Selected article | Westminster is a London Underground station in the City of Westminster, close to the Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey. The station is located beneath Portcullis House at the corner of Bridge Street and Victoria Embankment. The station was opened as Westminster Bridge in 1868 by the District Railway when the company opened the first section of its line from South Kensington. As part of the Jubilee Line Extension the station was completely reconstructed to designs by Michael Hopkins & Partners. During the reconstruction, a 39 metres (128 ft) deep void was excavated underneath the old station to house the escalators, lifts and stairs to the deep-level Jubilee line platforms. This made it the deepest ever excavation in central London. One of the most difficult problems the engineers faced was to construct the station around the Circle and District line tracks, which continued in service throughout the construction. The tracks had to be lowered by 300 millimetres (0.98 ft), an operation achieved a few millimetres at a time during the few hours each night that the system was closed. Nothing of the old station remains. (Full article...) All selected articles | Selected biography | James Henry Greathead (6 August 1844 - 21 October 1896) was a civil engineer known for his pioneering development of tunnelling techniques and for his work on London's underground railways. In 1869, working under Peter W. Barlow, he became engineer in charge of driving the tunnel of the Tower Subway under the River Thames using a tunnelling shield he designed based on Barlow's own slightly earlier patented design. Greathead developed and patented a number of improvements to the Barlow shield and the improved design carried their joint names. Greathead also developed the use of a segmented cast iron lining for the circular tunnel, erected in sections from which the shield was jacked forward. Greathead was then involved in the planning and construction of a number of railways in Britain and Ireland, until, in 1884, he was appointed engineer for the City and South London Railway, the world's first underground electric railway when it opened in 1890. Greathead subsequently worked on the Waterloo and City Railway, the Liverpool Overhead Railway and the early planning of the Central London Railway. (Full article...) All Selected biographies | Did you know... | More Did you know... | Related portals | | | Selected pictures | -
Image 1Arguably the best-preserved disused station building in London, this is the former Alexandra Palace station on the GNR Highgate branch (closed in 1954). It is now in use as a community centre (CUFOS). -
Image 2Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station. -
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Image 455 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden. -
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Image 7"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria. -
Image 8The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site. -
Image 9TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport. -
Image 10The newly constructed junction of the Westway ( A40) and the West Cross Route ( A3220) at White City, circa 1970. Continuation of the West Cross Route northwards under the roundabout was cancelled leaving two short unused stubs for the slip roads that would have been provided for traffic joining or leaving the northern section. -
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Image 12Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge". -
Image 13Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy. -
Image 14Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse. -
Image 15Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London. -
Image 16Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms. -
Image 17Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line. -
Image 18The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster. -
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Image 22The multi-level junction between the M23 and M25 motorways near Merstham in Surrey. The M23 passes over the M25 with bridges carrying interchange slip roads for the two motorways in between. -
Image 23Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012. -
Image 24Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow. -
Image 25Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye. -
Image 26Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway. -
Image 27Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train. -
Image 28Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery. -
Image 29A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910. -
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Image 31Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea. -
Image 32The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line. -
Image 33London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work. -
Image 34London Underground A60 Stock (left) and 1938 Stock (right) trains showing the difference in the sizes of the two types of rolling stock operated on the system. A60 stock trains operated on the surface and sub-surface sections of the Metropolitan line from 1961 to 2012 and 1938 Stock operated on various deep level tube lines from 1938 to 1988. -
Image 35View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh. -
Image 36Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea. -
Image 37London General Omnibus Company B-type bus B340 built in 1911 by AEC. One of a number of London buses purchased by the British military during World War I, this vehicle was operated on the Western Front. -
Image 38Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London. -
Image 39Central London Railway poster, published in 1905. -
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Image 41Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4. -
Image 42The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle. -
Image 43Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station. -
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Image 45Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862. -
Image 46The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station. -
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Image 49Sailing ships at West India Docks on the Isle of Dogs in 1810. The docks opened in 1802 and closed in 1980 and have since been redeveloped as the Canary Wharf development. All Selected pictures | In the news | Archive | Anniversaries | | |