-
Any remains of Beach's subway in Broadway?
In this second part on New York’s Beach Pneumatic Transit, I investigate whether any remains still exist. This post can be considered an update to what is currently known about the fate of Beach’s subway. As far as things go it does seem that there is nothing left of Beach’s subway. It was demolished to […]
-
Barre's Sliding Railway fails in America
This is the follow up to the Crystal Palace Gliding Railway feature. Following that demonstration this officially became the Barre Sliding Railway Company. The Sliding Railway Company launched investors’ bonds to show it was a serious contender for inter-urban transit. In order to tempt the US market, a line was proposed in Paris from Place Clichy to La Villette. Four miles long with […]
-
Fowler's Ghost
Fowler’s Ghost was a 2-4-0 broad gauge locomotive designed for the Metropolitan Railway by Sir John Fowler. The engine made just one test run through Edgware Road station in 1862 and was a failure. There’s been much discussion whether the engine actually existed or even if it actually ventured onto the new Metropolitan Underground Railway. This isn’t a comprehensive do on […]
-
The Crystal Palace Gliding Railway
Louis-Dominique Girard’s Gliding Railway (later called the Sliding Railway) was an unusual train whose origins began in the late 1860s as a test line in the grounds of Girard’s home near Paris. It is said Girard developed his patent from somewhat earlier attempts to build a train that skated on lubricated rails – a scheme which was viewed as “ridiculous and […]
-
Beach Pneumatic Transit Videos
Round-up of You Tube videos featuring Alfred Ely Beach’s subway line! I mentioned Beach’s pioneering New York subway line a few weeks ago in a post on the Hyde Park pneumatic proposals. This is the of a number of posts dedicated to Beach’s pneumatic line that ran under Broadway. The real thing! Beach’s subway car at Warren […]
-
London's proposed sewer railway in Hyde Park!
Victorian London seems to have had an affinity for pneumatic railways. The one at Crystal Palace being the most famous of all, however other noted undertakings were lines proposed beneath the Thames such as the Tower Subway and another from Waterloo to Whitehall, and in Central London such as from South Kensington to the Royal Albert Hall. The only […]
-
William Mitchell – LU Signal Engineer
William and his wife Nellie at Clacton in 1963. Some of my inspiration for the tube came from William Mitchell. He was a tube Signal Engineer who worked for the London Transport Executive/London Transport Board. William & his wife knew my family and he introduced me to the London Underground rail system at an early age, […]
-
Leicester Square Triology 3 – More about the station
As mentioned previously the station’s extensions were designed by Charles Holden in a manner somewhat similar to those others on the Northern Line down to Morden. Below is a sketch of Holden’s showing the new station entrance on Charing Cross Road. Clearly the slimline tube roundel (which I discussed in the first post on this […]
-
Leicester Square Triology 2 – The modern bits of old
This is part two of a triology on Leicester Square tube station. Part one was published in May 2016 THE FORMER NEWPORT STREET ENTRANCE Leicester Square station once had five exits although only four can be seen today. The fifth is still there but now has a different purpose and clearly the stairs inside the […]
-
Fantastic LT roundel poster!
TfL has just published a new poster commemorating the evolution of the LT roundel. Seems Marylebone’s southbound platform has the only large sized poster so far on the network. There are smaller versions at other tube stations for the escalators as shown here.
Enjoy the event horizon!