Along the Right Lines
Why would I not have been allowed onto the underground system until after 1993? Why could I not have travelled from Stanmore until after 1999? What do Stanmore, Kingsbury, Wembley Park, Kilburn and West Hampstead Stations all have in common? All will become clear!
I have decided to write a blog, with help from my Dad, on the 1965 Pocket Underground map by Paul E. Garbutt. I need help on account I was not born until 1997 (which may go some way to answering the first question!)
My Dad was raised in Northampton, and explains that his trips to London with my Granddad (his Dad) generally consisted of a drive down the M1 to Stanmore to join the Bakerloo Line, and alight at Oxford Circus. Over the years, Underground lines have been changed and extended. The route my Dad used to take is no longer on the Bakerloo Line, but on the Jubilee Line, which was extended to Stratford, where it joins the Central Line.
How does all this relate to my opening questions? The answer is that I have special needs and travel in a wheelchair, and in 1965 there were no wheelchair accessible stations on the Underground network; indeed, owing to fire regulations, wheelchair users could not be accommodated onto the network until 1993. In 1999, when the Jubilee line extension commenced, Stanmore, Kingsbury, Wembley Park, Kilburn and West Hampstead (the original stations between Stanmore and, previously, Oxford Circus) were adapted to accommodate wheelchair users.
Today, there are 82 underground stations that can be accessible by wheelchair users from street to platform. Not many you may think, but bear in mind there were none in 1964.
Currently, the total length of the London Underground network is around 250 miles, compared to just 3.75 miles in 1863 when the first section of the Metropolitan line was opened between Paddington and Farringdon. I guess it’s fair to say, that in 1863 the map would not have contained quite as many details as the one of 1965, though one could assume you would have struggled to go the wrong way back then!
When I travel to London Transport Museum, where I am a volunteer host, I love travelling on the Underground, especially on the Jubilee line which has many wheelchair accessible stations.
Paul E. Garbutt’s Pocket Tube map was based on Harry Beck’s map from 1933. Whereas it can be seen as complicated to many tourists, I find half the fun is going the wrong way and having to find an alternative route! Whereas this could prove disastrous for wheelchair users, my Dad is always with me, so I can sit in my chair and laugh at our misfortune, whilst he works out how to get out of the mess he got us into in the first place!
For the latest information on wheelchair access on the London Underground network, take a look at Transport for London website. Detailed step-free information is also available via the free TfL Go app.