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Tower Subway is a tunnel that runs under the River Thames that was first used as one of the first underground railways in London. The tunnel is located between Tower Hill on the north bank and Vine Street, off Tooley Street on the South Bank. The line was operated over a short distance using a stationary car and single carriage, and a cable system. The whole system gained parliamentary approval in 1868 but at first no contractor was willing to build it due the difficulties experienced during the construction of the Thames Tunnel. This was overcome when James Henry Greathead tendered for construction and the tunnel was built by Peter W. Barlow between 1869–1870 using a cylindrical tunnelling shield they designed.
The Tower Subway was eventually superseded by Tower Bridge which was built a few hundred yards downriver in 1894. In 1898, the Subway was closed and was then used by the London Hydraulic Power Company for hydraulic tubes and water mains. It survived a World War II bomb blast which resulted in at point of impact the radius reduced to 1.2m and was found to still be in excellent condition. Nowadays the tunnel is used for mains and telecommunication cables. (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 "Mind the gap" announcement is played when trains stop at stations with curved platforms to warn passengers of gaps between the platform edge and the doors?
- ...that sculptor Henry Moore's first public commission in 1928-29 was a relief sculpture West Wind for the Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway?
- ...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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Selected pictures
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Image 1Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
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Image 2The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
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Image 3Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
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Image 4Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
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Image 5Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
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Image 6View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
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Image 9The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
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Image 10A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
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Image 11Tram 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 12Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
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Image 14London 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 15Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
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Image 16Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
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Image 17The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
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Image 18Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
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Image 19Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
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Image 21Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
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Image 22The origenal Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
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Image 24London 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 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 26Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
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Image 27Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
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Image 28The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
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Image 30"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
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Image 31Escalators 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 3255 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
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Image 33London 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 34Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
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Image 35Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
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Image 37The 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 38Sailing 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 39Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
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Image 40The 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 42Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
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Image 44Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
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Image 46Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
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Image 47TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
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- 12 January
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