How'd They Build the London Underground?

How was the London Underground built? On 10 January 1863 the world's first underground railway opened in its own smoke: the tunnel had been built for a smokeless engine that never worked. Getting rid of that smoke took forty-two years, and the Tube needed a relay of people to get there: Charles Pearson, who fought twenty years for a railway under the street; John Fowler, who dug it by cut and cover under the New Road; Marc Brunel, whose shield copied a shipworm under the Thames; and James Greathead, whose round iron shield, cast-iron rings, grout and compressed air bored the first deep tube in 1890. Then electricity, one name and one map, and the Blitz, when the depth became a shelter. Chapters (v3 timings; re-checked against the final render) 0:00 The first ride, in smoke 0:52 A city that could not move 1:21 Charles Pearson's railway 2:02 Cut and cover under the New Road 3:35 The smoke problem 5:15 The limit: going deep 5:49 Brunel's shield and the shipworm 7:10 Greathead's round shield 8:12 The first deep tube 9:37 Holding back water with air 10:11 Going electric 11:31 One name, one map 12:13 The Blitz 13:25 Today Sources J. H. Greathead, The City and South London Railway (Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, 1896): https://archive.org/details/cityandso... Grace's Guide: James Henry Greathead; Metropolitan Railway; Tower Subway; Peter William Barlow: https://www.gracesguide.co.uk Edward Walford, Old and New London vol. 5 (1878), "Underground London": https://www.british-history.ac.uk/old... Brunel Museum, Thames Tunnel history: https://thebrunelmuseum.com Transport for London, Tube trivia and facts; The experience of sheltering in the Tube during WWII: https://madeby.tfl.gov.uk/2019/07/29/... , https://content.tfl.gov.uk/the-experi... Transport for London, Quarterly Performance Report Q4 2024/25: https://content.tfl.gov.uk/tfl-quarte... Historic England, list entry 1221942 (Leinster Gardens): https://historicengland.org.uk/listin... Imperial War Museums photo archive (Ministry of Information, 1940); "London Can Take It!" (GPO Film Unit, 1940), via archive.org Wikipedia: Metropolitan Railway; Charles Pearson; Fowler's Ghost; Thames Tunnel; Tower Subway; City and South London Railway; London deep-level shelters; Metropolitan Railway E Class; Tube map Footage & photo credits 23-24 Leinster Gardens photos: Dai Lygad, [Duncan] from Nottingham, Metro Centric, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons "Estacion metropolitana" 1886 engraving: Fondo Antiguo de la Biblioteca de la Universidad de Sevilla, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons First-class Metropolitan carriage: Paul Hudson, CC BY 2.0; Baker Street platform: [Duncan] from Nottingham, CC BY 2.0; via Wikimedia Commons Greathead shield at Moorgate: It's No Game and steve_w, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons City & South London Railway locomotive and coach: sv1ambo, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Harry Beck plaque: Nick Cooper, CC BY 3.0; Underground roundel at Temple: Matt Brown, CC BY 4.0; via Wikimedia Commons Clapham South deep shelter: Matt Brown, CC BY 2.0; Stockwell deep shelter entrance: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0; via Wikimedia Commons Euston Northern line platform: Oxyman, CC BY 2.5; Greathead statue at Bank: Justinc, CC BY-SA 2.0; via Wikimedia Commons Met Locomotive No. 1 at Farringdon, January 2013: Roger Carvell, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons District line trains at St James's Park (video): Tom Morris, CC BY-SA 3.0; Euston escalator (video): Gwydion M Williams, CC BY 2.0; Central line train at Bank (video): CC0; via Wikimedia Commons Sir John Fowler photograph and "The Fleet Ditch" (1844): Wellcome Collection, CC BY 4.0 Licences: CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... | CC BY 2.5 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... | CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... | CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... | CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... | CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Illustrated London News engravings (1861-1890), Imperial War Museums (Ministry of Information, Crown copyright expired), Library of Congress, US National Archives, Wellcome Collection and other public-domain images via Wikimedia Commons 3D animations and diagrams: our own (Blender) Music: original track