History of the London Underground History of the London Underground The history of the London Underground began in the 19th century with the construction of the Metropolitan Railway, the world's first underground railway. The Metropolitan Railway, which opened in 1863 using gas-lit wooden carriages hauled by steam locomotives, worked with the District Railway to complete London's Circle line in 1884. Both railways expanded, the Metropolitan eventually extending as far as in Buckinghamshire, more than from Baker Street and the centre of London. The first deep-level tube line, the City and South London Railway, opened in 1890 with electric trains. This was followed by the Waterloo
London Underground rolling stock numbering and classification London Underground rolling stock numbering and classification Rolling stock used on the London Underground and its constituent companies has been classified using a number of different schemes. This page explains the principal systems. The numbering and classification of electric multiple unit stock on the London Underground is usually related to the type of line that the trains are used on. There are two distinct types of line: 'Sub-surface' lines (earlier lines built on the cut-and-cover method, which use trains of similar size to those on the national railway network), and 'Tube' lines (deep-level lines, built to a more restricted size).