London Underground, Happy 150th Birthday

[Aussieinuk]

 

The London Underground is 150 years old. On the 9th of January 1863 the first trains ran on what was then the Metropolitian Railway between Paddington and Farringdon stations. " The Tube" as it is fondly known would be emulated in cities around the world.

 

Here are a few facts about the "Tube":

 

1890,The City and South London Railway opened the world's first deep-level electric railway.

1908,Adoption of the "Underground" name on stations. Electric ticket-issuing machine introduced.

1911, First escalators in service at "Earls Court" station.

1916, Edward Johnson designed a distinctive new sans-serif type face for the Underground for use in all publicity material and signage. it is still in use today.

1929, Manually operated doors on tube trains completely replaced by mechanical doors.

1933, Harry Beck designs the first Underground map in diagrammatic form,His design is still used today.

1940,From September, Tube train platforms were used as air-raid shelters. This continued until May 1945.The Aldwych branch closed until 1946 and was used to store British Museum treasures.

1952 The first all aluminium trains entered service on the District line.

1962 First experiments in automatic train operation carried out on the District line between Stamford Brook and Ravenscourt Park.

1969 The Victoria line opens becoming the worlds first ATO line.

1983, Dot Matrix train destination indicators introduced on station platforms

1987, Tragic fire kills 31 people at Kings Cross station.New self-service ticket machines introduced throughout network.

2000 Last service operates with train guards

2003, TFL ( Transport For London) takes control of London Underground Limited from Dept of Transport.Oyster card smart card ticket system begins operation.

2005, Suicide bombers detonate bombs on three tube trains and one bus killing 52 and injuring more than 770 people.Two weeks later four further bombers fail when their bombs do not explode.

2009,Construction begins on Crossrail, Europe's largest construction project. it is expected to be in operation by 2018.

2010,East London line re opens as part of London Overground network.

2012 Major upgrade work completed on the Victoria line now allows 32 trains per hour.

 

I hope you find these stats interesting. there are many many more available, but I would be here all day.

 

Even though we may complain if a train is broken down or there is a signal failure, if it wasn't for the vision and hard and dangerous work where would London be now? I take my hat of to those people.

 

I hope the tube grows and lives on forever.

[IntExp]

The forerunner of many of the world's leading subways....and arguably, it's one of the top subway systems in the world. One day, I'd like to ride the tube, but until then...

 

Wish ya well, London Underground. Keep going strong, and here's to another 150 years...