So, London Underground is 150 years old today… despite the drivers, the striking (get it…) thing about this feat of engineering is still its sheer breadth and beauty.
There is a really good birthday article in today’s Guardian (and it must be good for me to recommend it from the Gurinad) that you can read here. There is also a fascinating website all about those disused stations and odd turnings that trains no longer use here. The site is not brilliant, but the content is really impressive!
However, I can’t recommend highly enough this blog. Basically to celebrate the 150 years of the underground this chap has listed and photographed his 150 favourite bits of the network. Its a really impressive selection and images, and serves to highlight just what a wacky and wonderful creation it all is…
My current favourite image is this one from South Ken Station… it’s so evocative of the museum quarter of london that I love so dearly, and I entirely agree with him that “Everything about this entrance, the layout, the lettering, the curve of the pillars, the curl of the brackets, screams – or rather sighs – breezy elegance!”
Tim Myatt 