S1, E2: The London Underground

Listen to the Episode

What You’ll Hear

1:15: The beginnings of the Underground
1:58: Opening day
2:57: The abandoned tube stations
3:48: London’s underground rivers

I think everyone, whether they’re a visitor to the capital or a resident, has a love-hate relationship with the Tube. The maps can be difficult to read and everyone rushes, even though there’s another train due in a matter of minutes. And even when you have worked out your route, you may find a line closure forces you to rethink.

Nevertheless, we should be proud of the Underground, which was the first underground passenger railway in the world. The rapid transit system was born from necessity – the city had grown rapidly throughout the century, and there were seven railway lines coming in and out of the city, along with road traffic. Clearly, a solution was needed to deal with the increasing footfall into London.

How the Underground was Built

The Metropolitan Railway secured the right to build an underground line in 1854, which they estimated would cost £1 million. However, they struggled to raise the capital as the Crimean War was raging on, so they didn’t start construction until 1860.

The first stretch of the Tube ran for almost four miles, some through tunnels, and went from Paddington to Kings Cross. It took nearly three years to construct, and relied on steam locomotives to pull the wooden carriages.

On its first day of service, 38,000 passengers were transported, including a number of politicians. One of my favourite quotes is attributed to the Prime Minister Lord Palmerston, who opted not to join the rest of his cabinet, saying that at the age of 78 he wanted ‘to spend as much time as possible above ground.’

The rest of the Underground network was built over 50 years, with connections put in with over-ground terminals where possible. It’s worth noting that different companies took charge of the construction of different parts of the route.

It was not until 1902 that the Underground Electric Railways Company of London began buying the disparate companies and brought everything under central control.

I’ve always been fascinated by the tube stations, particularly those which retain the original Victorian tiles and fixtures. And of course, because of the memorable scene in one of my favourite films – An American Werewolf in London. I won’t spoil it if you haven’t seen it!

Abandoned Stations

It’s estimated that there are now 49 abandoned Tube stations across the network, whether that’s because a new station replaced them or there wasn’t the demand in the local area (although that seems hard to believe). Some have been closed for nearly 100 years, and some were only shut down recently.

A black and white photo of the arched windows along a platform at Baker Street tube station — Pic © Michael Green via Pixabay

In 1922, the City Road station on the Northern Line closed, although the station building itself is still there. Similarly, the redbrick and rather beautiful York Road station is there to be admired, despite having been closed down in 1932.

That one was a stop on the Piccadilly line, and there are several other abandoned stations along it, some of which sat as the only resting place on a long stretch of line. A couple of them were used during the war – one served as a bunker and another as an operations room.

London’s Forgotten Rivers

Many of the Tube tracks will whizz past the forgotten rivers which are now underground, and to me, the notion of a great city sitting above a network of rivers is both unnerving and thrilling.

London was built on the River Thames’ floodplains, which has countless tributaries flowing into it. As the city expanded, buildings were constructed over the top of these waterways, but nothing was done to cover or block them.

The ancient Romans relied on the Walbrook to provide them with fresh water – the Bank of England are now on top of it. The river Tyburn, a favourite salmon-fishing spot, flows beneath Buckingham Palace. And the hundred-foot-wide Fleet, once thought to have healing powers, became polluted as London developed and slums lined its banks.

Sad trickles of the Fleet remain, with a stream at Hampstead and Highgate Ponds you can follow. In 1827, locals bathed on the banks of the Fleet at St Pancras Road, but soon after it was turned into a sewer – the fate of many Thames tributaries – and now runs below ground to Blackfriars Bridge.

This episode was inspired by a blog about Fungus the Bogeyman by Raymond Briggs.