London’s second oldest tube line – it opened a year after the Metropolitan Railway – the Hammersmith and City Line has a long and fascinating history. Here are ten interesting facts about the line you may not know.
One line and the same
The Hammersmith & City line was shown on the tube map as part of the Metropolitan line until 1990, when it became separated, and the Metropolitan line became the route from Aldgate to Baker Street and northwards through “Metro-land” to Uxbridge, Watford, and Amersham.
The Pink Line
This line is printed in pink on the official Tube map and is the color featured around the network.
Rolling Stock
Starting in 2015, the signaling system was upgraded as part of a program to increase peak-hour capacity on the line. The six-car C Stock trains were replaced from 2012 to 2014 by new seven-car S Stock trains.
Sharing is Caring
The line is 15.8 miles (25.5 km) long with 29 stations. Almost all of its track is shared with the other London Underground sub-surface lines: from Hammersmith to Liverpool Street with the Circle line, from Baker Street to Aldgate with the Metropolitan line, and from Aldgate East station to Barking with the District line. All its stations are shared with other lines.
To Be, or not to be
Barbican station replaced a building that claimed that it was originally William Shakespeare’s house, although it’s never been officially confirmed.
What’s in a name
From 1914 to 2008, Shepherd’s Bush Market station was known as Shepherd’s Bush. The name was changed to avoid confusing it with the Central and Overground line stations that have the same name.
Far Away
Latimer Road station is half a kilometer (about 1/3 of a mile) away from the road that it is named after.
Kids these days
Barking’s modernist ticket hall was built in just 1961, but it has been a protected and listed building since 1995. Whether you appreciate that or not depends on your taste in architecture.
Old Man Gower
Euston Square Station was originally known as Gower Street from 1863 to 1909, when it was renamed Euston Square.
Most Platforms
Baker Street has the most platforms of any Tube station on the network, with a total of 10 between the various lines that intersect there.
Author: Jonathan Thomas
Jonathan is a consummate Anglophile who launched Anglotopia.net in 2007 to channel his passion for Britain. Londontopia is its sister publication dedicated to everything London.