The Little Book of the London Underground

Book excerpt: Did You Know? In 1884 the Circle Line opened and was described in The Times as ‘a form of mild torture which no person would undergo if he could conveniently help it.’ According to one psychologist, Tube commuters can experience greater levels of stress than a police officer facing a rioting mob or even a fighter pilot going into a dogfight. Underground trains have only twice been used to transport deceased people in coffins: William Gladstone and Dr Barnardo. Some of the most bizarre items handed in to lost property include 250lb of sultanas, a 14ft canoe, a child’s garden slide, a harpoon gun, a pith helmet, an artificial leg, someone’s brother’s ashes and a sealed box containing three dead bats. WITH well over a billion passengers a year, more than 250 miles of track, literally hundreds of different stations and a history stretching back at least 160 years, the world’s oldest underground railway might seem familiar, but how well do you actually know it? This book offers a feast of Tube-based trivia for travellers and lovers of London alike.