Underground
interests
T
he London Underground attracts nutters. That
might not be the politest way of putting it, but
there’s something about this 150-year-old transport
system that draws the obsessive, the curious, the
completist and the competitive. Perhaps it is the
sheer legacy – that long, deep history – but there is something
compelling about the network of intestinal steel tunnels and
entombed stations. From the Tube Challengers, who dash round
the network trying to visit all 270 stations in a single day, to the
man who marched 403 miles along every line above ground,
people are always seeking peculiar new methods to engage with
the Tube’s complexities.
Christian Wolmar, whose
The Subterranean Railway
is one of
the most popular histories of the Underground, believes people
are enthralled by the ways in which the Tube imposes itself on
London. “I don’t think there’s any other transport system that
encompasses so many things, from fantastic station design to the
amazing posters and the iconic map. It continually fascinates.”
Wolmar believes this enduring passion is down to history more
than size. “It’s by no means the biggest network in the world, but
the age is crucial,” he says. “There is a lot of history encapsulated
within it and there’s also this image that has been intertwined
with London.” The Tube’s “brand” was created in the first half of
the 20th century with the introduction of the roundel, posters,
stations, map and typeface that came to define the network. “It
was a very early piece of branding and it has become London’s
brand, not just the Underground’s,” says Wolmar. “That is what
separates it from the Paris Metro and New York Subway. They are
important to their cities, but they don’t have the same style and
history, or draw the affection of the people.”
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L o u i s e H a y w o o d - S c h i e f e r
ILLUSTRATION JAN K ALLWEJT
From urban explorers and Tube Challengers to spatial analysts, the
London Underground exerts a curious fascination. To celebrate its
150
th anniversary, we meet some true Tube obsessives
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