Full steam ahead: 19th Century train makes London Undergound journey to mark Tube's 150th anniversary

13 Jan 2013 13:31

"It was romantic. You understand all those Victorian novels and the assignations that possibly took place on those velvet seats," said Boris Johnson

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A 19th Century steam train took passengers on the London Underground today to mark the 150th anniversary of the first Tube journey in the capital.

Specially invited passengers moved off from Kensington Olympia Tube station in west London aboard a train pulled by Met Locomotive 1, which was built in 1898.

Hundreds of rail enthusiasts, families and interested onlookers took up positions at stations and on bridges to catch a glimpse of the train, as it travelled non-stop to Moorgate station in the City of London.

Spectators at Underground stations were covered in steam as the train made its way along the same track used by modern day Tube services.

Passenger and Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: "It was just extraordinary. We had steam coming in through the windows, huge thick clouds of white steam going past and then bits of soot coming through from the engine.

"It was fascinating, as the train started to go up from Kensington to Notting Hill you could feel the engine really strain, but as we levelled off it picked up a lot of speed. You could see how the Victorians were able to run a very timely service."

He added: "It was romantic. You understand all those Victorian novels and the assignations that possibly took place on those velvet seats. It was pure Conan Doyle."

The train was visible passing through a number of stations on its 36-minute journey, including Earl's Court, High Street Kensington, Euston and King's Cross, before it reached Moorgate at 10.30am. Normal Tube services ran at the same time.

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Steam Train 150 years of London Underground

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Steam train restorer Geoff Phelps said he had lived "every boy's dream" by driving the train.

"It was very special because it's 150 years since the original first train," he said.

When asked to explain the popularity of today's event, he replied: "It's the noise and the smells. A steam engine is a living thing, you hear them coming from a distance and you hear them when they've gone."

The passengers were in the restored Metropolitan Railway carriage No 353, which was built in 1892, as well as a set of Chesham coaches on loan from the Bluebell Railway in Sussex.

Making up the train was the No 12 Sarah Siddons - one of the world's oldest electric locomotives in service which was built in 1922.

Sam Mullins, director of the London Transport Museum, said: "It gave you an elusive hint of what it might have been like to travel in 1863.

"It was almost a little surreal, you're sitting in a wonderfully restored Victorian railway carriage, looking out through steam onto a 21st Century metro platform with pressed aluminium.

"It shows that this isn't just something that works for railway enthusiasts. Steam engines and the London story of the Underground has a wider currency. As you looked to the platforms, everybody had a smile on their face."

The first stretch of the world famous network opened on January 9 1863 - between Paddington and Farringdon - when it was known as the Metropolitan Railway.

Earlier this week, Google marked the anniversary with a Google Doodle design that spelt out the search engine's name.

Source: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/london-underground-steam-train-takes-1532349

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