THE JOURNAL OF U THE LONDON UNDERGROUND RAILWAY SOCIETY I ssue No 104 Volume 9 No 8 August 1970 N EVEN GREATER POWER FAILURE CHAOS At 17.1 5 on Monday 6t h July 1970, at the height of the evening r ush hour, a pr otective relay operating a D circuit breaker t r i pped t oo soon and effectively cut off t he power supply t o a very l arge section of the central part of the Undergr ound. The only secti ons not affected at all were the Met r opo l i t an north of Bake r Street E (which is s upplied from the Nat i onal Grid) and the Victoria Line (which i s fed by a direct cabl e from Lots Road). Some sections were back in service fairly soon, but others, notably he eastern part of the Central R Line were out of action for a l ong time. It seems that most services were interrupted for about fifty minutes, and that all services were running normally again by 19.000 G The circuit breaker concerned was at Greenwich Power Station, and its failure broke the link between Greenwich and Lots Road, and me ant effectively that power generated at both these s tations could not be f ed to the system. R There are two extremely disqui eting features of this failure; communications with staff and passengers broke down compl etely, resul ting in numerous stations becoming dangerously overcrowded and, much more serious, o almost a quarter of a million passengers being trapped in s tationary trains in the tunnels at a time when the temperature outside was 77°F - no-one seems t o know what U the temperature rose t o in the trains. Then there is the fact that the breakdown coul d happen at all, coupled with the very l ong time i t took to trace the fault responsible: At an early s t age in the engineers' investigation LT N announced that the f ault waS not at either of the power stations, and therefore must be in one of the cables and might take several days t o trace. When the fault ~ traced , t he defective rel ay ~ found

D 113 14 at the Greenwich station after all. Taken together, these reports give little cause for comfort. Why should any THE 8arH COMP: fault which can lead to such disastrous results take more AND THE ?OrR than a few minutes .t.o. find?' Is it likely to happen again? If so, what steps are being taken to minimise the discomfort· (Written I -and anxiety of trapped passengers? Are any steps being taken Undergro' to provide a completely independent communications system to both trains and passengers for use in similar circumstances? These are just a few of the questions, but no-one, as yet, Introduction knows the answers. It is time they did- for it must not be 1. The ye forgotten that as recently as last September there was ~ London I s syst similar failure on the Central Line which resulted in some score" years unfortunate passengers being trapped in darkness for over Railway that five hours (of UndergrounD, Volume 8 No 11 pp162/3). It My recent pap does not seem that mUch progress has been made since then. (now an octog LT have stated that there will be no danger of thitp originating i trouble recurring after the modernisation of Greenwiph Power Second Histor Station has been completed in 1972 -.which is small comfort 2. Hardly to thepas~engers of 1970 and 1971, and leads to the the "three-se suspicion (if nothing more) that the power station at Neasden ~ ,... openny unif should have been kept in service until all the new equipment the West End had been installed at Greenwich. Was it perhaps something point 65 feet of a gamble to put Neasden out of use, done to economise the Mansion E at the expense of reliability of supply? diameter l,ine A number of questions have been, asked already in Greathead, tl: Parliament, and it is to be hoped that the members who have built the Ci1 taken an interest in the problem will maintain their concern, Railway, and which is one sure wCJ3 of seeing that proper steps are taken to the same 1 to prevent a recurrence. was about haJ never lived 1 J • P. THOMAS of these gre~ The Journal is honoured this month :i,.n being able to ; Thus "the fo] print another paper by Mr. J.P. Thomas, the oldest member of 3. In itE the Society, one of the first Honorary Members to be elected, 600 D.C. geaJ -and a former General Man~er of London Transport RailwCJ3 ­ intervals, SE the culmination of a career connected· with the transport of equipment, t( London since 1900 and with the Underground since 1901. This ran loaded ai paper, just written by Mr. Thomas, who is now in his 93rd At that time year, follows immediately and takes most of the rest of Shepherds Bm this issue. Consequently, regular features are held over. surprised L01 mil; ion - pel City Imperia: the Mansion I nese 115 THE 80rH COMPLETED YEAR OF THE FIRST TUBULAR RAILWAY IN LONDON Dre ,AND THE 70rH YEAR OF THE ARRIVAL OF THE CHICAGO YERKES GROUP ain? :>mfort (Written especially for the Members and Studems of the g taken Underground Railway Society by John Pattinson Thomas) tem to :moes? May, 1970. ret, Introduction It be 1. The year 1970 records four historic peaks in the era of Central London Railway". Deeply regrettable that Greathead, the father of the tubular system, who had already have built the City & South London Railway and the Waterloo & City mcern, Railway, and was connected with the Wapping tunnel and appointed jaken to the same task upon the Central London, Line, died when the line was about half completed. It is, alas, not uncommon that geniuses never lived to see the consummation of their life'S work: neither of these great men saw a wheel turned in their last invaluable works. ;0 Thus "the form remains, the function never dies". ~r of 3. In its first three years the Central Line, serviced by 45-ton .ected, 600 D.C. gearless electric locO haulage of 7-car trains at 2i-minute t3­ intervals, set a fine record of immunity from any failure of ,t of equipment, to which the public were not slow to respond since trains This ,rd ran loaded at full length during their 19-hour day. At that time the line was exactly 6 miles from buffer stop at 'ere Shepherds Bush to buffer stop at Bank. This service somewhat surprised Londoners, conveying as it did 200,000 - a flfth of a million - people to the City upon the day that the famous and valiant City Imperial Volunteers returned from the Boer Wa~' and marched to the Mansion House to be received by the Lord Mayor, May 1902. 116 The conveyance of this vast crowd raised the Central London the mare stock of popularity in the public mind and also upon the Stock Both part Exchange, -as in that and the following year the line paid 4% Contracto upon its Ordinary Shares, which it failed to do when the motor tunnel be bus and car at the turn of the century heavily invaded thorough­ Company w fares. The internal combustion engine strangulation of surface Park and traffic is now forcing upon the public the realisation that the Underground Railwqy offers the one escape from near standstill. and the i For instance, a bus absorbs half an hour from Bond Street to Finsbury Tottenham Court Road - about I mile - during the af,ternoon shopping Northern traffic. It is at long last, and nearly too late, dawning upon 7 cars. Parliament that London cannot afford ~ to proceed with more, It almost tubular lines, costly though they are. We mqy hope that the to functi Greater London Council will stir up this fact and concentrate 6. Th more upon Underground railwqys and less upon surface traffic. Railway b Whatever is done and spent on surface transport merely results Again in in return~o a position of strangulated status quo. work at F 4. The Bank station is the site of 3 connected Underground changed t Railwqy exchange stations. There are 11 such instances of triple 7. Ho Underground Railwqy stations. At another point no less than 5 to the We Underground lines come together. Perhaps the students of the direct se Underground Railwqy Society will sqy where this location is of by a dire "quintet" lines and give the total user. All of this goes to City Line show the potential that designers of the Underground system pinpoint from thes on exchange facilities. 5. The third classic event is that of the Great Northern & None the _City Railwqy 16 ft. diameter tubular line, which just 70 years Wheatman ago sunk its working 'shafts and pilot headings at Poole Street, Musgrave Finsbury Park and Old Street to construct this 3i-mile line, contracto primarily designed to give inter-running of through suburban 8. Th trains from Moorgate to the Great Northern Railway system. It Northern, was intended also that some Main Line trains from the north of diameter England should have the advantage of direct access into the Th:issile metropolis. The actual drilling of the large tunnels south of between t Moorgate proceeding towards a station in Lothbury plumb in the car body, centre of the city envisaged through trains from Edinburgh right Fourth Hi into the heart of London. The tunnels were large enough for Main headed by Line stock and provision at Finsbury Park or, alternatively, 9. Th Drayton Park would have enabled change from steam to electric is the co: traction. What a wonderful ideal But Itthe best laid schemes 0 I engineers mice an I men gang aft a,-gley". In short, "it's money that makes 7 years i 117 London the mare go". The through running thus planned never matured. the Stock Both partners - the Great Northern Railway and Pearsons paid 4% Contractors - ran out of money, the heavy cost of so large a the motor tunnel being partly the oause. Thus the Great Northern & City ~d thorough- Company was left with a near useless shuttle between Finshury of surface Park and Moorgate in faoe of coming electrification of tramways :In that the and the internal combustion engine, which cut fares to 2d. single standstill. treet to Finsbury Park - Moorgate. The longest t~ains upon the Great arnoon shopping Northern & City Line were 5 cars though stock was bought to provide a.wning upon 7 cars. 2-car trains ran in the 12 off-peak hours, nearly empty. r"rith more. It almost seemed that in the middle of the day the line ceased that the to function. ncentrate 6. The Railway went into liquidation and the Metropolitan traffic. Railway bought it "for a song" but could do nothing about it. ly results Again in 1936 through working cropped up and considerable bridge work at Finsbury Park ensued. War broke out and the aftermath again nderground changed the prospect of this ill-fated line. ces of triple 7. However, the new and splended Victoria Line from Walthamstow ess than 5 to the West End now provides easy exchange at Highbury Station and ts of the direct service to 3 Main Line Stations and to Oxford Circus, etc. tion is of by a direct run of 10 minutes. This may give the Great Northern & s goes to City Line the wanted "shot in the arm". Yet the full repayment system pinpoint from these large Great Northern & City tunnels appears hopeless. Northern & None the less, the quality of the civil engineering work by Sir t 70 years Wheatman Pearson and the complete electrical installation and ole Street, Musgrave power station, in which the B.T.H. were principal Ie line, contractors, stand unexcelled anywhere. suburban 8. There is one admirable noise abating feature of the ~ ystem. It Northern & City Railway, namely that the lower half of the 16 ft. e north of diameter tunnel is neither of iron nor concrete but of double brick. nto the This silenced the tunnel and cut the diatonic sequence of tone waves B south of between the steel rail and steel wheels, and steel truck and steel wnb in the car body, and offered the quietest tUbular service in London. tlburgh right Fourth Historic Peak - The great work by the "Seven from Chicago" )ugh for Main headed by Charles T. Yerkes. • :a.tively, 9. The fourth 1970 record, and the main purpose of this paper, electric is the coming to London, almost out of the blue, of 7 financiers, 1 schemes 0' engineers and mathematicians from Chicago 70 years ago. In their r that makes 7 years in London, with their Head Office at Hamilton House, E.C.4. ll8 they financed and built 10 integral and enduring works of the Underground system, namely ­ (1) 10,000 K.W. generating station at Chelsea Embankment (Lots Road), the first all turbo-alternating heavy traction (10 station in the U.K. Electrif (2) The electrification and rehabilitation of 10. Th the 50-mile District Railway (including the grea service over other Companies t lines), shown in one-third in tunnel, formerly powered Hydrocar by steam locomotion. and caus surround Building of the 24 ro~te mile tubular lines seen fro of the Baker street and Waterloo, the (then to Piccadilly, and the Hampstead and Highgate effects Railways, requiring excavation of l~ million of meand tons of clay. they wer, Designing, orderljig and equipping of 900 fire­ continue proof Underground coaches, and electric world OVl locos, battery cars and other Works rolling 11. Tru stock, with corresponding marshalling yards the heal" and maintenance overhaul Works. Their wo occupati; Building of the 40 surface stations required this fuin by the tubular railways and conversion new elec" from gas to electricity at District Railway of the UJ stations and depots. 12. Thl volume 0: (6) Provision of 120 Sprague-Otis station to plat­ the Dist: form elevators. are conv~ Provision of 34 motor generating substations for 13. Thl conversion and distribution of electric power the Dist: over the system ex Lots Road. and the I traffic j (8) Laying of 550 miles of current rail and cable. was that (To members of the Society interested in the repll metallurgy, the weight per yard of current passengel rail is 150 lbs., the chemical composition by the tJ .06 carbon, .25 manganese, .05 silicon, ease and .05 phosphorous). adopted 1 of animaJ trams anc 119 Irks of the The initial draw-up of specification for London's first escalators, in which the .sea brilliant James R. Chapman, Yerkes' chief engineer, took the lead. (10) Take-over of the London United Tramways, Ltd. Electrification of District Railway. 1 of 10. The electrification of the District Railway is perhaps Luding the greatest of these works. The greater capacity and speed are ~s) , shown in the specially prepared "Speed Time" curve attached ("A"). Ired Hydrocarbon contamination filled the tunnels, stations and trains, and caused complaint, notably in the stations but also in the surrounding streets. Often one end of the platform could not be lines seen from the other end. Yet the Britisher, complacent as he is, the (then to the extent of nearly a million a week) seemed immune from Highgate effects of very smoky journeys, preferring these to walking or use 1~ million of meandering horse vehicles. They wanted speed. Thus 70 years ago they were also hankering after it. The mad craze is never aloof and continues to be the problem of collective passenger transport the 100 fire­ world over. ~ctric 11. The acrid fumes of the steam service did not seem to affect ~ rolling ling yards the health of drivers and firemen, whose cabs were not enclosed. Their work and longevity were equal and dependable as in other occupation. It was said that pulmonary trouble was lessened by :lquired this fumigation. However, the men were very glad to attend the reion new electric driving school and to become first class operators :::t Railway of the Underground system. 12. The relief from coal firing; had immediate effect upon the volume of traffic, which trebled in a few weeks, and now, of course, to plat- the District and the Metropolitan cut-and-cover railways together are conveying about a million people each working day. tations for 13. The horse bus service proved to be a furious competitor. of 9ctric power the District steam line: fare cutting, closer intervals of buses and the standard of service and comfort of vehicles all attracted traffic from the railway. Perpaps the most notable bus invention nd cable. was that of a Naval officer who lived in North Devon patenting 3ted in the replacement of the top deck "knife board" seats - where f' current passengers sat uncomfortably back to back, looking out sideways­ nposition by the transverse or "garden" seats, which gave passengers more licon, ease and looked to the front. The London Bus Companies at once adopted the patent, which is now universal. In London's heyday of animal traction some 50,000 horses and mules hauled the buses and trams and another 50,000 hauled hansom cabs and "growlers" and 120 other oommercial and private vehicles. This vast 100,000 in 1968, tl stud practically all disappeared within 10 years of the includes tl significant intervention of the petrol engine. Where did tubular raj they all go, almost overnight? "From horses to horse power". 70 miles oj 14. The writer was then for 7 years General Superintendent Greenford, of the London buses, seconded to complete the stages of for the fil transition. This was much more a matter of human understanding of Bucks ax than mechanical, since the bowler-hatted, heavily built, coaches ane slow moving bus and tram dri~er and ostlers were rare~ suitable Charles Yel for driving the new fantas~ic petrol or steam or electric" bus from Chica,e a far more arduous mechanical. vehicle to drive then than the rehabili ta1 largely autOlllatic bus of to':':'da;y-. Indeed, the da;y- ma;y- not be (from New J far off when bus services will be autom~tic.- nothing is years servj impossible in "this new age-~: of the magn~tic flux. into hig4ee 15. The Yerkes electrification of the District Line - this London Tri3.r great wind of change - gave the Underground system a fillip: epoch, fin~ 50 route miles electri~ied, the removal of a vast quantity of applicable incrustation of ash from tunnel wallS, the provision of power Will that d supply and distribution through the substations, the conversion The "Seven from manual signalling to automatic and of gas lit stations to 18. W11 electric lighting and the training of the ,efficient staff to what is kne "ring out the old and ring in" the new". All this work went 19. Ch forward with that of building the 3 central tubular lines in 7 1837-1905-:­ years, asshown on the diagralllI!latic map attached (fiB!!), m~king office at t :the location of the Lots Road Power Station. The ItSteam and dealer in s Electric Speed Time" diagram shows how Charles Yerkes built the Bakerloo, Piccadilly and while on va Hampstead Railwa;y-s until the recently completed Victoria Line House in Lo became Gene forerunner , 121 lOQ,OOO in 1968, true perspective proves that in the interregnum - which )f the includes the 1939/45 war and after - 30 new route miles of deep lere did tubular railways were built under the Ashfield regime, projecting )rse powe r" • 70 miles of bi-tubular lines from the centre to Uxbridge, Hounslow, ilperintendent Greenford, Epping, Morden, Cockfosters, Edgware and Barnet, thus ges of for the first time piercing the counties of Essex, Herts, the border understanding of Bucks and more deeply into Middlesex, thus adding 3,000 more built, coaches and 100 escalators to the Underground fleet. Just as rarefy suitable Charles Yerkes had the genius and vision to bring him to London electric' bus ­ from Chicago to build the hard core of the tubular system and to en thatl. the rehabilitate the District underground railway, so Lord Ashfield may" not be (from New Jersey in 1907) in the counterpart of his amazing 40 hing is years service in control of London's traffic brought the system into hig~est standards of profioiency. Under his direction the t Line - this London Transport Board, aided by the buses, remunerative in that m a fillip: epooh, finally paid 3% upon its Ordinary Capital Stock and covered quantity of applicable charges of interest, oapital depreciation and obsolescence. ion of power Will that day return? Well, it may - and here's hoping! the conversion The "Seven from Chicago". t stations to 18. Who were the 7 stalwarts of the Charles Yerkes regime and nt staif to what is known of them? work went 19. Charles Tyson Yerkes (pronounced Yerkees) of Philadelphia, .a.r lines in 7 1837-1905, financier and stockbroker, opened his own brokerage "B") , marking office at the age of 22 and established a reputation as a brilliant "Steam and dealer in securities and at 34 as the financial dictatorship: but the the Chicago fire brought panio upon the Exchange which affected )on a line where financial stability and Yerkes was sued for technical embezzlement. )0 yards, as Having survived this set-back he widened his investments in the ;hat a journey sphere of public transport and ingeniously got control of the Ie became about major tramway companies in Chicago and built the famous Chicago some 26%.­ elevated electric loop line. The Press ~'Jereunfavourable: there )tied. . were complaints of defective cars, of hold up, double fares and of .ectrified by cars teamed up blocking the ordinary traffic. When asked why he did with continuous not provide more cars he replied· "It is the straphanger that pays ;aif. This the dividend" - a truism that has had to be accepted by every public md is a transport company the world over. Yerkes' name will be perpetuated not only by his great and imaginative business ability but also by 'egime. his generous gift of the Yerkes observatory at Lake Geneva given were built across by him to the University of Chicago. He died suddenly in New York '0, Piccadilly and while on vacation and expecting to return to his office at Hamilton 'ictoria Line House in London. His principal officer, James R. Chapman, then became General Manager and Chief Engineer of the Yerkes Group the forerunner of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London Ltd. • ! 122 20. These astonishing engineers and scientists from the Chicago Elevated Railway and street railways and other organisations who accompanied Yerkes were Chapman (Chief Engineer and Manager); Ward (Master Mechanic); Knapp (Chief Draughtsman, who succeeded to the Chief Engineer's position in the Ashfield organisation); Fortenbaugh (Mathematician, Scientist and expert in Osmosis, seconded from the General Electric Company, Schenectady. It was u on Fortenbau hIs anal sis that Cha man ado ted fourth rail s stem on London's Under round~ ; Jim Thompson Lighting, Telephone and Drainage ; and Hanson (Permanent Way, Tunnels and other Civil Engineering). 21. They arrived in London in 1900 and gathered around them a skilled group of engineers of several nationalities. There were Germans, Italians, Swedes, French, all having affirmed qualification$ The qualities required were experience and efficiency - and relentless efficiency at that. Nothing mattered but completed work of the highest standard and speed. Their staff were very well paid: no "sit down delaying strikes" in that organisation. The whole environment was that of goodwill and the highest quality of such work. The technical generating features of Lots Road Power Station and the motor generating system of the 34 substations and distribution of energy were acclaimed exemplary throughout the profession. All of these men had oontempt for ; office work, and forms of any kind were anathema. They had no physical office except a hut in the depot or room in a house and a male shorthand typist whom they called lithe boy". When Hanson was asked where his office was he said "In my bowler hatlf - the 7 all wore bowlers. Correspondence of technical or legal kind was centralised in the Chief Draughtsman at Hamilton House, who acted as clearing house and liaison, reporting to Chapman, who held the pulse of the whole system and seemed to make light of it all, which is the way of genius. None of these men was ever seen with a brief case: Hanson was quite right - they carried their offices in their hats, and were by no means beyond removing their coats and working in shirt­ sleeves alongside their men and showing them how. Yet these ingenious fellows got through hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of invaluable work.

Rami] GrouI Statj 123 'rom the jher organisat i ons ~ and Manager); .;ho succeeded rganisation) ; 1 Osmosis, :::t ady. :lpted f ourt h ~ (Li ghting, , Tunnel s and

around them i es . There affirmed ence and othing mattered ed. The ir staff sIt i n that :o odwill and the 'ating features 19 system of the :laimed exemplary :ont empt for : They had no i n a house and When Hanson .er hat" - t he )r legal [amilton lport ing to ld seemed 18 . None of Q was quite and were by Ln shirt­ Yet these is of pounds

THIS IS WHERE IT ALL BEGAN Hamilton House, Thames Embankment. Office of the Yerkes Group, where building of tube railways , Lots Road Power Station and other works were originated, 1900-1908. 124

J)/.rT~/CT I<.AILWAY - ITEAM & £L,EGTNC­ frEED TIME Ctlt<.V5 (/868 - f,9oS')

32

...~ $L 6'" 1-~ "'-0 ,. "- .. - ioo-" (.' -I' - J;. 24 \'" \ 1 ~' At ., I--'" \ y '" 1".( ,/.. ~ ~ \ \ 20 ..... \)' , .,~ .~ ~! ~ \ I~ ~' ( ~C. l {6 I * \: .1 1/ I' i \ ~ i 12 II \ \ 9 ­ i J!;r . 1 I / 8 'I , l/ \ I l/ \, ) 4­ ! l/ \1 It I , ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ m m ~ ~ ~ ~ w ~ Jimo 1/1 .r~d.5' /);Jfdtnce..- .69'0hi;/e.J 8­

6&7 ....­

hfN P. THOMAr I':I.I!!.£. ""-'!JIiIti'~-~~ N\I\1Iqro - SEVEN ENGINEERS FROM CHICAGO headed by CHARLES T. YERKES in seven years (1900 - 1907) financed, built and electrified ELSG7Nc...­ LONDON'S RAPID TRANSIT 'RAILWAY SYSTEM as recorded in the diagram below • of 72 MILES, 76 STATIONS (new or electrified) 900 (See Note 1) Cars & Locos etc.

I

I..- ~ ~ - 1\., 1\ ... \ \ , \ \ 1\ \ 9 ------~------~, ti\ I i\ . 1 1\ I , l . \ i fOO 110 ftO 130 140 =>"jehi;/u­ 2 8

6&7

3

"'N P. THOMAS" IfI.I!!S. 5 "'1f~-~~ M"'1InO 4 See notes on page 127. 12b

Notes t < 1. 576 . 2. E1ec · 3. Lots (wi t h 0 in the · apart. Wimb1ed 7. Repa London· Capacit esca1at

Lots Ro 22. Electri Yerkes ' attenti generat his con turbo a the ris kind hq "all t h built t a1 term ; r e c i pra the Uni engineE magnif :i also iIi upon a deficiE 23. CHARLES TYSON YERKES made a 1837-1905 houses "A Man of Fabulous Energy" Court ~ Photograph from the Library of horns" Congress , United States of Ame r ica, through London Transport. 127 Notes to map on page 125 :\.. 576 bui.lt in U.~"'_t\U.S.A. lOB, France lOB, HungarylOB. 2. Electrification of District Railw~ to East Ham, Barking etc. 3. Lots Road Power St~tion. 48,000kw (8-6000kw machines) (with overload 70,OOOkw). First all Turbu Alternating station in the U.K. for heavy traction and 34 m.g.sub stns: 2% miles apart. 4. Electrification. 5. Electrification to Putney, Wimbledon etc. 6. Electrification to Hounslow, Ealing etc. 7. Repairs, stabling for rolling stock at Ealing, Parsons Green~ London Road, Golders Green, Lillie Buildings, East Ham. Capacity 1,200 cars. B. Oxford Circus, the first 60ft. deep escalator. 9. Camden Town Junction. The first tubular junction.

Lots Road Power Station. 22. Chapman, in complete control of the Underground Electric Railw~s of London Ltd. from 1900 to 1907, being Yerkes 1 General Manager and Chief Engineer, gave special attention to the siting, building and equipping of the giant generating station at Lots Road, Che Isea Embankment. By his constructive intuition and grip of the problem the turbo alternators were installed. Chapman was alive to the risk, since no previous heavy traction installation of the kind had been installed in the U.K. None the less he put "all the eggs into one basket". But this far-seeing man built the power station of required height to change, If turbo alternators failed, to the tall vertical Corliss-valve reciprocating engines, as already successfully installed at the United Tramw~s-station at Chiswick. These Corliss engines, built by Aliss Chalmers of Milwaukee, were a magnificent job and near-silent and had proved their worth also in America. Chapman knew this and saw that he was upon a good wicket had the turbo alternator system proved deficient. 23. In fact, the original installation of foreign turbines made a most unpropitious start: vibration shook adjoining houses and cracked the walls and ceilings, which led to Court action by residents. Chapman Ittook the bull by the horns" and replaced these machines Itout of hand" by the ca, 128 Charles Parsons system of turbines manufactured at He aton­ the ato on-Tyne. These were an immediate success. This company adage ", has continued to provide machines at Lots Road over aptly "~ the years - nearly 70 years - superbly modernised from 33! c. to 50 c. and turbo alternators each of 30,000 K.W. 27. output. Where else could greater commendation of British at Lots manufacture on this scale be had in three-quarters of abroad. a century of service? Enginee Lightin 24. Chapman ran into another trouble because of dense work in smoke coming from the four famous Lots Road chimneys and Power S again had to appear in Court, this time charged with the emission of thick black smoke. He however proved equal Return to the occasion by producing photographic plates showing 28. that the smoke was not thick black but dark brown. The in 1907 case was thus withdrawn. None the less, Chapman took or word steps to diminish the smoke by introducing mechanical or atte stoking of then coal-fired boilers. To-day, of course, by that Lots Road is oil-fired, and very successfully. ~ood re 25. The original machines were of 6,000 k.w. - 8 of London them, capable on overload of some 70,000 k.w. Year by them o.f year steam turbines have increased in power. Parsons theatre are now making turbo alternators for the Drax coal-fired It the int power station in Yorkshire of 660 mega watts, and now works. the Brown Boverie Company of Switzerland have in 29. hand a 1,000 mega watt turbo alternator. To beat Chief E this, Parsons are now tendering for a nuclear station remaine in Canada 1,100 m.w. Generators are in fact also drawing being made of this amazing capacity in North Canada: in Land one of these giants is sufficient nearly to provide being t the electricity required in the countyof Surrey. to a de Parsons 26. How much larger may these steam giants become? was imu Doubtless in the not too distant future they too will investj be superseded - and by what? Perhaps by gas turbines, bookine which are making surprising progress at this moment Chapmar of time. Will the wealth of electro magnetic flux Dalryml in the atmosphere be harnessed one day? And what about with t:t 129 Ie aton- the atom, still in its "long clothes"? Thus the persistent rlpany adage "Nothing permanent but change", or perhaps more aptly "Tout passe, tout lasse, tout casse". room ) K.W. 27. Chapman appointed the first Power Station Superintendent !:'lUsh at Lots Road - a Canadian experienced in turbine matters )f abroad and who at the time of appointment was Power Station Engineer of the Dublin (Ireland).Corporation Tramways and Lighting, John Towle by name, _who completed a grand job>- of lense work in the introduct~on arid running of this famous Chelsea 3 and Power Station for some 20 ye~s., .', :1 the Iual Return to U.S.A. after completion of work. owing 28. With two exc~~tions iihese men retur~ed to the U.S.A. ': The in 1907 after 7 years in London. They desired no thanks ok or word of appreciation. They never gave a Press interview al or attended a public mee~ing: they could not be delayed rse, by that sort of thing. All that mattered was results ­ good results - and return to America. Their recreation in London was an occasional trip to Brighton"whiph reminded of ~ by them of Miami and Havana, and sometimes a visit to the ns theatre, where blue prints were taken and discussed during fired ., the interval with that good hqmour evident in all· their ow works. 29. The two exceptions were Z.E. Knapp (who became Chief Engin~er of the system)' and James R. Chapman, who on remainedJfor 3 months to prepare the specification and drawings for the inStallation of "the first deep escalators : in London at Earls Court and Oxford Circus - the latter being the first escalator in London and the first anywhere to a depth so great as 60 or more feet down. Barclay'" Parsons, a famous 'New York elevator and escalator consultant, e1 was immediately ushered to London by Chapman in this 11 investigation. At a meeting in the Oxford Circus Station booking hall in the autumn of 1908 - present James R. Chapman, Barclay Parsons, Sir'GeorgeGibb, Albert Stanley, Dalrymple Hay and writer - decision was taken to proceed bout with the trial deep escalator there. To-day there are 130 220 escalator machines in service and if placed in single Yerkes file would reach from Bank to Oxford Circus, nearly 3 of the miles. The station traffic increased five time where of dele displacing elevators, which is just another means of highesi productivity adopted by the Board and its officers always advantc on the look out to win highest efficiency. Chapman, having Ameriee consolidated the specification and design work for the remaim escalators, then left London for California, where' it is Mandel: understood he undertook the construction of one of,the ensuinE largest irrigation plants in the U.S.A. Thus ended of Lone the illumined tasks which these courageous American the As} engineers undertook to lay the foundation of the missed now larger system of electric traction here. Chapman It was favoured the writer with a letter from California that el describing his task thereand this is much valued. adventl 30. In the saga of problems of the world subsurface worthw] and elevated railways and electrified transport in general, by the Charles T. Yerkes and James R. Chapman will ever be 33. included amongst the great leaders of collective transport. effacil notes \ 31. It seems very strange that the vital work of of eng: these 7 men is almost forgotten - few there are to-day constrl who know their names and that they were amongst the manage prominent builders of the tubular railways and the opportl rehabilitation of the Distric Railway. To have heroull done all this in 7 years is bewildering, even under present day mechanical computorisation and what have Origin you. It mightwell be asked how did they do it? The 34. short answer is "brain and brawn" and the joy of work known well done. London Why this ambitious and acquisitive Yerkes variat ventured to London is a conundrum to this day. Was it Transp speculation? adventure? Had he heard of the success named of the opening of the City & South London and Central London London Railways? Did he feel that he could build in sort 0 London the greatest system of urban transport in the world? and we not gr best s affora 1 in single 131 Yerkes knew nothing of London personally, neither did any 3arly 3 of the men who joined him. He certainly had great powers :1 where of delegation as shown in the competence of his men of ans of highest credentials in America. He also had the great cers always advantage of having William E. Mande lick, also from apman, having America, as financier and Secretary, whose name to-day for the remains a household one in Underground Railway records. here it is Mandelick became Secretary and Business Manager of the e of the ensuing organisation of the London Electric Railway Company ended of London, Ltd. and was for 20 years a great mainst~y in rican the Ashfield administration. There again Yerkes never he missed an opportunity of engaging outstanding people. Chapman It was this ability for choosing the right man for the job nia that ensured highest standards of service and made his ed. adventurous journey to London in the year 1900 more than ubsurface worthwhile. (Photograph of Charles T. Yerkes kindly sent ·t in general, by the Chicago Transit Authority). 'er be 33. This reference to the achievement of these self- .ve transport. effacing engineers is first hand since the writer of these notes was invited by James R. Chapman to join his team lork of of engineers and to work closely with them in the 'e to-day construction of these railways - and then to operate and It the manage them - and was thus privileged to have the l the opportunity of seeing how well they set about their ra herculean task - which was an eye-opener. under :i.t have Origin of Title of London Electric Railw~ys Comp~y of London Ltd. ;r The 34. The Yerkes Group promoted in 1900 the Company of work known as the Underground Electric Railways Company of London, Ltd., which nomenclature was retained, with some

~kes variation, until the formation of the London Passenger Was it Transport Board 1933. The Railways happily are still success named "Underground" - a household word of millions of L Central Londoners and visitors. Underground seems a long and clumsy lild in sort of title, yet the public like it and that is what matters, in the world? and we may hope that they will support the name fully and not grumble too much about the higher fares essential to best service, as exemplified in the new Victoria Line - which affords higher acceleration, 2t M.P.H.P.S., and retardation 132 nearly 3 M.P.H.P.S., the fastest and most pleasing Walf of travel in London and greatest tribute to the electrical engineers who devised the system of automatic service of trains, which has attracted attention the world over. Photograph of Hamilton House Office 35. Enclosed photograph ("C") is of the Hamilton House office, Thames Embankment, where Yerkes and his men founded and administered the schemes recorded herein. This office also notable in that Sir George Gibb (1905), ensuing Chairman of the Underground Company, and Lord Ashfield (1901) - then Albert Stanley~ also. worked there after the Yerkes Pa organisation came to its honourable close. (Photograph kindly taken by Mr. S.E. Jones).

John Pattinson Thomas.

Formerly Member of Chas. Yerkes Group. General Manager, Rlys., London Transport. Residen.t .Eng. B.T.H.,· Coy for Electrical Equipment of Underground Rlys. anct' United & Croydon Tramwalfs. Consultant " G.P.O. Tubular Rly.

P.S. A proverb of Stevenson for you ­ "TO TRAVEL HOF'EFULLY IS A BETTER THING TlfAN TO ARRIVE, AND THE TRUE SUCCESS IS TO LABOURtt

May 24th 1910. W

~r.

ton House n founded B office LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ng ie1d (1907) e Yerkes Page 123. This is where it all began. graph Hamilton House Thames Embankment, offices of the Yerkes Group. 124. District Railway Steam and Electric Speed Time Curve. 125· Diagrammatic map of London's ransport. Rapid Transit Railway System ctrical i as built by Charles T. Yerkes 1D.

TlfAN TO IBOUR"

.th 1970. 134 Carr purc cran The and rece anot note Inci but ~ of t rece Prov in t. 1971 pleeu Copyright of MiddJ to bE The London Underground Railw~ Society, , ~ 1970 it iE Assoc Foik~ I AutUl soon Quae] any ! 1897 Gartl of tl specj phot< troo] part is f· a BB Lithoed by The Celtic Bureau, 93-94 Chancery Lane, London, W.C.2., of t Jour and Published by The London Underground Railw~ Society, 62 Billet you Lane, Hornchurch, Essex, RMll lXA. in S are the;y Esse SOCIETY NOTICES 135 Correction The Metropolitan and Great Central crane recently purchased by the Quainton Railway Society Limited is a hand crane, not a steam crane as stated on pllO of the July issue. The Editor tenders his apologies - he was well aware of this, and can only offer as an excuse the information that he has recently been involved in the acquisition of a steam crane by another affiliate of The Transport Trust - while writing the note the two cranes got mixed in his mind - or something! Incidentally, the Met & GC crane .. has now arrived at Quainton, but has not been put to use yet as it needs minor repair. Visits to Foreign Systems Following upon the great success of the Paris visit in June, a number of requests have been received already for further trips to other Underground lines. Provisionally, it is proposed to arrange a visit to Glasgow in the Autumn of 1970, and one to Rotterdam in the Spring of 1971. Will members interested in either or both these trips please advise John Crowhurst at 3 Bush Grove, Stanmore, Middlesex, HA7 2DX, stating how many persons there are likely to be in their. party. ty, Channel Tunnel In addition to the two visits referred to above, it is hoped that our Society will join with The Channel Tunnel 1 Association in arranging visits to the old tunnel workings at FoihkeUone:lin Spring 1971, and to those at Sangatte in the .,I Autumn of the same year. Furtliler news will be published as soon as it becomes available. Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, 1897 Will any member with any sort o£ souvenir linking the London Underground with the 1897 Jubilee celebrations please advise Peter Wirth at 17 Garth Road, Sevenoaks, Kent as soon as possible. The sort of thing required is posters advertising special services, special tickets, and special timetables issued for the occasion, photographs or prints of passengers coming up to the festivities, troops being carried by the Underground on their way to take part in the procession and so~on; for all these items the request is for the most colourful items first, as they are required for a BBC Television programme, the BBC having sought the assistance london, W.C.2., of the Society. Journal Binders Please do not forget to order any binders that ety, 62 Billet you need for UndergrounD. Full details of these were published in Society Notices appearing in the July issue, plll, and orders are coming in well. Price is 15/- per binder, post free, and they should be ordered from P.R. Davis, 62 Billet Lane, Horchurch, Essex, RMll lXA. 136 THE T IMElrABLE Saturd~y 15th August Visit to Golders Green Signal Box; this is now fully booked. 19.00 Frid~y 11th September An evening for modellers at Hammersmith Town Hall is being arranged by Bob Greenaway; full details will appear in the next issue. Saturd~y 12th September Walk over the Brill Branch. It will not be necessary to book for this walk, but there may be a need to book transport for those without c.arB; details will follow next month, when prompt action will be required. Sund~y 20th September Visit to Bressingham Steam Museum, near Diss, Norfolk. This is the finest live steam museum in the country, and has the additional advantage of some of the most beautiful gardens in the area - which make it an ideal family outing. There are railways on four different gauges, all are steam operated and passenger carrying, and some tracks are over a mile in length. The standard gauge st'ock includes BR 'Britannia' class 70013 'Oliver Cromwell', last locomotive to haul passengers on BR before the steam age ended and (of particular interest to Underground enthusiasts) Whitelegg 4-4-2T 'Thundersleyi, and Stanier 2-6-4T No 2500 - two locomotives from the London Tilbury & Southend line, and both of classes which were used to haul the Ealing-Southend through trains from Barking to Shoeburyness. Travel from London will be by preserved LT bus, and details of booking will be given in the September issue; in the meanwhile reserve the date, for what will be a really enjoyable day. Saturdgy 26th September Visit to Ealing Common Depot, LT. Members wishing to attend should send their names accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope to S.E. Jones, 113 WandIe Road, Morden, Surrey.

THE TAIL LAMP Letter to the Editor of The Times, published 18-12-1969, and headed 'SARDINES IN TUBES' : Sir - Has anyone ever calculated the maximum number of people it is possible to compress between the double sliding doors of a London Underground train? My score to date is 37. (N.Bo Northern Line, evening rush hour). Yours faithfully - Felicity Trotman

Lithoed by The Celtic Bureau, 93-94 Chancery Lane, London, W.C.2. and Published by The London Underground Railway Society, 62 Billet Lane, Hornchurch, Essex, RM11 1XA. Copyright.