I’ve wanted to go to a late event at the London Transport Museum for a while, and the Elizabeth line late seemed the perfect time to do so. I’d hoped to take the opportunity to visit the Hidden London exhibition at the same time, but in the end there was far too much going on to spend any time actually looking around the museum!
I decided to wear my La Vidriola tube line necklace, which got several compliments. Many other people wore purple to celebrate the Elizabeth line’s signature colour – assorted purple merchandise was also available to buy. Sadly, I never did get hold of a purple balloon hat, as sported by several attendees.
In the centre of the Museum, Zoom Through History had set up a table featuring various board games from the different decades of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. They also had costumed characters from each decade. In the canteen, there was a pub quiz, and a special bar was also available, selling assorted purple drinks.
I never got round to checking out any of those things, because I went straight to the craft modelling activity, which allowed you to construct your own Elizabeth line station from card, blu-tack, toothpicks and sellotape. I was rather proud of my station, which I named Farringdon’t, and it supported the toy as required in the specification, but when I went to check on it later it had collapsed, so clearly it’s a good thing I didn’t pursue a career as an engineer.
I spent most of my evening at the talks offered by members of staff. Collecting the Elizabeth line saw former Documentary Curator Rosamund Lily West talk about how the Museum documented the story of the Elizabeth line in real time, collecting relevant items that are of significance in its story and construction. I found this fascinating as it involved thinking about what future generations will find significant, and how they will approach learning about the past.
Planning the Elizabeth line was a talk by Chris Nix, the Museum’s Assistant Director of Collections and Engagement (also known for the Hidden London Hangouts on YouTube). He talked about the history of the Elizabeth line, and how plans for it were originally explored over a century ago, along with plans for a number of other routes and railways that never came to fruition.
Finally, Simon Bennett, Head of Learning Legacy at Crossrail, delivered Building the Elizabeth line, talking about the later stages of the line’s construction and how the line became operation. His talk was also fascinating, and I appreciated his honesty about the line’s delayed opening and the issues it faced, as well as the positives.
I had a great time, and I’m not too annoyed that I will have to make a repeat visit to the Museum to see the Hidden London exhibition!