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Opening of the City & South London Railway, the First Deep-Level Electric Subway System

1890
Arms of the City and South London Railway on the reserve side of the pedestal of the monument to James Henry Greathead in the City of London.
"Arms of the City and South London Railway on the reserve side of the pedestal of the monument to James Henry Greathead in the City of London. The arms incorporate, the arms of the City of London (bottom left) and the en:Southwark Cross (bottom right) representing the two parts of the city connected by the railway. The wavy bars represent the River Thames under which the railway tunnelled and the bridge represents London Bridge, close to which the tunnels ran."

In 1890 the City & South London Railway (C&SLR, now part of the Northern Line) opened between Stockwell and the now closed original terminus at King William Street. It was the first "deep-level" electrically operated railway, and the first railway to use electric traction.

"When opened in 1890, the line had six stations and ran for 3.2 miles (5.1 km) in a pair of tunnels between the City of London and Stockwell, passing under the River Thames. The diameter of the tunnels restricted the size of the trains, and the small carriages with their high-backed seating were nicknamed padded cells." (Wikipedia article on City & South London Railway, accessed 01-07-2013).

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