The Birth of the Tubes

From the discovery of electricity and the invention of the tunnelling shield came the birth of the deep level tube railway. Until then, underground railways had to be steam-worked and built just under the road or below buildings, creating enormous disruption during construction and the need for ventilation openings along the route to allow the escape of fumes. Antony Badsey-Ellis uses much new research in this brief history of the first twenty-five years of electric tube operation in London, between 1890 and 1914. Many new illustrations are also used to accompany the informative text and contemporary reports of the new lines.