METROPOLITAN RAILWAY LINE. Original route/proposed extensions. FOWLER 1855 map

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'Plan of the Metropolitan Railway, with proposed Extensions. John Fowler, Engineer'


The map shows in black the route for the Metropolitan Line, the world's first underground railway, which had received Royal Assent the year before this map was published and which was opened in 1863. The red lines show proposed extensions of these lines to connect with Waterloo, London Bridge, and Bishopsgate stations in the east, and through Bayswater, Notting Hill to Battersea in the west. The Metropolitan line was extended to the west after 1863. London had expanded substantially in both size and population during the first half of the 19th century. The increasing resident population and the development of a commuting population arriving by train each day led to a high level of traffic congestion. By 1850 there were seven railway termini around the urban centre of London. The congested streets and the distances into the City from the stations to the north and west prompted many attempts to get parliamentary approval to build new railway lines into the City. None were successful, and the 1846 Royal Commission investigation into Metropolitan Railway Termini banned construction of new lines or stations in the built-up central area. The concept of an underground railway linking the City with the mainline termini was first proposed in the 1830s. The Bayswater, Paddington and Holborn Bridge Railway Company was established to connect the Great Western Railway's (GWR's) Paddington station to Euston, King's Cross and the City. A bill was published in November 1852 and in January 1853 the directors held their first meeting and appointed John Fowler as its engineer. The company secured parliamentary approval under the name of the "North Metropolitan Railway" in the summer of 1853. Royal Assent was granted to the North Metropolitan Railway Act on 7 August 1854, shortly before the publication of this map.

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Size 66 x 91 cm | 26.0 x 36.0 inches

Date Published: 23 July 1855

Type: Antique map with original colour, prepared for consideration by the British Parliamentary Select Committee on Metropolitan Communication

Author: Other cartographers

John Fowler Esq. Sir John Fowler, (15 July 1817 – 20 November 1898) was an English civil engineer specialising in the construction of railways and railway infrastructure. In the 1850s and 1860s, he was engineer for the world's first underground railway, London's Metropolitan Railway, built by the "cut-and-cover" method. He was chief engineer for the Forth Railway Bridge, which opened in 1890. He was engineer, adviser or consultant to many British and foreign railway companies and governments. He was the youngest president of the Institution of Civil Engineers, between 1865 and 1867, and his major works represent a lasting legacy of Victorian engineering.

Publication: Metropolitan Communications Hansard Report

"Report from the Select Committee on Metropolitan Communications; together with the proceedings of the Committee, minutes of evidence and appendix", order by The House of Commons, to be printed, 23 July 1855, Henry Hansard [Metropolitan Communications Hansard Report]

Condition: Fair-to-Good |

Fair-to-Good: There is a repaired tear in the left hand margin which extends c70mm inside the border of the map, and some splitting to the folds. Please note any other blemishes on the scan prior to purchasing this picture. Please contact us if you would like to arrange to view this map. This is a folding map. There is nothing printed on the reverse side, which is plain

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