You need to know little about urban railways’ cartography to know the name Harry Beck, …
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The QE Tube: What’s In A Name?
“It is a gutter title” complained The Railway Magazine. “Not what we expect from a railway company.” The line in question was the Bakerloo, and just how it got that name has always been subject …
Continue readingMind The (Train) Gap? A Look at the World Class Capacity Upgrades
Some TfL panels are always worth keeping an eye on for unexpected developments, and the most recently announced Rail and Underground Panel meeting set antennae twitching at LR Towers with notable indications that something significant …
Continue readingc2c: The Timetables, They Are A-Changin’
On Monday 14 December 2015 c2c introduced a new weekday timetable between Fenchurch Street and Shoeburyness. By the next day they had already made their first changes and those changes have continued, with the latest …
Continue readingA Graphical Look at Rail Usage in London and the UK
Occasionally it seems worth posting something with very little comment, and this is one of those situations. In short, the Campaign for Better Transport have released an interactive look at rail usage in the UK. …
Continue readingObituary: Stuart Ross, Director of News at TfL
It is with unbelievable sadness that we announce the death of Stuart Ross, Director of News at TfL. Stuart was one of the first press officers we found ourselves working closely with here at LR …
Continue readingPeace On Our Line? Devolving London’s Railways
It is not often that rail consultations are greeted with unabashed excitement. In this the reaction to today’s announcement that Transport for London (TfL) and the Department for Transport (DfT) are to jointly consult on …
Continue readingLR Meetup Tonight
A new year means an opportunity to meet old friends and make new ones, so this seems a good time to remind old attendees and new that tonight is our first LR meetup of 2016. …
Continue readingThe Queen vs DfT: Questioning the East Anglia Franchise
On the 10th December 2015 in Court Two at the Royal Courts of Justice a new case commenced. Its presence in Court Two may reflect more on the number of legal professionals present rather than …
Continue readingExtending the Bakerloo: It’s Not About Transport
For almost a hundred years people have talked about extending the Bakerloo line. The latest consultation report on doing this has now been published. We look at its conclusions, and explain why it’s about housing, …
Continue readingThe 2015 LR Quiz: Answers
And so another year ends, and so does our annual quiz. From the entries we’ve marked already, it seems that we’ve managed to bamboozle more than a few of you this year. Winners will be …
Continue readingA Study in Sussex Part 12: Pointless at Purley
In this part of our ongoing series we look at a critical set of points north of Purley station and what role they might play in a future Brighton Main Line. It is also a …
Continue readingThe 2015 London Reconnections Christmas Quiz
It’s Christmas time, and that means just one thing here in LR Towers – time for our latest attempt to try and befuddle you all with our annual Christmas quiz. We’re still working out our …
Continue readingIt’s Arsenal Round Here
In 1932 Arsenal became the only football club to have a Tube station named after them. This is the story of how a station helped lure the club north and of Herbert Chapman, the man who was determined to see that station renamed.
Continue readingReminder: LR Christmas Drinks Tonight
Deck the ticket halls with boughs of holly, Christmas is here! This means that today’s LR meetup will, in essence, be our Christmas drinks. So if you fancy sharing some yuletide drinks with the writers …
Continue readingBoxing Clever: Crossrail at Paddington
With the euphoria surrounding the completion of Crossrail’s running tunnels and the subsequent dismantling of the TBMs it is easy to forget that there is an awful lot of civil engineering construction work still to …
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