Tube underground track

[Arun]

As far as I am aware, the definitive work [available to the public] on how the Underground system was built [both surface and deep tube lines] in great detail is "Building London's Underground" by Antony Badsey-Ellis published in 2016. Well worth a read.
Regarding the deviations around Bank, John C Gillham's "Waterloo and City Railway" gives exhaustive chapter and verse. Again highly readable.

 

[simond]

One does have to question how deep their rights go there must be a cut off depth where they can no longer claim ownership.

I believe it was the case that the property owners rights hypothetically extended to the centre of the earth, however IIRC there was some change in the law a few years back to facilitate fracking, which involves horizontal drilling, and I think it is no longer the case. It now appears that fracking has gone the way of 405 lines, hopefully.

I think I’d be a bit hacked off if there were a gazillion quid’s worth of gold under my garden, and the neighbour dug it out and profited mightily, and I didn’t. And I like my neighbours!

Atb
Simon

 

[Chris Veitch]

As far as I am aware, the definitive work [available to the public] on how the Underground system was built [both surface and deep tube lines] in great detail is "Building London's Underground" by Antony Badsey-Ellis published in 2016. Well worth a read.
Regarding the deviations around Bank, John C Gillham's "Waterloo and City Railway" gives exhaustive chapter and verse. Again highly readable.

Does anyone have any comments on The Birth of The Tubes by the same author (but much more recent)? Looks like a very interesting account of the early lines but there's not much indication of what the content is like.

 

[Arun]

Those superb illustrations supplied by Yorkshire Dave show track as originally laid, and don't show the concrete infill set partly up the tunnel lining above sleeper level.

This feature was apparently applied as an insulator by the LER when they discovered that traction current had a tendency of straying to the cast iron segments.

I have an important picture commission, plus a couple more most desirable to do, but cannot start on any of them without at least one visit to the LT Museum, Acton Depot for primary reference sketching and drawing. They were usually a bit reluctant to admit individuals under normal circumstances, but now there will be strict rules until goodness knows when? All of which is doubly frustrating: They have quite a collection of tunnel segments and complete sections that could be measured up for this project.

Do we (fellow WT'ers) have any friends or contacts on the inside maybe?

My old ones are out of date now!

Pete.

In your shoes Peter, I would write to Sam Mullins the LT Museum director and enclose a couple of jpgs of your paintings and say you'd like to do some more of particular topics. Sam would probably agree and give you a point of contact.
As a life member of Friends of the LTM, I've never had any problems getting access to the Museum reserve store [The Depot] to measure up road/rail vehicles or static bit of street furniture. Having some known activity as a designer of 7mm LT road and rail vehicles does give some credibility and in turn, to date, the LTM takes me more seriously than someone with no track record asking for access.

 

[Arun]

Regarding the wriggly nature of deep tube lines - and subsurface ones for that matter, LT did produce a map which still regularly turns up at transport flea markets. The map is called "London" and covers an area from Rickmansworth in the NW to Theydon Bois in the NE to Weybridge in the SW to Eynsford in the SE
I've attached a picture of the cover and a sample pic of the centre area of the map. Note that this edition predates the Victoria and subsequent lines. A later version of this map formed an interesting plot in a novel some years ago regarding whether or not the route of the Victoria Line South of Green Park (to Victoria) had a spur which allowed escalator access from Buckingham Palace in extremis!

 

[Tim Watson]

Richard Wilson has mocked up the tube tunnel rings as a 3D print, which will save a vast amount of work and be very robust. The distance between rings is currently 30” - it should be 18-23”, but that will be modified in production. The different diameters for the crossing tunnel civil engineering can also be made as required.


The tunnel bore is generous on size, but that will be important for dynamic tolerances and it could also allow an N gauge tube train to pass, should one ever be manufactured.

The train in the image is sitting on a piece of fully sleepered track, but the production track will be more nearly flush ballasted and the cement infill in the lower part of the rings will also be included in the 3D print. I think it is fair to say that without the availability of CAD and modern manufacturing techniques, this line would be very much harder to make! It is also quite gratifying to bring all the modern techniques to bear on a 35 year old layout.

Tim