London's Underground: The Story of the Tube

Product Information

In their earliest diagrams the companies that became London Underground imposed their lines on a “base map” showing the local streets. But realistic geography faded away as the lines promoted their own concept of themselves. For example, on maps of Metroland, the suburb created by the Metropolitan Railway, golf clubs loomed disproportionately. The plot opens in present day London where Inspector Sherwood Peets and his partner not only uncover the remains of two women in a maintenance tunnel but are given a warning by a homeless and dirty young woman who vanishes in the darkness as Carmen Kingsley in charge of London projects at the British Museum and her friend Julia stumble on piles of dead and dying rats, discovering the remains of a rat Exterminator. Joining forces to unearth the truth behind their mysterious discoveries as the rodents escape from their underground haven into the city spreading the age- old disease, Sherwood and Carmen uncover government secrets and a coverup as well as evidence of a genetically enhanced species that threatens not just London but the British Isles. A book Londoners and anyone interested in design should read." The Society of Model and Experimental Engineers - York Model Engineers Newsletter, March 2023 It is sobering to note that the Government gave up on deep shelter strategies for the population almost immediately after the first nuclear bombs were demonstrated because no place inside London would be safe from their effects. Worth noting in the age of sabre-rattling over Ukraine. I first took an interest in history of the London Underground map and typeface as a design student and have a small amount of knowledge about the topic already, so I was thrilled that this book covered so much I didn't know. It is a pretty dense read. I actually loved this and came away having learned a lot. It is clearly extremely well researched and the author's passion for the topic is evident throughout. The result is a wonderfully insightful and comprehensive guide to the history of the London Underground network.

An exploration of the abandoned tributaries of London’s vast and vital transportation network through breathtaking images and unexpected stories Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 16 th November 2021 asking for various London Underground Rule Books. As the complexities of the plot work themselves out, we encounter a long list of characters. Some surface in August 1944 as World War II continues to rage in the skies of London. Others appear in the present.

A chilling adventure beneath the streets of London where WWII-era bombs, government conspiracies, and science—gone very very wrong—collide. Norwegian born RAF Flight Commander Gunnar Hansen,” who knows the territory and speaks the language

Some of the remarks in the book are funny, such as why people needed to move fast to get on or alight. There are details on advertising at the tube. There are also details on how the tube was advertised and why it opened new stations, which is fascinating. Even fares are talked about and one approach in the 1920s is very similar to what kind of fares are promoted these days, 100 years later. For me the book deserves 5 stars, without any doubt. A man named Sherwood enters the underground tube: “Riding London’s tube lifts always felt like a thirty-second fall from grace. The ancient machines issued forth a continuous series of ominous sounds, inevitably coming to a halt with a loud clank, as though Lucifer himself were rattling his chains in anticipation of their arrival.” This is the setting for what is to follow. The world's first underground railway, the Metropolitan Railway, which opened in 1863, is now part of the Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines; the first line to operate underground electric traction trains, the City & South London Railway in 1890, is now part of the Northern line. The network has expanded to 11 lines, and in 2014-15 carried 1.305 billion passengers, making it the world's 11th busiest metro system. Highly commendable" Oxfordshire Family History Society - Oxfordshire Family Historian, Volume 37, No.1, April 2023 This is a very special book which not only looks at the history of the London Underground Map but also gives much more interesting details of the London Underground in general. Written in a very easy readable style, Caroline Roope leaves no stone unturned in her research which looks at the notorious rivalry between Sir Edward Watkin (Chairman of the Metropolitan Railway) and James Staats Forbes (Chairman of the Metropolitan District Railway) amongst many other notable personalities of the day.

You asked

Carmen Kingsley, in charge of London projects for the British Museum, and Scotland Yard Inspector Sherwood Peets race to unravel the mysteries before the great city succumbs to the English Sweat, a frightening disease from the age of the Henrys. If you read the book through, you will be able to put the bits of a puzzle into a jigsaw and have a better of idea of London's development than you might from other more plodding and academic chronological surveys. There are ten primary locations and themes covered.