I have known about the Walthamstow Pumphouse Museum but never had the time to visit it, Keilyn and I rectified this, on Sunday (September 1), by paying it a visit.
We were greeted at the gate by a friendly volunteer who explained about the museum, how it was run (and by whom) and what there was to see. She also informed us that the Marshall Steam Engine would be fired up at noon and again at two o'clock. With this information Keiyn and I thanked her and set off to explore the exhibits.
Of course, the first thing that Keilyn headed to was the 1967 Stock Victoria line carriage, jumping straight into the driver's cab. While Keilyn pressed buttons and pulled levers, I inspected the second of the Victoria line tube carriages.
Eventually I convinced Keilyn to come out of the train, promising that we would return to it, so that we could explore more of the museum.
We spotted an old Bedford lorry in a garage which was opposite the Fire Museum. As took a photo Keilyn went into the Fire Museum, having spotted a fire engine. I went in a different door, where I found some vintage fire appliances, tools of the trade, memorabilia and much more.
Oddly, hanging from the ceiling were two large models aeroplanes. One of a Mosquito, the other a Lancaster Bomber.
I then went into the second part of the museum, where I found Keilyn checking out an amazing collection of toy vehicles, all of which were fire related. A few of them I recognised as toys that I had played with as a child. Firemen's uniforms, from overseas, were displayed in a large cabinet, while another cabinet was filled with all types of fire extinguisher.
The largest exhibit was the fire engine, which was used in the first few seasons of the television series 'London's Burning', which was cool to see.
