# London Rail


## Posts

- [The Rove canal tunnel #2](https://londonrail.uk/the-rove-canal-tunnel-two/): This is the second part of the posts covering the Rove canal tunnel. In the first part the canal was approved and construction given the go ahead. The canal and the tunnel’s construction finally began in 1905(**). Due in part to the massive Rove tunnel, it was predicted that the Marseille-Rhône canal would take eight to ten years to build. Work started in 1910–11. Although World War I created some setbacks, jail labour was used to help move things ahead, and eventually, a lot of labour was transferred from Italy and Spain to keep the building process moving. Certain sections […]
- [The Scole Railway](https://londonrail.uk/the-scole-railway-intial/): The Scole Railway is one of Britain’s most obscure lines. It was a system built to serve farmland and market gardens. Passengers were never carried. The Scole Railway is considered one of the pioneer systems built for the specific purpose of serving farms and agriculture. The system connected with the main Great Eastern line at Diss. The Great Eastern from London and Ipswich to Norwich was once replete with numerous branches and stations yet barely any exist these days on the sections beyond suburbia. Stations from Ipswich were once to be found at Bamford, Claydon, Needham, Haugley, Finningham, Mellis, Burston, […]
- [The Rove canal tunnel](https://londonrail.uk/the-rove-tunnelrailways-canal-tunnels-special/): This is a special feature covering the Rove tunnel in France. This follows on from the recent Railways and Canal Tunnels series. Rove tunnel deserves a whole post because there’s very little in the way of English websites or blogs featuring this gigantic tunnel. The enormous subterranean waterway system, which was built for inland transportation between Marseille and the Rhône, is billed as one of the greatest tunnels ever built. Its astounding height and width are unmatched by other tunnels. A huge network of railways, including both standard gauge and narrow gauge lines, was used extensively in its construction. The […]
- [My, my, what a load of rubbish!](https://londonrail.uk/my-my-what-a-load-of-rubbish/): When anyone reads London Rail every article is faithfully written and research is intense (and by the way not a single cent is earned). Not only that the output has detail and facts which others who are often paid and almost certainly abled (including speech) simply don’t bother with. The latest from a certain London journal which was published 6th June 2025 is certainly one of those regular items where these sort of people with such prominence write articles that are factually incorrect. In this particular instance it was the one usual newspaper who are quite able to divulge a […]
- [Blatten and the Swiss railway](https://londonrail.uk/blatten-and-the-swiss-railway/): The picturesque upper Lötschental is where the recent calamity involving the village of Blatten occurred. It is a disaster of gigantic proportions and the huge avalanche and mud slide from the Birch glacier has buried the village to a depths of between 50 and 200 metres. That’s pretty deep if one thinks about it. Fifty metres is 165 feet in imperial measure, and at the other end of the scale its 656 feet of debris piled above parts of the village. The local roads have been cut off as has the valley’s river, the Lonza. In short it is an […]
- [Auditing TfL - plus a requiem for 'London Transit'](https://londonrail.uk/auditing-tfl-plus-a-requiem-for-london-transit/): The auditing of TfL is something I have thought about doing ever since TfL’s purple uniformed bods hunted me down and treated me with what can only be shocking attitude. That occurred just before the launch of the Elizabeth line in 2022 (we’re now on the third anniversary of that opening). Because I have communication problems, learning disabilities, etc, I would no doubt find it very difficult to audit TfL. And besides, I have had regular counselling ever since that episode, thus there’s little chance of my gaining any confidence at any time soon – and that especially with my […]
- [Google Veo3](https://londonrail.uk/google-veo3/): Soon we will have fake railway and other transport videos that are too good to be true! The launch of Google Flow (or Google Veo3) the other day has given AI generated videos a huge step – and the first fake historical railway and London bus films have already made their appearance! The Google Flow labs page – which is different from the official Google VEO page. The Labs page is where one should go if they wish to try out Veo3/Flow. Here are a few AI video renders from Veo/Flow that have a strong transport theme! Be prepared to […]
- [A Tower Subway memo](https://londonrail.uk/a-tower-subway-memo/): A London Inheritance published a post detailing the Tower Subway and also implied the southern end of the subway happened to be a mystery because it could not be ascertained whether the modern structure behind the Unicorn Theatre in Vine Lane was indeed its southern end. Its not its original southern end however the tunnel was extended perhaps around twenty years ago from its original location further north – thus the southern end of the Tower Subway is no mystery of any sort when it comes to deciding whether this is indeed the present access point to that tunnel. The […]
- [The Bridgewater canal breach #5](https://londonrail.uk/the-bridgewater-canal-breach-five/): Here’s the latest on the Bridgewater canal’s woes as work to repair/rebuild the disastrous breach at Dunham Massey gets underway! Having now done this fifth instalment on the Bridgewater – it somehow feels like I’m Ryan the Ride Mechanic! Instead of discussing the engineering problems of theme park rides (of which a few have been featured on London Rail) its all about the engineering problems of the canals! Unlike Ryan I’m not even an engineer of any sort, but have some background acquired over the past fifty years including working with some of the country’s prominent canal pioneers such as […]
- [The Bakerloobe](https://londonrail.uk/the-bakerloobe/): This is a follow up to the early origins of the Baker Street and Waterloo Railway – including being called the Bakerloo right from the days BEFORE the line had even been opened! There was one other portmanteau name that was offered in lieu of Bakerloo – and this was the Bakerloobe. No doubt it was a clever and witty means of going that one step further than merely having ‘Bakerloo’. All the attempts to rename the new tube line in 1906 were quite numerous, but few attempts made the grade. Bakerloo was no doubt the most successful of them […]
- [KX/LNER: A celebration of anniversaries](https://londonrail.uk/kx-lner-a-celebration-of-anniversaries/): King’s Cross station had its 170th anniversary and then both KX/LNER celebrated the Flying Scotsman’s anniversary, then LNER’s 100th anniversary – well sort of as the current LNER hasn’t been in existence for a century. (This thread on Rail Forums discusses the pros and cons of that claim.) But nevertheless there are important milestones that do constitute, combined, a number of centuries century since the original LNER was conceived in 1923. But of course if it hadn’t been for King’s Cross station there would have been no East Coast Main Line, no GNR, no LNER, and no BR (ER.) The […]
- [Yup its Pompeii! Rail 2000 #2](https://londonrail.uk/yup-its-pompeii-rail-2000-two/): One might have thought Yup its Pompeii! Celebrating Rail 2000 had been written in jest, for there are no railways to be found two thousands years ago – and yet in that article there were a couple of illustrations depicting steam trains within the Pompeii landscape! There’s every possibility people thought this was a joke or I had got my research impossibly wrong – who’d ever have the idea of celebrating railways 2000 years ago for #Railway200! But I wasn’t far off for some weeks later this was indeed the subject of a talk by Gareth Dennis at Hopetown in […]
- [London Underground's longest advert?](https://londonrail.uk/london-undergrounds-longest-advert/): Huge advertising currently to be seen at Oxford Circus station has to be a contender for the longest advert ever featured on London’s tube system! Its a non stop advert from one end of the station platform to the other on the northbound Victoria line. Its on the offside tunnel wall and the train featured on the advert stretches as far as the eye can see! The total length of the advert is 130 metres. There’s also an endless assortment of pots and pans and other kitchen utensils that populate every window on the train in the advert. Ecover, a […]
- [Knightsbridge tube's final weekend](https://londonrail.uk/knightsbridge-tubes-final-weekend/): This is the final weekend (commencing 26th April 2025) of Knightsbridge tube station as a facility that offers access to its platforms solely by way of a bank of escalators and stairs. From next week Knightsbridge station will offer new accessible elevators (lifts) and corridors via a new entrance in Hoopers Court – and that will complete a series of upgrade that have completely altered the station’s appearance from its 1930s look. Alas modernity in those far off days didn’t consider disability in any way or form – thus many stations from that period which offer escalator only options are […]
- [Railways and canal tunnels #4](https://londonrail.uk/railways-and-canal-tunnels-four/): In writing about railways and canal tunnels one might perhaps wonder why railways and canals in general are not the subject of discussion – apart from the Railway and Canal Historical Society who have existed since the 1950s with the aim of bringing history and topics on both together. There’s no doubt railways were substantially employed in the construction of many 20th century canals and also worked alongside the canals as the many wharves and quays built throughout history have shown – but even so there is not much in terms of the actual interaction between railway and canal tunnel […]
- [The Bridgewater canal breach #4](https://londonrail.uk/the-bridgewater-canal-breach-four/): This fourth instalment is three months on from the previous. Perhaps the biggest news so far is the Bridgewater company has given what seems a possibly optimistic date for re-opening the canal. On the 17th April their Facebook page announced a date of December 2026. Its quite optimistic given the scale of the breach, especially when smaller breaches have taken the best part of two years to fix. December 2025 is twenty months away and not even two years! The Bridgewater canal announcement 17th April 2025. Facebook. Its very optimistic given that this is the biggest breach on the waterway […]
- [Elizabeth line vs other GRC structures](https://londonrail.uk/elizabeth-line-vs-other-grc-structures/): When one looks at existing Glass Fibre Reinforced Concrete (GRC) buildings that have been around far longer than the Elizabeth line stations, one can only stand in awe, for these older buildings, some in very harsh climates, have withstood the test of time miles better. Indeed it looks as if the Elizabeth line’s stations have had people constantly throwing muck the walls and not a single effort has been made to clean this off. There have indeed been attempts to clean the Elizabeth line’s stations but not with much success and TfL has to use decals to hide some of […]
- [Knightsbridge opens soon!](https://londonrail.uk/knightsbridge-opens-soon/): This is a post first began in 2021 in anticipation of the completion of the Knightsbridge station upgrade project – and in view of the ongoing delays the original post has now been split up into several in order to cover the different progressions on the station’s upgrade. This past four years the main body of the original post has just sort of stayed on the side-lines while the other posts were published. The good news is the original Knightsbridge tube station – closed in February 1934 – will become part of the London Underground system once again later this […]
- [A certain problem with the railways](https://londonrail.uk/a-certain-problem-with-the-railways/): When Jago Hazzard says in his latest video (thanks to him for prompting me to write this latest essay) the railways are the biggest thing, everything will be railways (‘The time will come when railways will supersede almost every other form of conveyance in this country’) ‘etc etc, its almost like a patriarchal edict, a message from the long gone advocates of railways who were indeed men. I mean no-one invented railways who was of the female fraternity. That is a truly sober fact. Richard Trevithick. Robert Stephenson. Isambard Kingdom Brunel. William Barlow. Joseph Locke. John Fowler. James Greathead. Frank […]
- [The 'Bakerloo tube'](https://londonrail.uk/the-bakerloo/): Nigh on a hundred and twenty years ago, London’s fourth tube railway was on the way to being completed and opened. But there was controversy – and this revolved around the line’s name. Certainly there were other tube lines that would have far more of a mouthful for a title – such as the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway. Yet Baker Street and Waterloo Railway seemed innocuous enough. History tells us it was coined the Bakerloo some three months after the line had opened. Its said the person who coined the abbreviated name went by the name of Quex […]
- [Railways and canal tunnels #3](https://londonrail.uk/railways-and-canal-tunnels-three/): This third instalment looks at the longest canal tunnel in the UK and a long forgotten canal built underneath the centre of Manchester – and how the railways took advantage of this subterranean canal. Despite a dearth of canal tunnels across the pond this instalment also includes two examples of tunnel in the States (which has just seven canal tunnels in total) – and which are strongly associated with both railway and canal systems. This section is basically the bit that leads into the soon to be published fourth instalment of this series which covers relevant tunnels in question in […]
- [Thruppenny cable car systems](https://londonrail.uk/thruppenny-cable-car-systems/): Cable car systems that cost thruppence each? Yes that is what this post is all about! On a far more serious note, the thruppenny was what many called the old British three penny – and that because it was a twelve sided dodecagon shaped coin. Hence a number of cable car systems featuring dodecagon shaped cabins (twelve sides too) emerged in the early days of the world’s cableways. Why the cabins were twelve sided isn’t known but in any event they were not circular but oval shaped. These ‘thruppence’ cable cars had the very latest innovations and set the scene […]
- [Ghost exorcisms on the Elizabeth line!](https://londonrail.uk/exorcism-on-the-elizabeth-line/): The modern day exorcist has arrived! It could be anyone, even you or me, but in this case its TfL. The long standing controversy of those ghostly marks that are a feature of the Elizabeth line has finally seen a solution implemented. Its a simple case of cover the damn things! Evidently its easier to cover up such nobilities rather than clean them. Patch and make-do is certainly becoming the name of the game on the Elizabeth line – especially in terms of those ghostly shadows. In a sense one could say these ghosts have essentially been exorcised! This has […]
- [The Island Line runaway train 1991](https://londonrail.uk/the-island-lines-runaway-train-1991/): Back in 2019 a feature on runway tube trains was featured. One of the posts published had a short section about a runaway train on the Island line. Despite the incident being mentioned in at least two rail magazines (one of which the author has a copy) it seemed absolutely nothing was mentioned in the national press nor the Isle of Wight local press! The incident was no doubt serious enough in terms of the disaster that could have occurred had the runway train been allowed to continued its northward journey and collided at speed with a southbound train on […]
- [Railways and canal tunnels #2](https://londonrail.uk/railways-and-canal-tunnels-two/): This is part two of the railways and canal tunnels feature. Whilst it was suggested one of the earliest contractors railways had occurred during the mid 1780s as suggested in part one of this feature, the fullest history is incomplete there in terms of railway chronology – and that is because the next railway/canal combo is an even earlier example. There’s no canal tunnel to begin with in this equation – thus the Sapperton example given previously still stands as perhaps the earliest known example of a railway being used in the construction of a canal. Even though the next […]
- [The great unwashed 72 tube stock](https://londonrail.uk/the-great-unwashed-72-tube-stock/): When it seemed the Bakerloo’s trains were going quite a considerable time without having a wash at the start of it all anyone could have assumed it was perhaps a temporary hiccup. But after seeing Bakerloo train after Bakerloo train totally covered in grime for the past two months and the trains are getting increasingly filthy, one must in all reasonableness conclude the shocking grime that covers the 1972 tube stock is here to stay! Its an amazing turn of events especially after the news that came in September 2024 revealing that the Piccadilly line trains were the filthiest on […]
- [Yup its Pompeii! Celebrating Rail 2000](https://londonrail.uk/yup-its-pompeii-celebrating-rail-2000/): Alright, buckle up railway fans because we’re about to embark on a thrilling journey of pre-industrial rail travel! Forget your high-speed bullet trains and reclining seats – and that means a focus upon Railways 2000! We’re going back to a time when “comfort” meant not getting splinters in your, shall we say, posterior. Italians invented helicopters and submarines more than 500 years ago but these were a bit too late for we’re talking about what must be another 1500 years earlier – the Roman Empire, circa AD 79. Just before that charming little volcanic incident in Pompeii. Now, before you […]
- [Famed British Rail 'ship' has no buyers](https://londonrail.uk/famed-british-rail-ship-has-no-buyers/): A famed British Rail ship that’s for sale? Erm, which one was this then? Well it was one that stood right by water but it was also one that never floated! The last ‘captain’ of the said ‘ship’ had been one who owned a world-wide business concern that included a privatised yet highly reputable railway operator as part of its portfolio. And that was Richard Branson’s Virgin Company! The ‘ship’ or building involved rather was more to do with the music side of the business and the location proved ideal for our business magnate. And that was because the building […]
- [Railways and Canal Tunnels](https://londonrail.uk/railways-and-canal-tunnels-one/): When one thinks of railways and ‘canal tunnels’ one thing would come to mind and its the Canal Tunnels that belong to Thameslink! They are indeed named after the Regent’s Canal beneath which they pass. Its misleading however because they are not strictly a tunnel like that nearby at Islington where the same canal passes through a lengthy subterranean tunnel. Tunnels do usually involve railways but there were some, besides being a true canal tunnel, that had a railway linked to them in one respect or another. In terms of how a railway and a canal could encounter each other […]
- [The Bridgewater canal breach #3](https://londonrail.uk/the-bridgewater-canal-breach-three/): A few days ago much of northern England was shivering in temperatures of minus 6 or more. That didn’t stop the preserved railways running services, even though some began their operations late because of the need to unfreeze equipment or water supplies. The countryside was resplendent in glorious white scenery however and that was also true for the area where the Bridgewater canal breach occurred. Brrr! But beautiful though. As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and beauty could never in a million years, distract from the quite considerable destruction the Bridgewater canal breach has caused. […]
- [The Bridgewater canal breach #2](https://londonrail.uk/the-dukes-cut-takes-a-breach-two/): Many things have been happening in the aftermath of the Bridgewater canal breach which occurred in the early hours of New Years Day 2025 where the navigation crosses the River Bolin valley. The location is just a short distance from the National Trust’s Dunham Massey house. This past couple of days there’s been a Boater’s meeting with the canal management and they announced plans that would see the stranded boaters moved off the stricken sections of canal. This will involve the construction of coffer dams in order to rescue the stranded boats (see the Warrington Guardian and Warrington Worldwide). The […]
- [The Bridgewater canal breach](https://londonrail.uk/the-dukes-cut-takes-a-breach-original/): In my archives I have a book commemorating the reconstruction of the Bridgewater canal following a massive breach that occurred in 1971 – and the surprise is the same thing has happened again at pretty much the same location – except this time its much worse than previous. Its not the first canal breach I have known of, indeed one I had to attend to was the Coventry breach in 1978 and have seen several others. Indeed there was a substantial breach nearby at Dutton on the Trent and Mersey canal in 2012. Fortunately this didn’t affect the Bridgewater because […]
- [TfL Rail cab ride to Paddington 2019](https://londonrail.uk/tfl-rail-cab-ride-to-paddington-2019/): Cab ride on Crossrail (aka TfL Rail/Elizabeth line) in December 2019 which was filmed and uploaded to Youtube – hence this is a 5th anniversary post of sorts! The event in question was the first day TfL Rail services to Reading officially started. In a report written on that full Class 345 round trip it was said: ‘In terms of Crossrail itself, this post today actually isn’t about Crossrail… but its more about a considerable new train service that has started and which goes to Reading which replaces that previously provided by GWR.’ The cab ride has never been discussed on […]
- [The mystery rail sponsor...](https://londonrail.uk/the-mystery-rail-sponsor/): I’m thrilled to share that this blog has gained a sponsor! I reached out to a well-known figure – its someone whose name many could well recognize! Alas his understanding of railway issues was once problematic and even though the reasoning was brilliantly delivered, there were numerous issues with the methodology employed. It pandered to those with right-wing views who saw the railways as a constant drain on the country’s money. They no doubt thought roads were the far better option. Many people opposed the policies that favoured roads over railways but to no avail. I can personally attest that […]
- [Paddington tube station design error is finally righted after a century!](https://londonrail.uk/paddington-tube-station-design-error-finally-righted-after-a-century/): Paddington tube station has something that NO other tube station has! What is it? It could be any number of things, such as being the only deep level accessible tube station on the Bakerloo line (even though its not even step free from train to street – and by the way it isn’t the only deep level tube station on that line with accessibility from platform to street anyhow – but that’s a secret essentially because its not something TfL advertises). In fact this mystery thing is all down to the tube station’s history. The station’s very design in fact. […]
- [The Hammersmith & City's line's construction disaster](https://londonrail.uk/the-hammersmith-citys-lines-construction-disaster/): This is a special post for the 160th Anniversary of the Hammersmith & City line! Everyone knows the history of Metropolitan Railway as the world’s first underground line on 10th January 1863 between Bishops Road and Farringdon – but that was not even how the line was going to be built. Long before they had even started building the line to Farringdon extensions to the system were under consideration with some already approved by Act of Parliament. The Hammersmith & City opened to fanfare on 13th June 1864 – one hundred and sixty years ago, and through trains ran began […]
- [Southgate station - an appraisal](https://londonrail.uk/southgate-station-an-appraisal/): The fact Cockfosters station – an appraisal was popular prompted me to dig out this further look at one of the Piccadilly line’s iconic tube stations. Although we regularly visited Southgate in the 1960s, at no time was the Piccadilly line ever used this far. However the station certainly is remembered because this was where we changed buses for Winchmore Hill. From East London it was certainly a bit of a faff trying to get to this part of North London. Surprisingly heading into London itself wasn’t a problem because we had both the Liverpool Street-Shenfield and the Central lines […]
- [Cockfosters station - an appraisal](https://londonrail.uk/cockfosters-station-an-appraisal/): Despite being the butt of many a joke, ‘Cock Fosters’ as it once was, is a real place and noted for being the northern terminus of the Piccadilly Line. The location itself prior to the opening of the tube was not even a major settlement of any sort, just a small school and a vicarage. The location itself was both in deepest Middlesex and Hertfordshire. The destination was not on the original plans, however the need for a large train depot pushed the line further north to where more land was available for this. The eight stations on the new […]
- [Barnstaple to Ilfracombe #3](https://londonrail.uk/barnstaple-to-ilfracombe-three/): The former railway from Barnstaple to Ilfracombe opened on 20th July 1874 – 150 years ago. It never reached its 100th anniversary, closing on 5th October 1970. By the time the anniversary year came about four years later, the line had been disused for that time and not long after, despite deliberations on whether to reopen the route as a British Railways concern, plus a preservation society set up to try and purchase the line from its owners – an attempt which sadly failed. Thereafter it was progressively dismantled. Here is the final part of the online guide to the […]
- [Barnstaple to Ilfracombe #2](https://londonrail.uk/barnstaple-to-ilfracombe-two/): This is the second part of the online guide to the Ilfracombe railway and features the stretch from Braunton to Willingcott. That is near near the summit of the line just south of Mortehoe. Although around half of the route through Barnstaple, Braunton and Ilfracombe now constitutes the Tarka Trail, much of the following section isn’t part of the trail because many sections are in private ownership. There are moves to reopen further sections of the former railway. The lack of public access points however makes this a difficult task. This section of former railway was once one of the […]
- [The twopenny tube guard who got killed by his own train](https://londonrail.uk/the-twopenny-tube-guard-who-got-killed-by-his-own-train/): In the very early days of London’s premier underground line – the Central London Railway (CLR) or the twopenny tube as it was popularly known, procured its first ever fatality. It wasn’t a passenger but a member of staff and the matter was down to the staff in question having taken offence to someone smoking in a non-smoking carriage. What happened in the course of this was a nasty accident and essentially that was the totality of the guard’s carelessness. Indeed the rules for train staff (guards, drivers, conductors etc) was they were not to poke their heads out of […]
- [Barnstaple to Ilfracombe #1](https://londonrail.uk/barnstaple-to-ilfracombe-one/): The Barnstaple and Ilfracombe railway opened in July 1874 thus 2024 is the 150th anniversary of the line’s opening. Despite opposition the line closed in October 1970 after British Railways had totally rationalised the line in an attempt to keep the costs of running it to a minimum. Ultimately the Government of the day was not satisfied and ordered it shut. For more than a decade the route remained in a derelict state pending a possible restoration bid. The tracks lay moribund for a few more years whilst the possibility of reopening remained however remote it was. Eventually the track […]
- [The South Shore doubles its act!](https://londonrail.uk/the-south-shore-doubles-its-act/): The South Shore line project involving work to double the route and modernise the street section in Michigan City continues. The main route also sees upgrades and enhancements at a number of other locations. The ninety mile route gets a brand new railroad too! This is a new branch off the South Shore’s main route at Hammond and its eight miles long upon an elevated structure with three stations. These upgrades will no doubt elevate the South Shore’s role as a commuter route between Chicago and Indiana and the fact it acquires a brand new route too only serves to […]
- [The Tokyo to Osaka Line #8](https://londonrail.uk/the-tokyo-to-osaka-line-eight/): Following the publication of the five parts of the The Tokyo to Osaka Line covering the classic railway route and the Tōkaidō Shinkansen, three further parts were drawn up covering other aspects of the New Tōkaidō Line. In other words mostly stuff that’s little known to the English speaking world! Due to numerous problems with the blog this substantial section was never published. The original Shinkansen train drivers… The drivers of the first Hikari express to Tokyo on this momentous 1964 day being interviewed about their experiences 54 years later. Kameo Seki (85) and Kazutaro Oishi (85) are seen at […]
- [The day tube staff dropped in on a happy honeymoon couple](https://londonrail.uk/the-day-tube-staff-dropped-in-on-a-happy-honeymoon-couple/): One would think from the title that this was some happy event not ever recorded previously in any blog or other media. You know, quite a big surprise and balloons and a buffet and the rest of it so as to make the honeymoon couple have a most memorable occasion and one to remember… Well this couldn’t be further from the truth. There was an event but it wasn’t even any sort of pleasurable event. In fact its clear the event was undoubtedly one of the most macabre episodes to have ever occurred on London’s underground system… This follows on […]
- [Milwaukee Road: Seattle/Tacoma](https://londonrail.uk/the-milwaukee-road-at-seattle-tacoma/): Avery is of course the western end of the noted 440 mile long Rockies electrification. However the company also ran another electrics division that traversed the Cascades in Washington state, and these tracks led to Seattle and Tacoma. The latter was of course the absolute extremity of any of the Milwaukee’s electrified lines even though there were some other non-electrified lines the company operated to the west of Tacoma. The former Milwaukee Road’s route in Tacoma has been largely demolished and a brand new ‘metro’ railway built in its place. But there are surprises in terms of the former railway […]
- [The tube's first ever fatalities](https://londonrail.uk/the-tubes-first-ever-fatalities/): The first ever fatality on the tube occurred one hundred and thirty one years ago this month and this occurred in the very early months of the then new City and South London Railway, which as many know, is now part of London’s Northern Line. (PS if one wants to read about the first ever tube fatality rather than all the prep work that precedes the history of that – please scroll down about halfway down the page to learn of the CSLR passenger who lost their life at the Oval lifts in 1891.) A recent Hidden London Hangouts programme […]
- [The Tokyo to Osaka Line #7](https://londonrail.uk/the-tokyo-to-osaka-line-seven/): Following the publication of the five parts of the The Tokyo to Osaka Line covering the classic railway route and the Tōkaidō Shinkansen, the sixth, seventh and eighth parts were drawn up covering other aspects of the New Tōkaidō Line. In other words mostly stuff that’s little known to the English speaking world! High speed freight on the New Tōkaidō Line The original plans from 1938 envisaged passenger trains during the day and freight trains at night. The idea was carried through to the 1955 plans for a high speed railway and in due course part of the works at […]
- [The best Tube photo ever (redux)](https://londonrail.uk/the-best-tube-photo-ever-redux/): Could this photograph from 1937 be the best ever composition taken on London’s tube? It’s certainly very unusual for its time because it suggests a substantial abstraction and mystique. We do not know who the subject is other than its a guy in a bowler hat and his entire figure is almost in shadow. Perhaps it is in fact a central London Railway Official showing Hoppé around the disused station and at that point Hoppé had an eureka moment, and this is the result? E.O.Hoppé was a German who settled in London and was considerably noted for many iconic images […]
- [The Tokyo to Osaka Line #6](https://londonrail.uk/the-tokyo-to-osaka-line-six/): Following the publication of the five parts of the The Tokyo to Osaka Line covering the classic railway route and the Tōkaidō Shinkansen, follow ups were drafted. Largely completed with technical stuff and other gems on the New Tōkaidō Line, as well as its drivers and engineers etc. In other words other aspects of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen which is so little known to the English speaking world! However due to numerous problems with the blog these drafts never got to publication stage. The date given above was the last any work had been done on these unpublished Shinkansen instalments. Noise […]
- [The Tokyo to Osaka Line: A history #5](https://londonrail.uk/the-tokyo-to-osaka-line-a-history-five/): The year is now 1964 and the New Tokaido Line is ready to be opened! The 515.4 kilometres (320miles) between Tokyo and Osaka was opened to critical acclaim in October 1964 and instantly became a world wide hit. High speed trains were the future! In the line’s early days the services were limited to a maximum of 210kmh although the trains could go faster. The world was quite sceptical anyone could pull off a brand new railway especially when the future was those revolutionary cars, planes & space craft. Trains were no doubt seen as remnants of a bygone age. […]
- [Western DMUs on the Metropolitan Line!](https://londonrail.uk/western-dmus-on-the-metropolitan-line/): The London Underground’s history has been replete with many instances of main line passenger trains, and freight trains sharing tracks with London Underground’s trains. Bow Road to Upminster, Shoreditch to New Cross and New Cross Gate, Gunnersbury to Richmond, Putney to Wimbledon, Ealing Broadway to High Street Kensington, Kilburn High Road to Watford Junction, Croxley and Rickmansworth, Harrow on the Hill to Quainton Road, East Finchley to Mill Hill East and High Barnet, White City to West Ruislip, Leyton and Newbury Park to Epping and Ongar, not forgetting Latimer Road to Olympia and Earl’s Court (the former Outer Circle) and […]
- [Elizabeth line: 'Ship impact protection'](https://londonrail.uk/the-elizabeth-lines-ship-impact-protection/): Ship impact protection? What the heck is that? Well its a means of protecting something from being hit by ships. You know ships can be pretty nasty if they collide with something, say another boat, a quay or even buildings sited alongside water. Thus its said that Canary Wharf is the only Elizabeth Line station to have ‘ship impact protection.‘ … ‘Wait a minute! Ship what…??? And why would they need it?’ Is it some sort of massive biggie this ‘ship impact protection?’ Apparently they think so, which is why it was said. Quote unquote: ‘Canary Wharf is the only […]
- [The Opicina tram - an update](https://londonrail.uk/the-opicina-tram-an-update/): The Opicina tram in Northern Italy, the world’s only tramway of its kind, has been shut nearly 5 years. Following an accident on Via Commerciale between Trieste and Opicina in August 2016, it was forced to close. The line was meant to reopen in March 2020 but then came the COVID pandemic. The last time I reported on the tram, the prognosis was it wouldn’t reopen til 2022. A scandal erupted when a business hired to rebuild the line basically abandoned it, leaving the Trieste municipality out of pocket. This was due to the fact that the firm had been […]
- [London's only tube trains with a forward view!](https://londonrail.uk/londons-only-tube-trains-with-a-forward-view/): Now that the 1938 tube stock’s long era in public service has come to an end with the last examples having bowed out from the Island Line, I thought it would be a good time to talk about the one element of these tube trains no one ever seems to mention. That is the fact that they were the first deep level tube stock to provide passengers with a forward view of the line ahead! If one does not know what I mean when its alluded they had forward facing views, please read on! Let it be said that facility […]
- [Oxford Circus escalator pics - the update!](https://londonrail.uk/oxford-circus-escalator-pics-the-update/): Just over a week ago I published a feature on the new pictures at Oxford Circus tube which featured the history of escalators on London’s underground. One curiosity was the fact all the pictures were in chronological order other than the final three which were set out as 1976, 1950 and 2014 (that’s in the direction one walks from the bottom of the escalator.) Since I published my article, TfL staff have clearly made efforts to correct the somewhat clumsy sequence – thus it now reads as 1950, 1976 and 2014. Its definitely a lot better than it was before! […]
- [Oxford Circus escalator pics](https://londonrail.uk/oxford-circus-escalator-pics/): Work on the down northbound escalators at Oxford Circus is accompanied by a novelty rarely seen at any escalator work on the tube. This is a photomontage of images depicting escalator history and building. While this has been done at one, maybe two, other tube stations, this particular exhibit includes a photograph of London’s only spiral escalator, as well as some other rarely seen photos of Oxford Circus, including construction of new escalators as a replacement for the station’s lifts in the 1920s. The station was renowed for taking the longest to repair or replace escalators, as well as having […]
- [The Southwold Railway #3](https://londonrail.uk/the-southwold-railway-three/): Forty years of dereliction and decay: After closure the line remained derelict for the next twenty years or so. There were moves to reopen it, none of which came to fruition. Most of the route’s track remained until the early forties. The army blew up part of the Blyth bridge thus the line was severed and that preventing any possible reopening. The most positive move towards reopening of the line had in fact taken place during the latter half of 1929. It was said by Modern Railways a Mr Ronald Shephard of Wimbledon was in negotiation with the railway’s owners […]
- [The Tokyo to Osaka Line: A history #4](https://londonrail.uk/introducing-the-new-tokaido-line-four/): The fourth instalment in this comprehensive series on the origins of the Shinkasen! This covers a series of photographs of the line’s construction between Tokyo and Osaka, with the former and latter stations well represented, as seen during 1963. There’s also some detail about the construction of the New Tanna Tunnel on which work had started back in 1959. In Tokyo itself it certainly wasn’t an easy job to build the new line as the new alignment took up a thin ribbon alongside the existing railways and sections suspended above the city’s streets had to be employed. Part of the […]
- [The first official Great British Railways Logo!](https://londonrail.uk/the-first-official-great-british-railways-logo/): Great British Railways is on the way! Its basically a re-nationalisation of the railways (to some sort of extent based on the TfL model where individual companies manage the various transport systems TfL requires as part of the day to day operations keeping London on the move.) I’m not going to write very much about the new railway proposals (which is known as the Williams-Shapps plan for Rail.) Its been drawn up as a result of the Williams report which many have been waiting for. In many ways its a surprise because the Government has acknowledged the present franchising system […]
- [Sir Roundlington Lives!](https://londonrail.uk/sir-roundlington-lives-2/): Sir Roundlington is a name you’ve probably never heard of. He was supposed to be a new TfL mascot, but he didn’t make the cut. Other examples of short-lived mascots include Wilfred the bunny, who failed to make the cut in the 1920s. Sir Roundlington is probably the least well-known, and after being deposed from the TfL mascot throne, he struggled on for a little while longer before announcing financial difficulties. That was the last time anyone heard from TfL’s mascot. I’m sure TfL was relieved to see him go, as would a large number of tube passengers! So, what […]
- [Tower Subway gets filmed!](https://londonrail.uk/the-tower-subway-gets-filmed/): London’s mysterious Tower Subway, which opened in August 1870 and was the site for the city’s very first tube railway even though that was a small narrow gauge line with just one carriage carrying a few passengers a time under the Thames, has been the subject of curiosity for decades because many spot its circular brick building at its entrance in Tower Hill, but no-one knows what’s down there these days apart from one picture that can be seen on Subterranea Britannica. About two weeks ago when there was snow the Urbex explorers The Secret Vault (who have a You […]
- [BR & LT decimalisation](https://londonrail.uk/br-lt-and-decimalisation-1971/): This weekend fifty years ago both British Railways and London Transport began a major task in their ticket offices and ticket machines to embrace the pending national conversion from pounds, shillings, pennies, to the new decimal coinage of pounds and pence. The change was effected on 14 February with the rest of the country following on 15 February 1971, officially known as DDay. The momentous event had been a long time coming for Britain had first advocated decimalisation of its currency more than a century earlier. Here’s a transcript from Hansard from February 1824 – one of the early parliamentary […]
- [The Tokyo to Osaka Line: A history #3](https://londonrail.uk/introducing-the-new-tokaido-line-three/): The third instalment in this comprehensive series on the origins of the Shinkasen! We begin with the notion the new line would be affectionately named Yume no Chōtokkyū – or the ‘Super Dream Express.’ The older (eg 1930s era) and considerably more popular name which many use – ‘Bullet train’ – didn’t gain world wide fame until the new high speed line had in fact opened in 1964. We also look at the new trains and the special test track at Odawara (the ‘Model Line’) the new prototype Shinkansen trains were tested on – plus a brief look the high […]
- [The Southwold Railway #2](https://londonrail.uk/the-southwold-railway-two/): The railway’s route from Southwold to Halesworth: From the station itself the line headed across Southwold common and soon entered the largest cutting on the entire route. This present day view on Google Street shows the start of the cutting itself. Its been a public footpath for the last seventy years or so. This footpath was what enabled me to begin my explorations of the old railway line from 1970 onwards. The cutting on Southwold Common seen from the footbridge built in 1902. As the line traversed Southwold Common it gradually fell towards the River Blyth and soon the junction for the […]
- [Marylebone station anniversary #3](https://londonrail.uk/marylebone-stations-anniversary-3/): From the 1990s to the present day. Pair of 115 DMUs at the station. 1990 possibly. Source: London Reconnections A Class 165 in the early days of its use with a pressed steel DMU visible in the old diesel depot. Source: Twitter. (Note: Tweet is suspended, deleted or made private thus an archived image is used.) I tried hard to find a Wrexham and Shropshire picture from Twitter! This one comes courtesy of a Japanese rail enthusiast! Source: Twitter Notice of filming for ‘Closed’ at the station entrance 2012. Source: Twitter Selfie time with Brendan Cole. Source: Twitter New memorials […]
- [Marylebone station anniversary #2](https://londonrail.uk/marylebone-stations-anniversary-2/): From the 1950s to the end of the eighties. BR 45292 at Marylebone in April 1948, on what is possibly a Manchester express. Note the lower quadrant signal midway on the platform! It can also be seen in the picture featuring the women porters. Source: PicClick (The page in question has now been deleted and the URL used for another image. An archived image is used here.) Bullied double decker mock-up Marylebone 1949. One wonders why they chose Marylebone for this, if the coaches were destined for the Southern… Source: Twitter Marylebone station nameboards, probably the fifties. The large buildings […]
- [The Tokyo to Osaka Line: A history #2](https://londonrail.uk/the-new-tokaido-line-two/): This is the second part of the planning/construction of the Shinaksen. Its straight in to the history! The construction of the Shinkansen would require enormous investment, some thought it would be as much as 200 billion yen. A significant proportion of the funds would have to be raised from banking institutes. In 1959 the Minister of the Treasury, Eisaku Sato, advised the JNR they should apply for a loan from the World Bank. That would amount to 100 million dollars. There were many conditions bound to this loan however. What it meant was the JNR had to show that the […]
- [Southwark's deep level tube shelter](https://londonrail.uk/southwarks-deep-level-tube-shelter/): ‘The Deep’ apparently was the nickname for the Southwark deep level bomb shelter sited within the City and South London Railway’s former tunnels between Borough and London Bridge. The other end of this section at King William Street too was a bomb shelter however it was totally unconnected to Southwark’s thus the section of the railway under the Thames itself remained unused because, well it wasn’t very habitable. It was wet to begin with. Not only that it was on a considerable slope (one tunnel ascending whilst the other descended) so it was a no-no, and to prevent any possible […]
- [The Tokyo to Osaka Line: A history #1](https://londonrail.uk/the-new-tokaido-line-one/): Writing a comprehensive history upon the origins of Japan’s Shinkansen is a large project indeed – and few in the English world have sought to undertake such a task with the exception of Dr. Christopher Hood who is an expert on Japan and has penned a notable history of the Shinanksen. I’ve only read the extracts of this work which is available on Google – and have found most of the other published work in English rather inaccessible – unless one is a professional academician or a recognised historian – which I am neither. Yet I really wanted to learn […]
- [Rails to Ilfracombe #2](https://londonrail.uk/the-barnstaple-ilfracombe-railway-2/): This week is the 50th anniversary of the closure of the Barnstaple to Ilfracombe Railway. This opened on 20 July 1874 and shut for good from 5th October 1970 – the last train was actually two days earlier on the 3rd October – an eight car DMU forming the 19.55pm from Ilfracombe to Exeter carrying around 500 passengers. In this section the line from Mortehoe station to Barnstaple Junction is looked at. The latter is the one and only station that’s still in use – a stub on the lengthy branch from Exeter. Gallery of the line from Ilfracombe to […]
- [Rails to Ilfracombe #1](https://londonrail.uk/barnstaple-ilfracombe/): Trains do indeed still cross the River Taw in many places, eleven times this happens in fact. However a twelfth crossing was the biggest of all – and the one trains just do not use anymore. Yes you guessed – its the Ilfracombe line’s stupendous cast iron viaduct at Barnstaple. That was a rarity in terms of construction as well as a unique example of a curved steel built structure as far as the UK’s railways are concerned. This week is in fact the 50th anniversary of the line’s closure. The Barnstaple to Ilfracombe Railway opened on 20 July 1874 […]
- [Tinpot Railways - Morecambe](https://londonrail.uk/tinpot-railways-special-morecambe/): I wrote about the truncating of the terminus at Morecambe a couple of months back as part of my Tinpot Railways series. That was a great disappointment for me because at the time – which was 1994 when the change-over was done – I was surprised to find upon arriving at the town we were deposited at a most unsuitable station sited some way off from the original – and the that other station could still be seen in the distance! Thumbing through some old RAIL magazines of mine recently I discovered this article on the work to truncate that […]
- [MILW picture gallery #2](https://londonrail.uk/milw-picture-gallery-2/): The second part of this special gallery of Milwaukee Road scenes! Most are from Flickr pools – and not even featured on Google’s pages. Many fascinating pictures – and great photographers who captured these scenes! Drummond between Deer Lodge and Missoula. One of the few stops on the Rockies division to retain semaphore signals. Source: Flickr The sidings at Drummond were west of the depot. The bridge is the Pintler Veterans Memorial scenic highway. Source: Flickr Here’s a view of the Drummond site from the Pintler Veterans Memorial scenic highway – as seen on Google Streets. Difficult to believe this […]
- [MILW picture gallery #1](https://londonrail.uk/milw-picture-gallery-1/): I thought I’d do a gallery of Milwaukee Road scenes! Most are from Flickr pools – and not even featured on Google’s pages. Many fascinating pictures – and some very lucky guys who captured these scenes! The eastern terminus of the 438 miles of electrification at Harlowton. Large marshalling yards and locomotive depots were found at this location. Today there’s nothing left – except the depot building and the roundhouse which has been preserved. Source: Flickr Harlowton in 1983 three years after the Pacific extension had closed. Some track can still be seen in the distance – no doubt the […]
- [Tinpot Railways: Terminal decline #3](https://londonrail.uk/tinpot-railways-terminal-decline-3/): We continue with our investigations into what could be said to be the ‘public sphere’ or perhaps the British consciousness in terms of its railways. The grand modernisation schemes and rationalisations of the sixties and seventies were really nothing more than contrived schemes to give the motorist a better deal. And its how we ended up with tinpot railways. Lines that have little scope for expansion and whose surplus, and evidently now much needed land has been sold off for other uses. Many railways were closed in those two decades alone, probably more than in the preceding decades. Any railway […]
- [Tinpot Railways: Terminal decline #2](https://londonrail.uk/tinpot-railways-terminal-decline-2/): This looks at further examples of British railway’s 4xD policy. That is Demote, Deconstruct, Dereliction and Destruction. I made that up but what it means is first a station was usually demoted. Services downgraded to the most basic. Then the track layout would be deconstructed, usually to a single platform at the far end of a many miles long siding. Following that an air of dereliction would be enthusiastically propagated. The result would of course be further falls in passenger numbers. Then bingo – the railway’s no longer viable. That means destruction was the final, glorious, achievement. This is what […]
- [Tinpot Railways: Terminal decline](https://londonrail.uk/tinpot-railways-terminal-decline/): The good old British railway system! One of the fighter points for the UK’s successful tinpot railway system were its termini. Who needed grand stations with a judicious choice of platforms and stupendous station buildings when a bus stop thingy could do better? Better still – why not push the railway buffers further back and make the bloody passengers walk! These lazy bastards evidently thought a railway ticket meant they’d been cosseted for life! There was in fact a simple answer to the huge conundrum posed by Britain’s railways – just get rid of the damn trains! Let’s start with […]
- [The UK's double deck conundrum 2](https://londonrail.uk/the-uks-double-deck-conundrum-part2/): This is a post examining the long held refutation that double deck trains simply cannot be used on our gloriously tinpot railway systems. This is the second part of a response I have made claim in regards to a Twitter thread on the subject – and that tweet was yet another refutation the UK could have double deck trains. Its one of the things that, for me especially, denotes our UK railways as nothing more than a motley collection of outdated lines with grossly dated philosophies. During 2015-2019 designs and mock-ups were put forward for a UK double deck train, […]
- [Young's Brewery canal](https://londonrail.uk/youngs-brewery-canal/): This is a follow up to other stuff on Wandsworth’s Young’s Ram brewery and the Surrey Iron Railway. Some further stuff related to the former waterway (known as McMurrays canal) which served the town and its brewery was found thus this post was created. Since there’s very little written on this canal, it seemed a good idea to do a post. The canal was originally built as part of the Surrey Iron Railway itself and was in fact owned by the railway company. It made sense to have a proper trans-shipment facility that was inland and well away from the […]
- [The UK's double deck conundrum](https://londonrail.uk/the-uks-double-deck-conundrum/): A few weeks back I had written draft posts with the title Tinpot Railways – these being about the huge disbenefits of Britain’s railways and the backwards culture that is promulgated – it critically examined the role of our railways in new and unthought of ways. By way of my research I know Japan’s railways quite well thus that’s my background in regard to this latest work (or a prequel/prologue whatever) on Britain’s tinpot railways! As history shows, the UK did at least have a pair of double deck trains at one time. Begun in 1949 it wasn’t a very successful try even though […]
- [On the Milwaukee Road #4](https://londonrail.uk/along-the-milwaukee-road-4/): This is the fourth part of the Milwaukee’s electrified Rockies route through Montana towards Eastern Idaho. Many questioned the choice of route especially as it served few places and paralleled other railroads. Compared to the other railroads’ attempts through this part of the States the Milwaukee’s route involved the traverse of two additional mountain ranges! One of these are the Bitterroots through which the line’s St. Paul Pass traverses. These are covered in huge forests which must have made the surveying and construction of the line a nightmare – but what remains is a spectacular trail for people to enjoy. […]
- [On the Milwaukee Road #3](https://londonrail.uk/along-the-milwaukee-road-3/): This is the third part of the Milwaukee’s electrified Rockies route through Montana towards Eastern Idaho. The company’s choice of route was questioned especially as it paralleled other railroads. These outlasted the later Milwaukee company because they were in a rather better position strategically, financially in terms of routeing and station locations and a wider spread of industries that were served. Some of the Milwaukee’s stations in this part of the world were however better placed than their competing lines. Alberton and Superior for example – but that didn’t help the Milwaukee too much because what was important for customers […]
- [On the Milwaukee Road #2](https://londonrail.uk/along-the-milwaukee-road-2/): This is the second part of a look at whats left of the railroad’s 440 mile route through the Rockies and covers the section from Butte to Missoula. The line follows the Clark Fork River for most of the way (as it does in fact all the way to St Regis.) It looks a fairly straightforward route, however because the lines that had then been built had the better route (mainly on the north side of the river) thus the Milwaukee had to use the south side for most of the route. As a result the Milwaukee had to use […]
- [On the Milwaukee Road #1](https://londonrail.uk/along-the-milwaukee-road-1/): A tour featuring some of the highlights of the 440 mile electrified length of the Milwaukee Road between Harlowton and Avery and showing what exists these days mostly using Google Streets. This is a follow up to the introductory post I did a few days ago covering the history of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St, Paul and Pacific Railroad – especially its Rocky Mountain section which in 1915 was the world’s biggest rail electrification scheme. This is divided into four sections – 1) Harlowton to Butte 2) Butte to Missoula 3) Missoula to Saltese 4) Dominion Creek to Avery. There was […]
- [Electric railroad: Rockies #2](https://londonrail.uk/electric-railroad-thro-the-rockies-2/): Most of the westward extension has now vanished and many of its structures have been demolished, save for a few spectacular ones. Tunnels have been blocked off and parts of the route are now highways, or in the more spectacular mountain parts, have become trails for people to walk or bike along and enjoy the scenery. This page is a gallery covering more aspects of the Milwaukee including its dereliction following its closure. There are many spectacular stretches along the Milwaukee Road, but few have been photographed by enthusiasts though. That is because the line is remote and locations are […]
- [Electric Railroad: Rockies #1](https://londonrail.uk/electric-railroad-through-the-rockies/): Forty years ago one of America’s most iconic and controversial transcontinental lines closed down for good, having worked for just over seventy years. This was the only electric line that stretched right across the Rockies & popularly called the Milwaukee Road. Despite the controversies surrounding its construction this once expensive, lengthy and high quality engineered, and much upgraded mountain route was no more. The final train of all left the Tacoma freight yards on 15 March 1980. Almost immediately after workmen began the long task of ripping up more than two thousand miles in total of track across three US […]
- [Five get to Bristol briskly](https://londonrail.uk/five-get-to-bristol-briskly/): Last week most of Central London had copies of the Evening Standard with a special feature cover from Great Western Railway. It was no doubt aimed at day trippers who might wish to take advantage of GWR’s new IETs (their green Azumas if you like!) Especially those faster services that are being offered with the company’s current timetable. GWR has done lots of adverts revolving around the Famous Five, both day trips and holiday jaunts with many variations for each of the pictures that were produced with wide coverage in newspapers, on posters at many rail stations, and there are […]
- [The County Donegal Railways #3](https://londonrail.uk/the-county-donegal-railways-three/): The third part of the CDRJC feature covering the line’s closure and what can be seen of the railway today. The County Donegal Railways closes The end of the CDRJC. December 1959 notice announcing the system’s closure on 31st December 1959. Source: Twitter Although the closure notice implies all freight services were to finish at the end of 1959, a skeleton service continued between Strabane and Stranorlar. Newspaper report published just after Xmas 1959 detailing the County Donegal Railways – to close just a few days later… Source: Twitter Donegal Town station after closure – a fair amount of track is […]
- [Noisy Barbican tube trains #2](https://londonrail.uk/noisy-barbican-tube-trains-2/): Historical knowledge of rail vibrations London Underground has known for decades there is a problem with tube trains making noises. There have been complaints since the first trains ran underground in 1863. However that is probably something that was largely accepted in those days (just as there was soot, steam, heavy machinery continuously at work in factories, horses’ hooves making loud cacophony in the street and so on.) Matters apparently changed in 1955 when London Underground were asked to investigate effects of noise and vibrations from the tube encroaching into a hospital. London Underground conducted experiments in February 1955 to […]
- [Those noisy Barbican tube trains!](https://londonrail.uk/those-noisy-barbican-tube-trains/): Briefly, this is an overview of the problems of tube trains running beneath the Barbican Estate in the City of London, and the huge noise nuisance that’s generated as a result. My post looks at the history of the estate’s tunnels’ construction and how things look today. It also looks at the noise blight which the residents suffer. Its not something to take lightly, the noise and vibration generated by the trains is huge and has been getting worse over the decades. I also examine the question of running tube trains to the Moorgate terminus platforms. Its illustrated with pictures […]
- [The Tōkaidō Shinkansen](https://londonrail.uk/the-tokaido-shinkansen/): While we in the UK battle wits over whether a new high speed railway should be built or not, I thought it would be a good idea to do a feature on the world’s first ever high speed railway – the New Tōkaidō Line. It was originally planned in 1940 albeit with lower speeds. Although it was partially built war put paid to these plans. The idea was resurrected by Shinji Sogō, then president of the Japanese National Railway who made sure the line’s construction went ahead despite misgivings. The railway was designed by Hideo Shima. Unfortunately both Sogō and […]
- [The County Donegal Railways #2](https://londonrail.uk/the-county-donegal-railways-two/): This is part two of the tribute to the famed County Donegal narrow gauge railways which closed on the very last day of 1959. In the first part we took a look at the CDRJC’s route to Ballyshannon and Killybegs. In this second part we look at the CDRJC’s other stations including Derry and Letterkenny, plus the aftermath of its closure and whats left of the system. The closure of the CDR left a huge part of NW Ireland without any proper public transport. Part one is here. The line from Donegal to Killybegs followed the coast but because of […]
- [The County Donegal Railways](https://londonrail.uk/the-county-donegal-railways/): Sixty years ago this week the last passenger trains rain on the County Donegal Railways. Its popular knowledge the last public trains bowed out on December 31st 1959, but what is less known is the railway continued solely as a regular freight operation for a further five weeks or so. Which means, like several other narrow gauge systems both in Britain and Ireland, services soldered on longer without passengers. The freight service officially ended 6th February 1960 however its said an impromptu service was provided for a few more months. Its a difficult task to write about the County Donegal […]
- [Coventry Canal #2](https://londonrail.uk/coventry-canal-two/): The Coventry Canal opened in 1769, that’s 250 years ago. Its architect, James Brindley, worked on the scheme for a few months before being sacked. It must be the only occasion which this most notable engineering genius was told he was no longer wanted. The first part of the canal from Bedworth into Coventry was ready by October 1769.  ‘Two boats laden with coal were brought to this city from this side of Bedworth. Being the first ones, they were received with loud cheers by a number of people who had assembled to witness their arrival.’ The Coventry Canal was […]
- [Coventry Canal](https://londonrail.uk/coventry-canal/): The Coventry Canal was one of the country’s earliest waterways to be opened following the success of the Bridgewater Canal. The section from Coventry to Atherstone was opened in 1769, and the rest of the canal followed as time went on eventually bringing it a total of 27 miles to Fradley junction (not forgetting the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal company had to build a bit of canal to link up the missing bits of the Coventry!) The first part of the canal opened 26th October 1769. This is a post about the five and half miles of Coventry Canal in […]
- [Liverpool Street Shenfield anniversary](https://londonrail.uk/liverpool-street-shenfield-anniversary/): Its seventy years since the Liverpool Street – Shenfield electrification first began. The scheme was officially opened on 20th September 1949 and cost £8 million. This scheme was tied in a fair bit with the Manchester Sheffield Wath scheme and indeed the electric locomotives for that scheme were first tested on the Liverpool Street lines. Work on the Shenfield lines began in the late 1930s but was halted by the war. This is just a quick tribute to London’s first successful main line electrification scheme (discounting the very short lived LBSCR Crystal Palace lines.) Pictures of the new scheme, clearly […]
- [Central Line: beyond Caxton Road #2](https://londonrail.uk/central-line-beyond-caxton-road-twenty-nineteen/): Remember the popular post Central Line: Beyond Caxton Road published more than two years ago? This is a follow up and its based around several old photographs of the area plus some of the latest developments at Westfield. The DIMCO buildings, which some will know were once part of the coal fired power station that generated electricity for the Central London Railway, is undergoing major redevelopment to become an entertainment centre – and its expected to be open this November. To start this post off proper, its quite hard to believe a power station, and even a large railway depot […]
- [The Blue Train](https://londonrail.uk/the-blue-train/): Britain’s newest train, can be said to be ‘blue in the face’ because its had so many mishaps, its had a considerably poor showing ever since its launch in April 2019. Its ultra-modern coaches and ultra modern interiors with all its mod cons including shoe cleaners, sofas and so on were launched to great fanfare. One question I have wondered is, are they trying to be the Blue Train? Who knows. It does seem the similarity is there, the sleek new blue coaches, the ultra luxury that’s being offered and so on. This train – as some will realise, happens […]
- [A 1956 tube stock mystery](https://londonrail.uk/a-1956-tube-stock-mystery/): A special post about the 1956 tube stock. Piccadilly Circus station staff sent a tweet (one of their earliest ones) in February of this year asking for information on a picture of a train at the station itself. Its a photograph I have seen before – but not in colour and certainly not at such a scale. Its a lovely photograph but obviously not one taken off the cuff. Also the year it was taken is interesting. Nevertheless no-one replied to the station thus I thought I’d see if I could! And do a post about it too lol! Piccadilly […]

## Pages

- [Tōkaidō Line](https://londonrail.uk/the-new-tokaido-line/): The New Tōkaidō Line/Tōkaidō Shinkansen This is an introductory list of posts covering the comprehensive history of the world’s first Shinkansen or high speed railway – the line from Tokyo to Osaka. The high speed New Tōkaidō line in fact began construction in the 1930s but WWII and other factors delayed the work. It was during the late 1950s that the project regained credence and full authorisation was given to complete the Shinkansen in time for the 1964 Olympics being held in Tokyo. The first page – The Tōkaidō Shinkansen – was published on 22nd January 2020. That was meant […]
- [Sitemap (full)](https://londonrail.uk/lr-sitemap/)
- [Posts](https://londonrail.uk/posts/): The most recent deliberations on offer…
- [London Rail](https://londonrail.uk/home/): Blog by autistic disabled person on many transport subjects of little concern.
- [About](https://londonrail.uk/about-twentythree/): About LRB: This site is purely a hobby blog and is just for fun. None of the content is serious even – because its written by a deaf disabled autistic person. If it had been a hearing abled person for example, well the content would no doubt be totally valid and seen as factual and true. But because it is me, the deaf disabled autistic person, versus the great ablesist society out there, it simply cant be that I am telling the truth in any way or form as opposed to those who can indeed speak and communicate well. It […]


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