Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

The Telegraph has compiled a list of 150 "Tube facts" to go with the
anniversary. Most will be known to the well informed members of this group,
but some may not be, and some are bound to be disputed. Here's their list:

1. There is only one Tube station which does not have any letters of the
word 'mackerel' in it: St John's Wood.
2. The average speed on the Underground is 20.5 miles per hour including
station stops.
3. During the three-hour morning peak, the busiest Tube station is
Waterloo, with around 57,000 people entering.
4. On the Metropolitan line, trains can reach over 60mph.
5. The shortest distance between two adjacent stations on the underground
network is only 260 metres. The tube journey between Leicester Square and
Covent Garden on the Piccadilly Line takes only about 20 seconds, but costs
£4.30. Yet it still remains the most popular journey with tourists.
6. Many tube stations were used as air-raid shelters during the Second
World War, but the Central Line was even converted into a fighter aircraft
factory that stretched for over two miles, with its own railway system. Its
existence remained an official secret until the 1980s.
7. Angel has the Underground's longest escalator at 60m/197ft, with a
vertical rise of 27.5m.
8. The shortest escalator is Stratford, with a vertical rise of 4.1m.
9. Only 45 per cent of the Underground is actually in tunnels.
10. The longest distance between stations is on the Metropolitan line from
Chesham to Chalfont & Latimer: a total of only 3.89 miles.
11. The longest continuous tunnel is on the Northern line and runs from
East Finchley to Morden (via Bank), a total of 17.3 miles.
12. Aldgate Station, on the Circle and Metropolitan Lines, is built on a
massive plague pit, where more than 1,000 bodies are buried.
13. The longest journey without change is on the Central line from West
Ruislip to Epping, and is a total of 34.1 miles.
14. The deepest station is Hampstead on the Northern line, which runs down
to 58.5 metres.
15. In Central London the deepest station below street level is also the
Northern line. It is the DLR concourse at Bank, which is 41.4 metres below.
16. The TARDIS, (Dr Who’s transport) can be found outside Earl’s Court
station. Or at least an old police call box can.
17. The London Underground manages about 10 per cent of all green spaces in
London.
18. Wildlife observed on the Tube network includes woodpeckers, deer,
sparrowhawk, bats, grass snakes, great crested newts, slow worms.
19. Over 47 million litres water are pumped from the Tube each day, enough
to fill a standard leisure centre swimming pool (25 metres x 10 metres)
every quarter of an hour.
20. The London Underground trains were originally steam powered.
21. The station with the most platforms is Baker Street with 10 (Moorgate
also has 10 platforms but only six are used by Tube trains - others are
used by overground trains).
22.The District Line has the most stations: 60.
23.The Waterloo and City Line has the fewest stations (no intermediate
stations)
24.The Underground name first appeared on stations in 1908.
25.London Underground has been known as the Tube since 1890 due to the
shape of the tunnels.
26.The first deep-level electric railway line also opened in 1890.
27.The Tube's logo is known as “the roundel� (a red circle crossed by a
horizontal blue bar)
28.The station with the most escalators is Waterloo with 23.
29.The total number of passengers carried last year was 1,107 million
(1.107 billion).
30.The highest station above sea level is Amersham, at 147 metres.
31.Tube trains travelled 72.4 million train kilometres (45 million miles)
last year.
32.The Northern line has the highest maximum number of trains required for
scheduled peak period service: 91.
33. The Waterloo & City line has the fewest scheduled for peak period
service at just five.
34. The total length of the London Underground network is 249 miles.
35. In 1926, suicide pits were installed beneath tracks due to a rise in
the numbers of passengers throwing themselves in front of trains.
36. The eastern extension of the Jubilee line is the only Underground line
to feature glass screens to deter "jumpers".
37. The earliest trains run from Osterley to Heathrow on the Piccadilly
line, starting at 4.45am.
38. The greatest elevation above the ground level is on the Northern line
at Dollis Brook viaduct over Dollis road, Mill Hill: it rises a total of 18
metres (60ft).
39.One of the early names proposed for the Victoria Line was the Viking
line.
40. In 1924, the first baby was born on the Underground, on a train at
Elephant & Castle on the Bakerloo line.
41. The American talk show host Jerry Springer was born at East Finchley
during the Second World War: his mother had taken shelter in the station
from an air raid.
42. Builders working on the Bakerloo Line are reported to have suffered
from the bends while tunnelling under the Thames.
43.The inaugural journey of the first Central line train in 1900 had the
Prince of Wales and Mark Twain on board.
44.The tunnels beneath the City curve significantly because they follow its
medieval street plan.
45.The Central line introduced the first flat fare when it opened at the
turn of the 20th century. The tuppence fare lasted until the end of June
1907 when a threepenny fare was introduced for longer journeys.
46. Charles Pearson, MP and Solicitor to the City of London, is credited
with successfully campaigning for the introduction of the Underground. He
died in 1862 shortly before the first train ran.
47.The first escalator on the Underground was installed at Earl's Court in
1911.
48. The first crash on the Tube occurred in 1938 when two trains collided
between Waterloo and Charing Cross, injuring 12 passengers.
49. Harry Beck produced the well known Tube map diagram while working as an
engineering draughtsman at the London Underground Signals Office. He was
reportedly paid 10 guineas (£10.50) for his efforts.
50. Harry Beck’s map was considered too big a departure from the norm, but
the public liked it and it became official in 1933.
51. Busking has been licensed on the Tube since 2003.
52. Sting and Paul McCartney are both rumoured to have busked on the
Underground in disguise.
53. The phrase "Mind the gap" dates back to 1968. The recording that is
broadcast on stations was first done by Peter Lodge, who had a recording
company in Bayswater.
54. The Peter Lodge recording of “Mind the Gap� is still in use, but some
lines use recordings by a Manchester voice artist Emma Clarke. On the
Piccadilly line the recording is notable for being the voice of Tim
Bentinck, who plays David Archer in The Archers.
55. The Jubilee Line is the only one to connect with all the other
Underground Lines.
56. Approximately 50 passengers a year kill themselves on the Underground.
57. Fewer than 10 per cent of Tube stations lie south of the Thames.
58. The total number of lifts on the Underground, including four stair
lifts, is 164.
59. Smoking was banned on the Underground as a result of the King's Cross
fire in November 1987 which killed 31 people. A discarded match was thought
to be the cause of that inferno.
60. An estimated half a million mice live in the Underground system.
61.1961 marked the end of steam and electric haulage of passenger trains on
the London Underground.
62. One of the levels in Tomb Raider 3 is set in the disused Aldwych tube
station, featuring scenes of Lara Croft killing rats.
63. In the film Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the Hogwarts
headmaster has a scar that resembles a map of the London Underground on his
knee.
64.There are only two tube station names that contain all five vowels:
Mansion House, and South Ealing.
65. Edward Johnston designed the font for the London Underground in 1916.
The font he came up with is still in use today.
66. Amersham is also the most westerly tube station, as well as the highest
(see above).
67. A macabre statistic is that the most popular tube suicide time is
around 11 am.
68. In January 2005, in an attempt to alleviate a problem with loitering
young people, the London Underground announced it would play classical
music at problem stations.
69. The Underground has the oldest section of underground railway in the
world, which opened in 1863.
70. The first section of the Underground ran between Paddington (Bishop's
Road) and Farringdon Street. The same section now forms part of the Circle,
Hammersmith & City, and Metropolitan lines.
71.The Underground was first used for air raid shelters in September 1940.
72. During the Second World War, part of the Piccadilly line (Holborn -
Aldwych branch), was closed and British Museum treasures were stored in the
empty spaces.
73. The London Passenger Transport Board was nationalised and became the
London Transport Executive in 1948.
74. The first Tube tunnel was opened in 1880, running from the Tower of
London to Bermondsey.
75.The Central Line used to be nicknamed as the 'Twopenny Tube' for its
flat fare.
76. Dot matrix train destination indicators were introduced onto London
Underground platforms in 1983.
77. The single worst accident in terms of fatalities on the Underground
occurred on February 28, 1975 at Moorgate, when 42 people died.
78. The Piccadilly line extended to serve Heathrow Terminal 4 in 1986.
79. Penalty fares were only introduced in 1994.
80. The tube carried one billion passengers in a year for the first time in
2007.
81.The last manually operated doors on Tube trains (replaced by
air-operated doors) were phased out in 1929.
82.The Jubilee Line was named to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee
in 1977 – but the line did not open until 1979.
83. A census carried out on September 27, 1940 found that 177,500 Londoners
were sleeping in Tube stations.
84. During the war, special supply trains ran, providing seven tonnes of
food and 2,400 gallons of tea and cocoa every night to people staying in
the Tube.
85. Covent Garden is believed to be haunted by the ghost of William Terris
who met an untimely death near the station in 1897.
86. Another station that is believed to be haunted is Farringdon station.
The so-called Screaming Spectre is believed to have been a milliner.
87. The Seven Sisters Underground station is believed to have been named
after a line of elm trees which stood nearby until the 1830s.
88. The fictitious station of Walford East, which features in the
long-running soap opera Eastenders, is supposed to be on the District Line.
89. Every week, Underground escalators travel the equivalent distance of
going twice around the world.
90. According to TFL, London Underground trains travel a total of 1,735
times around the world (or 90 trips to the moon and back).
91. A spiral escalator was installed in 1907 at Holloway Road station, but
linear escalators were favoured for the rest of the network. A small
section of the spiral escalator is in the Acton Depot.
92. A small section of the old London Wall survives in the trackside walls
of Tower Hill station at platform level. One of the largest pieces of the
wall also stands just outside this station.
93. Finsbury Park station has murals that show a pair of duelling pistols,
harking back to a time when men would visit the park after hours to defend
their honour.
94. Last year (2012), the most complained about line was the Jubilee Line.
95. The London Underground is thought to be the third largest metro system
in the world, in terms of miles, after the Beijing Subway and the Shanghai
Metro.
96. The London Underground is the third busiest metro system in Europe,
after Moscow and Paris.
97. The coffin of Dr. Thomas Barnardo was carried in funeral cortege on an
underground train in 1905, one of only two occasions this is known to have
happened.
98.The Underground helped over 200,000 children escape to the countryside
during the Second World War.
99. During the war, some stations (now mostly disused) were converted into
government offices: a station called Down Street was used for meetings of
the Railway Executive Committee, as well as for the War Cabinet before the
Cabinet War Rooms were built.
100. Brompton Road (now disused) on the Piccadilly, Line was apparently
used as a control room for anti-aircraft guns.
101. Only five London Underground stations lie outside the M25 motorway
102. The Underground only runs 24 hours a day at New Year, and on special
events such as for the opening and closing ceremonies of the London
Olympics.
103. According to a 2002 study air quality on the Underground was 73 times
worse than at street level, with 20 minutes on the Northern Line having
"the same effect as smoking a cigarette".
104. The former poet laureate John Betjeman created 'Metroland' series, a
homage to the people and places served by the Metropolitan line in 1973.
105. The Oyster card was introduced in 2003.
106. The worst civilian death toll on the Underground occurred at Bethnal
Green Tube tragedy in 1943, when 173 people died. It is the largest loss of
life in a single incident on the London Underground network.
107. The largest number of people killed by a single wartime bomb was 68 at
Balham Station .
108. The 100th anniversary of the roundel (the Tube Logo) was celebrated in
2008 by TfL commissioning 100 artists to produce works that celebrate the
design.
109. The largest Tube car park is at Epping and has 599 parking spots.
110. The Central Line has the most tube stations with no surface building
(Bank, Bethnal Green, Chancery Lane, Gants Hill, Notting Hill Gate)
111. Of the stations that have stairs, Hampstead Station has the most steps
(320 in total).
112. There are 14 journeys between stations that take less than a minute on
average
113. King's Cross St Pancras tube station is served by more Underground
lines than any other station on the network.
114. Seven London Boroughs are not served by the underground system, six of
them being situated south of the River Thames.
115. The total number of carriages in London Underground's fleet is 4134.
116. The total number of stations served on the network is 270.
117. London Underground transferred from the control of the Government to
Transport for London (TfL) on July 15, 2003.
118. Scenes from the film Sliding Doors were shot at Waterloo station on
the Waterloo & City Line and at Fulham Broadway tube station on the
District Line.
119. Filming on location in the Underground costs £500 per hour (plus VAT)
unless you have a crew of less than five.
120. You can now no longer go around the Circle Line in a full circle. From
2009, the Circle Line terminated at Edgware Road.
121. The only tube station still to use wooden escalators is Greenford on
the Central Line.
122. Arsenal (originally Gillespie Road) on Piccadilly line is the only one
station named after a football team.
123. There are three tube stations on the Monopoly board: Liverpool Street
Station, King’s Cross and Marylebone.
124. The number of stations that only use escalators is 12
125. Nineteen stations just use lifts.
126. The River Westbourne was funnelled above a platform on Sloane Square
in a large iron pipe suspended from girders. It remains in place today.
127. The first tube station to be demolished was Westbourne Park on the
Metropolitan Line. It was re-sited in 1871.
128. There is a mosquito named after the Tube – the London Underground
mosquito, which was found in the London Underground. It was notable for its
assault of Londoners sleeping in the Underground during the Blitz.
129.The London Underground Film Office handles over 200 requests a month.
130. In Alfred Hitchcock’s first feature film The Lodger (1926) featured
the director making a cameo on the Tube.
131. The record for visiting all the stations on the London Underground
network – known as the Tube Challenge – is currently held by Andi James and
Steve Wilson of the United Kingdom, who completed the challenge in 16
hours, 29 minutes and 13 seconds on May 27 2011.
132. The Tube Challenge record did not appear in the Guinness book of
records until its eighth edition in 1960, when it stood at 18 hours, 35
minutes
133. An interactive novel has been published, set on the London
Underground. Two five three can be seen he London Underground. “253� can
be read here.
134. In cockney rhyming slang, the London Underground is known as the Oxo
(Cube/ Tube).
135. Around 30,000 passengers went on The Metropolitan Line, its first day
of public business on January 10, 1863
136. There were claims the first baby born on the Underground was called
Thelma Ursula Beatrice Eleanor (so that her initials would have read TUBE)
but this story later proved false – her actual name was Marie Cordery.
137. On August 3 2012, during the Olympic Games, the London Underground had
its most hectic day ever, carrying 4.4 million passengers.
138. St James is the only Underground Station to have Grade-I protected
status. It includes 55 Broadway, the administrative headquarters of
London’s Underground since the 1930s.
139. The most recent Tube baby birth a boy was in 2009.
140. The most common location for filming is Aldwych, a disused station.
141. As Princess Elizabeth, the Queen travelled on the Underground for the
first time in May 1939, when she was 13 years old, with her governess
Marion Crawford and Princess Margaret.
142. Poems on the Underground was launched in 1986, the idea of American
writer Judith Chernaik.
143. A series of animal shapes have also been highlighted in the London
Underground map, first discovered by Paul Middlewick in 1988. They're
created using the tube lines, stations and junctions of the London
Underground map.
144. A fragrance known as Madeleine was trialled at St. James Park, Euston,
and Piccadilly stations in 2001, intended to make the Tube more pleasant.
It was stopped within days after complaints from people saying they felt
ill.
145. There were eight deep-level shelters built under the London
Underground in the Second World War. One of them in Stockwell is decorated
as a war memorial.
146. After the war, the deep level shelter at Clapham South housed
immigrants from the West Indies.
147. A 2011 study suggested 30 per cent of passengers take longer routes
due to the out-of-scale distances on the Tube map.
148. The first ever air-conditioned, walk-through Underground train ran on
the Metropolitan line in 2010.
149. The average distance travelled by each Tube train annually stands at
around 114,500 miles.
150. Alcohol was banned on the Tube – and all London Transport – from June
2008.

From:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/de...ube-facts.html

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

We were about to embark at Dover, when
(Recliner) came up to me and whispered:

20. The London Underground trains were originally steam powered.

No, only Met and District trains were ever Steam. Steam was withdrawn
from the Circle line in 1905, and was only used for Metro-land long
distance services from then on.

24. The Underground name first appeared on stations in 1908.

By which time no "UndergrounD" services were steam powered. Steam was
introduced to "Underground" services when LPTB subsumed the independent
Metropolitan line in 1933.

74. The first Tube tunnel was opened in 1880, running from the
Tower of London to Bermondsey.

But has nothing to do with the London Underground

--
Paul Cummins - Always a NetHead
Wasting Bandwidth since 1981

---- If it's below this line, I didn't write it ----

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

Paul Cummins wrote:
We were about to embark at Dover, when
(Recliner) came up to me and whispered:

20. The London Underground trains were originally steam powered.

No, only Met and District trains were ever Steam. Steam was withdrawn
from the Circle line in 1905, and was only used for Metro-land long
distance services from then on.

True, but that doesn't invalidate the statement.


24. The Underground name first appeared on stations in 1908.

By which time no "UndergrounD" services were steam powered. Steam was
introduced to "Underground" services when LPTB subsumed the independent
Metropolitan line in 1933.

They don't claim it was steam Operated in 1908.


74. The first Tube tunnel was opened in 1880, running from the
Tower of London to Bermondsey.

But has nothing to do with the London Underground

Yup.

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

We were about to embark at Dover, when
(Recliner) came up to me and whispered:

True, but that doesn't invalidate the statement.

It does. No "London Underground" service, past or present, was originally
steam operated.

The MR and MDR services were, but they were not LU trains.

--
Paul Cummins - Always a NetHead
Wasting Bandwidth since 1981

---- If it's below this line, I didn't write it ----

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

Paul Cummins wrote:
We were about to embark at Dover, when
(Recliner) came up to me and whispered:

True, but that doesn't invalidate the statement.

It does. No "London Underground" service, past or present, was originally
steam operated.

The MR and MDR services were, but they were not LU trains.

Yes, but the London Underground (and the "Tube") is understood to include
the predecessor companies. Note the title of this thread. After all, no
deep level "Tube" line was ever steam operated, but the whole modern LU
system is branded the "Tube", and hence those pre-1890 services are now all
regarded as part of what we now call the Tube, even if the term was unknown
in 1863.

Otherwise, which entity is celebrating its 150th anniversary? If you only
include the Met, then even the original 1863 route isn't all part of the
current Met line, an so you presumably regard the upcoming steam runs as
bogus?

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

On 2013\01\09 22:27, Recliner wrote:

36. The eastern extension of the Jubilee line is the only Underground line
to feature glass screens to deter "jumpers".

No, it's to do with ventilation.

55. The Jubilee Line is the only one to connect with all the other
Underground Lines.

That was the case when the ELL was part of the network. Now Bakerloo,
Central, Circle, Jubilee and Northern lines all connect with all others.

65. Edward Johnston designed the font for the London Underground in 1916.
The font he came up with is still in use today.

No, it's been modified to form New Johnston Font.

110. The Central Line has the most tube stations with no surface building
(Bank, Bethnal Green, Chancery Lane, Gants Hill, Notting Hill Gate)

NHG might not a surface entrance building, but it has a rather large
roof on the circle platforms clearly visible from above.

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

On Jan 9, 10:27*pm, Recliner wrote:

6. Many tube stations were used as air-raid shelters during the Second
World War, but the Central Line was even converted into a fighter aircraft
factory that stretched for over two miles, with its own railway system. Its
existence remained an official secret until the 1980s.

Sounds interesting!

10. The longest distance between stations is on the Metropolitan line from
Chesham to Chalfont & Latimer: a total of only 3.89 miles.

Really? Only 3.89?

19. Over 47 million litres water are pumped from the Tube each day, enough
to fill a standard leisure centre swimming pool (25 metres x 10 metres)
every quarter of an hour.

That is a vast amount.

34. The total length of the London Underground network is 249 miles.
116. The total number of stations served on the network is 270.
133. An interactive novel has been published, set on the London
Underground. Two five three can be seen he London Underground. “253” can
be read here.

Are the figures in 34 & 116 still up-to-date? What is the 253 about?

39.One of the early names proposed for the Victoria Line was the Viking
line.

They might have expanded on this: VIctoria-KING's Cross.

69. The Underground has the oldest section of underground railway in the world, which opened in 1863.
74. The first Tube tunnel was opened in 1880, running from the Tower of
London to Bermondsey.

I suppose the first example was cut-and-cover.

79. Penalty fares were only introduced in 1994.

"79. Penalty Fares were introduced as recently as 1994."

103. According to a 2002 study air quality on the Underground was 73 times
worse than at street level, with 20 minutes on the Northern Line having
"the same effect as smoking a cigarette".

I remember this report which seems to have been totally buried.

112. There are 14 journeys between stations that take less than a minute on
average.

I imagine these are all in zone 1.

126. The River Westbourne was funnelled above a platform on Sloane Square
in a large iron pipe suspended from girders. It remains in place today.

I mistakenly thought it was the Tyburn.

134. In cockney rhyming slang, the London Underground is known as the Oxo
(Cube/ Tube).

News to me!

143. A series of animal shapes have also been highlighted in the London
Underground map, first discovered by Paul Middlewick in 1988. They're
created using the tube lines, stations and junctions of the London
Underground map.

Discovered?

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

5. The shortest distance between two adjacent stations on the underground
network is only 260 metres. The tube journey between Leicester Square and
Covent Garden on the Piccadilly Line takes only about 20 seconds, but costs
£4.30. Yet it still remains the most popular journey with tourists.

Cheaper with Oyster, and does this record number of tourists really
catch the train from just Leicester Square to Covent Garden, or is this
conflated with Covent Garden perhaps being the station with the biggest
flow of tourists?

6. Many tube stations were used as air-raid shelters during the Second
World War, but the Central Line was even converted into a fighter aircraft
factory that stretched for over two miles, with its own railway system. Its
existence remained an official secret until the 1980s.

I don't think they "converted" the Central Line, it was under
construction and re-purposed as a factory, and only completed and handed
over as a railways after the war.

8. The shortest escalator is Stratford, with a vertical rise of 4.1m.

"at" Stratford, perhaps.

14. The deepest station is Hampstead on the Northern line, which runs down
to 58.5 metres.
15. In Central London the deepest station below street level is also the
Northern line. It is the DLR concourse at Bank, which is 41.4 metres below.
66. Amersham is also the most westerly tube station, as well as the highest

Another missing factoid is the deepest platforms below sea level.
Possibly Jubilee Line at Waterloo.

21. The station with the most platforms is Baker Street with 10 (Moorgate
also has 10 platforms but only six are used by Tube trains - others are
used by overground trains).

Given that it's not the Overground, perhaps "National Rail" trains would
be a better description. They are also counting the now-closed
Thameslink platforms, which is a bit suspect.

28.The station with the most escalators is Waterloo with 23.

I wonder how that's counted, for example there are two which are
arguably part of the National Rail station, plus another two very close
by, that used to travel up to the Eurostar Concourse.

58. The total number of lifts on the Underground, including four stair
lifts, is 164.

Same question really. How many of the lifts at Kings Cross/St Pancras
are deemed to be "On The Underground" and how many are part of the
National Rail infrastructure.

90. According to TFL, London Underground trains travel a total of 1,735
times around the world (or 90 trips to the moon and back).

How often? Daily, annually...

120. You can now no longer go around the Circle Line in a full circle. From
2009, the Circle Line terminated at Edgware Road.

But you can still travel from Edgware Rd to Edgware Rd, which is a full
circle.

125. Nineteen stations just use lifts.

They have stairs as well.

--
Roland Perry

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

6. Many tube stations were used as air-raid shelters during the Second
World War, but the Central Line was even converted into a fighter
aircraft factory that stretched for over two miles, with its own
railway system. Its existence remained an official secret until the
1980s.


"fighter aircraft factory" is hyperbolic (probably courtesy of Wikipedia
+ modern journos' disregard for facts): they produced a wide variety of
components and gear for bombers as well as fighters as well as shell
casings and the like; there were no spitfires appearing from tunnels at
Gants Hill with guns loaded on the lines of Blofeld's secret lair :)


--
Robin
reply to address is (meant to be) valid

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

On Thu, 10 Jan 2013 09:08:52 +0000, Roland Perry wrote:
125. Nineteen stations just use lifts.

They have stairs as well.

A list I've been looking for but haven't been able to find is stations,
or platforms really, that don't have publicly accessible stairs.

Can point 17 be true? How are they defining "London?" Just Central London?
And is that the number of individual green spaces and not the acreage?
Presumably they are excluding Epping Forest, Hampstead Heath, Mitcham
Common, Wanstead Flats etc.

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

In message , at 11:10:49 on
Thu, 10 Jan 2013, David Walters remarked:

125. Nineteen stations just use lifts.

They have stairs as well.

A list I've been looking for but haven't been able to find is stations,
or platforms really, that don't have publicly accessible stairs.

I've always understood that every station with "only" lifts also has
emergency stairs (that may not be well signposted for regular use). And
also some stations still have the stairs despite now being fitted with
escalators (TCR springs to mind).

Then there's another set of stations with stairs in between the
escalators. Marble Arch as an example?
--
Roland Perry

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

On Wed, 9 Jan 2013 22:48:23 -0800 (PST), Offramp
wrote:

On Jan 9, 10:27*pm, Recliner wrote:



134. In cockney rhyming slang, the London Underground is known as the Oxo
(Cube/ Tube).

News to me!

And to me too, but even more remarkably, to Bob Crow (on the Daily
Politics show).

Mr Crow was a surprisingly pleasant guest, who turned out to agree
with Boris on transport matters such as Crossrail 2. He didn't do too
well on the LU 150 quiz (he obviously hadn't read this thread or the
Telegraph). Oddly, the only politician he criticised was the Labour
transport minister who he said had shut the Ongar line (the politician
in question is rather more famous for her previous career, Glenda
Jackson). In fact, of course, it was closed in 1994, during the Major
administration. Is Bob becoming a closet Tory?

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

On Thu, 10 Jan 2013 13:16:08 +0000, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 11:10:49 on
Thu, 10 Jan 2013, David Walters remarked:

125. Nineteen stations just use lifts.

They have stairs as well.

A list I've been looking for but haven't been able to find is stations,
or platforms really, that don't have publicly accessible stairs.

I've always understood that every station with "only" lifts also has
emergency stairs (that may not be well signposted for regular use). And
also some stations still have the stairs despite now being fitted with
escalators (TCR springs to mind).

I think that is true but some stations have escalators and no fixed
stairs, assuming everything is working. The stairs at Angel still seem to
be present but I think I'd cause a disturbance if I exited the platforms
that way.

If you have a desire to avoid lifts and escalators then a lot of the
underground is off limits and it is very hard to plan a route with
available information.

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

On 2013\01\10 09:08, Roland Perry wrote:

28.The station with the most escalators is Waterloo with 23.

I wonder how that's counted, for example there are two which are
arguably part of the National Rail station, plus another two very close
by, that used to travel up to the Eurostar Concourse.

58. The total number of lifts on the Underground, including four stair
lifts, is 164.

Same question really. How many of the lifts at Kings Cross/St Pancras
are deemed to be "On The Underground" and how many are part of the
National Rail infrastructure.

Simple, who owns them, who pays to clean them, who pays to repair them.
There's nothing arbitrary about this.

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

snip Oddly, the only politician he criticised was the Labour
transport minister who he said had shut the Ongar line (the politician
in question is rather more famous for her previous career, Glenda
Jackson). In fact, of course, it was closed in 1994, during the Major
administration. Is Bob becoming a closet Tory?

Possibly depends on the meaning of "shut"? I thought services stopped
running in 1994 but that it was not until 1998, when Glenda Jackson was
the junior Minister with responsibility for transport in London, that
the line was sold.
--
Robin
reply to address is (meant to be) valid

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

"Robin" wrote:
snip Oddly, the only politician he criticised was the Labour
transport minister who he said had shut the Ongar line (the politician
in question is rather more famous for her previous career, Glenda
Jackson). In fact, of course, it was closed in 1994, during the Major
administration. Is Bob becoming a closet Tory?

Possibly depends on the meaning of "shut"? I thought services stopped
running in 1994 but that it was not until 1998, when Glenda Jackson was
the junior Minister with responsibility for transport in London, that
the line was sold.

Ah, that explains it. But it had been formally closed before then, hadn't
it?

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

In article , (Roland Perry)
wrote:

In message , at 11:10:49
on Thu, 10 Jan 2013, David Walters remarked:

125. Nineteen stations just use lifts.

They have stairs as well.

A list I've been looking for but haven't been able to find is stations,
or platforms really, that don't have publicly accessible stairs.

I've always understood that every station with "only" lifts also has
emergency stairs (that may not be well signposted for regular use).
And also some stations still have the stairs despite now being fitted
with escalators (TCR springs to mind).

Then there's another set of stations with stairs in between the
escalators. Marble Arch as an example?

How many stations don't have at least one flight of stairs as well as
escalators between street and platform?

--
Colin Rosenstiel

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

In message , at 14:53:31 on
Thu, 10 Jan 2013, Basil Jet remarked:
58. The total number of lifts on the Underground, including four stair
lifts, is 164.

Same question really. How many of the lifts at Kings Cross/St Pancras
are deemed to be "On The Underground" and how many are part of the
National Rail infrastructure.

Simple, who owns them, who pays to clean them, who pays to repair them.
There's nothing arbitrary about this.

But do he people counting them (for press articles like this) use that
criteria?
--
Roland Perry

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

In message , at 09:25:16
on Thu, 10 Jan 2013, remarked:

How many stations don't have at least one flight of stairs as well as
escalators between street and platform?

I don't know. (Needs more research)

Can't recall any stairs at Kings Cross/St Pancras deep tube for example.
(Assuming we mean real stairs not frozen escalators).
--
Roland Perry

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

In message , at 14:03:57 on
Thu, 10 Jan 2013, David Walters remarked:
I've always understood that every station with "only" lifts also has
emergency stairs (that may not be well signposted for regular use). And
also some stations still have the stairs despite now being fitted with
escalators (TCR springs to mind).

I think that is true but some stations have escalators and no fixed
stairs, assuming everything is working. The stairs at Angel still seem to
be present but I think I'd cause a disturbance if I exited the platforms
that way.

I presume those would exit via the original entrance, which is some way
round the corner from the present one.

If you have a desire to avoid lifts and escalators then a lot of the
underground is off limits and it is very hard to plan a route with
available information.

"Stairs only" is an unusual requirement, but I agree that information to
deliver it is hard to find.
--
Roland Perry

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

Two policemen have been clearing the roundabout directly above Old Street of tramps. For whatever reason they are Parks Police.

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

"David Walters" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 10 Jan 2013 13:16:08 +0000, Roland Perry
wrote:
In message , at 11:10:49 on
Thu, 10 Jan 2013, David Walters remarked:

125. Nineteen stations just use lifts.

They have stairs as well.

A list I've been looking for but haven't been able to find is stations,
or platforms really, that don't have publicly accessible stairs.

I've always understood that every station with "only" lifts also has
emergency stairs (that may not be well signposted for regular use). And
also some stations still have the stairs despite now being fitted with
escalators (TCR springs to mind).

I think that is true but some stations have escalators and no fixed
stairs, assuming everything is working. The stairs at Angel still seem to
be present but I think I'd cause a disturbance if I exited the platforms
that way.

If you have a desire to avoid lifts and escalators then a lot of the
underground is off limits and it is very hard to plan a route with
available information.

I can understand why someone might want to avoid lifts,

But what possible (disability) reason is there for wanting to avoid
escalators but are able to use stairs?

tim

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

On Thu, 10 Jan 2013 18:49:37 -0000, tim..... wrote:

"David Walters" wrote in message
...
If you have a desire to avoid lifts and escalators then a lot of the
underground is off limits and it is very hard to plan a route with
available information.

I can understand why someone might want to avoid lifts,

But what possible (disability) reason is there for wanting to avoid
escalators but are able to use stairs?

The only disability reason for wanting to avoid lifts I can think of
is claustrophobia. People might equally have a phobia of escalators
(is there a name for that?), they can be fairly dangerous machines and
have removed a toe from a user from time to time. I think that concern
would be better addressed by wearing stout shoes but phobias aren't
always very rational like that.

I have my own slightly silly reasons for wanting to avoid lifts and
escalators. I don't really think TfL should go out of their way to provide
me with information to help but I thought I might find something on the
Internet. So far I haven't.

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

On 10/01/2013 05:48, Basil Jet wrote:
On 2013\01\09 22:27, Recliner wrote:

36. The eastern extension of the Jubilee line is the only Underground
line
to feature glass screens to deter "jumpers".

No, it's to do with ventilation.

How so?

--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ---

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

On 10/01/2013 06:48, Offramp wrote:
On Jan 9, 10:27 pm, Recliner wrote:

6. Many tube stations were used as air-raid shelters during the Second
World War, but the Central Line was even converted into a fighter aircraft
factory that stretched for over two miles, with its own railway system. Its
existence remained an official secret until the 1980s.

Sounds interesting!

10. The longest distance between stations is on the Metropolitan line from
Chesham to Chalfont & Latimer: a total of only 3.89 miles.

Really? Only 3.89?

I personally thought that it was longer than 3.89.


--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ---

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

In message , at 21:13:40 on Thu, 10
Jan 2013, " remarked:
10. The longest distance between stations is on the Metropolitan line from
Chesham to Chalfont & Latimer: a total of only 3.89 miles.

Really? Only 3.89?

I personally thought that it was longer than 3.89.

Google maps says it's 4.1 miles by the slightly indirect road.
--
Roland Perry

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

In message , at 21:11:51 on Thu, 10
Jan 2013, " remarked:
36. The eastern extension of the Jubilee line is the only Underground
line
to feature glass screens to deter "jumpers".

No, it's to do with ventilation.

How so?

By keeping the track alongside the platform part of the same reasonably
airtight tunnel as the rest of the running tracks, avoiding air
'escaping' into the platforms and beyond.
--
Roland Perry

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

On 10/01/2013 15:17, Recliner wrote:
"Robin" wrote:
snip Oddly, the only politician he criticised was the Labour
transport minister who he said had shut the Ongar line (the politician
in question is rather more famous for her previous career, Glenda
Jackson). In fact, of course, it was closed in 1994, during the Major
administration. Is Bob becoming a closet Tory?

Possibly depends on the meaning of "shut"? I thought services stopped
running in 1994 but that it was not until 1998, when Glenda Jackson was
the junior Minister with responsibility for transport in London, that
the line was sold.

Ah, that explains it. But it had been formally closed before then, hadn't
it?


I wonder if urban sprawl would ever see the EOR operate any sort of
regular service or if TfL would ever consider taking over that section
once again.

--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ---

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

" wrote:
On 10/01/2013 15:17, Recliner wrote:
"Robin" wrote:
snip Oddly, the only politician he criticised was the Labour
transport minister who he said had shut the Ongar line (the politician
in question is rather more famous for her previous career, Glenda
Jackson). In fact, of course, it was closed in 1994, during the Major
administration. Is Bob becoming a closet Tory?

Possibly depends on the meaning of "shut"? I thought services stopped
running in 1994 but that it was not until 1998, when Glenda Jackson was
the junior Minister with responsibility for transport in London, that
the line was sold.

Ah, that explains it. But it had been formally closed before then, hadn't
it?


I wonder if urban sprawl would ever see the EOR operate any sort of
regular service or if TfL would ever consider taking over that section once again.

Only likely if Green Belt policies are relaxed, leading to a lot more
development in the Ongar area. But, even if that did happen, the Central
line is a pretty slow way to get to central London from that part of Essex.

I'm still pondering over why Bob Crow attacked Labour rather than the
Tories for closing the line. And when asked whether he agreed with one of
Boris's bullish descriptions of London, he couldn't have been moe positive.
No attacks on the concept of driverless trains, or supposed safety issues,
or refusal to meet unions, etc. I doubt that many members of the cabinet
would have been as enthusiastic about Boris and his plans.

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

On 10/01/2013 18:49, tim..... wrote:

"David Walters" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 10 Jan 2013 13:16:08 +0000, Roland Perry
wrote:
In message , at 11:10:49 on
Thu, 10 Jan 2013, David Walters remarked:

125. Nineteen stations just use lifts.

They have stairs as well.

A list I've been looking for but haven't been able to find is stations,
or platforms really, that don't have publicly accessible stairs.

I've always understood that every station with "only" lifts also has
emergency stairs (that may not be well signposted for regular use). And
also some stations still have the stairs despite now being fitted with
escalators (TCR springs to mind).

I think that is true but some stations have escalators and no fixed
stairs, assuming everything is working. The stairs at Angel still seem to
be present but I think I'd cause a disturbance if I exited the platforms
that way.

If you have a desire to avoid lifts and escalators then a lot of the
underground is off limits and it is very hard to plan a route with
available information.

I can understand why someone might want to avoid lifts,

But what possible (disability) reason is there for wanting to avoid
escalators but are able to use stairs?

As someone I know was asking just last week, in order to take a dog who
is too heavy to carry. It is VERY hard to get info on stations which
ONLY offer escalators (in order that he can avoid them).

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

In message

, Recliner wrote:
6. Many tube stations were used as air-raid shelters during the Second
World War, but the Central Line was even converted into a fighter aircraft
factory that stretched for over two miles, with its own railway system. Its
existence remained an official secret until the 1980s.

That would be why it's mentioned in the 1947 "A History of London
Transport", then.

13. The longest journey without change is on the Central line from West
Ruislip to Epping, and is a total of 34.1 miles.

What about Cockfosters to Cockfosters via Heathrow Terminal 4. I make
that around 95 km.

16. The TARDIS, (Dr Who’s transport) can be found outside Earl’s Court
station. Or at least an old police call box can.

It's a new one, not an old one.

21. The station with the most platforms is Baker Street with 10 (Moorgate
also has 10 platforms but only six are used by Tube trains - others are
used by overground trains).

How about Waterloo, with 26?

36. The eastern extension of the Jubilee line is the only Underground line
to feature glass screens to deter "jumpers".

Though they're actually there to control air flow.

48. The first crash on the Tube occurred in 1938 when two trains collided
between Waterloo and Charing Cross, injuring 12 passengers.

I'd be surprised if that was the first one, but I can't be bothered to
research further.

70. The first section of the Underground ran between Paddington (Bishop's
Road) and Farringdon Street. The same section now forms part of the Circle,
Hammersmith & City, and Metropolitan lines.

Not the Met.

71.The Underground was first used for air raid shelters in September 1940.

There was some sheltering, albeit unofficial, in WW1.

147. A 2011 study suggested 30 per cent of passengers take longer routes
due to the out-of-scale distances on the Tube map.

I'm very skeptical of that claim.

--
Clive D.W. Feather | Home:
Mobile: +44 7973 377646 | Web: http://www.davros.org
Please reply to the Reply-To address, which is:

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

In message , Roland Perry
wrote:
Really? Only 3.89?

I personally thought that it was longer than 3.89.

Google maps says it's 4.1 miles by the slightly indirect road.

6.35km according to official measurements.

--
Clive D.W. Feather | Home:
Mobile: +44 7973 377646 | Web: http://www.davros.org
Please reply to the Reply-To address, which is:

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

We were about to embark at Dover, when
(Recliner) came up to me and whispered:

Yes, but the London Underground (and the "Tube") is understood
to include the predecessor companies.

The entity known as London Underground now, the forerunner of which was
London Electric Railways (clue in the name) did not run steam services.

The Metropolitan Railway was always an independent line until 1933, when
it was finally subsumed. LER (London Underground, or "the Tube") never
ran underground steam services.

And anyway, technically, the first underground service was run not by LUL
or it's forerunners, but by FGW and it's forerunners.

If you only include the Met, then even the original 1863 route
isn't all part of the current Met line,

No, but it is part of the Hammersmith and City, so that is the "line"
that is celebrating it's 150th.

and so you presumably regard the upcoming steam runs as
bogus?

To a certain extent, ALL steam runs on commercial lines are now "bogus" -
doesn't stop them being either newsworthy or fun.


--
Paul Cummins - Always a NetHead
Wasting Bandwidth since 1981

---- If it's below this line, I didn't write it ----

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

We were about to embark at Dover, when
(Recliner) came up to me and whispered:

Otherwise, which entity is celebrating its 150th anniversary?
If you only include the Met, then even the original 1863 route
isn't all part of the current Met line

On that basis, surely the "Tube" is 157 years old, as parts of the
Central Line were first operated in 1856.

Or perhaps you would prefer it to be 1858, the start date of service over
part of the Hammersmith and City?

--
Paul Cummins - Always a NetHead
Wasting Bandwidth since 1981

---- If it's below this line, I didn't write it ----

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

Paul Cummins wrote:
We were about to embark at Dover, when
(Recliner) came up to me and whispered:

Yes, but the London Underground (and the "Tube") is understood
to include the predecessor companies.

The entity known as London Underground now, the forerunner of which was
London Electric Railways (clue in the name) did not run steam services.

The Metropolitan Railway was always an independent line until 1933, when
it was finally subsumed. LER (London Underground, or "the Tube") never
ran underground steam services.

And anyway, technically, the first underground service was run not by LUL
or it's forerunners, but by FGW and it's forerunners.

If you only include the Met, then even the original 1863 route
isn't all part of the current Met line,

No, but it is part of the Hammersmith and City, so that is the "line"
that is celebrating it's 150th.

and so you presumably regard the upcoming steam runs as
bogus?

To a certain extent, ALL steam runs on commercial lines are now "bogus" -
doesn't stop them being either newsworthy or fun.

If you're going to be super pedantic, perhaps you'd also like to get your
apostrophes right? I count several errors. And, yes, the original Met
counts as one of the parents of today's Underground.

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

We were about to embark at Dover, when
(Recliner) came up to me and whispered:

And, yes, the original Met
counts as one of the parents of today's Underground.

They they are seven years late.

The first trains ran on what is now the Central Line in 1856.

--
Paul Cummins - Always a NetHead
Wasting Bandwidth since 1981

---- If it's below this line, I didn't write it ----

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

Paul Cummins wrote:
We were about to embark at Dover, when
(Recliner) came up to me and whispered:

And, yes, the original Met
counts as one of the parents of today's Underground.

They they are seven years late.

The first trains ran on what is now the Central Line in 1856.

I'm not sure what you're trying to prove here. Are you seriously suggesting
they should have celebrated the 150th anniversary of a bit of unimportant
Essex railway seven years ago?

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

In message , Clive D. W. Feather
wrote:
6. Many tube stations were used as air-raid shelters during the Second
World War, but the Central Line was even converted into a fighter aircraft
factory that stretched for over two miles, with its own railway system. Its
existence remained an official secret until the 1980s.

That would be why it's mentioned in the 1947 "A History of London
Transport", then.

Typo: that should have said "1974".

--
Clive D.W. Feather | Home:
Mobile: +44 7973 377646 | Web: http://www.davros.org
Please reply to the Reply-To address, which is:

Daily Telegraph: 150 fascinating Tube facts
 

In message , at 23:14:54 on Thu, 10
Jan 2013, Clive D. W. Feather remarked:
Really? Only 3.89?

I personally thought that it was longer than 3.89.

Google maps says it's 4.1 miles by the slightly indirect road.

6.35km according to official measurements.

I assume you mean the railway, not the road.

So that's 3.95 miles. Is the 0.06 mile (about 320ft) something to do
with which end of the platform they are measuring from?
--
Roland Perry