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What powered the world's first underground railway, opened in London in 1863?
The Metropolitan Railway carried passengers through smoky tunnels before electric trains.
The Metropolitan Railway opened in 1863 and linked Paddington with the City of London via Euston and King's Cross, according to the Science Museum Group. Much of it ran in 'cut-and-cover' tunnels: workers dug a trench along or beneath streets, built a brick arch or iron cover over it, and restored the surface. Wooden carriages were pulled by steam locomotives.
Smoke and steam were handled with locomotives designed to condense their exhaust and with ventilation openings along the line, yet the air in the tunnels was notoriously sooty. Passengers nonetheless came in large numbers, because the line bypassed congested streets. The railway carried freight as well as passengers and extended to Hammersmith in 1864 and later to Richmond and out to Harrow. Wooden carriages and gas lighting were typical of the early rolling stock.
Electric traction arrived in the early 20th century; the Science Museum Group dates electrification to 1905, with multiple-unit trains running by 1907. The first deep 'tube' line to use electricity from the outset, the City & South London Railway, opened in 1890. 'Underground' in this context means the world's first urban passenger railway built beneath streets, not the oldest tunnel. The Metropolitan merged into the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933.