To take a journey on the London Underground is to take a trip back in time, as this occasional series of posts will demonstrate. We start at the beginning with the first Underground line - the Metropolitan. This opened in 1863 as The Metropolitan Railway, and it originally ran between Paddington in the west to Farringdon in the east, with 7 stations. The work began with the building of a shaft at Euston Road. The first attempt to extend the route north was a failure, and the Metropolitan Railway took over in 1883. Its director, Sir Edward Watkin, had a vision to link Manchester with France, under London and thence on via a Channel Tunnel.
The area to the west of London covered by this line has become the epitome of suburbia, nicknamed 'Metroland'.
We begin our journey out in rural Buckinghamshire, and make our way eastwards into the city.
Chesham: The furthest station from central London, and the furthest north or west you can go. Opened in 1889. Sits on a branch of its own, as a planned extension to Aylesbury failed to materialise. The distance between this station and the next is the longest stretch on the network.
Amersham: At 490 feet above sea level, the highest station on the network. Opened in 1892, it was called Amersham and Chesham Bois for a time. A Grade II listed station, due to its accompanying signal box and water tower. Like Chesham sits on a branch of its own. These two branches join up at...
Chalfont & Latimer: Opened in 1889 as Chalfont Road, the station is in the village of Little Chalfont. It also serves the other Chalfonts - St Giles, St Peter - and the village of Latimer.
Chorleywood: We are now into Hertfordshire. Opened in 1889, briefly renamed Chorley Wood and Chenies.
Rickmansworth: Opened 1887. Until 1961, the furthest out you could travel on electric trains. If you wanted to go further, you had to transfer to a steam train.
Watford: On another branch, with Croxley. Opened 1925. The station is a mile from the town centre, as the local authorities refused to let the line run through Cassiobury Park. This led to low numbers of people using it, as the town had overground rail services into London more centrally located.
Croxley: Opened 1925 as Croxley Green.
Moor Park: Opened 1910 as Sandy Lodge, from the nearby golf course of that name.
Northwood: Opened 1887. The area had yet to be developed and The Times predicted doom for the station, but it is still there.
Northwood Hills: Opened 1933. The name was chosen through a local competition. Ironically, the station lies lower than Northwood.
Pinner: Opened 1885. In the 1930's plans to refurbish the station were challenged by locals who wanted the building to fit with the local architecture. Too much hard work, the station wasn't refurbished until 20 years later. In 2009 a canine passenger became a celebrity for a time. Rufus was a Pyrenean Mountain Dog - about the size of a Shetland pony - and some passengers objected to it travelling with its owner into London every day.
North Harrow: Opened in 1915 as Hooking Green. At this point we have to set off along another branch.
Uxbridge: The current station, designed by the Underground's most accomplished architect - Charles Holden - dates from 1938. It replaced an earlier station some distance away - the old tracks now being used as sidings. The ticket hall has stained glass windows. The station shares with the Piccadilly Line (previously a branch of the District Line). There was competition from a tram link to Shepherds Bush with much lower fares, but the tube was obviously much faster. WS Gilbert - of Gilbert & Sullivan fame - saw a poster for the Tower of London whilst waiting for a train at the old station in 1887, prompting him to write The Yeomen of the Guard.
Hillingdon: Opened in 1923. For a time it was called Hillingdon (Swakeleys). The present building dates from 1992, as the original had to be demolished when the A40 (Western Avenue) was extended.
Ickenham: When trains started to pass Ickenham in 1904, the villagers campaigned for a stop. The railway was reluctant as they felt there would be no demand. However, a Halt was built in 1905. This turned out to be quite popular with day-trippers from London - the locals selling them flowers and teas from their gardens. A full station followed with a booking hut in 1910 and platform extensions in 1922.
Ruislip: Opened 1904.
Ruislip Manor: Like Ickenham, originally just a Halt, opened in 1912, to serve Ruislip Garden City - one of the Metroland suburbs. A recent refurbishment has met with criticism due to poor disabled access to the platforms.
Eastcote: Opened in 1906 as Eastcote Halt.
Rayners Lane: Opened in 1906 as a Halt. The name Rayner come from a local farmer. When it became a full station in 1910, customers called it "Pneumonia Junction" as the platforms were so windy.
West Harrow: Opened in 1913. Fare dodgers please note - does not have ticket barriers. Not that there is anything near the station. We now rejoin the main line into London, with no more branches.
Harrow-on-the-Hill: Opened 1880 as just plain Harrow. Harrow may be on the hill, but the station isn't. The line would have gone closer to the centre of Harrow, but the famous school objected.
Northwick Park: Kenton, on the Bakerloo Line, is so close - and a better service - that even London Underground's Journey Planner suggests you make the walk. Opened 1880 as Northwick Park & Kenton.
Preston Road: Opened as a Halt in 1908, due the shooting range for the London Olympics of that year being nearby.
Wembley Park: Opened 1894. This is the stop you want if going to the stadium and arena. The widest steps of any LU station - to accommodate the multitudes who attend events. Sir Edward Watkin - mentioned above - had yet another one of his visions about this area. He planned a park in which there would be an Eiffel-like Tower. This turned out to be an unfinished folly, and what was built has long since been demolished.
Finchley Road: Opened 1879. The glaciers which covered much of Britain in the last Ice Age stopped just about here - as the engineers discovered when they were digging the tunnel. There is only 2 inches of concrete separating the roof of the tube tunnel and the foundations of the nearby North Star Hotel.
Baker Street: One of the seven oldest London Underground stations, from 1863. Beneath the station was a shooting gallery used in WW2 by Churchill, secret service agents and members of the French Resistance. In August 1973 two bombs were planted in the station, a week apart. Both were defused. In 1925, a locomotive collided with a passenger train just as the signals changed, injuring six.
The station has 10 platforms serving 4 lines. Naturally, outside there is a statue of the street's most famous resident - the Great Detective himself.
Great Portland Street: Opened 1863 as Portland Road. The current building dates to the 1930's, built on a traffic island in the middle of Marylebone Road, and once incorporated a car showroom.
Euston Road: Opened 1863 as Gower Street. As mentioned above, the first shaft of the first line was dug here.
Kings Cross St Pancras: The station gets its name from the two railway termini above it. The biggest station on the network - even bigger now that the Eurostar comes into St Pancras. The two names derive from a pair of statues that used to stand in the area - one to King George IV, and one to the 3rd Century AD boy martyr St Pancras (got his head lopped off by the Romans).
In 1987 the scene of the network's worst non-rail disaster, when a lit cigarette dropped on an escalator leading to the Piccadilly Line started a fire. 31 people died, one of whom has never been identified.
Farringdon: The original 1863 eastern terminus of the line - built here due to the proximity of Smithfield Market. Originally called Farringdon Street, then Farringdon and High Holborn. Animals used to be slaughtered beneath the station. It was built along with a freight route for the livestock - the ramps can still be seen. The route between Kings Cross and Farringdon follows the now culverted River Fleet.
Barbican: An eastward extension opened in 1865 as Aldersgate. In 1897 an anarchist group known as The Dynamiters planted a bomb here which killed one man. This was a revenge attack after one of their number had been imprisoned. It became Barbican in 1968, when the housing development was built. That name derives from a medieval watch tower that formed part of the London Wall.
Moorgate: Opened 1865 as Moorgate Street. Scene of the network's worst rail disaster in 1975 when a train failed to break and collided with the platform. The driver and 42 passengers were killed - the cause of the incident has never been pin-pointed.
Liverpool Street: Named after the rail station, which was named after Lord Liverpool, Prime Minister in the early 1800's. The Underground station opened in 1875, named Bishopsgate.
In WWI 162 people were killed in a daylight bombing raid (by an aircraft rather than a zeppelin). In 1993 the station was badly damaged by an IRA bomb. Then in the 7/7 2005 bombings seven passengers were killed on a train just as it left the station.
Aldgate: The final stop - opened 1876. All change. Mind the Gap!
Before we leave, a quick word about the disused stations - for several were taken out of service over the years. Between Finchley Road and Baker Street, in the St John's Wood area, there were two stations - Marlborough Road and Lords (for the cricket ground). Both were superseded by the nearby Jubilee Line station. Marlborough Road station became a steak house, then a Chinese restaurant, and now houses a power plant for the Metropolitan Line, after the introduction of new rolling stock.
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