Transport Museum calls on public to help fund restoration of 1930s carriages

A museum is calling on the public to help raise money to complete the restoration of a rare piece of the capital’s transport heritage.

The London Transport Museum, in Covent Garden Piazza, needs  £30,000 to repair the last three 1930s Q stock carriages, also called ‘cars’.

The funds will allow experts to re-upholster the seats in iconic and historical moquette – the durable, woollen seating material used in upholstery on public transport all over the world. 

The Museum has secured funds to re-upholster one of the cars and is now seeking £30,000 from the public to fund the re-upholstery for the final two.

Elizabeth McKay, Director and CEO, London Transport Museum, said: “Q stock Underground carriages transported Londoners on the District line across a significant era of change and hold countless memories.

“These iconic Underground cars wouldn’t be complete without distinctive moquette seats, which we know were designed by pioneering women like Joy Jarvis and Enid Marx. 

“Every donation will safeguard this treasured part of history to inspire and delight future generations.”

The restoration of the three Q stock carriages is a long-term project that aims to get them back up and running and in operational condition. 

Q stock trains entered service on the District line in November 1938. They kept London moving from the Second World War through to the swinging sixties before being retired from service. 

Unlike today’s identical carriages, Q stock trains were formed from a combination of cars with different designs. Passengers never knew what formation of carriages would pull into their platform.

The interiors of the cars are being restored by the Museum to reflect different moments from this long history on the tracks. 

One will explore life in wartime London; the second will reflect life during the post-war years of austerity; and the third will illustrate the growing optimism and prosperity of the 1950s, as well as tell a story of direct recruitment to London Transport from the Caribbean.

Pictured top: Clockwise from top left, London Transport Museum volunteers and staff in front of one of the Q stock cars, exterior of one of the Q stock cars, interior of one of the Q stock cars (Picture: London Transport Museum)