1.
London Underground
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The London Underground is a public rapid transit system serving London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. The network has expanded to 11 lines, and in 2015–16 carried 1.34 billion passengers, the 11 lines collectively handle approximately 4.8 million passengers a day. The system has 270 stations and 250 miles of track, despite its name, only 45% of the system is actually underground in tunnels, with much of the network in the outer environs of London being on the surface. In addition, the Underground does not cover most southern parts of Greater London, the current operator, London Underground Limited, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London, the statutory corporation responsible for the transport network in Greater London. As of 2015, 92% of operational expenditure is covered by passenger fares, the Travelcard ticket was introduced in 1983 and Oyster, a contactless ticketing system, in 2003. Contactless card payments were introduced in 2014, the LPTB was a prominent patron of art and design, commissioning many new station buildings, posters and public artworks in a modernist style. Other famous London Underground branding includes the roundel and Johnston typeface, to prepare construction, a short test tunnel was built in 1855 in Kibblesworth, a small town with geological properties similar to London. This test tunnel was used for two years in the development of the first underground train, and was later, in 1861, the worlds first underground railway, it opened in January 1863 between Paddington and Farringdon using gas-lit wooden carriages hauled by steam locomotives. It was hailed as a success, carrying 38,000 passengers on the opening day, the Metropolitan District Railway opened in December 1868 from South Kensington to Westminster as part of a plan for an underground inner circle connecting Londons main-line termini. The Metropolitan and District railways completed the Circle line in 1884, built using the cut and this opened in 1890 with electric locomotives that hauled carriages with small opaque windows, nicknamed padded cells. The Waterloo and City Railway opened in 1898, followed by the Central London Railway in 1900, the Metropolitan Railway protested about the change of plan, but after arbitration by the Board of Trade, the DC system was adopted. When the Bakerloo was so named in July 1906, The Railway Magazine called it an undignified gutter title, by 1907 the District and Metropolitan Railways had electrified the underground sections of their lines. In January 1913, the UERL acquired the Central London Railway, the Bakerloo line was extended north to Queens Park to join a new electric line from Euston to Watford, but World War I delayed construction and trains reached Watford Junction in 1917. During air raids in 1915 people used the stations as shelters. An extension of the Central line west to Ealing was also delayed by the war, the Metropolitan promoted housing estates near the railway with the Metro-land brand and nine housing estates were built near stations on the line. Electrification was extended north from Harrow to Rickmansworth, and branches opened from Rickmansworth to Watford in 1925, the Piccadilly line was extended north to Cockfosters and took over District line branches to Harrow and Hounslow. In 1933, most of Londons underground railways, tramway and bus services were merged to form the London Passenger Transport Board, the Waterloo & City Railway, which was by then in the ownership of the main line Southern Railway, remained with its existing owners. In the same year that the London Passenger Transport Board was formed, in the following years, the outlying lines of the former Metropolitan Railway closed, the Brill Tramway in 1935, and the line from Quainton Road to Verney Junction in 1936
2.
City of Westminster
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The City of Westminster is an Inner London borough which also holds city status. It occupies much of the area of Greater London including most of the West End. It is to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and it was created with the 1965 establishment of Greater London. Upon creation, Westminster was awarded city status, which had previously held by the smaller Metropolitan Borough of Westminster. Aside from a number of parks and open spaces, the population density of the district is high. Many sites commonly associated with London are in the borough, including St. Jamess Palace, Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, much of the borough is residential, and in 2008 it was estimated to have a population of 236,000. The local authority is Westminster City Council, the current Westminster coat of arms were given to the city by an official grant on September 2,1964. Westminster had other arms before, which had an identical to the chief in the present arms. The symbols in the two thirds of the shield stand for former municipalities now merged with the city, Paddington. The original arms had a portcullis as the charge, which now forms the crest. The origins of the City of Westminster pre-date the Norman Conquest of England, in the mid-11th Century king Edward the Confessor began the construction of an abbey at Westminster, only the foundations of which survive today. For centuries Westminster and the City of London were geographically quite distinct, Westminster briefly became a city in 1540 when Henry VIII created the short-lived Diocese of Westminster. Following the dissolution of Westminster Abbey, a court of burgesses was formed in 1585 to govern the Westminster area, Jamess, Strand, Westminster, Pimlico, Belgravia, and Hyde Park. The Westminster Metropolitan Borough was itself the result of an amalgamation which took place in 1900. Sir John Hunt O. B. E was the First Town Clerk of the City of Westminster, the boundaries of the City of Westminster today, as well as those of the other London boroughs, have remained more or less unchanged since the Act of 1963. On 22 March 2017, a terrorist attack took place on Westminster Bridge, Bridge Street and Old Palace Yard, five people - three pedestrians, one police officer, and the attacker - died as a result of the incident. More than 50 people were injured, an investigation is ongoing by the Metropolitan Police. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors, Westminster City Council is currently composed of 44 Conservative Party members and 16 Labour Party members
3.
London Paddington station
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Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of the Great Western Railway, much of the main-line station dates from 1854 and was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It was first served by London Underground trains in 1863, as the western terminus of the Metropolitan Railway. Today, Paddington tube station is served by the Bakerloo, Circle, District and it is also the terminus for the Heathrow Express and Heathrow Connect services to and from London Heathrow Airport. It is one of 19 stations in the United Kingdom managed directly by Network Rail and it is situated in fare zone 1. The station complex is bounded at the front by Praed Street and at the rear by Bishops Bridge Road, on the west side of the station is Eastbourne Terrace, while the east side is bounded by the Paddington arm of the Grand Union Canal. The station is in a cutting, a fact obscured at the front by a hotel building. The surrounding area is residential, and includes the major St Marys Hospital, restaurants. Until recently there was little office accommodation in the area, however, recent redevelopment of derelict railway and canal land, marketed as Paddington Waterside, has resulted in new office complexes nearby. In addition to the Underground stations at Paddington, Lancaster Gate tube station on the Central line is a walk away to the south. A little further to the south lie the conjoined parks of Hyde Park, the National Rail station is officially named London Paddington, a name commonly used outside London but rarely by Londoners, who call it just Paddington, as on the London Underground map. Parts of the station, including the train shed, date from 1854. It is one of 19 stations managed by Network Rail, the first station was a temporary terminus for the GWR on the west side of Bishops Bridge Road, opened on 4 June 1838. The first GWR service from London to Taplow, near Maidenhead, after the main station opened in 1854, this became the site of the goods depot. It opened on 29 May 1854, the glazed roof is supported by wrought iron arches in three spans, respectively spanning 68 feet,102 feet and 70 feet. The roof is 699 feet long, and the original roof spans had two transepts connecting the three spans and it is commonly believed that these were provided by Brunel to accommodate traversers to carry coaches between the tracks within the station. However recent research, using documents and photographs, does not seem to support this belief. The Great Western Hotel was built on Praed Street in front of the station in 1851–1854 by architect Philip Charles Hardwick, the station was substantially enlarged in 1906–1915 and a fourth span of 109 feet was added on the north side, parallel to the others
4.
Tramlink
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Tramlink is a light rail tram system serving Croydon and surrounding areas in South London, England. It began operation in 2000, the first tram system in London since 1952 and it is owned by London Trams, an arm of Transport for London, and operated by FirstGroup. The Tramlink is the fourth-busiest light rail network in the UK behind Manchester Metrolink, Tyne and Wear Metro, in 1990 Croydon Council with London Regional Transport put the project to Parliament and the Croydon Tramlink Act 1994 resulted, which gave LRT the power to build and run Tramlink. In 1996 Tramtrack Croydon Limited won a 99-year Private Finance Initiative contract to design, build, operate, TCL was a partnership comprising FirstGroup, Bombardier Transportation, Sir Robert McAlpine and Amey, and Royal Bank of Scotland and 3i. TCL kept the revenue generated by Tramlink and LRT had to pay compensation to TCL for any changes to the fares, TCL subcontracted operations to CentreWest Buses. One of the leading to its creation was that the London Borough of Croydon has no London Underground service. There are four routes, Route 1 – Elmers End to Croydon, Route 2 – Beckenham Junction to Croydon, Route 3 – New Addington to Wimbledon, and Route 4 – Therapia Lane to Elmers End. Route 2 runs parallel to the Crystal Palace to Beckenham Junction line of the Southern network between Birkbeck and Beckenham Junction – the National Rail track had been singled some years earlier. At Woodside the old station buildings stand disused, and the platforms have been replaced by accessible low platforms. From Woodside to near Sandilands and from near Sandilands almost to Lloyd Park, Tramlink follows the former Woodside and South Croydon Railway, including the Park Hill tunnels. The section of Route 3 between Wimbledon and West Croydon mostly follows the single-track British Rail route, closed on 31 May 1997 so that it could be converted for Tramlink, a partial obstruction near this point has necessitated the use of interlaced track. A Victorian footbridge beside Waddon New Road was dismantled to make way for the flyover over the West Croydon to Sutton railway line, the footbridge has been re-erected at Corfe Castle station on the Swanage Railway. In March 2008, TfL announced that it had reached agreement to buy TCL for £98m, the purchase was finalised on 28 June 2008. The background to this purchase relates to the requirement that TfL compensates TCL for the consequences of any changes to the fares, in 2007 that payment was £4m, with an annual increase in rate. In October 2008 TfL introduced a new livery, using the blue, white and green of the routes on TfL maps, the colour of the cars was changed to green, and the brand name was changed from Croydon Tramlink to simply Tramlink. These refurbishments were completed in early 2009, the tram stops have low platforms,35 cm above rail level. They are unstaffed and have automated ticket machines, in general, access between the platforms involves crossing the tracks by pedestrian level crossing. There are 39 stops, most being 32.2 m long and they are virtually level with the doors and are all wider than 2 m
5.
Central line (London Underground)
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The Central line is a London Underground line that runs through central London, from Ealing and Ruislip in the west to Epping, Essex in the north-east. Coloured red on the map, the line serves 49 stations. It is the longest tube line and it is also one of only two lines on the London Underground network to cross the Greater London boundary, the other being the Metropolitan. One of Londons deep-level tube railways, the trains are smaller than those on British main lines. The line was opened as the Central London Railway in 1900, crossing central London on an east–west axis and it was later extended to the western suburb of Ealing. After the Second World War, the line was expanded considerably into the recently constructed suburbs, taking over steam-hauled outer suburban routes to the borders of London and beyond to the east. This realised plans that had delayed by the war, when construction stopped. The Central line has mostly operated by automatic train operation since a major refurbishment in the 1990s. In terms of passengers, the Central line is the busiest line on the London Underground. In the year 2011/12 over 260 million passenger journeys were made on the Central line, the tunnels were bored with the nominal diameter of 11 feet 8 1⁄4 inches, increased on curves, reduced to 11 feet 6 inches near to stations. The tunnels generally rise approaching a station, to aid braking, the Central London Railway was the first underground railway to have the station platforms illuminated electrically. All the platforms were lit by Crompton automatic electric arc lamps, with the white glazed tiling, all underground Central London Railway platforms were very brightly lit. Earlier tube lines generated DC power at the required to run the trains. The line between Shepherds Bush and Bank was formally opened on 30 June 1900, public services beginning on 30 July, with a uniform fare of 2d the railway became known as the Twopenny Tube. This allowed higher-speed and lighter motors to be used, which reduced the weight of the locomotive as well as the unsprung weight. The railway also tried an alternative approach, it converted four coaches to accommodate motors, two of these experimental motor coaches were used in a 6-coach train, the control gear being operated by the system used on the Waterloo and City Railway. The modified locomotives were an improvement, but the motor coaches of an even lower weight were much better still. The CLR ordered 64 new motor cars designed to use Spragues recently developed traction control system, the CLR was exclusively using the resulting electric multiple units by 1903
6.
Kensington Gardens
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Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, are among the Royal Parks of London. The gardens are shared by the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and sit immediately to the west of Hyde Park, the gardens cover an area of 270 acres. The open spaces of Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Green Park, Kensington Gardens are Grade I listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. The Gardens are fenced and more formal than Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens are open only during the hours of daylight, whereas Hyde Park is open from 5 am until midnight all year round. Kensington Gardens has been regarded as smart because of its more private character around Kensington Palace. However, in the late 1800s, Hyde Park was considered fashionable, because of its location nearer to Park Lane. Kensington Gardens was originally the section of Hyde Park, which had been created by Henry VIII in 1536 to use as a hunting ground. Bridgeman created the Serpentine between 1726 and 1731 by damming the outflow of the River Westbourne from Hyde Park. The part of the Serpentine that lies within Kensington Gardens is known as The Long Water, at its north-western end in an area known as The Italian Garden, there are four fountains and a number of classical sculptures. At the foot of the Italian Gardens is a boundary marker. The land surrounding Kensington Gardens was predominantly rural and remained undeveloped until the Great Exhibition in 1851. Many of the original features survive along with the Palace, and now there are public buildings such as the Albert Memorial, the Serpentine Gallery. The park also contains the Elfin Oak, an elaborately carved 900-year-old tree stump, the park is the setting of J. M. Barries book Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, a prelude to the characters famous adventures in Neverland. The fairies of the gardens are first described in Thomas Tickells 1722 poem Kensington Gardens, both the book and the character are honoured with the Peter Pan statue by George Frampton located in the park. Rodrigo Fresáns novel Kensington Gardens concerns in part the life of J. M. Barrie and of his creation Peter Pan, the Infocom interactive fiction game Trinity begins in the Kensington Gardens. The player can walk around many sections of the gardens, which are described in moderate detail, list of public art in Kensington Gardens Citations Bibliography Official website The Garden a poem by Ezra Pound set in Kensington Gardens
7.
Queensway tube station
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Queensway is a London Underground station on the Central line, just inside the boundary of the City of Westminster with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is at the junction of Queensway and Bayswater Road, and is opposite the north-west corner of Kensington Gardens and it is between Notting Hill Gate to the west and Lancaster Gate to the east, and is in Travelcard Zone 1. It opened on 30 July 1900, as Queens Road, and was renamed on 1 September 1946, there is a crossover east of the station to allow trains to terminate there. The crossover is not often used, the station was closed between 8 May 2005 and 14 June 2006 for modernisation works. These works were prompted by the need to replace the two lifts, which had been breaking down quite frequently prior to the stations closure. In addition the station has been modernised and re-tiled, as well as having replicas of the original lamps fitted to the façade, metronet, the private maintenance contractors, were originally given a deadline of 9 May 2006 to complete the works. The station finally re-opened on 14 June 2006, during modernisation, the closest station was Bayswater on the Circle and District lines, which is also located in Queensway approximately 100 metres north of the Queensway station. While the two stations are in proximity, they are not connected. London Buses routes 70,94,148 and 390 serve the station
8.
Marble Arch tube station
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Marble Arch is a London Underground station in the City of Westminster. The station is between Lancaster Gate and Bond Street stations on the Central line, and is in Travelcard Zone 1, the station was opened on 30 July 1900 by the Central London Railway. Like all the stations on the CLR, Marble Arch was served by lifts to the platforms. The new arrangements came into use on 15 August 1932, the original surface building was later demolished. The platforms, originally lined in white tiles, were refitted with decorative vitreous enamel panels in 1985. The panel graphics were designed by Annabel Grey, the station was modernised resulting in new finishes in all areas of the station, apart from the retention of various of the decorative enamel panels at platform level. The station is named after the Marble Arch nearby and is located at the north east side of the Marble Arch junction, there is a shunting neck to the west of the station allowing trains from Oxford Circus to terminate here. London Buses routes 2,10,13,16,30,36,73,74,94,98,137,148,159,189,274,390,414 and 436 serve the station. The Mysterious Planet, a serial of Doctor Who which uses Marble Arch as a plot point, London Homesick Blues, a 1974 song by Gary P. Nunn references Marble Arch Station. London Transport Museum Photographic Archive Ticket hall with doors,1924 Rebuilt ticket hall,1932 More photographs of this station
9.
Epping tube station
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Epping is a London Underground station in the Epping Forest District of Essex, serving as the north-eastern terminus of the Central line. Located in Travelcard Zone 6, it is one of eight London Underground stations in the Epping Forest District, the station before Epping is Theydon Bois, which is about three minutes travelling time away. In 1856, the Eastern Counties Railway opened a railway between Stratford and Loughton. In 1865, its successor, the Great Eastern Railway, added an extension from Loughton to Ongar. The popularity of the led to the doubling of the track between Loughton and Epping in 1892. The line was served, with 50 trains operating between Liverpool Street and Loughton each day, a further 22 continuing to Epping and 14 more to Ongar. Loughton to Epping became part of the London Underground Central line on 25 September 1949, british Railways ran the service until 1957 when the line was electrified and became part of the Central line. On 2 November 1981, Blake Hall closed and trains passed through the station, on 30 September 1994 London Underground withdrew the service between Epping and Ongar and subsequently sold this section of the Central line. This later became the privately owned preserved line Epping Ongar Railway, Epping station saw a growth in passenger numbers in the mid 1990s due to the closures of nearby North Weald, Blake Hall and Ongar stations. This growth has continued due to significant development in Epping itself, as of 11 May 2008 an e-petition calling for the reopening of North Weald and Ongar stations was created on the Downing Street website. It closed on 11 December 2008 with 1012 signatures, part of the Epping-Ongar line is now a heritage railway, the Epping Ongar Railway. Epping Station was a stop on the proposed London Underground Chelsea-Hackney line and this scheme is currently being pursued by the developers of Crossrail. It would have taken over the Central line from Leytonstone and continue to Epping serving as its terminus, however, as of 2013, the route options for this proposed line no longer include the Epping branch. Local bus Routes 7,87,381,382,418,419,420,380,501,541,900, the longest possible journey on the London Underground without changing trains is the Central line route between West Ruislip and Epping. Epping station counts approximately 6,200 users daily, Epping has the largest public London Underground station car park with 519 spaces. Londons Abandoned Tube Stations - Epping to Ongar branch Epping station in 1952 Epping station in 1953
10.
Hainault tube station
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Hainault is a London Underground station in Hainault in the London Borough of Redbridge. The station is on the Central line between Fairlop and Grange Hill stations, since 2 January 2007 the station is in Travelcard Zone 4. This station is home to one of the three Central line depots. The station was opened on 1 May 1903 as part of the Great Eastern Railways Fairlop Loop branch line from Woodford to Ilford. The line was designed to stimulate suburban growth but was closed on 1 October 1908 due to a lack of custom, in 1923, GER was merged with other railway companies to form the London & North Eastern Railway under the 1921 Railways Act. As part of the 1935–1940 New Works Programme of the London Passenger Transport Board, although work on this commenced in 1938, it was suspended upon the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 and work only recommenced in 1946. Steam train services serving Hainault were suspended on 29 November 1947 and electrified Central line passenger services, to Central London via Gants Hill, the line from Newbury Park to Hainault had been electrified for empty train movements to the new depot at Hainault from 14 December 1947. The services to Woodford via Grange Hill were reintroduced on 21 November 1948, alterations at Hainault included a new island platform on the west side of the station to allow the bulk of services via Gants Hill to be terminated here as well as allowing access to Hainault Depot. This, situated to the north of the station, is the train depot on the eastern end of the line. The depot building was completed in 1939 but was used by the US Army Transportation Corps until 1945, the depot was in use for Central line stock from 14 December 1947. From the mid-1960s until the early 1990s the Woodford-Hainault section was operated separately from the rest of the Central line. The three car units had a 1938 tube stock middle carriage and these trains were adapted for Automatic Train Operation, the Woodford-Hainault section became the testing ground for ATO on the Victoria line. Some Victoria line trains were used to operate this section and named FACT. The station has recently been the focus of a refurbishment programme, the ticket office has been refurbished, a new Station Supervisors Office in the ticket hall was completed in June 2009 and lifts have been installed to allow step-free access to the platforms. The lifts are the shallowest on the London Underground network, having a descent of just 0.67 metres, Central line trains take just 65 seconds on average to travel between the two stations. However the minimum walking or driving distance between the two stations is considerably longer, London Bus routes 150,247 and night route N8 serve the station. London Transport Museum Photographic Archive Hainault LNER station,1935 Hainault station rebuilt,1948 Booking hall,1955 View of platforms,1955 Hainault station,2001
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