Scratch

Here you will find older scratches, musings and other detritus that once were located on the front pages, but have now faded.

Filed away here to collect dust and cobwwwebs in perpetuity, links may break, facts may change and data may corrupt.

On occasion I may come down here to tidy, but for the most, I prefer to leave the past where it lies.

Tube-y Goodness

The more I travel on the Tube, the more I marvel at it. For some reason I can't explain, the tube has a certain 'je ne sais quoi' almost romatic edge that overland trains just don't have. Admittedly it can have its off days where you are stuck in a dark humid tunnel for hours on end whilst late for a meeting, its seriously off days, but for the most it works ok. And it beats driving. For a system that has suffered chronic under investment over the years and can still shift approximately 3 million people per day across its 253 miles of tracks, with each train travelling the equivalent distance of London to Sydney seven times a year, I'm happy with the odd ten minute delay here or there. Just means I get more time to read my book. These are just some of the facts of many that you may not know about the beast beneath your feet.

Perhaps its the hustle and bustle of the tube, rather than the static sit, avert your eyes and read your paper and wait of the overlands. True, during rush hour, you're best to just sit and read, afterall there are certain unofficial rules of etiquette in addition to those published by London Underground themselves, but there is usually something of interest happening. Whether it be parties, knitting meets, pub crawls or just a brief glimpse of some of the disused stations, there is usually something to entertain you. Quite a lot of london bloggers use the tube as a point of reference, some in more detail than others.

Part of the alure I guess is that this entire labyrinthian world lies, in some places at least, literally feet below the ground, and for the most part you'd never know it. And I guess that this is the reason for this post. Well, maps specifically. We all know that Harry Beck created the original back in 1933, but since then there have been numerous changes. Obviously bar the information that can be found on the TFL Tube page, a comprehensive list of maps and wotnots can be found at Massey.net. Some of my choice bits however are: