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London transport photo archives to go on display

Harry Low
BBC News
London Transport Museum Female passenger passing through an automatic ticket gate, Seven Sisters Underground station, Victoria line, by Dr Heinz Zinram in 1969London Transport Museum
A woman searches for her Seven Sisters at the newly-opened Tube station in 1969

A new exhibition has opened showcasing historical snapshots from the capital's public transport network alongside recreated images.

Then and now: London's Transport in Photographs has been commissioned to mark 25 years of Transport for London (TfL) and will be on display at the London Transport Museum until next spring.

It features images by one of its drivers, Anne Maningas, who revisited the sites shown in the archive material.

She described taking part in the project as "a privilege" and said she hoped to show "the quiet beauty in the movement of the city."

London Transport Museum Passageway at Tottenham Court Road Underground station shows man in top hat and posters for Hammersmith Palais, by Topical Press, 1946London Transport Museum
London Transport Museum Cashier counting bus takings at unidentified garage, by Ian Bell, about 1980London Transport Museum
Tottenham Court Road, pictured in 1946, just 76 years before the Elizabeth line opened
Before buses went cashless, cashiers would count takings, as seen here in the 1980s

She added: "Being able to use analogue film for this project added a sense of continuity with our transport heritage, and it was especially meaningful to shoot with a vintage film camera once used by a London Transport Museum photographer."

Matt Brosnan, head curator at the museum, said photography "played a vital role in documenting the lives of Londoners as they travel across the city and its transport workers as they keep our capital moving.

"Our striking archive images bring to life London's rich history and transport past.

"These images reveal not only how the city has changed, but also how transport continues to shape the lives of Londoners every day."

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