Edgware Road Tube schemes

Last updated

Route of the proposed Kearney tube, one of several unrealised Tube plans for the Edgware Road Edgware road kearney tube proposal.jpg
Route of the proposed Kearney tube, one of several unrealised Tube plans for the Edgware Road

Edgware Road Tube schemes covers a number of proposals to build an underground railway in London, UK at the end of the 19th century. Each scheme envisaged building some form of rail tunnel along the Edgware Road in north-west London towards Victoria railway station.

Contents

These proposals were made at a time of intensive railway construction, following projects such as City and South London Railway. Like several other proposals at the time, such as the City and Brixton Railway, none of the Edgware Road schemes came to fruition.

Edgware Road and Victoria Railway

The Edgware Road (pictured here at Shoot Up Hill, Kilburn) was traversed by the Metropolitan Railway and the LNWR, but plans were drawn up to drive a tube under the length of the road Kilburn Station, London.honeydew.jpg
The Edgware Road (pictured here at Shoot Up Hill, Kilburn) was traversed by the Metropolitan Railway and the LNWR, but plans were drawn up to drive a tube under the length of the road
Edgware Road &
Victoria Railway
1893 route proposal
BSicon PORTALf.svg
BSicon uexKDSTa.svg
Willesden Lane Depot
BSicon uextINT.svg
Brondesbury
BSicon uextINT.svg
Kilburn
BSicon uextHST.svg
Hall Road
BSicon uextINT.svg
Praed Street
MR
BSicon uextINT.svg
Marble Arch
CLR (1900)
BSicon uextINT.svg
Hyde Park Corner
B&PCR (1906)
BSicon uextKINTe.svg
London Victoria

The Edgware Road and Victoria Railway (ER&VR) was an early scheme for an underground railway under the Edgware Road. The promoters sought to raise capital of £1.2 million (£142 million today) [1] to cover the estimated railway construction costs of £920,000 and the cost of constructing a dedicated power station for the railway at the Paddington Basin.

The ER&VR was planned to run on a north-west-to-south-east axis, more or less following the route of the Edgware Road. Beginning in the north, a surface-level depot was planned near the location of the present-day Brondesbury Park. Trains were to run into a tunnel to the first station. Passing south-east, the stations planned were: [2]

A bill to allow the project to go ahead was considered by the House of Commons Select committee in March 1893. A number of petitions were made to the committee by property owners along the proposed route of the ER&VR, concerned by the construction of a tube railway under their properties. The construction of the City and South London Railway (C&SLR, part of today's Northern line) had given rise to a number of problems, such as building subsidence on top of brick-built station tunnels. As the C&SLR was the first deep-level tube railway to be built, there were still concerns about construction and ventilation issues with this type of tunnel. To address these concerns, the route of the railway tunnel was moved slightly west between Marble Arch and Victoria so it would run under Hyde Park and avoid the affluent properties of Park Lane.

Despite this, the committee was still not confident about the proposal to build another tube tunnel under London, and the bill was rejected. [2]

Cricklewood, Kilburn and Victoria Railway

In 1898, the Cricklewood, Kilburn and Victoria Railway Construction Syndicate was incorporated to promote a similar project to the failed ER&VR. Like the NWLR, the railway would have followed the Edgware Road route beginning further north at Cricklewood. The company was defeated by the passing of the NWLR's bill and the syndicate was dissolved in 1901. [3]

North West London Railway

North West
London Railway
1899 route proposal
BSicon uextKINTa.svg
Cricklewood
BSicon uextHST.svg
West End
BSicon uextINT.svg
Brondesbury
BSicon uextHST.svg
Kilburn High Road
BSicon uextHST.svg
Maida Vale
BSicon uextINT.svg
Edgware Road
MR
BSicon uextINT.svg
Marble Arch
CLR (1900)
BSicon uextINT.svg
Hyde Park Corner
B&PCR (1906)
BSicon uextKINTe.svg
London Victoria

The proposal to build a railway under the Edgware Road was revived in 1899 when a group of engineers began to promote the North West London Railway (NWLR). The railway would have followed a similar route to the ill-fated ER&VR, but was to begin further north at Cricklewood and would only run as far as Marble Arch. Its promoters included Sir Benjamin Baker, Sir Douglas Fox and Sir Francis Fox, and they had £1.5 million capital and sought to borrow a further £500,000. Although the bill to grant construction powers passed successfully through Parliament in 1899, there were difficulties raising the necessary funds. The only proven tube railway at the time, the C&SLR, was not delivering a great return on investment, and investors were hesitant. The outbreak of the Second Boer War in 1899 destabilised the money markets and construction on the NWLR project never commenced. [3]

In 1902, the scheme was allowed an extension of time to begin construction, and an increase in tunnel size from 12' 6" to 13' 0". The next year a bill was presented proposing an extension to Victoria Station, under Hyde Park and Grosvenor Place. However the bill was withdrawn following its postponement due to the Royal Commission on London Traffic. It was to transpire that the Commissions' only recommended new 'tube' would be an extension of the North West London from Marble Arch to Victoria. In 1906, the NWLR reintroduced its Victoria extension along with a reduction in tunnel size to 11' 8¼", receiving Royal Assent in August. However the financial conditions imposed on the Bill made the extension unattractive.

Baker Street and Waterloo Railway

Rejected route proposed in 1908 Baker Street & Waterloo Railway 1908.png
Rejected route proposed in 1908
The Edgware Road station on the Bakerloo Tube (now the Bakerloo line) Edgware Road (Bakerloo) stn southbound look north.JPG
The Edgware Road station on the Bakerloo Tube (now the Bakerloo line)

When the NWLR's tube project became financially unviable, the company's plans were adopted in 1908 by a more successful underground railway company, the Baker Street and Waterloo Railway (BS&WR). The BS&WR had already opened an underground line in 1906 from Baker Street to Waterloo and Elephant and Castle (the "Bakerloo" Tube), and had already extended its line to Edgware Road. The company was keen to extend further into north-west London and hoped to make use of the powers acquired by the (NWLR) to build the Edgware Road tube line. [4]

Abandoning the Marble Arch-Victoria section of the NWLR route, the BS&WR instead proposed building the Edgware Road tube line only as far south as its Edgware Road station, which was close to the NWLR's planned route. The NWLR announced a bill in November 1908 seeking to construct a 757 metres (2,484 ft) connection between its unbuilt route beneath the Edgware Road and the Bakerloo Tube's Edgware Road station. [5] The Bakerloo Tube was to construct the extension and operate the service over the combined route, which was to have stations at St John's Wood Road, Abercorn Place, Belsize Road, (close to the LNWR station), Brondesbury (to interchange with the North London Railway's station and close to the MR's Kilburn station), Minster Road and Cricklewood. [4] [6] The Bakerloo Tube announced its own bill to make the necessary changes to its existing plans. [7]

At the same time, the BS&WR also had aspirations to extend its services to Paddington. The company planned to make the Edgware Road route it main service, with a shuttle line running from Edgware Road to Paddington. Two additional platforms were planned at Edgware Road tube station for shuttle use.

The BS&WR/NWLR joint scheme faced opposition from other railway companies; the Great Western Railway (GWR) objected to the reduction of the Bakerloo Tube's Paddington connection to a shuttle; and the Metropolitan Railway (MR) objected to the connection of the two lines which would be in competition with its line through Kilburn. Parliament rejected the proposed connection and the changes to the NWLR's route, and the company's permissions eventually expired without any construction work being carried out. The Bakerloo Tube bill was withdrawn. [4] This was to be the first bill promoted by the NWLR that did not receive Royal Assent.

Kearney High-Speed Tubes

Sketches published in 1915 of Kearney's underground monorail system Kearney high-speed railway.jpg
Sketches published in 1915 of Kearney's underground monorail system
Kearney High-Speed Railway
1905 route proposal
BSicon uextKINTa.svg
Cricklewood
BSicon uextINT.svg
Brondesbury
BSicon uextHST.svg
Quex Road
BSicon uextHST.svg
Carlton Hill
BSicon uextHST.svg
Lord's
BSicon uextINT.svg
Edgware Road
MR
BSicon uextINT.svg
Marble Arch
CLR (1900)
BSicon uextINT.svg
Hyde Park Corner
GNP&BR (1906)
BSicon uextINT.svg
London Victoria
BSicon uextHST.svg
Pimlico
BSicon uextHST.svg
Vauxhall
BSicon uextSTR.svg
BSicon uextKINTa.svg
Strand
GNP&BR (1906)
BSicon uextSTR.svg
BSicon uextINT.svg
Waterloo
BSicon uextSTR.svg
BSicon uextHST.svg
Kennington
BSicon uextBS2l.svg
BSicon uextBS2r.svg
BSicon uextHST.svg
Oval
BSicon uextHST.svg
North Brixton
BSicon uextHST.svg
East Brixton
BSicon uextHST.svg
Herne Hill
BSicon uextKINTe.svg
Crystal Palace

In 1905–08, the Australian-born engineer Elfric Wells Chalmers Kearney put forward a plan to build two tube lines from Crystal Palace to Strand and Cricklewood.

The scheme was promoted by the Kearney High-Speed Tube Railway Company Ltd. and proposed the construction of an underground railway operated on an unusual monorail system patented by Kearney. Trains would run on a single rail with four double-flanged wheels under each carriage; wheels mounted on the roof would run along an upper guide rail above the train. The trains, which were to be designed in a streamlined style similar to the London Underground 1935 Stock, would have a low centre of gravity, which, along with the gyroscopic effect of motion, would stabilise the train on the lower rail and reduce the side-to-side hunting oscillation.

The stations were to be located just below the surface, connected by deep-level tube tunnels which would drop down steeply from each station; it was intended that the 1 in 7 track incline would enhance acceleration and deceleration between stations with the effects of gravity, with trains reaching 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) before decelerating. This "roller coaster" system was promoted for its low power consumption. [8]

Kearney promoted his system by publishing leaflets, writing a book, giving lectures and he displayed a model of a Kearney train in 1905 for the press. [8]

The proposed route comprised two lines across London: one aligned along the Edgware Road route from Cricklewood via Victoria to Oval; and another from Strand to Crystal Palace, connecting with the Cricklewood line at Oval: [9]

Main route

Branch from Oval

The Kearney Tube system was promoted in other unsuccessful schemes around the world, including New York City, Boston and Toronto. [8]

Metropolitan Railway

A 1925 plan for a relief line from Kilburn & Brondesbury to Edgware Road to relieve the tunnels between Finchley Road and Baker Street Metropolitan relief line.svg
A 1925 plan for a relief line from Kilburn & Brondesbury to Edgware Road to relieve the tunnels between Finchley Road and Baker Street
The Metropolitan Railway's Edgware Road station Edgware Road stn (Circle) platform 4 look east2.JPG
The Metropolitan Railway's Edgware Road station

By the 1920s the Metropolitan Railway (MR) had expanded its lines deep into the countryside of Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire, successfully promoting its commuter services with the Metro-land advertising campaign. A high volume of traffic was running through its lines into central London via Baker Street and a bottleneck had developed at Finchley Road where the fast and slow tracks converged into one pair.

In 1925, the MR drew up plans to construct a relief line by digging new twin-bore tube tunnels under the Edgware Road, large enough to accommodate Met rolling stock. At a proposed junction north of Kilburn & Brondesbury station, Metropolitan trains would run down a tunnel into the extension line and run beneath Kilburn High Street, Maida Vale and Edgware Road; the line would then rise up to join the Inner Circle just to the west of Edgware Road Met station, and trains would continue to Baker Street. [10] [11] The plan included three new stations, at Quex Road, Kilburn Park Road and Clifton Road. [12]

In preparation for this new line, Edgware Road Met station was rebuilt with four platforms and was equipped with platform indicators which could display 'Aylesbury Line' and destinations such as Verney Junction and Uxbridge. [13] [9] However, the scheme was halted after new safety requirements were issued by the Ministry of Transport — deep-level tube trains were now required to have an emergency exit at each end and the compartment stock used by the MR north of Harrow did not comply with this requirement. [14]

The capacity problem was later addressed after the MR had been taken over by the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB). In 1936 the LPTB constructed a new tunnel to link the Metropolitan line to the Bakerloo line, enabling local Met services to be taken over by the Bakerloo line (later becoming the Jubilee line) and relieving congestion on the Inner Circle line.

See also

Notes

  1. UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  2. 1 2 Badsey-Ellis 2005, pp. 62-63.
  3. 1 2 Badsey-Ellis 2005, pp. 79-83.
  4. 1 2 3 Badsey-Ellis 2005, pp. 264-267.
  5. "No. 28199". The London Gazette . 24 November 1908. pp. 8824–8827.
  6. Badsey-Ellis 2005, pp. 80-81.
  7. "No. 28199". The London Gazette . 24 November 1908. pp. 8951–8952.
  8. 1 2 3 Badsey-Ellis 2005, pp. 257-263.
  9. 1 2 Klapper 1976, p. 59.
  10. Horne 2003, p. 58.
  11. Simpson 2003, p. 58.
  12. Horne 2003, pp. 58–59.
  13. Jackson 1986, pp. 271–272.
  14. Jackson 1986, pp. 262–263.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bakerloo line</span> London Underground line

The Bakerloo line is a London Underground line that runs from Harrow & Wealdstone in suburban north-west London to Elephant & Castle in south London, via the West End. Printed in brown on the Tube map, it serves 25 stations, 15 of which are underground, over 23.2 kilometres (14.4 mi). It runs partly on the surface and partly through deep-level tube tunnels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kilburn, London</span> Area of London, England

Kilburn is a locality on the boundary of three London Boroughs: Camden, Brent and the City of Westminster. Kilburn High Road railway station lies 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north-west of Charing Cross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charing Cross tube station</span> London Underground station

Charing Cross is a London Underground station at Charing Cross in the City of Westminster. The station is served by the Bakerloo and Northern lines and provides an interchange with Charing Cross mainline station. On the Bakerloo line it is between Embankment and Piccadilly Circus stations and on the Northern line it is between Embankment and Leicester Square stations. The station is in fare zone 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edgware Road</span> Road in London, England

Edgware Road is a major road in London, England. The route originated as part of Roman Watling Street and, unusually in London, it runs for 10 miles in an almost perfectly straight line. Forming part of the modern A5 road, Edgware Road undergoes several name changes along its length, including Maida Vale, Kilburn High Road, Shoot Up Hill and Cricklewood Broadway; but the road is, as a whole, known as the Edgware Road, as it is the road to Edgware.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baker Street tube station</span> London Underground station

Baker Street is a London Underground station at the junction of Baker Street and the Marylebone Road in the City of Westminster. It is one of the original stations of the Metropolitan Railway (MR), the world's first underground railway, opened on 10 January 1863.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxford Circus tube station</span> London Underground station

Oxford Circus is a London Underground station serving Oxford Circus at the junction of Regent Street and Oxford Street, with entrances on all four corners of the intersection. The station is an interchange between the Bakerloo, Central and Victoria lines. As of 2022, it was the fourth-busiest station on the London Underground. On the Bakerloo line it is between Regent's Park and Piccadilly Circus stations, on the Central line it is between Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road stations, and on the Victoria line it is between Green Park and Warren Street stations. The station is in Travelcard Zone 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elephant & Castle tube station</span> London Underground station

Elephant & Castle is a London Underground station in the London Borough of Southwark in south London. It is on the Bank branch of the Northern line between Borough and Kennington stations. It is also the southern terminus of the Bakerloo line and the next station towards north is Lambeth North. The station is in both Travelcard Zones 1 and 2. The Northern line station was opened in 1890 by the City and South London Railway (C&SLR) while the Bakerloo line station was opened sixteen years later by the Baker Street and Waterloo Railway (BS&WR). There is an out-of-station interchange with the nearby Elephant & Castle National Rail station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kilburn tube station</span> London Underground station

Kilburn is a London Underground station near Brondesbury Park in north-west London. It is on the Jubilee line, between Willesden Green and West Hampstead stations and is in Travelcard Zone 2. The station is on the A5 Kilburn High Road or Shoot-up Hill, approximately 0.1 miles (0.16 km) north of Brondesbury station. Metropolitan line trains typically bypass the station without stopping.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brondesbury railway station</span> London Overground station

Brondesbury is on the North London line, on a viaduct crossing Kilburn High Road in the Brondesbury area of Kilburn in the London Borough of Brent in north-west London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central London Railway</span> Underground railway company in London

The Central London Railway (CLR), also known as the Twopenny Tube, was a deep-level, underground "tube" railway that opened in London in 1900. The CLR's tunnels and stations form the central section of the London Underground's Central line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway</span> Underground railway company in London

The Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway (CCE&HR), also known as the Hampstead Tube, was a railway company established in 1891 that constructed a deep-level underground "tube" railway in London. Construction of the CCE&HR was delayed for more than a decade while funding was sought. In 1900 it became a subsidiary of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL), controlled by American financier Charles Yerkes. The UERL quickly raised the funds, mainly from foreign investors. Various routes were planned, but a number of these were rejected by Parliament. Plans for tunnels under Hampstead Heath were authorised, despite opposition by many local residents who believed they would damage the ecology of the Heath.

The New Works Programme of 1935–1940 was the major investment programme delivered by the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB), commonly known as London Transport, which had been created in 1933 to coordinate underground train, tram, trolleybus and bus services in the capital and the surrounding areas. The programme was to develop many aspects of the public transport services run by the LPTB and the suburban rail services of the Great Western Railway (GWR) and London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). The investment was largely backed by government assistance as well as by the issuing of financial bonds and was estimated to cost £42,286,000 in 1936.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edgware Road tube station (Bakerloo line)</span> London Underground station on the Bakerloo line

Edgware Road is a London Underground station on the Bakerloo line, located in the City of Westminster. It is between Paddington and Marylebone stations on the line and falls within Travelcard zone 1. The station is located on the north-east corner of the junction of Edgware Road, Harrow Road and Marylebone Road. It is adjacent to the Marylebone flyover.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bakerloo line extension</span> Proposed southern extension of the London Underground

The Bakerloo line extension is a proposed extension of the London Underground Bakerloo line in South London from its current terminus at Elephant & Castle to Lewisham station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway</span> Underground railway company in London

The Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway (GNP&BR), also known as the Piccadilly tube, was a railway company established in 1902 that constructed a deep-level underground "tube" railway in London, England. The GNP&BR was formed through a merger of two older companies, the Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway (B&PCR) and the Great Northern and Strand Railway (GN&SR). It also incorporated part of a tube route planned by a third company, the District Railway (DR). The combined company was a subsidiary of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baker Street and Waterloo Railway</span> Underground railway company in London

The Baker Street and Waterloo Railway (BS&WR), also known as the Bakerloo tube, was a railway company established in 1893 that built a deep-level underground "tube" railway in London. The company struggled to fund the work, and construction did not begin until 1898. In 1900, work was hit by the financial collapse of its parent company, the London & Globe Finance Corporation, through the fraud of Whitaker Wright, its main shareholder. In 1902, the BS&WR became a subsidiary of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL) controlled by American financier Charles Yerkes. The UERL quickly raised the funds, mainly from foreign investors.

The transport system now known as the London Underground began in 1863 with the Metropolitan Railway, the world's first underground railway. Over the next forty years, the early sub-surface lines reached out from the urban centre of the capital into the surrounding rural margins, leading to the development of new commuter suburbs. At the turn of the nineteenth century, new technology—including electric locomotives and improvements to the tunnelling shield—enabled new companies to construct a series of "tube" lines deeper underground. Initially rivals, the tube railway companies began to co-operate in advertising and through shared branding, eventually consolidating under the single ownership of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL), with lines stretching across London.

Elfric Wells Chalmers Kearney was an Australian inventor, engineer and author. Born in Geelong, Victoria in 1881, he spent most of his life in the United Kingdom. He was educated briefly at Ellesmere College, Shropshire during 1894 but left in October on account of ill health.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Underground Electric Railways Company of London</span> Holding company for underground railways and bus operators in London

The Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited (UERL), known operationally as the Underground for much of its existence, was established in 1902. It was the holding company for the three deep-level "tube" underground railway lines opened in London during 1906 and 1907: the Baker Street and Waterloo Railway, the Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway and the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway. It was also the parent company from 1902 of the District Railway, which it electrified between 1903 and 1905. The UERL is a precursor of today's London Underground; its three tube lines form the central sections of today's Bakerloo, Northern and Piccadilly lines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Commission on London Traffic</span> Former royal commission of the United Kingdom

The Royal Commission on London Traffic was a royal commission established in 1903 with a remit to review and report on how transport systems should be developed for London and the surrounding area. It produced a report in eight volumes published in 1905 and made recommendations on the character, administration and routing of traffic in London.

References