This is very much a provisional idea, but the Transport Museum in London have applied for permission to restore original London Underground rolling stock and even a steam train to run on the Metropolitan line, albeit for a short time.
The idea came to light via the Ian Visits blog and will require various grants to be put in place, but the initial permission has been granted.
The museum will have in theory at least 2 options – either run across the original Metropolitan Railway sections overground with the train, or if they’re very lucky, run the trains actually underground.
It might seem a little crazy running a steam train underground, but that’s exactly how the original London Underground worked. There were and still are in many places, vents to let the smoke out such as the false house front on Leinster Gardens which has a large open space to allow smoke and steam out. In case you’re wondering, the carriages weren’t that well sealed.
Before any train enthusiasts get too excited, this won’t happen until 2013, probably around January or so as that is the 150th anniversary of the Metropolitan Railway.
