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The London Ringways were a series of four ring roads planned in the 1960s to circle London at various distances from the city centre. They were part of a comprehensive scheme developed by the Greater London Council to alleviate traffic congestion on the city's road system by providing high speed motorway-standard roads within the capital linking a series of radial roads taking traffic into and out of the city.
The plan was hugely ambitious and met, almost immediately, with opposition from a number of directions including residents associations, London Borough councils, the Treasury and the Department of Transport. Despite this opposition the GLC continued to develop its plans and began the construction of some of the earlier parts of the scheme. In 1972, in an attempt to placate the plan's vociferous opponents, the GLC dropped parts of the two innermost ringways, but the scheme was cancelled in 1973 at which point only three sections had been constructed – the East Cross Route, part of the West Cross Route and the Westway.
Significant sections of the report's proposals have also been built over the subsequent years including improvements to the North Circular Road and, most importantly, the M25 and M26 motorways which were formed from an amalgamation of parts of the two outermost rings. (Full article...)
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Sir Edward William Watkin, 1st Baronet (26 September 1819 - 13 April 1901) was chairman or a director of many British railways including the Metropolitan Railway (MR), the South Eastern Railway (SER) and the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR). He was intermittently a member of parliament, representing Hythe from 1874 to 1895.
Through his leadership of the MR, SER and MS&LR, Watkin had the amibtion to construct a new mainline railway connecting the north of England, via London and Kent to the continent. Although his plans for a channel tunnel to be constructed by his Anglo-French Submarine Railway were never realised, the MS&LR constructed its London extension in the 1890s from Annesley, Nottinghamshire to the MR's station at Quainton Road in Buckinghamshire to a continental loading gauge. Reflecting its enhanced connections the MS&LR changed its name to the Great Central Railway in 1987.
To encourage tourist day-trips on the MR, Watkin planned a pleasure grounds at Wembley Park, with a large tower, "Watkin's Tower", intended to be larger than the Eiffel Tower. The park opened in 1896, but because of cost and structural problems, the tower was never completed and was demolished after Watkin's death. The site was subsequently used for Wembley Stadium. (Full article...)
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Image 1Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
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Image 3"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
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Image 4Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
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Image 5Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
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Image 6View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
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Image 7The 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.
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Image 8Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
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Image 9Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
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Image 10The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
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Image 11Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
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Image 12Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
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Image 13Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
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Image 14Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
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Image 16Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
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Image 17Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
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Image 18Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
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Image 19London 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.
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Image 20Sailing 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.
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Image 22Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
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Image 24Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
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Image 2555 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 27Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
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Image 28The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
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Image 29Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
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Image 30The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
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Image 31Arguably 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).
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Image 32Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
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Image 33The 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 34Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
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Image 35London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
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Image 36The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
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Image 39Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
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Image 41TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
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Image 43A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
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Image 44London 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.
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Image 45The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
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Image 47Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
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