The Little Book of the London Underground

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.