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The City & South London Railway (C&SLR) was the first deep-level underground "tube" railway in the world, and the first major railway in the world to use electric traction. Originally intended for cable-hauled trains, the collapse of the cable contractor while the railway was under construction forced a change to electric traction before the line opened – an experimental technology at the time.
When opened in 1890, it served six stations and ran for a distance of 5.1 kilometres (3.2 mi) in a pair of tunnels between the City of London and Stockwell, passing under the River Thames. The small size of the carriages with their high-backed seating led to them being nicknamed padded cells. The railway was extended several times north and south; eventually serving 22 stations over a distance of 21.7 km (13.5 mi) from Camden Town in north London to Morden in Surrey.
Although the C&SLR was well used, the company struggled financially. In 1913, the C&SLR became part of the Underground Group of railways and, in the 1920s, it underwent major reconstruction works before its merger with the Group's Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway, to form what is now the Northern line. In 1933, the C&SLR and the rest of the Underground Group was taken into public ownership. (Full article...)
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Selected biography
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Sir Edward William Watkin, 1st Baronet (26 September 1819 - 13 April 1901) was chairman or a director of many British railways including the Metropolitan Railway (MR), the South Eastern Railway (SER) and the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR). He was intermittently a member of parliament, representing Hythe from 1874 to 1895.
Through his leadership of the MR, SER and MS&LR, Watkin had the amibtion to construct a new mainline railway connecting the north of England, via London and Kent to the continent. Although his plans for a channel tunnel to be constructed by his Anglo-French Submarine Railway were never realised, the MS&LR constructed its London extension in the 1890s from Annesley, Nottinghamshire to the MR's station at Quainton Road in Buckinghamshire to a continental loading gauge. Reflecting its enhanced connections the MS&LR changed its name to the Great Central Railway in 1987.
To encourage tourist day-trips on the MR, Watkin planned a pleasure grounds at Wembley Park, with a large tower, "Watkin's Tower", intended to be larger than the Eiffel Tower. The park opened in 1896, but because of cost and structural problems, the tower was never completed and was demolished after Watkin's death. The site was subsequently used for Wembley Stadium. (Full article...)
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Did you know...
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- ...that the cause of the Moorgate tube crash in February 1975 was never satisfactorily determined?
- ...that at 44 tons, the locomotives of the Central London Railway's first underground trains were so heavy that they shook buildings as they passed 60 feet below and were scrapped after three years?
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Image 3Sailing ships at West India Docks on the Isle of Dogs in 1810. The docks opened in 1802 and closed in 1980 and have since been redeveloped as the Canary Wharf development.
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Image 5Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
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Image 6Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
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Image 9The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
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Image 10The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
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Image 12The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
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Image 13Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
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Image 14The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
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Image 15London Underground A60 Stock (left) and 1938 Stock (right) trains showing the difference in the sizes of the two types of rolling stock operated on the system. A60 stock trains operated on the surface and sub-surface sections of the Metropolitan line from 1961 to 2012 and 1938 Stock operated on various deep level tube lines from 1938 to 1988.
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Image 17"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
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Image 18Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
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Image 19Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
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Image 20Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
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Image 22Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
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Image 23The multi-level junction between the M23 and M25 motorways near Merstham in Surrey. The M23 passes over the M25 with bridges carrying interchange slip roads for the two motorways in between.
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Image 24Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
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Image 25Arguably the best-preserved disused station building in London, this is the former Alexandra Palace station on the GNR Highgate branch (closed in 1954). It is now in use as a community centre (CUFOS).
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Image 26Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
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Image 27The newly constructed junction of the Westway ( A40) and the West Cross Route ( A3220) at White City, circa 1970. Continuation of the West Cross Route northwards under the roundabout was cancelled leaving two short unused stubs for the slip roads that would have been provided for traffic joining or leaving the northern section.
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Image 28Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
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Image 29Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
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Image 30Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
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Image 31Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
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Image 32Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
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Image 35Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
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Image 36The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
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Image 37Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
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Image 38Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
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Image 39Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
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Image 40Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
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Image 41A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
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Image 43London General Omnibus Company B-type bus B340 built in 1911 by AEC. One of a number of London buses purchased by the British military during World War I, this vehicle was operated on the Western Front.
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Image 44View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
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Image 45London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
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Image 46Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
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Image 47TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
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Image 4955 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
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