Electrifying the Underground
eBook - ePub

Electrifying the Underground

The Technology That Created London's Tube

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Electrifying the Underground

The Technology That Created London's Tube

About this book

It was a public transport revolution. London had led the world in the development of a subterranean railway system. The first sub-surface lines, constructed by the cut-and-cover method, were operated with steam locomotives. In theory the tunnels and stations were ventilated into the outside air, but in practice they became dingy, miserable, smoke-filled spaces. As one early traveller recorded in his journal, 'I had my first taste of Hades today ...the atmosphere was a mixture of sulphur, coal dust and foul fumes'. The railway companies desperately needed to clean up their act. It was only with the arrival of exhaust-free electric traction - combined with improvements to the tunnelling shield, pioneered by Sir Marc Brunel - that the engineers were able to tunnel far deeper to create London's 'Tube' system. Graeme Gleaves traces the development of the Underground from the early years and through the introduction and development of the electrified system

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Yes, you can access Electrifying the Underground by Graeme Gleaves in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Technology & Engineering & Rail Transportation. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Introduction
  3. 1: Steam in the Sewers
  4. 2: An Elegant Pastry Cutter
  5. 3: The Potential of the Future
  6. 4: City & South London Railway
  7. 5: The Early Tubes
  8. 6: Electrifying the Surface
  9. 7: The Horseless Carriage
  10. 8: The Yeikes Empire
  11. 9: District Railway Electrification
  12. 10: Early Tube Trains & Extensions
  13. 11: Behold, Metroland
  14. 12: New Works
  15. 13: New Works, New Trains
  16. 14: The Age of Silver
  17. 15: Transport for London
  18. 16: The Trains of the Future
  19. 17: Power to the System
  20. Further Reading
  21. Acknowledgements