Building the London Tubes

Building the London Tubes

In this book, author Antony Badsey-Ellis examines how London's deep tube lines were constructed, covering the period from the first deep tube lines through to 21st century extensions and improvements.

The book deals with the construction of and major improvements to London Underground’s deep level tube railways: the Bakerloo, Central, Jubilee, Northern, Victoria and Waterloo & City lines. The author has done extensive research into the subject and tells the story of how these lines have developed since the first, the City & South London Railway (part of today’s Northern line), was built in the 1880s and opened in 1890. Major development occurred in 1906/07 when American investment and business acumen produced the central London sections of the Bakerloo, Northern and Piccadilly lines.

Chapter List:

A Brief History of the Tube Railways
Boring the Tunnels
Worksites and Stations
Development to the 1920s
The Merging of the City and Hampstead Railways
Station Reconstructions: 1910s and 1920s
Extensions of the 1930s and 1940s
Station Reconstructions: 1950s and 1960s
The Victoria Line
The Jubilee Line
Taking the Train to the Plane
Rebuilding Victoria
Improving the Northern Line
Using text and archive illustrations, Building the London Tubes traces the history of the deep tube lines from construction to the present day. Through time, the development of construction techniques can also be observed through the history of the tube.

Hardback with dust jacket, 176 pages, black & white and colour photographs