History
Harry Beck, the Underground map designer, was paid the princely sum of five guineas for his hard work!
The Piccadilly Line mainly follows the road system above it, but curves around between Knightsbridge and South Kensington to dodge a plague pit.
During World War II, the Central Line was converted into a 2 mile aircraft factory. The existence of the factory was an Official Secret up until the 1980’s.
Geography
The District and Metropolitan Lines join up at the corners to form the Circle Line.
Sixteen of the twenty nine stations on the Northern Line are actually south of the river!
Waterloo and City Line, which opened in 1898, is the shortest on the network. Linking just two stations, Waterloo to Bank, it is the only line that starts and ends within Zone 1.
The shortest distance between two stations is the 0.16 miles between Leicester Square and Covent Garden, on the Piccadilly Line.
The 409 escalators on the network make a weekly journey equivalent to two round the world trips.
The only line to intersect all the others is the Jubilee Line.
Health and Safety
A 40 minute trip on the Underground has the same effect on your body as smoking two cigarettes!
The mosquitoes that live in the network have adapted and evolved to become a different species to those that live above the ground.
West Ashfield station, which does not appear on the map, is a fully functioning fake station, used for training employees.
Hatched and Dispatched
There are only three recorded incidents of women giving birth on the Underground. The first was in 1924; a baby girl was born at Elephant and Castle. In December 2008, another girl was born on the platform of Kingsbury station on the Jubilee Line. The first boy was born in May 2009, in the staff room at London Bridge station, also on the Jubilee Line.
The London Underground has carried the coffins of both William Gladstone and Dr Barnardo.
Famous Faces
The American author, Mark Twain, was one of the passengers on the inaugural journey on the Central Line, which opened in 1900.
Julian Lloyd Webber was officially the first busker on the London Underground.
Her Majesty the Queen opened the Victoria Line in 1969, a line which runs underneath her garden! In 1977, she also opened the Jubilee line, which commemorates her own Silver Jubilee.
Word Games
Bank, on the Northern Line, is the only single syllable station on the network.
The only two stations to include all five vowels in their name are Mansion House and South Ealing.
The famous phrase, Mind the Gap, was first used on the Northern Line.
Arsenal station is the only station to be named after a football club. Both Watford and West Ham stations are actually named for the area they serve, rather than for the famous clubs.
London Bridge is only station with the word “London” in it. London City Airport station is on the Docklands Light Railway.
I started this website – Thecityvisitor.com to share my love of travel, help others discover more breathtaking destinations, and hopefully inspire you to go on your very own adventures. With five years of experience as a dedicated tour guide, I have honed my expertise in unraveling the hidden gems and untold stories of various destinations. This invaluable experience, coupled with my creative flair for storytelling, has catapulted them into the world of travel writing, where I offer readers a unique and authentic perspective on the places they visit. 
