ANIMATED SIGNALLING DEMONSTRATIONS
	Signalling Page One - Multi Aspect Colour Light Signalling

A very short history of The London Underground:
(or The Tube as it is sometimes known as)

Once upon a time there were many separate independent railway companies in Great Britain.
London being the capital gave way to much trade and commerce and this necessitated a need to transport at first goods
but as time went on people also needed to travel around, into and out of London.

London has always been congested. Even as the city grew, so did the traffic.
To enable quick and safe transport across the capital, railways went underground.
On January 10th 1863 the world's first public passenger-carrying underground railway was opened.

The company was the "Metropolitan Railway Company"
and the line ran from Bishop's Road station (now Paddington) to Farringdon Street (now just Farringdon).
The length of the line was just 3¾ miles long but 26,500 passengers a day used this service in the first six months.
This line was constructed by the "cut-and-cover" method where first the road surface was removed.
Then "navvies" dug a trench ( or "Covered Way" to be correct ) 28 feet 6 inches wide
to a depth of between 29 feet and 59 feet from the surface to the rail level.
Into this they laid the track ( or "Permanent Way" to be correct ).
Click on the button below to see a diagram I drew that shows the stations then and now.

The first "TUBE" or deep level railway was built under the River Thames by the "Tower Subway Company".
This was a single line which ran between Great Tower Hill and Vine Street - a length of 1,350 feet.
Cable haulage powered by two 4 h.p. engines was used to operate a single car 10 feet long.
This line was formally opened on August 2nd 1870 and closed a few months later due to
mechanical problems when it was then converted into a toll subway for pedestrians.

The first electric tube railway was built by the "City of London & Southwark Subway Company".
This ran from Stockwell in South London to King William Street just north of the River Thames.
The motive power was 500V d.c. collected through cast-iron shoes from the third rail.
This line opened to the public on December 12th 1890 under a new title, the "City and South London Railway".
King William Street station closed February 2nd 1900 when the line was extended from Borough to Moorgate.
Click on the button below to see a diagram I drew that shows the stations then and now.

Eventually there were many railway companies small and large operating train services underground and overground.
It became very difficult to calculate costs with so many companies involved. There was no standardisation of fares.
So in 1933 parliament decided to form a governing body for passenger carrying transportation in London.
This body was formed on July 1st 1933 and called the "London Passenger Transport Board".
Soon the initials L.P.T.B. were to be seen everywhere.

On January 1st 1948 the railways of Great Britain were nationalised and control passed to the
newly formed "British Transport Commission" with the "London Transport Executive"
being the new body accountable for all the original L.P.T.B. railways in London:
The Waterloo & City line remaining under British Railways.
The Familiar L.P.T.B. initials gave way to the new L.T.E.

In 1963 the then Minister of Transport called for the co-ordination of London Transport and British Railways
activities in the London area by means of a "Passenger Committee for London".
British Railways was renamed the "British Railway Board" and the
"London Transport Executive" was renamed the "London Transport Board".
However it reverted back to the "London Transport Executive" in 1970
when political control passed to the Greater London Council.

In June 1984 control reverted to the government and "London Regional Transport" was set up.
"London Underground Limited" was formed as a subsidiary of L.R.T. on April 1st 1985.
"London Regional Transport" is also responsible for the provision of bus services in the
Greater London area and for the "Docklands Light Railway".
Click on the button below to see a flow chart I drew.

L.U.L. or London Underground is how the underground is known today but
what happens after privatisation of the underground is anyone's guess.
The Millennium beckons us towards it.

It is 2001 and already we have had a name change.
I now work for "The New London Underground Company BCV".
(BCV = Bakerloo, Central and Victoria lines)
A subsidiary of the "London Transport Authority".
Many departments of London Underground are already privatised.
We, the Control Grades, are poised ready for the downhill slide.
Now though we wait in anticipation; hopeful that the new Mayor of London will come to our aid.
With a bit of luck and hindsight someone may remember that Nationalisation cured most of the early problems.
Do Londoners really want to return to the 1940s way of running railways?
Just look what has happened to the bus service in and around London since deregulation.
Wait and see. That is all we can do.

Well, it is now Christmas 2002 and I now work for TfL (Transport for London).
Privatisation now looks set for next year (2003) with all the problems that it will bring.
I genuinely feel sorry for the travelling public for what they are about to receive from the tube of the future.
I honestly think that we have now gone from the most extensive and advanced underground railway in the world to the "pits".
I apologise if I sound like I am preaching "doom and gloom" but I see the inside picture as well as the public one!
Let us all hope that I am wrong in my assumptions as I am only one man with one vision.

On Tuesday 31st December 2002 (New Years Eve) the first half of PPP (Tube Privatisation) was signed.
"Tube Lines" consortium are now responsible for the maintenance and upgrade of the JNP for the next 30 years.
"Tube Lines" consortium consists of AMEY PLC, JARVIS PLC & BECHTEL.
(JNP = Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines)
Apparently £1.6 million a day is to be invested in the three lines.
"Metronet" consortium is expected to takeover the rest of the Tube system within weeks.

Well well, April 2003 and "Metronet" has now taken over the BCV and SSL sections of LUL.
(BCV = Bakerloo, Central and Victoria lines)
(SSL = District, Metropolitan, Circle, Hammersmith & City and East London lines)
"Metronet" consortium consists of WS ATKINS, BALFOUR BEATTY, BOMBARDIER, THAMES WATER & SEEBOARD.
I now work for Thames Water? Well I suppose it helps if your company is going down the drain.
No no, only joking (need my job). Let us all give them a chance. You never know!

The last few years have seen some bad times for the "Underground" and this is not the place to talk about them.
The media has said all that there is to say regarding those events so I will not.

August 2005 was a milestone for Signal Operators and Controllers.
There used to be 2 sections in the Operating Department - Trains and Stations.
If your work was in no way connected to stations then you were in the Trains section.
That included Train Operators, Signal Operators, Duty Managers and all Control Room staff.
In August 2005 however the "Service Control" section was born which includes Signal Operators,
Duty Line Managers, Signal Control Centre Assistants, Service Controllers and Service Managers.
Now those that actually control the operation of the daily timetable are all under one banner.

 January 1st 2006 was a great day for me personally - I was promoted to Service Manager.
We still work for LUL, which is part of TfL but still ever so slightly independent - not bad considering the earlier rumours.
Things have settled down now with the "infracos" running almost all supporting departments.
Strangely, there are no "Train Operating Companies" within LUL yet unlike National Rail.
Nor are any stations owned by rich people as was suggested after the millennium.
So train crews and station staff all still under the LUL banner ( thank goodness ).
All in all the "tube" appears to be doing pretty well at the moment.
No, that is not the company man speaking, or is it ???

  NEWS for 2007: 

Shepherd's Bush (Hammersmith & City line) station is to be renamed Shepherd's Bush Market.
Wood Lane (Hammersmith & City line) station to open between Shepherd's Bush Market and Latimer Road.

The following National Rail stations look like being transferred to London Underground:
Queen's Park to Harrow & Wealdstone (Bakerloo line) inclusive,
Kew Gardens & Gunnersbury (District line),
The North London Railway platforms at Blackhorse Road, Highbury & Islington and West Brompton.

Now that IS something unexpected.
 

On a brighter note - are any of you interested in the Cravens 1960 Tube Stock?
Well Bob Yeldham used to work where I work and is/was closely connected with Cravens Heritage Trains.
Click their logo for more information about them.

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