It was built in London over 150 years ago. The inaugural stretch was 6 kilometers long, which were opened following the layout of the streets in the center of the English capital, which greatly facilitated the works. Soon this pioneering line became a real subway network. Still in 1900, there were already seven lines and 84 stations – much more than the metro in São Paulo today. The construction of this new transport system was essential for London, the largest city in the world at the time. During the 19th century alone, the metropolis grew from 1 million inhabitants to 6.5 million. Around 1850, the traffic of pedestrians, horses and carts was already unbearable – even more so since the “exhaust” odor of so many horses could not be the most pleasant… To end the torment, the local administration thought of a way to to take the railway lines that passed in the limits of the city to the center.
The idea of doing this at ground level was soon scrapped, as half of London would need to be demolished if tracks and stations were to be put on the surface. Something impractical, right? Another proposal, somewhat exotic for the time, was to put the trains to circulate in underground tunnels. For lack of a better alternative, this idea took off. But he had to overcome resistance. Many people believed that such tunnels would not support the weight of the city and the newspapers took advantage of the wave to publish sensationalist headlines, such as “London will sink!”. Despite this and other difficulties – such as finding money for the pharaonic work – construction began in 1860 and the inauguration, three years later, was a success: 40,000 passengers on the first day. It would not take long for the novelty to infect the world and, in 1896, Budapest, Hungary, would open the second subway on the planet. Around here, the subway would only arrive much later, in 1974.
READ TOO:
– What is the difference between train and subway?
– How does the metro work?
– How do you put the trains on the subway tracks?
– How do the trains that float on the tracks work?
underground locomotive
Pioneer trains were still steam-powered and filled stations with smoke.
1. Construction of the world’s first subway line, in London, began in 1860. The tunnel holes were 10 meters wide and 6 meters deep. To facilitate the excavation work and reduce damage to the surface, the trenches were opened following the trajectory of the streets in the center of the city.
2. The excavation method was not very efficient, so much so that landslides were constant – it was only in 1866 that large excavation machines (called “tatuzão”) came on the scene, which made the work much more agile. When they were firm, the side walls of the large holes were then lined with bricks to hold the earth.
3. This initial structure gained greater stability as it was reinforced by large beams and iron arches. Afterwards, everything was covered in bricks again. On the surface, the paving of the destroyed street could already be redone.
4. The trains used in the first subway were still steam powered. To reduce the smoke released by the locomotives, part of the gases were directed to a water tank in the train itself. The smoke was thinning, but the air wasn’t exactly breathable. It wasn’t until 1905 that all steam trains had been replaced by electric ones.
5. Because of the smoke, the station windows had to be adapted as air vents. Around 26,000 passengers circulated every day on the pioneer line in its first year of operation. On trains, they were divided into first, second and third class carriages. It was possible to go through the seven stations of the line in 33 minutes.