The "London Underground" is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2013. This presentation describes the initial trials and tribulations, dogged tenacity, and miraculous triumphs that transformed transportation, and people's lives, in Victorian London. Even today, the "UNDERGROUND" roundel logo, the "Tube Map", and imaginative posters, are instantly recognized worldwide as iconic symbols of one of the greatest cities of the world, steeped in history, culture, and commerce!

1. University of Oxford
July 24, 2013
Jim Mukerjee

2. CONCLUSIONS
• Victorian period generated intense scientific curiosity,
technical innovation and sense of power & confidence
• The London Underground can be “regarded as the
greatest engineering triumph of the day”
• The Underground remains the lifeblood of London
today and will be ever more vital in future
• Underground = London

3. A Tale of Trains, Technology & Talent
• Railway Mania of the 1840s
• Birth of the UNDERGROUND
• How was the UNDERGROUND Built?
• Social Impact of the UNDERGROUND
• Visionaries, PR and Corporate Branding
Agenda

4. Railway Mania of the 1840s
• London: largest and most prosperous city in the world in mid-
19th century; capital of the British Empire!
• Narrow congested streets with horse-drawn traffic and
pedestrians created gridlock; Need for connecting main
railway stations with the City
• Royal Commission on Metropolitan Railway Termini formed in
1846
• Stations to be located at edge of city; Paddington, Euston and
King’s Cross stations; surface connections to the City in central
London banned
• The Underground: an idea whose time has come
• Many competing proposals across London with new routes in
laissez-faire development climate

5. Birth Of The UNDERGROUND
• ~ 250K people journeyed to work every day
• Charles Pearson, City of London Solicitor, proposed Railways as part
of larger transportation plan
• Metropolitan Railway under New Road approved by parliament in
1854, John Fowler, Chief Engineer
• January 9, 1863, Metropolitan Railway opens first Underground
service from Paddington to Farringdon Street station
• Immediate success: 40K passengers took 18 min journey on first day
in three different classes of service; Metropolitan Railway
profitable in first year

6. Metropolitan Railway Opening
January 9, 1863

9. Construction of the Underground
• Construction started in 1860; took 2 years to complete 3½ miles;
“cut and cover” design ( re: London Transport Museum model)
• Innovation lay in covering the tunnel roof and laying the road back
over the top to support the traffic
• Major concern below ground: water-mains, main/branch sewers
and pipes, gas mains, telegraph wires – “full of veins and arteries”
• Most technical hurdles solved by hands-on trial and error rather
than detailed pre-planning, design and engineering blueprints
• Employed 2,000 “navvies”, 200 horses, 58 steam cranes, huge kilns
@ Earl’s Court for 140M baked bricks
• Steam trains created a smoky, uncomfortable atmosphere no
matter what precautions were taken; Board of Trade inquiry in
1887: advent of Electric Traction
• First deep-level electric “Tube” Railway opened in 1890 between
Stockwell and King William Street stations

10. Construction of First Underground
Metropolitan Railway Line

11. First Underground Poster
by John Hassell, 1908

13. Social Impact of the Underground
• Underground’s popularity due to revolutionized speed of travel
and excellent safety record ; no explosions due to flammable gases
as feared; modern interlocking signals and controls
• Outward expansion opened lucrative suburban market: service
“Metro-Land” housing development and “Homes fit for Heroes”
for returning WW I and WW II veterans
• Short trips around town for Victorians for socializing, shopping,
recreation, night-life, entertainment
• Maintain as normal a service as possible during WW II: reassuring
symbol of confidence, resilience, and national pride
• Overall, between 1850 and 1900, as many as 100,000 Londoners
lost their homes to railway construction

15. Development of London suburbs

16. Underground for All Reasons

17. Underground Shelter During Blitz
Sept 25, 1940

18. Public Notice during Blitz

19. Visionaries, PR, Corporate Branding
• Charles Tyson Yerkes, American entrepreneur, swindler, saviour of the
London Underground
• Albert Stanley (Lord Ashfield), first Chairman of London Transport, MD of
Underground Group (UG) in 1910
• Frank Pick, Commercial Mgr and MD of UG in 1920, first CEO of LT in 1933
– Legendary for use of Graphic Art, Branding & Administrative skills
– Philosophy of Design Institute: “Fitness for purpose”
– Inspiration for Corporate Branding: Underground Posters since 1908
• Edward Johnston, accomplished calligrapher, designer of iconic
Underground Roundel logo in 1913
• Charles Holden, architect of Piccadilly & West End stations, LT
Headquarters @ 55 Broadway in 1929: “simplicity with grandeur”
• Harry Beck, Draughtsman in LT, designer of iconic Underground Map in
1931, initially rejected by LT, simple, easy to read and use, public reception
was enthusiastic; received 10 guineas for his innovative design, now
standard logo of London Underground system map recognized worldwide

20. Iconic London Underground Map
Harry Beck, 1931

21. Geographical Underground Map
Mark Noad, LT, 2011

22. Iconic Underground Roundel Logo
New Johnston Sans Font

23. Subways are Spreading Fast

24. The Underground = London

25. THANK YOU