The Tube: An Underground History
BBC2 (not Scotland), BBC2 HD, Thur 16th May 9pm - 9:59pm
Repeat: BBC2 Scotland Tomorrow 9pmLondon Underground’s head of design and heritage is constantly on the prowl for visual solecisms. On his way to work he looks exasperated in front of an information board: “One of the things I hate most is galvanised junction boxes,” he says, peering at what we must assume is a pair of galvanised junction boxes.
It’s just one lovely moment among many in an affectionate tribute to the world’s oldest underground railway, the London Tube, which celebrates its 150th birthday this year. We gallop through its history, illustrated by great archive footage of men in hats fighting to board Tube trains in the early years.
There’s joy, too, for anyone who loves that most recognisable public work of art, the elegant, simple Underground map, created in 1931. Its designer, Harry Beck, left all his sketches to a friend, and they are thrilling to see.
This year sees the London Underground celebrate its 150th anniversary and this film tells its story through the eyes of the people who work there. Farringdon station supervisor Iain MacPherson talks about why the Tube was built, and design and heritage head Mike Ashworth reveals how one of his predecessors pioneered the art of branding in the 1920s. Driver Dylan Glenister explains why every Edwardian station on the Piccadilly line has its own unique tiling pattern, and how the construction of new stops in the 1930s expanded the borders of London.
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