Terrific eclectic museum, run entirely by enthusiastic volunteers, tucked away in the backstreets of Walthamstow. Model railway, couple of tube trains, pumping engines, local history, and cafe. Has a great vibe. I've no idea how it's kept going for free. Very much a labour of love.

A gem. A diamond in the rough. A low budget graveyard of lost engines tended lovingly by volunteers who also cultivate flowers. Not just a place for engine enthusiasts, it's especially good for mooching around solo with your earbuds in. If you fancy delving into a rich seam of engine lore and local knowledge, strike up a conversation with one of the volunteers, such as Melvin.

The Walthamstow Pumphouse Museum is great hidden gem a short walk from St James Street and the centre of Walthamstow. There is a fascinating collection, with displays covering the Underground (including two former Victoria Line carriages to explore), firefighting, a growing model railway and the pumphouse itself. We were lucky enough to see the pumps demonstrated when we visited; an impressive sight. The museum was free to enter, and relies upon the help of their friendly and helpful volunteers, as well as donations from visitors. Do check ahead as their opening times are limited, though typically the museum is open every Sunday. The museum is clearly a labour of love for who work and volunteer here; we were warmly welcomed throughout our visit. Overall we had a great time here, and highly recommend to anyone visiting Walthamstow!

we had a great day! it is a very nice little museum. all the volunteers are great, the little tour through the halls with the fire engines was particularly nice. I liked the 1967 tube stock the most. Best wishes from Germany :)

We visited the Museum in April. Thoroughly enjoyed it. All the volunteers we spoke to were excellent. So was the bread pudding. But a word of caution if you arrive by car/sat nav. Don't do like us, not pay attention having arrived and be distracted by the outdoor exhibits, and go through the buses only signs just past the entrance to turn around. £130 fine has made it an expensive visit to this otherwise superb free museum.

Absolutely love this little museum and love that its always full of local families. A must see if you have little ones. My son loved "driving" the train and wandering around the fire engine. The staff are always friendly, welcoming and informative. The little cafe is very affordable and a lovely inclusion on site. It was noted there will be works taking place soon to include a new toilet area amongst other refurbishment projects. Opposite St James Park.

Cheerful collection of tube carriages, fire engines and model trains. Time your visit so that you can see the Marshall steam engine in action.

A brilliant day out for the whole family! Many fascinating things to learn from the old fire engines, tube trains and steam engines, plus a whole raft of exciting things to do for the kids! Would definitely recommend and will be visiting again.

An amazing place. Very friendly staff and a great cup of tea and cake. Very nostalgic. So many interesting exhibits. A real gem in E17. Not to be missed.

Amazing volunteer led museum with free/voluntary donation entry.

What a fantastic hidden away cracking place just full of memoriabillia. A Fireman museum consisting of three parts, modern, war time, and pre-mechanised could occupy you for a whole day and is full of surprises; then there's the Railway museum which again has so much to read and see it could take you another day to go round; the Pumphouse Museum itself which is so more than what it says; and then there is a number of static vehicles to look at including two Victoria Line tube coaches, a mobile crane, and a stream engine; lastly and definitely not to be missed is the cafe where excellent filled rolls are available plus a fantastic selection of cakes, all at prices even Greggs couldn't match! All open only Sundays I believe so check before you visit. Kids will love it but so will mum's and dad's.

Amazing free entry museum for kids.

Free entry every Sunday, a little eclectic in theme. It can all be looked at in 20 mins. The best bit for me is the cafe, where two cups of tea and two decent slices of cake cost £2.40. Honestly I don't know anywhere else that has 80's cafe prices. If you are in the area walking through to the marshes via St james's Park, it's worth a pit stop to top up and pick up some local historical knowledge.

Run by enthusiasts, it's a bit ramshackle, a cross between a museum and a repair shop, and none the worse for that!

Fab local institution. Really friendly & welcoming; it’s always a treat to visit - especially with the kids. Worth popping over to the play park too, which has recently been revamped

Had the best time making bunting for Queen's Jubilee party with my four year old and 10 month old. Fantastic building and extremely helpful and friendly staff/volunteers. We'll be back again soon.

Our family enjoyed our visit and look forward to visiting again. Hospitable and very knowledgeable team. A lovely community. Lots for everyone to explore and cafe drinks, cakes and rolls were an absolute treat. Thank you!

Well worth to try something different than usual restaurant, well prepared food respect to the Kitchen Chef B. Single reason to mention that is you evening table book, you are on board for 6-7 courses it will take you 2,5h to 3h to enjoy the taste like nothing before for me…

Fun day out with the kids will be coming back

Great place for a little stroll not very big easy to get too

I'm giving 3 stars simply because I didn't see enough to give a proper review & don't feel mean enough to give 1 star. The reason: The website claims it opens at 9:30 on Thursdays. I arrived today at 9:45 and while the main gate was open, nothing else was. So all I saw was the outside of the tube carriages. Please museum, if your website states that you open at 9:30 then do so properly. I appreciate relying on volunteers can be an issue but if you can't guarantee to be open at that time, then stick to an opening time you CAN achieve to avoid disappointing visitors.

Strange little museum run by volunteers - lots of cool transport/engine related things to explore, most of it originating from the Lea Valley. Kids love the model railway when it's running.

Two Victoria line trains to jump on & off, and sit in the driver's cab; vintage bus to drive; model railway currently undergoing engineering works (rebuild); book shop with cheap model buses etc; warm cafe with coffee for 50p!

What a fantastic place. Perfect for all ages though very child friendly, took me train loving toddler who had the time of his life. Delicious cake in the cafe too. Highly recommend.

What a brilliant slice of old Walthamstow and classic transport! My little boy is counting down the days to the next visit already!

Really fun little museum. Great to see the steam engine in operation. Staff really friendly. Had tube trains and could go in the driver's cab, which the kids liked. Little firestation museum had a lot of character.

Lovely little museum. Interesting for kids and adults. Volunteers very knowledgeable and friendly

Lovely cool place with local history and omg old tube stock carriages. Really nice shop everything in here is worth seeing and appreciating the hard work of the volunteers!!!

Nice place to visit, anyone who likes engines, buses and trains wiuld love it.

Our 3yo old loved it, so exciting to be able to "drive" a tube train, get up close to a vintage bus and a fire engine. Volunteers were all very friendly and knowledgeable.

Within a small place and less number of Staff they are doing great job. I should say staff were friendly and helpful. Good place for kids. Souvenir shop has good stuff. Locals are usually visiting but I think they are just missing advertisement to attract more visitors.

Great little museum. Staff were very friendly and children loved the underground carriages.

It's free and a great place for a Sunday Lunchtime. Engines should be running. Take about 30 mins to see everything.

Nice place with kids activities like painting, a firemen museum and a tube carriage where kids can play as a driver. Highly recommend.

We actually went to the Fixatorium nearby after reading about it in a council newsletter. Despite going during their advertised open times, the place was closed, making me wonder, once again, whether some of those places that receive a lot of council support are not just fronts living off that council money rather than genuinely providing a service to the community. Who knows? We went instead to the pumphouse museum next door, which was a bit of a let-down compared to the one in Tottenham with the massive beam engine. The shop was tiny, the museum itself was okay, but you see all there is to see in less than ten minutes.

Moderately interesting. Done fairly quickly.

Open’s Every Sunday 10.30am to 3.30pm Free entry Places for kids to play around Great environment

Disappointing. It says a steam engine is 'run' on the last Sunday of the month, so we came specially; but it neglects to say this is on compressed air, and the engine is not ever in steam.

Perfect activity for a vehicle obsessed toddler, they have fire engines, tractor and tribes and trucks. Excellent kids activity space for children. Lovely cafe with cakes and treats. Will visit multiple times. Best of all, it’s free!

My kids and I really like this museum. One really enjoyed the craft section (super helpful lady) and my other child loved being the driver of the Victoria line train (see photo).

Great museum run by passionate volunteers, out toddler lived it and I was fascinated. It was great to let kids runaround the tube carriages and jump on the seats, they'd never get to do that on the real tube.

Nice little spot to visit to break the day up. It is small but interesting and has a small cafe (affordable prices) with seating outside. There is no payment on entry but donations are appreciated there.

The volunteers are full of knowledge and are extremely friendly, lots of things that will interest young children

Lovely little museum with a lot of interesting old machinery, ancient fire engines and tube carriages and some lovely craft activities for the kids. Staff and really keen and helpful and happy to explain the artefacts. Our family really enjoyed our visit.

Everyone who works here is an absolute diamond. Took an under 2 year old and he had a great time. The main pump exhibited is well curated and there's a lot to learn. Highly recommended.

Absolutely lovely.. Great tasting food. Friendly service. Would definitely go again.

Fascinating little place, some fine old engines and great if you have an interest in the water/sewage systems if the 19th century, which I am sure most folk don't !!!

Top lads

Lovely little hidden away museum

Very friendly staff. Interesting museum

We've been there today to attend a live cello concert in an old Victoria line carriage, which was wonderful. Also brilliant was the museum itself and we cannot recommend the staff higher, many of which we volunteers, we were told. Top experience!

Pop up meal in the old underground trains, utterly fab! Didn't go in the museum though!

Very good, great fun even. Will go again

Quirky, more like a shed for the big boys that run the museum.

Small local museum, really fascinating with friendly and informative staff. Best to go on the last Sunday of the month when they run the main engine.

Fab experience! Brilliant venue, gorgeous food, great personal touch from the chef.

Very cool

Interesting place lots to see

It's a little rundown... but considering it's free and run by volunteers... It's very interesting

Great little musuem and wonderful guided tour by Frank

I would recommend Walthamstow Pumphouse Museum to everybody out there

Look great

Absolutely brilliant place for the family on a Sunday morning. Fire engines, trucks, tubes, steam engines and a tea shop. All the volunteers are amazingly friendly and informal. Highly recommend for anyone in Walthamstow or the surrounding area.

Really good food, service and great experience.

Must visit

The name is slightly deceptive because what they mean is the disused tube carriage restaurant. I wanted to go for my birthday, I'm a train anorak. Don't go expecting luxury, lights, pazass, or anything approaching posh, modern or quaint, you won't get it. But go expecting a delicious meal in an unusual, small and different venue with great staff and you'll love it. If you're a tube enthusiast, it's a must. If you're not but love something different, it's great. They need to know dietary requirements in advance. You have to book, don't just turn up. And if you're not driving but are on public transport, ensure you have the lie of the land. There's no immediately near tube station (ironically). It's in a small yard at the junction of a couple of small streets in a residential area.. you could easily think you're in the wrong place completely. We loved it.

Just fantastic!

A little gem of a place that has all sorts of artifacts including old tube trains & a working pump that has been renovated & is run on the last Sunday of the month. There's also a model railway that children (& adults) are allowed to play with.

Really informative and such friendly staff. Such a great place for children and adults!

Very interesting museum with lots of things to explore. The staff was very friendly and knowledgeable, definitely worth a visit.

Really great place to visit if you like knowing about this kind of stuff, great people to talk to, I spoke with a really nice gent who was in the firebrigate for over 25 years, he showed me, my dad and my sister how the technology changed over the years, we also met a lovely lady running the cafe.

Very friendly place, with interesting things too see. Didn't give it 5 stars because its very small you get won't get more than an hour out of it.

Our favourite industrial museum in London And its free, although they welcome donations.

Really nice little museum and old tube trains. When the engines are running it is great. A little cafe too and a fire engine museum as well. Small but packed with interesting history and facts.

Great collection. Nice place to visit and the staff are people really experienced and very kind by the way.

Lovely warm friendly and lively pub for a Sunday lunch

Fantastic time

Quirky little local museum in Walthamstow, recommend going on one of their engine running days . Very good value (and old school!) cafe

Amazing and wonderful unique experience

Shows the history of London's transport systems well. British transport museum in central London is better

Really interesting,well worth a visit.

Great venue to visit with kids, has some interesting old trains on display to walk onto, fire engines and paraphernalia, relaxed eating areas indoors and outdoors, a great play area for crafts and activities and other aspects of the pumphouse. Our main reason for visiting however was the model train area, but we were totally disappointed to see it being run by children while adults stood around talking and it was a shambles. The trains were stopping and starting, arguments over which train where, whilst other young children looked on being told they were unable to enter the area or touch the trains, whilst they watched these particular children playing with the trains. Although work is still being done on the display, we were completely disappointed the train area is not run seriously by an adult properly coordinating running the models on the tracks instead of watching a fenced off exclusive children's play area.