquarters during World War II, the warren of tunnels where Churchill sheltered.

Plan your school visit

Find the information you need to plan and book your visit to London Transport Museum in Covent Garden or the London Transport Museum Depot in Acton, west London.

Having taken early retirement after 29 years as Curator at a national aviation museum in October 2018, I had in mind two particular volunteering opportunities to give my retirement some structure whilst following my interests in transport history and developing new social networks. After nearly three decades mostly ‘Flying a Desk’ I was keen to get my hands dirty with some practical work.

I started my ‘pre-retirement planning’ by joining the London Transport Museum Friends in May 2018, then I joined the Epping Ongar Railway Volunteer Society, and finally my chance to get involved with London Transport Museum came in late 2019 when I applied for a role as Restoration Volunteer for the Q Stock restoration project.

A vintage tube train covered in graffiti — Andy and fellow ‘Q Stockers’ Frank and Peter commencing graffiti removal on 4416 immediately after its movement into the main shed at Acton, April 2022.

I started volunteering at the Museum Depot in Acton in late January 2020 and my first task was to assist with stripping down and rebuilding contactor units on the 1930s Q stock cars being restored. My work however ended soon after when the world shut down on 17 March 2020 due to the Covid pandemic and all volunteering at Acton and Covent Garden was paused.

We resumed work when the pandemic abated in August 2021. Since then, I seem to have developed something of a niche as the Thursday’s ‘painting department’ and am gradually evolving my coach painting skills.

I have now grit blasted, rubbed down, primed/undercoated/topcoated/varnished a variety of components, including doors, wood and metal bodied electrical equipment cases, plus interior bulkheads, body and roof framing, London Plane interior trim strips, and bulkhead electrical panels and also coated all sorts of floor and body panels with the ubiquitous ‘aquasteel’ preservative.

Two people in an old train carriage — Andy and Peter applying undercoat to ceiling and body framing on car 4416, 2022.

Looking back on the photo archive produced for my weekly work reports, it is rewarding to see notable progress with the many components I have worked on for Q38 stock cars 4416 and 4417. I look forward to continuing to take part in the ongoing restoration of the three Q stock cars as we work towards getting them back into working order.

Find out more about our Q stock restoration project on our wesbite.