Opened by the Prince of Wales on 27th June 1900
1 month later, the Central London Railway opened to the public with a flat fare of 2 pence, making it a popular means of transport and earning it the moniker ‘Twopenny Tube’
The stations, apart from Bank, were designed by Harry Measures, and contained recently developed electrical lifts, as opposed to the more commonly used hydraulic lifts. Another innovation was the use of large fans to pump the stale air overnight from the tunnels when the trains had stopped running
Shepherd's Bush station platform on the Central London Railway (1902) by HartmannTfL Corporate Archives
The Central was the first underground railway to have electric lighting in its stations
The western end of the line was extended to Wood Lane to serve the site of the Franco-British exhibition in 1908
Pocket Central London Railway map (1912-06-15) by Central London RailwayTfL Corporate Archives
In 1912 the line was extended to Liverpool Street, the first station on the Central to make use of an escalator
The Central London Railway remained independent for 13 years, before becoming part of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited (UERL) in 1913.
1920s Extensions to Gunnersbury and Ealing
1913-1933 saw a number of changes, including a switch from using power supplied by the Wood Lane power station to power supplied by the Lots Road power station, and an interchange with the Piccadilly line via the rebuilt Holborn station
Central Line North East Extension: Diagram of Lines Showing River Crossings (1938-06-15) by London Passenger Transport BoardTfL Corporate Archives
The Central line
In 1933 the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB) was established, and under this new regime the Central London Railway became the Central line
Diagram of Future Central Line Extensions (1946-12-04)TfL Corporate Archives
Extensions were soon planned
Map of Central Line Extension to Stratford (1946-10-01) by London Passenger Transport BoardTfL Corporate Archives
It was extended via Mile End and North Ilford to the Fairlop loop line
An extension to Stratford opened in 1946
Map of Central Line Extension to Stratford (1946-12-04)TfL Corporate Archives
The line was extended on to Leytonstone in 1947, to Hainault and Loughton in 1948, and in 1949 Central line trains reached Epping
An Epping to Ongar shuttle service was steam-hauled until 1957, but was never widely used
The intermediate station at Blake Hall was closed in 1981, but Ongar held out until 1994. That section is now operated as a preserved railway, independently of TfL
The Central line was resignalled in the 1990s, with the introduction of new automatically driven trains, a process that took several years.
Central Line Car Line Diagram (2016-03-15) by Transport for LondonTfL Corporate Archives
Did you know?
The longest journey possible without a change on the Underground is on the Central line between West Ruislip and Epping, which is 55km and takes 1 hour 23 minutes!
Story compiled by TfL using information in records at the Transport for London Corporate Archives. The Corporate Archives seeks to preserve and make accessible records, not to interpret them. A wider range of material is available for physical consultation.
Permission is granted to reproduce for personal and educational use only.
This story has been enhanced using images from the collections of the LIFE Photo Collection and the London Transport Museum. All enquiries regarding that material should be made directly to the respective institution.
