Mind the gap – fun facts about the London Underground

The London Underground, affectionately known as the Tube, is celebrating a birthday next month, so here are some fascinating facts about the world’s first underground railway to wow your friends with next time you’re waiting for the train!

1 – Firstly, yes, you read that right, the London Underground was the world’s first underground railway, making it the oldest railway of its kind! When the trains changed from steam to electric, it was the first ever electric underground railway too!

2 – The underground first opened in 1863 using steam trains – yes, underground steam trains!

3 – The Tube was invented because of the Thames Tunnel, which was initially built under the river to allow for the transportation of cargo in 1843. The project ran out of money though, so it was opened as a tourist attraction, with over half the population of the city visiting – at the time that made it the most successful visitor attraction in the world! The tunnel was then turned into a rail line returning it to its original purpose. There was no ventilation because it was underwater, so the tunnel was often full of smoke.

4 – The oldest line on the map is the Metropolitan Line, which ran via steam train between Paddington and Farringdon with stops at Baker Street and King’s Cross among others, opening in 1863.

5 – The electric train system was introduced on 18^th December 1890, because it used electric trains rather than steam, it meant the tunnels could overlap each other and there didn’t need to be vents.

6 – The first electric line ran between King William Street in the City of London through to Stockwell, it formed the basis of what is now the Northern Line which remains the deepest tunnel on the underground.

7 – The network began being known as the Tube in 1890, the same year that the electric line was introduced. It wasn’t to do with the shape of the trains or the tunnels though, it was an abbreviation of the nickname Twopenny Tube, because at the time all fares on the Central Line cost tuppence. There is even Cockney rhyming slang for the underground – its known as the Oxo, as in an Oxo Cube (tube).

8 – Speaking of the Central Line, the tunnels on line wind around because they follow the curves of the original medieval street plan of the city.

9 – The iconic logo was introduced in 1908, which was also the same year that Underground appeared on the station names and the very first electric ticket machine was introduced.

10 – Earl’s Court station was the first place in London to get escalators – not because it was the deepest station, that title goes to the one at Hampstead which is 192 feet underground! The longest escalator is at Angel, it’s a 60 metre ride from top to bottom! As we’ve mentioned the deepest station, how about the highest – Amersham is 150 meters about sea level making it the highest station on the network. It is also the most westerly station.

11 – The tube map was first created in 1933 by Harry Beck, who based the design on an electrical circuit rather than drawing the Tube lines where they are geographically.

12 – Since the line’s first introduction, the network has grown to 272 stations, 11 lines (Bakerloo, Central, Circle, District, Hammersmith and City, Jubilee, Metropolitan, Northern, Piccadilly, Victoria and Waterloo and City – the Elizabeth line and the Ginger line (also known as the DLR) don’t technically count as tube lines) and covers 402km.

13 – Did you know that less than 10% of all underground stations are south of the river?

14 – Today, the Underground is publicly owned, but before 1933, each line was owned by a different company.

15 -The creepiest station on the network is Aldgate which is built over a former plague pit from 1665 – there are over 1,000 bodies under there! This isn’t unique to Aldgate though - Liverpool Street station is also built on an ancient burial site where 3000 skeletons were discovered during work on the station and Bank was also built on a mass grave – this time of local nuns. The name comes from a bank which did sit on the site.

16 – Around 55% of the London Underground is actually above ground – so it’s not as underground as you might think!

17 – There are 49 so called ghost stations on the network – this doesn’t mean that they are haunted (well… they might be!) it means that they have been abandoned. North End near Hampstead was started and never finished, so just sits as it is. Winston Churchill used ghost stations as bunkers during the war and there are even tours of ghost stations that you can visit.

18 – There are some reportedly haunted stations though, including Covent Garden which is said to be haunted by the actor William Teriss, who was murdered, it was said that he used to visit the bakery that once stood on the site of Covent Garden’s station. Farringdon is also said to be haunted by a murder victim, Anne Naylor who was murdered by her employer and was discovered on the site the station now sits.

18 – The underground defined the shape of modern London, especially the shapes of north and west London.

19 – The underground was used during WWII as air raid shelters, with many people spending nights sleeping on platforms or schools closing and having lessons on the platforms. Some stations were closed to the public and used to protect valuable items, like the station at Piccadilly. Bethnal Green was one of the stations that served as an air raid shelter. It was one of the deepest stations in East London, which is why people thought it was so safe, but actually was why it was so dangerous – one night, residents ran down to the station when the siren went off but there was a stampede and 173 people died. The news was suppressed until the end of the war.

20 – It is said that the Northern Line is the dirtiest of all the lines, it’s so dirty that 20 minutes on the line is said to be the same as smoking a cigarette!

21 – Initially, underground carriages had no windows and passengers called them padded cells.

22 – There have been at least three babies born on the tube and Jerry Springer was born in East Finchley station while his mum was using it as an air raid shelter!

23 – Part of the underground tracks are hidden by a fake house – you can find it at Leinster Gardens. When the District Line opened, they demolished 23-24 Leinster Gardens so that there would be a vent for the steam to escape, however, the residents were unhappy about there being a gap in the street, so a façade was built to match the rest of the terrace – from the front it looks like the rest of the street, but from the back you can see it is just a flat front.

24 – The phrase “mind the gap” first originated on the Northern Line in 1968.

25 – The tube’s first rail disaster took place at Barbican station, 4 people died in 1866 but the trains were running again within 30 minutes – that doesn’t happen today!