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london underground tube

Virtual London Tube Journey

  • Local time
  • Location: London, England
  • Source: Techandtrains101
  • Info: Virtual London underground tube jpurney. Hop aboard and experience the famous London Tube. The history of the London underground dates back to 1863 when the world's first underground railway, the Metropolitan Railway, opened between Paddington and Farringdon.
    Find out about getting around London with Transport For London.

More info: The first underground was built in the heart of the business district and was called the Metropolitan Railway. It used steam locomotives which were not ideal as steam, soot and smuts entered the carriages and made the surroundings dirty.

Electrification towards the end of the nineteenth century provided a much cleaner environment and meant tunnels could be dug deeper as ventilation was not such a problem. The City & South London, in 1890, was the first electric underground railway in the world. A number of lines driven through that became the Piccadilly, Bakerloo and Northern lines. They provided cheap frequent and quick journeys from the inner suburbs.

Initially, lifts were used to carry passengers to the deep level, but escalators followed, the first being installed in Earls Court Station on the Piccadilly Line in 1911.

Additional Information:
  • London Underground: the Tube - Visit London - www.visitlondon.com
  • Tube and Rail Maps - Transport for London - tfl.gov.uk
  • A very short history of the Underground - London Transport Museum - www.ltmuseum.co.uk
  • 50 Crazy Facts We Bet You Didn’t Know About The Tube - Secret London - secretldn.com