History with its flickering lamp stumbles along the trail of the past, trying to reconstruct its scenes, to revive its echoes, and kindle with pale gleams the passion of former days. ~Winston Churchill

13 April, 2011

Commuting in the Twenties

I find it fascinating to look at old photographs of familiar places and situations. It's so familiar, and yet different-- rather like travelling between North America and the UK! Today's photographs come from the London Underground (the Tube), though I expect they will resound to anyone who has travelled by subway or train anywhere. While of course the clothes and ads are different (not to mention the abundance of hats!), it's really not so different, is it? 

These photographs come from the collections of the London Transport Museum-- one thing I'd like to note is that their photograph URLS seem to change at times, so if any of the links have changed, I apologize.

As per the title all are from the 1920s-- more decades to come, I'm sure! 




A platform at Earl's Court Station, 1923.  I find it especially notable to see how there are in fact more ads than today--even below the platform! Source



The exterior of Earl's Court station, 1928. Source (also, the same view in 1959 is here)




A crowded platform at Mansion House station, 1924. Source




Entrance to Piccadilly Circus Station, 1929. Source



Passengers (all in hats!) boarding a train at Piccadilly Circus, 1922.  Source

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like the sign that says - there is more room at the front of the train. Funny.

Anonymous said...

That's because even today, Tube travellers tend to crowd on to the carriages that stop nearest the exits, to shave a few seconds off their journeys. If you go to a carriage at either end of the train, it's generally less crowded. Unless it's on one of the trains that stop on a platform where the stairs are at the end of the platform!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Search This Blog