Re-opening of the City & South London Railway, 1 December 1926

            On 1 December 1924 the Chairman of the Underground Group, Lord Ashfield, oversaw his daughter driving the first train on the newly reconstructed City & South London Railway when the southern section from Moorgate to Kennington was reopened for public service. This was the second phase of a massive undertaking that saw the rejuvination of the world's first electric tube railway along with new construction to both link it with the Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway at both Kennington and Camden Town along with eventual extensions both north (to Edgware) and south (to Morden) that would eventually be completed in 1926.

The C&SLR, that the Underground Group had acquired in 1913, had been built in stages - originally from Kennington to King William St in 1890, a second section with a diversion from the original line at Borough to Moorgate in 1900 (the year that saw the first southern extension to Clapham Common), north again in 1901 to Angel and then finally to Euston in 1907. One of the major issues with these stages was that the tunnels, depending on the date, varied in diameter and none were of the 'standard' 11' 8.25" diameter of the "Yerkes" and other tubes. To graft the C&SLR into the CCEHR and allow a commonality of rolling stock and through services on both what were to become the City and Charing Cross branches, the old C&SLR tunnels had to be widened.

This extensive work was trailled in both 1914 and 1919/20 and proved it was feasible. By 1922 work was well underway with a mixture of sections of the line closing but services continuing, running through the enlarging works, on others. However 27 November 1923 a passing train struck some projecting timber in the works under Newington Causeway and although the train managed to pull forward the collapse fractured a gas main above and the ensuing explosion created a large hole in the street above. Needless to say all train services were suspended from 29 November, after an attempt to run shuttle services either side of the calamity on the 28th!

The section north of Moorgate reopened on 20 April 1924, running through the new junctions at Camden Town and on to Hendon, whilst the southern section from Moorgate to Clapham Common came back to life in the December. The reconstruction allowed the final replacement of the original style of locomotive and hauled carriage operation by the new replacement 'Standard" stock. This booklet was issued to commemorate these works and the new infrastructure as the line was also resignalled and many of the stations reconstructed. 

This section of the now Northern line (as it became known after 1938) has subsequently seen other partial closures and diversions. In the 1960s the construction of the Victoria line saw additional changes at Euston and again, in the late 1990s, London Bridge station was reconstructed and one of the running tunnels re-aligned in connection with the Jubilee line. To add to the fun, next year (2022) the section through Bank station will again be closed to allow for a new running tunnel to be connected to the existing alignment as part of the Northern line congestion relief scheme at this station.

The booklet's cover oddly only uses the company's own Johnston tyoeface for the logo block - the main titling not being in Johnston. It was printed by The Baynard Press who were regular printers for the Underground Group and I'd had a mind that they had a set of Johnston typeface.

Taken on: August 12, 2021

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December 1924

Johnston typeface « less

Sets appears in: • City & South London Railway - re-opening brochure, December 1924 • Baynard Press, London SW9 more » • Typography and typefaces • London books and maps • London Transport « less

Groups appears in: • Typography and Lettering • Public Transportation more » • industrial culture • Industrial Architecture/ Archaeology UK • Lost London • That Old Timey Feeling • Public Transport Around the World • Typophile // typography, lettering and design • Vintage Typography • Font of All Wisdom - Unique lettering in design [VINTAGE] • * L O N D O N - T R A N S P O R T * • Text and Typography • London Books & Their Illustrations • Old London • Classic Transport • PLANET EARTH TRANSPORTATION • PLANET EARTH BACK IN THE DAY • Vintage Logos • Vintage Railway Publicity, pre-1980 « less

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