Vehicles

Derelict London - Photography, Social History and Guided Walking Tours

smashed up vintage car on back of trailer in East London

Bromley-By-Bow E14

wreck of Morris Oxford or Austin Cambridge in South London breakers yard

Derelict London - Motor Vehicles - Cars, Vans, Lorries, Vans, Coaches,Motorcycles and Mopeds (+ Thunderbird 4)

This gallery covers photographs that I have taken since I started this website back in 2003 so many of these are long gone by now. I shall continue to add pics as I still stumble upon a few vehicles when off the beaten track.......

Unloved Ford Cortina Mark 2 in South London lockup

Bermondsey - Ford Cortina Mark 2

Ford Cortina Mark 2 and Austin Mini

Both of the iconic British cars below were spotted neglected & rotting away in people’s gardens – the Ford Cortina Mark 2 in Clapham and the Austin Mini in Woodford. The Cortina is around 40 years old, being one of the million or so made between 1966 and 1970 (very few survive today). The Mini was, of course, the most popular British-made car ever, with over five million manufactured between 1959 and 2000.

Apart from the fact that both cars are rusting away, they also have in common a Michael Caine connection. He drives a silver Mark 2 Cortina in the 1971 film Get Carter and the Mini played a key role in the 1969 cult film The Italian Job.

decaying Ford Cortina Mark 2 in abandoned garage in Clapham

Clapham - Ford Cortina Mark 2

Abandoned Austin Mini with mattress on the roof in Woodford

Woodford - Austin Mini

More Minis:

Flytipping inside redundant Austin Mini in London

Austin Mini on top of pile of cars at salvage yard in East London

Unloved redundant Austin Mini in East London

Gutted shell of Austin Mini in East London

Imperials Prestige Used Cars - Chadwell Heath,Romford. RM6

fire damaged Imperials Prestige Used Cars in Chadwell Heath,Romford. RM6

Imperials Prestige Used Cars - Chadwell Heath,Romford. RM6

This site remains derelict after a huge fire ripped through this luxury car dealership in November 2018. Around 125 firefighters spent almost nine hours tackling the fire at Imperials. Several vehicles, including two Land Rovers, a BMW and a Mercedes, were destroyed in the fire though luckily nobody was injured.Explosions were narrowly avoided as firefighters were able to drive around 40 cars offsite and remove and a number of pressurised gas cylinders from the scene.

The cause of the fire has been treated as suspicious

Burnt out car after fire at Imperials Prestige Used Cars in Chadwell Heath,Romford. RM6

Imperials Prestige Used Cars - Chadwell Heath,Romford. RM6

Derelict and Abandoned Commercial Vehicles

Abandoned articulated lorry in Creekmouth, Barking

Creekmouth, Barking IG11 - 100% Beef 100% of the Time

Abandoned Royal Mail lorry on wasteland in East London

Overgrown Long Vehicle trailer in South London

Abandoned van at squat at old exhaust and tyre centre in Copperas Rd, Deptford

Wreck of an abandoned vehicle at St Georges Circus, SE1 before redevelopment

Burnt out interior of transit van in Tower Hamlets

Peckham scaffolding yard vandalised vehicle

Bromley-By-Bow E14

Bromley-By-Bow E14 - Milkfloat

The clink of glass milk bottles as they are deposited on doorsteps and the hum of the milkfloat pulling away at the crack of dawn is pretty much a thing of the past in London. Cheap milk in supermarkets and superstores means that many people are no longer attracted to the idea of having pints of milk dropped off on the doorstep every morning.

They probably also reckon that bottles of milk get stolen.

Picture of stolen, torched and abandoned car on wasteland in Belevedere, South East London

Belevedere DA17

Every year in Britain between six and seven million used cars are sold, and two million are scrapped. The EU has introduced strict environmental rules on how cars should be disposed of through its End of Life Vehicle Directive, while new rules designed to combat copper and other metal theft have had the curious impact of making it illegal for car owners to be paid cash when scrapping a vehicle.

Rules introduced in 2005 make it a legal requirement that any car sent to be scrapped must go to an Authorised Treatment Facility. All car scrapyards must have a licence issued by the Environment Agency or Scottish Environment Protection Agency to ensure that scrapped vehicles don't harm the environment (all that battery acid, gearbox oil and engine parts) and that they are recycled appropriately.

Car covered in green mould in Sydenham, South London

Sydenham SE26

Car on a skip in East London beside scrapyard

Bromley-By-Bow E14

defunct Ford Granada in Selhurst South London

Selhurst SE25

Car cut in half in South London to make a shed

South Norwood SE25

Scrap Toyota on a skip in East London, E14

Bromley-By-Bow E14

Bow E3

Morris Oxford at breakers yard in South London

Hook KT9

scrap Simca car on the Old Kent Road in Peckham

Old Kent Road SE15

scrapped redundant Triumph Spitfires in breakers yard in South London

Plumstead SE18

Knackered Hackney Carriages (aka Black Cabs or London taxis)

Bow E3

In the UK the name hackney carriage refers to a taxicab licensed by the Public Carriage Office. 'Hackney' is derived from the village name Hackney (now part of London) which supplied horses from its surrounding meadows. UK regulations define a hackney carriage as a taxicab allowed to ply the streets looking for passengers to pick up, as opposed to private hire vehicles (sometimes called minicabs), which may pick up only passengers who have previously booked or who visit the taxi operator's office. In London, hackney-carriage drivers have to pass a test called The Knowledge to demonstrate that they have an intimate knowledge of the geography of London streets, important buildings, etc. Learning The Knowledge allows the driver to become a member of the Worshipful Company of Hackney Carriage Drivers.

As part of the Transported by Design programme of activities,in 2015, after public voting, the black cab was elected by Londoners as their favourite transport design icon.

Wrecked Hackney Carriages (aka Black Cabs or London taxis)

Burnt out Hackney Carriages (aka Black Cabs or London taxis)

Fire damaged iconic black London Taxi in East London

Available for Spares? Hackney Carriage (aka Black Cab or London taxi)

London Taxi with Sweet Tooth streetart graffiti

Abandoned Hackney Carriages (aka Black Cabs or London taxis)

Friern Barnet, N10 - Sewage Works

burnt out joyrider cars in Friern Barnet Sewage works in North London

The sewage works here closed in the 1960s and the site has been used as a dumping ground ever since. The vehicles shown here may well have been stolen before they were torched. Years of fly-tipping have led to claims that the land is contaminated and so unsuitable for residential development.

Friern Barnet Sewage works here closed in the 1960s and the site has been used as a dumping ground ever since

Years of fly-tipping at Friern Barnet Sewage works have led to claims that the land is contaminated and so unsuitable for residential development.

The vehicles shown here may well have been stolen before they were torched

Redundant VW Beetles

The Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle was produced by the German Volkswagen (VW) from 1938 until 2003. With over 21 million manufactured the Beetle is the longest-running and most-manufactured automobile of a single design platform anywhere in the world. Here are a few decaying Beetles spotted around London.

One of a few decaying VW Beetles spotted around London.

Mark Holland writes "Looked at your website this morning, just browsing through the photos, when I came across the vehicles in Fiern Barnet sewage works and I saw the distinctive shape of a beetle, same year as mine. Then I noticed the bumpers - still in top condition despite everything else rusting away.

It's such a shame to see a bug rust to death, so I wondered if I could at least salvage the bumpers. I had no idea when those photos were taken, but I thought it worth a gamble so I headed up north and met a friend at Bounds Green.

We found our way to the site and climbed up an embankment to discover an area vastly different from the photos on your site. Every track was overgrown with deep undergrowth. It was like stepping into a jungle. Most of the wrecks were covered in thick weeds. Then by some stroke of luck I found the bug.

Luckier still, both the back and front bumpers were still in good nick although the bolts were firmly rusted in. With some encouragement we freed them from the frame and lugged them back to the road. I emerged covered in mud and blood but two bumpers richer. Got a few strange looks lugging them back on the tube."

Available for spares? wrecked cars. Morris Minors and VW Beetle in Deptford SE8

Minors and Beetle in Deptford SE8

Coaches and Buses

picture of abandoned wreck of a coach in London, SE1

St George's Circus, SE1

Feltham TW13 - Rail Freight Marshalling Yard

Feltham Rail Freight Marshalling Yard was built in 1918 by German prisoners-of-war. With its 32 miles of sidings it was the second largest yard in the country, complete with repair sheds for wagons and locomotives.

Wrecked stolen car in Feltham TW13 at the old Rail Freight Marshalling Yard

This rail yard was built in 1918 by German prisoners-of-war. With its 32 miles of sidings it was the second largest yard in the country, complete with repair sheds for wagons and locomotives. However, rail traffic began to decline in 1960s, and the yard eventually closed in 1969. It was dismantled over the following decade.

Today, it is an overgrown wilderness. There is little evidence that there was a yard here, apart from one graffiti-covered concrete building. There are a few abandoned cars, burnt out by joyriders. Recent excavations on the site have revealed remains of Iron Age