Stratford station was opened in 1839 by the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR). London Underground Central line services started on 4 December 1946. Services were extended to Leyton on 5 May 1947 and then on to the former London and North Eastern Railway branch lines to Epping, Ongar and Hainault progressively until 1949.
The Docklands Light Railway opened on 31 August 1987 reusing redundant rail routes through the Bow and Poplar areas to reach the new Docklands developments on the Isle of Dogs.
The Low Level station (served by the North London line) underwent a major rebuilding programme in the late 1990s as part of the Jubilee Line Extension works. This saw the construction of a large steel and glass building designed by Wilkinson Eyre and a new replacement booking hall. The Jubilee line opened to passengers on 14 May 1999, with services initially running only as far as Canning Town station.
James Henry Greathead (6 August 1844 - 21 October 1896) was a civil engineer known for his pioneering development of tunnelling techniques and for his work on London's underground railways. In 1869, working under Peter W. Barlow, he became engineer in charge of driving the tunnel of the Tower Subway under the River Thames using a tunnelling shield he designed based on Barlow's own slightly earlier patented design.
Greathead developed and patented a number of improvements to the Barlow shield and the improved design carried their joint names. Greathead also developed the use of a segmented cast iron lining for the circular tunnel, erected in sections from which the shield was jacked forward. Greathead was then involved in the planning and construction of a number of railways in Britain and Ireland, until, in 1884, he was appointed engineer for the City and South London Railway, the world's first underground electric railway when it opened in 1890. Greathead subsequently worked on the Waterloo and City Railway, the Liverpool Overhead Railway and the early planning of the Central London Railway. (Full article...)
...that Sir Jacob Epstein's statute Day on the Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway caused controversy when it was unveiled due to the length of the penis on one of the figures? Epstein later reduced the length.
...that the River Thames froze 24 times between 1400 and 1814 and that Frost Fairs were often held on the ice?
...that at Euston Underground station, a passenger changing between the Victoria line and Northern line Bank branch will find that trains on adjacent platforms travel in opposite directions even though both are either northbound or southbound?
Image 1London Underground A60 Stock (left) and 1938 Stock (right) trains showing the difference in the sizes of the two types of rolling stock operated on the system. A60 stock trains operated on the surface and sub-surface sections of the Metropolitan line from 1961 to 2012 and 1938 Stock operated on various deep level tube lines from 1938 to 1988.
Image 10The multi-level junction between the M23 and M25 motorways near Merstham in Surrey. The M23 passes over the M25 with bridges carrying interchange slip roads for the two motorways in between.
Image 11Sailing ships at West India Docks on the Isle of Dogs in 1810. The docks opened in 1802 and closed in 1980 and have since been redeveloped as the Canary Wharf development.
Image 14Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
Image 15The newly constructed junction of the Westway (A40) and the West Cross Route (A3220) at White City, circa 1970. Continuation of the West Cross Route northwards under the roundabout was cancelled leaving two short unused stubs for the slip roads that would have been provided for traffic joining or leaving the northern section.
Image 34Arguably the best-preserved disused station building in London, this is the former Alexandra Palace station on the GNR Highgate branch (closed in 1954). It is now in use as a community centre (CUFOS).