London Underground - The Basics
An informative guide to the underground.
Introduction
Hello! Welcome to this guide on the London Underground. This guide contains everything you need to know including the trains, secret rules and it's history. Enjoy this article and feed your brain with fun information.
What's so special?
First of all click this link to see TfL themselves talk about their trains.
Now there are many different trains across the different lines such as the S stock which are used on the subsurface (Circle, Hammersmith & City, District & Metropolitan lines) trains. They are the first trains with air con and with walk through carriages. Another interesting thing is that the moquette seats have the 4 colours of the lines that they operate: Yellow, Pink, Green and Purple.
Here are some of the other trains.
S Stock
Features: Air Con, Walkthrough carriages and 3 sets of double doors.
2009 Stock
Features: Advanced passenger information systems, automatic train operation and fast acceleration and braking.
1996 Stock
Features: fast acceleration and braking, wide passenger doors and seven extended carriages.
What's In A Name : Lancaster Gate
Firstly Lancaster Gate is one of the gates into Hyde park and may have received it's name from Queen Victoria when she was the Duchess of Lancaster and secondly a street of the same name near the gate was built in 1863. The name Westbourne was considered but opened as Lancaster Gate on July 30 1900.
Who Thought of the Idea?
One of the many Charles' of the underground:
Charles Pearson, who worked as a solicitor, promoted the idea of an underground railway in 1845 which would transport people and goods across the city in glass tunnels, powered by compressed air. While his futuristic dream may be still a work in progress his idea was recognized in one way or another.
Mind The Gap
Where did it Originate?
The phrase mind the gap, spoken by Oswald Laurence, originated on the Northern line platforms where the gap could be 30 Cm between the train and platform. It has now returned to Embankment station so that his widow could hear his voice.