Editing Waterloo & City line (section)

===Background===
The [[London and South Western Railway]] (LSWR) reached Waterloo Bridge on 11 July 1848, serving routes from Southampton and Richmond. It was officially renamed Waterloo in October 1882.{{sfn|Jackson|1984|p=215}}

That the station was not within walking distance of the [[City of London]] was viewed as a serious shortcoming.{{sfn|Glover|2003|p=24}} The LSWR had hoped to build a line eastwards to near London Bridge but because of the slump following the [[railway mania]], and the high cost of building through the area, this idea was abandoned.{{sfn|Jackson|1984|p=215}} When the [[South Eastern Railway (UK)|South Eastern Railway]] opened an extension from London Bridge to Charing Cross in 1864, a connecting railway line from it to Waterloo was built, but friction and competitive hostility between the companies meant the line saw no regular passenger movements.{{sfn|Jackson|1984|pp=216–217}} Under pressure from the LSWR, the SER constructed Waterloo Junction station, now called [[Waterloo East]], on the Charing Cross line.  The station opened in January 1869, but through ticketing was refused and the onward connection remained frustratingly unsatisfactory.{{sfn|Jackson|1984|p=217}}{{sfnp|Gillham|2001}}

====Independent proposals====
A [[Waterloo and Whitehall Railway]] was promoted in 1864, to construct a tube railway from [[Great Scotland Yard]] to Waterloo. It was to use air pressure to propel the vehicles northwards, and exhaust air to draw them southwards, using a pressure differential of {{frac|2|1|2|}} oz per sq in (about 11 mbar). The trains themselves would be the pistons. The company capital was to be £100,000. It was suggested that there could be a branch to where the [[Embankment station]] is now located: it is not clear how a junction would be managed in a pneumatic railway. There were to be three vehicles, one loading at each terminal and one in motion in the tube, so they must have been intended to pass at the terminals. There were to be three classes of accommodation in the coaches.

Work started on 25 October 1865, but less than a year later it was obvious that the capital was grossly inadequate. Authority for extension of time and more capital was obtained, but by then few investors had any confidence that their investment would gain a return. In 1868, a further extension was granted, but little further work was done, and nearly all the money had gone.

In 1881, an independent Waterloo and City Railway was promoted, to build a surface line to Queen Street. The cost was formidable at £2.3&nbsp;million, and the proposal soon collapsed.{{sfnp|Gillham|2001}}

====The Waterloo & City Railway Bill====
[[File:W&C map.jpg|thumb|Map of the Waterloo & City Railway as originally planned]]

In 1891, the Corporation of the City of London made a statistical survey which it published ancillary to the National Census taken in that year. 37,694 persons lived in the City, but the daytime occupation was 310,384. On 4 May 1891, 1,186,094 entries to the City were made, i.e., many people entered more than once. Separate statistical information is that about 50,000 persons arrived at Waterloo daily, of whom about 12,000 proceeded to the City by some means.

In November 1891, a bill was deposited to build an underground electric railway from Waterloo to the Mansion House in the City; the capital was to be £500,000; the proposal was supported by the LSWR but was independent. Three other "tube" railways were proposed in the same parliamentary session, the traditional cut-and-cover method being seen as impractical, as was an elevated railway on viaduct. Electric urban railways had been introduced in Germany in 1891 and in the United States of America, and were in daily, widespread use; but in the United Kingdom, only one example was in existence, the [[City and South London Railway]].

The progress of the bill through Parliament was slow, partly because of the novelty of considering tube railway schemes; there were several petitions from the authorities responsible for public works in the city. [[London County Council]] tried to insist that the tubes should be made large enough to carry ordinary trains, and that all trains arriving at Waterloo should continue through them to the City. This idea would have required a new subterranean terminal station at the Bank of at least equal size to Waterloo itself.

{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Waterloo and City Railway Act 1893
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            =
| year                  = 1893
| citation              = [[56 & 57 Vict.]] c. clxxxvii
| introduced_commons    =
| introduced_lords      =
| territorial_extent    =
| royal_assent          = 27 July 1893
| commencement          =
| expiry_date           =
| repeal_date           =
| amends                =
| replaces              =
| amendments            =
| repealing_legislation =
| related_legislation   =
| status                =
| legislation_history   =
| theyworkforyou        =
| millbankhansard       =
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/56-57/187/pdfs/ukla_18930187_en.pdf
| revised_text          =
| use_new_UK-LEG        =
| UK-LEG_title          =
| collapsed             = yes
}}
Numerous petitions against the bill, or requiring additional protections to be included in it, were presented, but eventually on 27 July 1893, the '''{{visible anchor|Waterloo and City Railway Act 1893}}''' ([[56 & 57 Vict.]] c. clxxxvii) gained [[royal assent]].{{sfnp|Gillham|2001}}<ref name = carter>{{cite book |first=E. F. |last=Carter |title=An Historical Geography of the Railways of the British Isles |publisher=Cassell |location=London |date=1959}}</ref>

====Construction====
Following royal assent, the company prepared for construction. The new company issued its prospectus in March 1894 and the subscription list closed on 21 April; 54,000 shares at £10 each were offered and there was a slight over-subscription. A dividend of 3% per annum payable out of capital was promised during the construction phase.{{sfnp|Gillham|2001}}

Tenders were acquired for the main tunnel work, and a contract was awarded to [[Mowlem|John Mowlem & Co]] for the sum of £229,064{{sfnp|Gillham|2001}} ({{Inflation|UK|229064|1894|r=-4|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}).{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} The consulting engineers were [[W. R. Galbraith]] (of the LSWR) and [[James Henry Greathead|J. H. Greathead]], developer of the [[tunnelling shield]]. The resident engineer was H. H. Dalrymple-Hay. Mowlems' engineer in charge was William Rowell.<ref name = engineer>''The Engineer'' (periodical), 26 July 1895</ref>

Mowlem began work on 18 June 1894, first building staging in the river about {{convert|500|ft}} west of Blackfriars Bridge. Piles were driven for a [[cofferdam]] and two vertical shafts of {{convert|16|ft}} internal diameter were constructed as headings for the tunnel drive. The average depth of the tunnels is about {{convert|45|ft}}, with its deepest points at the River Thames, at {{convert|63|ft}} underground.

Driving the running tunnels started in November 1894, using the [[James Henry Greathead|Greathead]] system of shield excavation, cast iron segment lining, compressed air working, and compressed air grouting behind the tunnel lining. Twenty men worked in each heading.<ref name = engineer2>''The Engineer'' (periodical), 2 August 1895</ref>

[[File:W&C muck away.jpg|thumb|Removal of spoil in tunnelling the Waterloo & City Railway]]

The excavated material was removed from the staging near [[Blackfriars Bridge]]; it was conveyed there from the shields by a narrow gauge railway using electric locomotives supplied by the [[Siemens|Siemens Company]]. Two were in use and a third was on order at August 1895. They operated on {{convert|18|in|adj=on}} gauge track with a twin overhead trolley wire (i.e., not using the track for current return) at {{val|200|u=V|s=&nbsp;DC}}.<ref name = engineer2/>

The station works at Waterloo were constructed by Perry and Co. The station tracks run in separate but adjacent arches supporting the main line station, which run transversely to the main line track. The arch piers needed to be underpinned to about {{convert|8|ft}} lower than the original foundations.{{sfnp|Gillham|2001}}

====Civil engineering detail====
[[File:W&C Shield work.jpg|thumb|The Greathead tunnelling shield in use on the Waterloo & City Railway]]

The route starts from a point south-east of Waterloo main line station, halfway between Lower Marsh and the now-vanished Aubyn Street, which was destroyed in the station's early 20th century expansion and was located more or less where today's platforms 3 and 4 are.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}} Leaving towards the north west, the line turns in a {{convert|339|ft|adj=on}} curve towards the north east. The curve is constructed by cut-and-cover, and the twin tubes start immediately after it, under Stamford Street, turning north-north-east to pass under the [[River Thames]], converging with [[Blackfriars Bridge]] on the north bank. The line turns east there, under Queen Victoria Street, to the station adjacent to the [[Mansion House, London|Mansion House]], running for part of the way under the [[District line]]. The sharpest curves other than those at Waterloo are {{convert|603|ft|adj=on}} radius.

The northbound line falls at 1 in 30 for {{convert|900|ft}} from Waterloo; then the line falls at 1 in 120 and then 1 in 800 to the shaft in the river. The westbound line (considered in reverse to the direction of running) falls at only 1 in 60, and then 1 in 550 to the shaft. From there they run together, level for {{convert|100|ft}} and then climbing at 1 in 800 for {{convert|1300|ft}}, and then 1 in 88 to the terminus.

The tunnels are {{convert|12|ft|1+3/4|in|adj=on}} internal diameter, except for the {{convert|603|ft|adj=on}} curves, where they are {{convert|12|ft|9|in}}. Each {{convert|20|in|adj=on}} long section of tunnel wall was formed with a cast iron ring, made from seven segments and a key piece at the top. {{convert|1|in|adj=on}} bolts connect all the segments. Between each section there was a creosoted timber strip {{convert|3/8|to|1/2|in|adj=on}} thick, and varying the thickness of this enabled the forward course of the tube to be varied, except in the sharpest curves where the segments were cast to form the curve. There are seven cross-passages between the twin tubes.

Under the Thames the top of the tube is {{convert|23|ft}} below the bed of the river. The total length of the line is {{convert|1|mi|1012|yd|m}}.<ref name  = engineer/>

[[File:W&C air lock.jpg|thumb|The air lock used during compressed air working]]

The [[Waterloo tube station|underground station at Waterloo]] was located within the existing [[transverse arch]]es of the main line station, with the arrival and departure platforms in separate arches, and a staircase access. Siding accommodation and a reversing siding were provided beyond the platforms: after disembarkation of passengers, an arriving train would continue forward to the reversing sidings, and then return to the departure platform. An additional lay-by siding was provided later.{{sfnp|Gillham|2001|p=187}}

At the [[Bank–Monument station|new City station]] there were two platforms and either could be used by an arriving train, reversing in the platform. The track connections at the approach were a [[double slip]], not a [[crossover (rail)|scissors]], so a train could not leave while another was arriving.<ref name = ice>Diagram in ''Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers'', 1899–1900, reproduced in Gillham, page 104</ref> The left hand platform line was extended by a train length and trains could be stabled in the extension.{{sfnp|Gillham|2001}} A large diameter Greathead shield was used to bore the section of tunnel where the track connections would be installed.{{sfnp|Gillham|2001|p=99}}

The tube section for the platform lines at the City station were {{convert|23|ft}} in diameter, the largest in the world at the time.{{sfnp|Gillham|2001}}

====Original signalling====
In late 1897, contracts were let for the signalling equipment; the electric interlocking was to be carried out by W. R. Sykes, who had a call-off contract with the LSWR; a supplement to their standard prices for the tunnel work was agreed.

There were signalboxes at Waterloo at the south end of the northbound platform, and at south end of the northbound platform at City. There were conventional [[railway semaphore signal|semaphore]] signals in the open south of Waterloo station, but all other signals were electric lights only. Sykes' lock-and-block system was used with depression-type treadles. Although there was only one signal section, advance starting signals were provided. The platform starting signals at Waterloo and at City had a lower arm, a "shunt-by signal" which when lowered indicated that the line was clear only to the advance starting signal. The main starting signal when lowered indicated that the line was clear to City.

An electrical traction current interrupt system was installed; a short length of contact bar was provided at each signal, connected to earth when the signal was at danger, and otherwise isolated. A "slipper" contact was fitted on the trains, and if it contacted the contact bar when it was earthed, the traction current was tripped.{{sfnp|Gillham|2001}}

====Traction electricity====
On 4 January 1897, a contract was signed with Siemens and Co for the electrical generating and distribution equipment, and the electrical train equipment, for £55,913. Although a German firm, Siemens had a large presence in the UK at the time. There were three lower tenders.

There were five boilers working at {{convert|180|psi|abbr=on}} driving five (later six) high speed steam engines developing {{convert|360|hp|abbr=on}} directly coupled to dynamos. The two-pole compound-wound dynamos delivered {{val|500|u=V}} at no load and {{val|530|u=V}} under full load; this gave {{convert|225|kW|abbr=on|order=flip}} at {{val|350|ul=rpm}}. Special attention was given to the closeness of the governing to ensure a stable supply voltage. The station lighting circuits were fed from the main switchboard and specially led to maintain lighting supply in the event of a traction current disruption. Station lighting used four lamps in series, with return current via the running rails. (Gas lighting was provided as a back-up.)

There was a short high-level siding within the Waterloo yard area; coal to fuel the boilers was brought in by ordinary LSWR wagons lowered to the running line by the carriage lift; the wagons were drawn through the northbound platform by an electric shunting locomotive, and another lift elevated them to the siding. Boiler ash was disposed of correspondingly.{{sfnp|Gillham|2001}}

====City station====
The City station was not originally called Bank. The [[Central London Railway]] (CLR, which became the central section of what is now the [[Central line (London Underground)|Central line]]) obtained an Act of Parliament in 1891 varying their previously-intended route, to take them to the area of the present-day Bank station. The act required them to construct a central station and booking office and public subways connecting the surrounding streets.{{sfnp|Gillham|2001}}<ref name = carter/> The subways were to be regarded as public, although maintained by the CLR. Any other railway intending to have a station nearby was entitled to connect to the CLR station by subways. This obviously referred to the Waterloo & City line, and was designed to create a single station frontage in the congested street area. The CLR completed its construction after the W&CR but was obliged to finish the facilities necessary for the earlier opening of the W&CR. The [[City and South London Railway]] (CSLR) also operated from the station.

Gillham says:
{{blockquote|"Right from the start the joint station and circular subway area was always known as the 'City station' by the W&C but as the 'Bank station' by the CLR and the CSLR."{{sfnp|Gillham|2001|p=98}}}}

The W&CR station was located some considerable distance from the area near street level, and this later led to persistent complaints as it required passengers to climb a steep and lengthy gradient to reach the exit.

====Permanent way====
The ordinary LSWR permanent way was used, with {{convert|87|lb/yd|adj=on}} rails, but in the tubes longitudinal timbers were used instead of cross-sleepers. The sharp curves had [[guard rail (rail)|check rails]]. Cross-bonds paralleling the running rails electrically were provided every {{convert|100|ft}} and between tracks at the cross passages. The track gauge was the standard {{Track gauge|56.5 in}}.

The conductor rail was a steel inverted channel placed centrally, with its upper surface at the same level as the upper surface of the running rails. At pointwork a hardwood ramp was provided to raise the collector shoes {{convert|1+1/2|in}} above running rail level.

====Shunting locomotives====
[[File:SR 75S.jpg|thumb|75S, Siemens electric shunter]]

Part of Siemens's work under the supply of electrical equipment including a shunting locomotive; this was a four-wheel electric locomotive with a cab at one end only, It had two {{convert|60|hp|abbr=on}} traction motors and was delivered in 1898. Its main duty was the delivery of the generator station coal. Like the passenger vehicles, its brake system had air reservoirs charged from a static supply at Waterloo. It remained on the system until 1969, when it was transferred to the [[National Railway Museum]] at York.

In 1901, a second, more powerful shunting locomotive was acquired. Designed by the LSWR Chief Mechanical Engineer, [[Dugald Drummond]] it had two four wheel bogies and was intended for the rescue of failed passenger trains in the tunnel. In 1915, it was removed from the tunnel and put to work shunting coal wagons at Durnsford Road power station, having had its shoe collectors altered for the surface traction supply system.

====The Armstrong Lift====
[[File:Waterloo Depot Armstrong lift (1988).jpg|thumb|right|The Armstrong lift in 1988.]]

As the line had no connection to any other line, nor any ground level section, it was necessary to provide a hoist to bring the passenger cars to the line, and to get them out for heavy maintenance. This was provided to the west of the Windsor side of Waterloo main line station, and was known as the ''Armstrong'' lift, after the manufacturer, [[Armstrong Whitworth|Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd]], who was paid £3,560. It was operated by water power; at the time of construction hydraulic power was commonly used in urban areas, supplied by utility companies, to operate hoists and lifts. The lift was to be capable of lifting {{convert|30|ST}}. It was completed in April 1898. There was a smaller {{convert|25|ST|adj=on}} hoist within the low-level siding area at Waterloo for the boiler fuel wagons; this had a smaller travel and was installed by John Abbot & Co for £595.{{sfnp|Gillham|2001}}

Before the construction of [[Waterloo International railway station|Waterloo International terminal]] in 1990, the vehicles were hoisted individually by the Armstrong Lift outside the north wall of Waterloo main line station. The procedure is now carried out using a road-mounted crane in a shaft adjacent to the depot, south of Waterloo main line station on Spur Road. This is only necessary for major maintenance work that requires lifting of the car body, as the Waterloo depot is fully equipped for routine maintenance work. The remaining stub of the siding tunnel that led to the Armstrong Lift can still be seen on the left-hand side of the train shortly after leaving Waterloo for Bank, but the lift itself was buried (along with the entire Western sidings) in 1992 as part of the construction of [[Waterloo International railway station|Waterloo International]] station.