infonetorg: 150th Anniversary of London Underground

Tunnelling into history: Amazing images show London houses being demolished to make way for the Tube in 1863, the world's first underground railway

London Underground's 150th birthday today
A British Pathe gallery shows old footage of the Underground from 1800s
The Queen is featured opening the Victoria Line in 1969
Other images show the Tube during the Blitz and the July 7/7 bombings

Take a break: Foremen pose by demolished houses, with a steam engine powering machinery in the background in January 1862 while the construction of the underground took place

London Underground is planning a series of events to celebrate the milestone year including a series of additional heritage rail trips using steam trains, two new two-pound coins and a set of 10 special stamps issued by Royal Mail.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, described the network as 'arguably the best, and most iconic, underground transport system in the world'.

The first stretch of the Tube, the Metropolitan or Met line as it was known, opened on January 9 1863 and was the world's first underground railway.

On that first day, 30,000 people took a trip on the Metropolitan Railway between Paddington and Farringdon, the temporary terminus of the line.

Make way: London's famous Eros monument is dismantled to make way for building work on the London Underground to take place in 1925

By the end of its first year of operation 9.5 million journeys were made.

Streets were dug up, a track laid in a trench and a brick tunnel built around it before relaying the road in the early days.

But that method was dropped in the late 19th century because of the hold ups it caused overground.

By Christmas 1868, another line had opened between Westminster and South Kensington and were linked to a branch of the original Met, making up what we now know as the Circle Line by 1884.

Striking images released from the 19th Century show how the underground construction, undertaken between 1866 and 1870, caused great disruption in the streets.

Houses were demolished and the track was laid in huge cutttings lined with brickwork.

They were then roofed over and the streets rebuilt.

The underground came about as a solution to traffic congestion caused by London’s continued growth.

Crossing London had become a nightmare and it could take an hour and a half to travel five miles from Paddington to Bank by horse-drawn omnibus.

Grafting: Workers are pictured building the Victoria Line in the 1960s. It was eventually opened by the Queen in 1969

Busy: Six underground railway tunnels run under the Earl's Court Exhibition building which is pictured under construction near Earl's Court Station in 1936

One of the most vocal advocates for a solution was Charles Pearson, Solicitor to the City of London, whose plans came together with a group of entrepreneurs and led to the establishment of the Metropolitan Railway Company in August 1854.

The company constructed an underground railway, which ran for three miles under the New Road, from the Great Western Railway's terminus at Paddington to the edge of the City at Farringdon Street, via the Great Northern Railway's terminus at King's Cross.

Around three million passengers use the Underground every day in 2013, with 275 operating stations across the capital.

Paying tribute, Mr Johnson said: 'The arrival of the Tube was truly revolutionary and today it is still admired around the world.

'It annihilates distance, liquidates traffic and is the throbbing cardiovascular system of the greatest city on earth.

'It continues to play a hugely important role in the success of our capital - efficiently moving record numbers of people during the London 2012 Games.

'Our massive upgrade programme builds on the engineering ingenuity of our Victorian forefathers and through new signalling, trains and track, millions of Londoners and visitors will continue to benefit from what is arguably the best, and most iconic, underground transport system in the world.'

As part of the celebrations, a special heritage run will take place on Sunday to mark 150 years since the first Underground journey was made.

But only a lucky number of ticketholders will be able to ride on the special service between Kensington Olympia and Moorgate as it brings steam back to the line.

The celebratory journey will see Metropolitan Locomotive No 1 pull the Metropolitan Railway Jubilee carriage No 353, which was built in 1892 and is being restored thanks to a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the London Transport Museum Friends.

Historic: Fascinating pictures show the Queen at the controls of a Victoria Line train as she opened the line in 1969. The images are part of a British Pathe gallery launched to celebrate 150 years of the London Underground

The day the Queen took controls of a Tube in 1969

She may not be accustomed to the daily commute or competing with throngs of passengers to get on a packed Tube train at the end of the day.

But more of the fascinating archive images show that Her Majesty is no stranger to the London Underground - having once driven a train herself.

The photos show the Queen opening the Victoria Line in 1969 and taking the controls of a train at Green Park, the closest stop to her Buckingham Palace home.

The newsreel narrator says: 'Her Majesty inspected the automatic controls of one of the line’s 34 silver trains, then pressed the buttons which sent the loco in motion. That’s all the driver has to do. Computers do the rest.

In charge:The Queen's visit underground in 1969 was her second time experiencing the Tube. Her first trip came as a 13-year-old in 1939 with Princess Margaret and her governess Marion Crawford

Comfortable: As well as driving the train, the Queen is featured relaxing in one of the Victoria Line carriages in the British Pathe film from 1969

Going underground: The Queen was pictured riding on an escalator in the British Pathe footage filmed at Green Park station in 1969

Modern technology: The Queen is pictured examining brand new automatic ticket machines on her visit to Green Park station to open the Victoria Line in 1969

Elbow grease: Women workers, known as 'fluffies' are featured in one British Pathe clip on their hands and knees cleaning the Underground tracks

Hard work: A woman is pictured scrubbing the Underground track in 1944 with a cigarette in her mouth. The group of women, known as 'fluffies' were supervised by a male manager

Riding up top: The Queen is pictured in the driver's cab of a Heathrow bound Underground train in 1977 as she opened an extension of the Picadilly Line

War-time: London residents are pictured sheltering from air raids at Bound's Green Underground station, in December 1940

Latest visit: The Queen pictured at Aldgate station in 2010. During this visit she spoke with station staff and visited a memorial to those killed in the 7/7 bombings

Safety: Women smile at the camera as they shelter from German bombs at an Underground station during the Second World War

Gentlemen commuters: One video in the gallery features men in bowler hats riding on the Central Line section from Liverpool Street to Stratford in 1946. The footage featured in last summer's Olympics coverage.

Stop: Arnos Grove Underground station, which is on the Picadilly Line and was opened in 1932, is pictured in the 1960s

Sparkling: A brand new tube train makes one of its first journeys on the London Underground in 1960

Refurb: A 'new-look' London Underground station, with its long sprawling escalators is pictured during the 1960s

Familiar: A passenger points out Picadilly Circus on an early Underground map. The modern graphic design of the maps was first drawn up by Harry Beck in 1933