To all Metropolitan Line Passengers : phamplet issued by London Transport, February 1939 : foreword
A fascinating little publication and a version of the Metropolitan & Bakerloo lines works undertaken by London Transport I have not seen before. It was issued in February 1939 a few months before the first phase in this "great scheme of works" entered into service; this was the extension of Bakerloo line services north of Baker Street station through a newly constructed tube line that surfaced at Finchley Road station and took over the Met's Stanmore services as its second north London branch.
The rest of the works, that formed an important part of the massive London Passenger Transport Board's "New Works Programme 1935 - 1940", was as the text describes, due to be completed within two years. However, the outbreak of war in September 1939 was to mean that the programme was to take until 1962 to complete. This would consist of the widening and grade separation of the bulk of the Met up as far as Moor Park and the electrification of tracks from the previous termination point of Rickmansworth to Amersham and Chesham. The driver behind these various works is told in the text - the old pre-1933 Metropolitan Railway had, perhaps unwittingly, by building new branch lines such as to Watford and Stanmore, ended up with a serious congestion problem on the two-track section between Baker Street and Finchley Road that to add to the fun had three station stops in the section. The Met, to their credit, had considered various options that included a 'tube railway' for managing terminating trains at Baker Street that would have consisted of a loop. For various reasons, including finance, this had not happened - the formation of LT in 1933 that included the Met allowed the new London Transport to take, perhaps, a wider view. The construction of the tube tunnels down from Finchley Road allowed passengers from NW London, either directly or by cross-platform interchange at the reconstructed Finchley Rd station, direct access to the West End without the hassles of changing at Baker Street. In addition, the new tube with the two replacement stations, allowed closure of Swiss Cottage, Marlborough Road and St. John's Wood stations on the 'main line' thus increasing line capacity. It is interesting to see on the map that firstly Swiss Cottage tube station is strangely omitted and the station that is shown, St. John's Wood as we now know it, is shown as 'Acacia Road'.
I should also note that, just before closure of the sub-surface line, in June 1939 St. John's Wood was re-named Lords after the adjacent cricket ground. There was an idea to retain this station for match day use but this never came to fruition and it formally closed on 19 November 1939, thus being one of the shortest lived station names on the Underground. In 1979 the Stanmore branch transferred to the 'new' Jubilee line that included new tunnels south of Baker Street. LT had, perhaps unwittingly like the Met before, had also created a problem with capacity in the central London section of the Bakerloo that had two northern branches and one southern terminus.
As noted above, in post-war years the work did slowly re-commence but years of austerity and, to an extent, the newly nationalised London Transport having to argue for capital investment from the 'same pot' as British Railways, meant that it was not until the mid-late 1950s work truly started and moved to completion. Whereas it is true that the Stanmore branch did get 'new trains' in the form of the 1938-tube stock, the Met main line had to wait until the delivery of the new A60/A62-stock some twenty years after this phamplet was printed.
The text is thorough and very much in the language that LT used at the time and, in places, is surprisingly ebullient such as with regards to passengers in the penultimate paragraph! The foreword has that marvellous line that asks passengers "to excuse any temprary deficiencies in the travelling conditions" - that's the LT I knew!
To all Metropolitan Line Passengers : phamplet issued by London Transport, February 1939 : foreword
A fascinating little publication and a version of the Metropolitan & Bakerloo lines works undertaken by London Transport I have not seen before. It was issued in February 1939 a few months before the first phase in this "great scheme of works" entered into service; this was the extension of Bakerloo line services north of Baker Street station through a newly constructed tube line that surfaced at Finchley Road station and took over the Met's Stanmore services as its second north London branch.
The rest of the works, that formed an important part of the massive London Passenger Transport Board's "New Works Programme 1935 - 1940", was as the text describes, due to be completed within two years. However, the outbreak of war in September 1939 was to mean that the programme was to take until 1962 to complete. This would consist of the widening and grade separation of the bulk of the Met up as far as Moor Park and the electrification of tracks from the previous termination point of Rickmansworth to Amersham and Chesham. The driver behind these various works is told in the text - the old pre-1933 Metropolitan Railway had, perhaps unwittingly, by building new branch lines such as to Watford and Stanmore, ended up with a serious congestion problem on the two-track section between Baker Street and Finchley Road that to add to the fun had three station stops in the section. The Met, to their credit, had considered various options that included a 'tube railway' for managing terminating trains at Baker Street that would have consisted of a loop. For various reasons, including finance, this had not happened - the formation of LT in 1933 that included the Met allowed the new London Transport to take, perhaps, a wider view. The construction of the tube tunnels down from Finchley Road allowed passengers from NW London, either directly or by cross-platform interchange at the reconstructed Finchley Rd station, direct access to the West End without the hassles of changing at Baker Street. In addition, the new tube with the two replacement stations, allowed closure of Swiss Cottage, Marlborough Road and St. John's Wood stations on the 'main line' thus increasing line capacity. It is interesting to see on the map that firstly Swiss Cottage tube station is strangely omitted and the station that is shown, St. John's Wood as we now know it, is shown as 'Acacia Road'.
I should also note that, just before closure of the sub-surface line, in June 1939 St. John's Wood was re-named Lords after the adjacent cricket ground. There was an idea to retain this station for match day use but this never came to fruition and it formally closed on 19 November 1939, thus being one of the shortest lived station names on the Underground. In 1979 the Stanmore branch transferred to the 'new' Jubilee line that included new tunnels south of Baker Street. LT had, perhaps unwittingly like the Met before, had also created a problem with capacity in the central London section of the Bakerloo that had two northern branches and one southern terminus.
As noted above, in post-war years the work did slowly re-commence but years of austerity and, to an extent, the newly nationalised London Transport having to argue for capital investment from the 'same pot' as British Railways, meant that it was not until the mid-late 1950s work truly started and moved to completion. Whereas it is true that the Stanmore branch did get 'new trains' in the form of the 1938-tube stock, the Met main line had to wait until the delivery of the new A60/A62-stock some twenty years after this phamplet was printed.
The text is thorough and very much in the language that LT used at the time and, in places, is surprisingly ebullient such as with regards to passengers in the penultimate paragraph! The foreword has that marvellous line that asks passengers "to excuse any temprary deficiencies in the travelling conditions" - that's the LT I knew!