(Above) Faces from the London Underground
Exhibition: Overground Uncovered, London Transport Museum, London, until March 31 2011
This new exhibition at the London Transport Museum celebrates the new London Overground line connecting Dalton Junction to West Croydon.
The three galleries – The Thames Tunnel, Connecting Communities, and A New Train Set For London – examine the history of the line, the new technology used to create it and the unique nature of the communities it now connects.
Formerly the East London line, this new service is part of works planned to improve the Overground network by 2012, and is London’s first major transport development in ten years. A New Train Set For London is a dedicated documentation of the development, looking at the construction and new technology used in the new railway and trains with photographs by John Sturrock.
Past a sectioned London bus and a black cab, the remaining two galleries of the exhibition, Connecting Communities, look more closely at the stops along the new line.
The new overground trains on the Tube
It uses objects, art pieces and multimedia to showcase the history, diversity and anticipated changes the new transport link will bring, with highlights including 19th century J Sainsbury advertising tokens on loan from the Croydon Museum, artwork by students from Goldsmiths University in New Cross and a video made by local youths in Anerly about the area and possible effects of the new line.
This is a grassroots gallery, successfully galvanising local communities to demonstrate the rich histories and culture of East London.
Connecting Communities introduces local histories, but it's the Thames Tunnel gallery which delves into the history of the new Overground line itself. Sitting in a darkened enclave, objects and artwork tell the story of Isambard Kingdom Brunel's masterpiece and the various companies which used the tunnel.
The centrepiece is a Victorian peepshow created to celebrate the tunnel's opening, beautifully lit and at children's height.
Overground Uncovered demonstrates the engineering achievements of the past in forging the routes we know today. It is the perfect celebration of Transport for London's new line.
Open 10am-6pm (11am-6pm Friday). Admission £6-£10 (free for under-16s). Visit the exhibition online for more.
Keep up to date with Culture24's exhibition news, reviews and previews with iGoogle - a more personal way to use Google.com
