A small number however have fallen into disuse over the years. When mining the soft north London clay however, the air pressure was hardly ever needed, as the clay is waterproof.ĭue to the speed at which these tunnels could be mined, many stations were envisaged on each of the lines that were created and most of these stations are still in use today. James Henry Greathead had devised a new method of tunnelling which employed compressed air to prevent leaking in conjunction with a circular drilling shield to bore circular tunnels (about 3 metres in diameter) much deeper into the ground, which were then lined with cast iron rings. When it was discovered that steam traction could be replaced with electricity, tunnels could be dug that were much deeper. Brunell's Thames Tunnel (used today by the East London Line) was the first successful tunnel under the Thames but its construction was costly and very difficult. Several attempts to cross the Thames had ended in failure, even with lives being lost. In the 19th century, digging deep level tunnels, especially under water was a dangerous and tricky business. Some have vanished without trace whereas others are almost intact, grimey time capsules of the era when they were closed. There are about 40 abandoned or relocated stations on the Underground network along its entire 249 miles (402Km) of trackway - some subsurface and some above ground. These stations are often referred to as ghost stations. Down Street, closed in the same year as British Museum. Or perhaps you may notice the tunnel wall change from cast iron tubing to bricks as you travel on the Piccadilly Line between Green Park and Hyde Park Corner.

For example, look through the window as you travel between Tottenham Court Road and Holborn on the Central Line and you'll see a station - where no passengers have alighted since 1932. One of the things I find most interesting is the changing history of the railway, of which there is still much hidden evidence. I've never considered myself a train spotter, but I find the history and background of London's subterranean railway fascinating. When I moved to live near London a few years ago, one of my interests became the London Underground, the oldest and one of the busiest underground railway networks in the world.

The tube in england