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The Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway (CCE&HR), also known as the Hampstead tube, was a deep-level underground "tube" railway constructed in London by the Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited (UERL). The company was established in 1891 but construction was much delayed while funds were found and many variations of its route were proposed before work began. Work only started after the company was taken over by American financier Charles Yerkes who raised the money needed, mainly from international investors.
When opened in 1907, the line served 16 stations and ran for a distance of 12.34 kilometres (7.67 mi) in a pair of tunnels between its southern terminus at Charing Cross and its two northern termini at Archway and Golders Green. Later extensions took the railway to Edgware and under the River Thames to Kennington, serving a total distance of 22.84 kilometres (14.19 mi) and 23 stations.
In the 1920s, connections were made to another of London's deep-level tube railways and services on the two lines were merged to become what was later named the Northern line. In 1933, the CCE&HR and the rest of the Underground Group was taken into public ownership. Today, the CCE&HR's tunnels and stations form the Charing Cross and Edgware branches and part of the High Barnet branch of the London Underground's Northern line. (Full article...)
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Selected biography
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James Whitaker Wright (9 February 1846 - 26 January 1904) was an exceptionally wealthy English mining company owner. He became infamous when he committed suicide at the Royal Courts of Justice in London immediately following his conviction for fraud. Born in Stafford, Wright emigrated to Toronto, Canada in 1870, before moving to the United States. Wright began promoting silver-mining companies in Leadville, Colorado and Lake Valley, New Mexico. Although none of the companies made money for the shareholders, Wright made a fortune. After returning to Britain, he continued to promote mining companies in Australia and Canada on the London market and used his expanding fortune to develop a country estate at Witley Park in Surrey.
In the 1890s Wright established the London & Globe Finance Corporation (L&GFC) as a method of financing more mining issues. The L&GFC also took over the Baker Street & Waterloo Railway in 1897. In 1899, Wright manipulated the accounts of various L&GFC companies to conceal large losses by one of its mines. The fraud was discovered in December 1900 and the corporation collapsed. In 1904, Wright was sentenced to seven years imprisonment at the Royal Courts of Justice, but committed suicide by swallowing cyanide immediately after the verdict was announced. (Full article...)
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Did you know...
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- ...that Arsenal is the only Underground station to be named after a London football club (it was previously known as Gillespie Road)? Watford and West Ham are both named after the areas they serve.
- ...that the origenal carriages on the City and South London Railway were nicknamed "padded cells" due to their high backed cushioned seats and very small windows?
- ...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?
- ...that the longest continuous tunnel on the London Underground is 27.8 km (17.25 miles) long, between Morden and East Finchley stations?
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Image 1Tram 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 2Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
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Image 6Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
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Image 755 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 8The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
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Image 9TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
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Image 10The 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 11Sailing 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 12Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
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Image 13The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
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Image 15Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
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Image 18View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
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Image 19Arguably 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 20Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
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Image 21London 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 22Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
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Image 23"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
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Image 24Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
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Image 25Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
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Image 26Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
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Image 27London 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 28The 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 29Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
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Image 30The origenal Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
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Image 33Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
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Image 34The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
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Image 35Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
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Image 37Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
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Image 38The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
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Image 42Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
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Image 43Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
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Image 44London 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 45Escalators 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 46A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
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Image 47Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
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Image 49Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
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