Many major cities now have an underground railway, with the London Tube being one of the most famous, and it was here on the 10 January 1863 that history was made with the opening of the Farringdon Street terminus of the Metropolitan Railway – the worlds first underground railway.
The Metropolitan Railway line ran from Farringdon to Paddington, a distance of 4 miles (approx 6 km), with steam driven locomotives. The trains featured open carriages and this combined with the soot from the steam trains did rather envelope the smartly dressed City workers taking the train in from the London suburbs.
Today the station is of course electrified and is fast becoming one of the busiest in the capital (possibly even the country) with not only the Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City and Circle Lines using part of the station, but also First Capital Connect to Brighton & Bedford, and a new under construction extension to the Thameslink service.
If you’re trying to find it on an underground map – look for King’s Cross St. Pancras on one side and Barbican on the other, along the Circle line.
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Farringdon Station
From the openiing of the Metropolitan Railway January 1963, passengers were not carried in open wagons, but in fully enclosed compartment carriages.
Prints, engravings & photographs showing personel in open wagons, show pre 10th January railway operations