London Underground

The London Underground is an electric railway public transport network (a metro or subway system) that runs both above and below ground throughout the Greater London area. It is usually referred to by Londoners as either simply "the Underground" , or (more familiarly, due to the shape of its deep-bore tunnels) as "the Tube". It is the oldest and biggest such underground system in the world. Operations began on 10 January 1863 on the Metropolitan Railway; most of the initial route is now part of the Hammersmith & City Line.

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Iconography

London Transport's tube map (pdf) and "roundel" logo are instantly recognisable by any Londoner, almost any Briton, and many people around the world. The stylised Tube map as we now know it (original maps were often street-maps with the location of the lines superimposed) evolved from an original designhttp://www.tfl.gov.uk/tube/images/company/history/beckmap1.jpg by electrical engineer Harry Beck in 1931. See Tube map for an in-depth analysis of its history and its topological nature.

Related Topics:
Tube map - Roundel - Logo - Harry Beck - 1931 - Topological

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The origins of the "roundel" logo, which in earlier years was known as the 'bulls-eye' or 'target', stems from the decision in 1908 to find a more obvious way of highlighting station names on the systems platforms. The red disc, with blue name bar, was quickly adapted, with the use of the word "UNDERGROUND" across the bar, as an early corporate identity. The logo was modified by Edward Johnston in 1919. Many theories have been put forward to explain potential origins and explanations of the logo and some include such as that it resembles part of the mark legally required to be painted on the sides of ships, called the Plimsoll line, a previous British invention, that the logo refers to travel through a circular opening, or that it is a representation of the rail lines cutting through the city. Johnston also designed London Transport's distinctive sans-serif typeface in 1916. A version of the typeface, since modified to include a lower case, continues in use today. The new typeface is noted for the curl at the bottom of the minuscule "l", which other sans-serif typefaces have discarded, and for the diamond-shaped tittle on the minuscule "i". Much of the reason for the widespread recognition of the London Transport logo is its ubiquitous usage on London Transport documents and signage. It is used for all tube station signs (where the station name appears on the horizontal bar), for example, as well as in-carriage maps.

Related Topics:
Edward Johnston - 1919 - Plimsoll line - Sans-serif - Typeface - 1916 - Minuscule - Tittle

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Each station displays the Underground logo containing the station's name in place of the word "Underground", both at entrances to the station and repeatedly along the station walls, so that they can easily be seen by passengers on arriving trains. In addition, many stations' walls are decorated in tile motifs that are unique to the station, such as profiles of Sherlock Holmes' head at Baker Street station or a cross containing a crown at King's Cross St Pancras station.

Related Topics:
Tile - Sherlock Holmes - Baker Street station - King's Cross St Pancras station

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Since TfL took control of London's transport the roundel has been applied to other transport types within the city (bus, taxi, tram, DLR etc) in different colour pairs. The roundel has become a symbol for London itself.

Related Topics:
TfL - Tram - DLR

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TfL is known for taking legal action against unauthorised use of its trademarks, in spite of which unauthorised copies of the logo continue to crop up worldwide, and is planning to launch ranges of clothing and home accessories making use of its famous graphic elements.

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In popular culture

See also: List of London Underground-related fiction

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See also: Fictional underground stations

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• The 1967 film Quatermass and the Pit (US Title: Five Million Years to Earth) revolves around alien bodies and spacecraft being discovered in the fictional Hobbs End tube station.
• Die Another Day (2002) features the fictional defunct Vauxhall Cross tube station.
• According to Kevin Kline's character Otto in the movie A Fish Called Wanda, the London Underground is a political movement.
• Neil Gaiman's novel Neverwhere and the BBC television production of the same name are set in a fantasy world that parallels the structure of the London Underground.
• Albus Dumbledore, headmaster in the Harry Potter book series, has a scar above his left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground.
• The 1998 film Sliding Doors shows two parallel universes, hinging on whether the central character (Gwyneth Paltrow) catches a particular Tube train or not.
• Amateur Transplants has written and performed a song, also called "London Underground" (see London Underground Song lyrics), which deals with many of the gripes commuters encounter while taking the Tube. This has also been incorporated into a flash animation.http://www.jokefrog.com/flash/london-underground.shtml
• The Underground features in the board game Scotland Yard.
• A truly trivial game relating to the Underground is Mornington Crescent.
• Paul Weller of the band The Jam wrote the song "Down in the Tube Station at Midnight".
• The secret lab in the 1970s TV series The Tomorrow People was in a disused Underground station.
• There is a sub-genre of horror based on subterranean humans living in disused sections of the London Underground and preying on any unlucky commuters they find. These include the 1972 film Death Line and 2004's Creep.
• In the 1981 film An American Werewolf in London, Tottenham Court Road Underground station is among the many London landmarks where the titular werewolf attacks.
• The 1967 Doctor Who serial The Web of Fear is set in the tunnels of the Underground and deals with an invasion by robotic Yeti; it is one of the programme's most iconic ever episodes.