Actually, you can find plenty of references from the New York Times
from 1901 and 1902 referring to the London Tube.

Go to Google News and search. I've provided a shortened link he
http://bit.ly/q566GY

This is just mentions of "London Tube" together - there's even more
with the words not appearing contiguous within the publication in
question, but that would also throw up too many false positives.

On the second and third page of the search results there are some very
interesting ones.

Seems a lot of the tube was run by Americans at the start of the
century. When Bob Kiley, and then Tim O'Toole, ran it in our much more
recent history, there was quite a bit of hoo-hah and jingoism
regarding these appointments in some of the press. Ironic when you
consider the tube's early history - looks as though there's always
been a close connection with the US and the London tube - as indeed
there has been viceversa with the British involvement with the early
American railroads.

Anyway, can anyone beat New York Times 1901 for the earliest reference
of the London Tube to describe the whole system?

Apologies for replying to my own post, but while looking to see if I
could find something earlier, I did find this, which while is not
strictly an example as the Bishop of London is talking in Parliament
about the railway going throguh tubes, it is still a fascinating
reading of parliamentary discussions from 1890 which will surely
delight many he

http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/l...second-reading

Oooh, earliest reference I've found in Hansard of "tube railways"
being mentioned as an expression together and then referred
subsequently as "tubes" is from 7 March 1901
http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/c...9010307_HOC_42
in a speech given by the delightfully named "Chairman of Ways and
Means" which I guessed was some old title that no longer exists but I
subsequently found that indeed it still does exist and is in fact one
of the Speaker's three deputies, currently Lindsay Hoyle MP from
Chorley.

In message
,
Tristán White writes

Oooh, earliest reference I've found in Hansard of "tube railways" being
mentioned as an expression together and then referred subsequently as
"tubes" is from 7 March 1901

The term "tube" was used to refer to (bored) underground railways in
1859, when The London Pneumatic Despatch Company proposed a scheme of
railways in tubes under London, operated by compressed air, for the
delivery of parcels. This eventually became the original (1863) Post
Office Railway. The author of "Engineering Facts and Figures for 1864"
referred to "the contract for the tube railway".

When the City and South London Railway (now part of the Northern line)
opened in 1890, the Penny Illustrated Paper and Illustrated Times of
Nov. 8th 1890 described going "through the tube under the River Thames".

But it was probably just after the opening of the Central London Railway
in 1900 that the expression became widely used.
--
Paul Terry

On 2011\09\07 17:54, Paul Terry wrote:
In message
,
Tristán White writes

Oooh, earliest reference I've found in Hansard of "tube railways"
being mentioned as an expression together and then referred
subsequently as "tubes" is from 7 March 1901

The term "tube" was used to refer to (bored) underground railways in
1859, when The London Pneumatic Despatch Company proposed a scheme of
railways in tubes under London, operated by compressed air, for the
delivery of parcels. This eventually became the original (1863) Post
Office Railway. The author of "Engineering Facts and Figures for 1864"
referred to "the contract for the tube railway".

When the City and South London Railway (now part of the Northern line)
opened in 1890, the Penny Illustrated Paper and Illustrated Times of
Nov. 8th 1890 described going "through the tube under the River Thames".

But it was probably just after the opening of the Central London Railway
in 1900 that the expression became widely used.

The Metropolitan Railway only became part of London Underground in 1933,
and I thought it unlikely that anyone using the phrase "The Tube" would
have included the Met as part of that before that date... but it looks
like I am wrong, judging by this 1912 map "How To Reach Harrods By Tube"
http://www.londonancestor.com/maps/l...und-map-th.htm

On Sep 8, 12:03*am, Basil Jet wrote:
On 2011\09\07 17:54, Paul Terry wrote:

The Metropolitan Railway only became part of London Underground in 1933,
and I thought it unlikely that anyone using the phrase "The Tube" would
have included the Met as part of that before that date... but it looks
like I am wrong, judging by this 1912 map "How To Reach Harrods By Tube"http://www.londonancestor.com/maps/london-underground-map-th.htm- Hide quoted text -


That is odd - I guess though it's like including DLR on the tube maps
after the DLR was launched. But yes, it is odd.

I mean, the Met even had it's own lozenge for a logo back then
(lozenge being to rhombus what roundel is to circle, if I'm not
mistaken)
http://www.ltmcollection.org/images/...o/i000009o.jpg for a copy
of the Met's lozenge on their 1916 timetable.

On 2011\09\14 17:37, Tristán White wrote:
On Sep 8, 12:03 am, Basil wrote:
On 2011\09\07 17:54, Paul Terry wrote:

The Metropolitan Railway only became part of London Underground in 1933,
and I thought it unlikely that anyone using the phrase "The Tube" would
have included the Met as part of that before that date... but it looks
like I am wrong, judging by this 1912 map "How To Reach Harrods By Tube"http://www.londonancestor.com/maps/london-underground-map-th.htm- Hide quoted text -


That is odd - I guess though it's like including DLR on the tube maps
after the DLR was launched. But yes, it is odd.

I mean, the Met even had it's own lozenge for a logo back then
(lozenge being to rhombus what roundel is to circle, if I'm not
mistaken)
http://www.ltmcollection.org/images/...o/i000009o.jpg for a copy
of the Met's lozenge on their 1916 timetable.

Like the clock at Willesden Green station.
http://maps.google.co.uk/?ll=51.5490... 99,,1,-11.11

In message
,
Tristán White wrote:
Oooh, earliest reference I've found in Hansard of "tube railways"
being mentioned as an expression together and then referred
subsequently as "tubes" is from 7 March 1901

However, this is referring to true tubes like the Northern Line, not the
subsurface lines.

in a speech given by the delightfully named "Chairman of Ways and
Means" which I guessed was some old title that no longer exists but I
subsequently found that indeed it still does exist and is in fact one
of the Speaker's three deputies,

From the Parliament web site:

"Ways and Means comes from a committee of the House of Commons which
used to sit to consider the 'ways and means' or taxation needed to raise
revenue for the Government. The Chairman of Ways and Means is a senior
member of the House of Commons who acts as one of the Speaker's three
deputies. In addition he or she always acts as Speaker during Committees
of the Whole House, and is in charge of Private Bill procedure. Today
the Chairman of Ways and Means still occupies the chair when the budget
statements are made or finance bills discussed."

[The Speaker is, in theory, the Monarch's representative and is
therefore forbidden to be involved in financial matters. So the Chairman
of Ways and Means deputises for him in these cases.]

--
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