SOMETIMES it really is about the journey, as train and bus enthusiasts will know too well.

Soon, Brits won’t have to imagine what it would’ve been like to commute around London in the 1920s with the city’s Museum Depot opening its doors for punters.

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Located in Acton in West London, the Museum Depot houses over 320,000 items relating to the English capital’s transport history.

From examples of horse-drawn carriages and old-school buses, Museum Depot harks back to the golden age of travel.

And it’s not just vehicles and decommissioned tube carriages, the Museum Depot has just about every piece of Transport for London (TFL) paraphernalia imaginable – think transport posters and underground signs.

It’s also home to the London Transport Miniature Railway, a working miniature railway based on real London Underground locomotives, carriages, signals and signs.

All fun aside, its main purpose is to act as a working museum store, housing important pieces of transport history in environmentally controlled conditions.

A team of curators and volunteers work to catalogue and conserve objects like ceramic tiles, engineering drawings and ticket machines.

Despite its impressive collection, the Museum Depot only opens on set days throughout the year.

Described as “festival-style events” on its website, the set open days take place throughout the year and welcome thousands of transport enthusiasts.

The Museum Depot will be next open for three days from April 4 to April 6.

Its April open days will mark 200 years of the UK’s railways as well as 25 years of Transport for London.

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The weekend celebration will feature the world’s first underground railway as well as walkthroughs inside Piccadilly line trains.

There will also be behind-the-scenes mini tours, expert talks, family friendly activities, special displays and demonstrations.

Museum Depot will close its doors until the end of June, reopening for a three-day event from June 27 until June 29, 2025.

In June, visitors will learn about how engineering and technology has evolved to make transport greener.

The themed summer event will have special displays, demonstrations, expert talks and drop-in activities.

Tickets for full-paying adults cost £19 and children’s tickets cost £10.

The Museum Depot is open from 10am until 5pm on its set open days, staying open 30 minutes later during the weekend.

Previous open day visitors have praised the experience in online reviews, with one person writing: “What an amazing place, lots of really interesting artefacts and vehicles to get up close to.

“We benefited from a guided tour when we arrived which laid the foundation for our day and also booked a visit to the poster room”.

Another added: “London underground depot is definitely worth a visit. Very interesting to know the history of the underground“.

Brits who can’t wait until April to visit the Museum Depot should head to the London Transport Museum.

Sun Travel’s favourite train journeys in the world

Sun Travel’s journalists have taken their fare share of train journeys on their travels and here they share their most memorable rail experiences.

Davos to Geneva, Switzerland

“After a ski holiday in Davos, I took the scenic train back to Geneva Airport. The snow-covered mountains and tiny alpine villages that we passed were so beautiful that it felt like a moving picture was playing beyond the glass.” – Caroline McGuire

Tokyo to Kyoto by Shinkansen

“Nothing quite beats the Shinkansen bullet train, one of the fastest in the world. It hardly feels like you’re whizzing along at speed until you look outside and see the trees a green blur. Make sure to book seat D or E too – as you’ll have the best view of Mount Fuji along the way.” Kara Godfrey

London to Paris by Eurostar

“Those who have never travelled on the Eurostar may wonder what’s so special about a seemingly ordinary train that takes you across the channel. You won’t have to waste a moment and can tick off all the top attractions from the Louvre to the Champs-Élysées which are both less than five kilometres from the Gare du Nord.” – Sophie Swietochowski

Glasgow to Fort William by Scotrail

“From mountain landscapes and serene lochs to the wistful moors, I spent my three-hour journey from Glasgow to Fort William gazing out the window. Sit on the left-hand side of the train for the best views overlooking Loch Lomond.” – Hope Brotherton

Beijing to Ulaanbatar

“The Trans-Mongolian Express is truly a train journey like no other. It starts amid the chaos of central Beijing before the city’s high-rises give way to crumbling ancient villages and eventually the vast vacant plains of Mongolia, via the Gobi desert. The deep orange sunset seen in the middle of the desert is among the best I’ve witnessed anywhere.” – Ryan Gray

Here’s a full-sized railway in Europe that costs £2 to ride and is entirely run by children.

And this is an abandoned underground station that kept Sir Winston Churchill safe and helped win World War 2.

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