LONDON UNDERGROUND By : Liese Sherwood-Fabre
LONDON UNDERGROUND By : Liese Sherwood-Fabre
Totally Tubular Prior to its operation in 1863 , the London Underground had a rather rocky beginning . While some ideas for subterranean rail lines date back as far as 1837 , the first credible proposal appeared in 1845 . Charles Pearson suggested a railway powered by air pressure ( such as that used in pneumatic tubes — hence , the introduction of the term “ tube ” to describe the train system ). ( 1 ) The route and financing , however , created controversy throughout the 1850s , and digging did not begin until 1860 . ( 2 ) Even after construction began , several scandals plagued the project , including the embezzlement of more than £ 20 million in today ’ s currency by Leopold Redpath . ( 3 )
Construction on the first “ Metropolitan Railway ” used a “ cut and cover ” method . Workers dug a trench under or by an existing roadway . Tracks
were laid along the trench and the walls were lined with bricks and then covered with a roof . Once completely covered , a new roadway was built over it , and the line was opened to the public in 1863 . ( 4 ) The 3.75-mile line consisted of seven stops between Paddington ( at that time , Bishop ’ s Road ) and Farringdon Street . ( 5 )
The system used steam engines , filling the tunnel with smoke , steam , and sparks , which often sent passengers into coughing fits . One pharmacy even sold a “ Metropolitan Mixture ” for those affected by the air . The smoke was not only dangerous for the passengers , but also for the conductors , who could not always see through the pollution . ( 6 ) Despite such inconveniences , more than 9.5 million people used it in the first year alone . ( 7 )
Additional lines were added to the system by various enterprises , the second being what was then known as the “ City and South ” line . Unlike the “ cut and cover ” approach , this line was crafted through a device called the tunneling shield which burrowed a circular channel
( 8 ) This route also used electric trains , cutting down on the pollution within the original line ’ s tunnels . ( 9 )
As these lines appeared , some experienced financial difficulties , and soon , all but the Metropolitan Railway were merged into the Underground Group . This merger also introduced the term “ underground ” and the “ roundel ” symbol throughout the system .
The underground served the city ’ s population in more than transportation . During WWII , the tunnels served as air raid shelters , a storage facility for items from the British Museum , ( 10 ) and executive meeting quarters ( sometimes housing Prime Minister Winston Churchill ). ( 11 )
From its humble beginning of one line running between Paddington and Farringdon carrying 38,000 passengers on its first day , the London Underground now carries more than five million passenger journeys over 250 miles of rails each day .
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