"Christine" wrote in message
...
Can anyone out there, let me know where I can obtain copies of maps
that show all the twist and turns of the London Underground lines?

I often travel on the Northern (Bank) Line and it amazes me the how
the line twists, turns, dips etc. One dip is on the Northern
(Bank)northbound line between Angel and Kings Cross St Pancras. I like
it because it wakes me up before my stop. What causes such a dip?

I have two maps from a while back that show the exact routes of the
Ungerground lines.

One is "London: Official Tourist Information" published by LT, reference FWT
12/79.

The other is "London Parking Guide", published in association with
Vauxhall/GM/Opel and NCP.


The first covers an area from Notting Hill to The Tower and Kentish Town to
Battersea. The second goes from Hammersmith to Stepney and Camden Road to
Battersea.

Neither map shows the gradients. There are two main reasons for changes of
gradient in the Underground: firstly, most stations are constructed with a
rising gradient on the approach (to help slow the train down) and a falling
gradient on the exit (to help the train accelerate); secondly some lines
(can't remember offhand which) change from having two tracks side by side to
one track above the other in places where the line passes along a road,
because it was cheaper to pass under the length of a road than to get a
"wayleave" to pass under buildings alongside the road, so one track will
climb quite abruptly on top of the other where a road narrows and then sink
down to the same level once the road is wide enough to take the two tracks
side by side again.