"Richard J." wrote in message
. ..
Nick Cooper wrote:
On Sun, 3 Oct 2004 08:51:44 +0000 (UTC), "Troy Steadman"
wrote:

"Mark Brader" wrote in message


Which disaster that took place in what is now (and maybe was then,
I won't be specific) a part of the London Underground system is
mentioned in the Oxford English Dictionary?

Google suggests the London Underground has been mercifully spared
too many disasters - not sure where "accident" finishes and
"disaster" starts mind you...

The crush at Bethnal Green and the wartime bombing of the other "B"
stations...

Bamden Town? Bambeth North??? Barble Arch???? Brafalgar square?????

Bank and Balham, I assume, though I wouldn't have thought these
warranted a mention in the OED. I don't think that any disaster of this
sort has coined a new word in the language, so I assume that there is a
reference to the disaster in an entry for the part of London where it
happened. The disaster would therefore have to be very significant in
the history of either the location or London's railways in general.

Moorgate can be ruled out, as the location of the disaster is no longer
in the LU system. Harrow (1952) is a possibility but here too the
mainline tracks on which it occurred aren't part of the LU system.

I thought of Harrow last night, and it is pretty far out on the edge of the
underground, so is unlikely to have been part of the underground as long as
the central parts. However, people were using harrows well before 1952 I
believe, so it is unlikely to be mentioned in the context of a disaster.
Although I don't have an OED to check.

Marcus