Glorious black and white shots show the original Tube workers toiling away beneath London’s streets

As Crossrail's Elizabeth line snakes its way under the capital, here is how the original underground was built

By Matthew Hampton

Published: 16:53, 17 Nov 2016
Updated: 22:55, 17 Nov 2016

As Crossrail tunnels its way across the capital, spare a thought for those who laid the tracks of the world’s first underground railway.

Victorian labourers and engineers are shown here building tunnels and stations of the London Underground – including Notting Hill Gate and South Kensington – which are still in use today.

Notting Hill Gate, upon completion in 1868. Its platforms scarcely look different today, though the rails are much improvedCredit: Getty Images

Foundations for the Tube had been laid by the visionary Sir Marc Brunel and his son Isambard, who opened the Thames Tunnel between Rotherhithe and Wapping in 1843.

Construction of the Metropolitan District Railway, London, in 1869Credit: Getty Images

It was the engineering marvel of its day, but it would be another 20 years before trains would travel underground.

Construction of the Metropolitan District Railway, Bayswater, c 1867. Like Crossrail, the Underground would change the face of London foreverCredit: Getty Images

The Metropolitan Railway, opened in January 1863, ran between Paddington (then Bishop's Road) and Farringdon Street. Today it forms part of the Bakerloo and Metropolitan lines.

The first section of the Metropolitan District Railway, pictured opened in 1868. It ran from South Kensington to WestminsterCredit: Getty Images

The Brunels’ tunnel came into its own in 1869, when a steam locomotive chugged past its ornate brickwork. The same tunnel forms part of the London Overground line today.

Men hard at work on the Metropolitan Railway in Praed Street, LondonCredit: Getty Images

The first electric trains entered service in 1890, but astonishingly, steam trains were not phased out until the 1960s! The last puffs of smoke were only made on overground sections of network, however.

Railway buildings were the cathedrals of their age. High Street Kensington, pictured, would soon be a landmark for West LondonCredit: Getty Images

It wasn’t until 1908 that the word Underground makes an appearance. In the same year, the familiar roundel logo is also seen for the first time.

St Paul's Cathedral looks serenely over the mess that was the construction of Blackfriars stationCredit: Getty Images

The last major update of the network was the introduction of the London Overground in 2007. Prior to that was the extension of the Jubilee Line in 1999. But Crossrail outdoes them both in scope – and controversy.