Considering that our pioneering public transport network is the oldest of its kind in the world, it’ll likely come as no surprise that a fair bit of what was being built beneath the streets of the city back in the 1860s was being done so with somewhat of a trial-and-error approach. And whilst some of it didn’t make the final edit (which is why we now have an array of abandoned tubes, tunnels, passageways, and platforms dotted around London), a lot of it well-and-truly stood the test of time – and is still chugging along triumphantly to this very day. A pretty perfect example of the latter is Baker Street; a historic underground station that isn’t just the oldest in London, but the whole wide world. Yes, really.
Baker Street station
Baker Street station set up shop on January 10, 1863 as part of the original Metropolitan Railway. It was one of just seven stations that opened on the subterranean system that would later become know as the London Underground. Fast-forward 163 years and Baker Street now boasts more platforms than any other Tube station on the transport network. Serving five Tube lines across ten platforms; Baker Street is a busy station, to say the least. In fact, approximately 30 million people pass through its ticket barriers each year. Blimey.
Baker Street was built to help ferry folk about beneath the very busy streets of Victorian London. Being the very first underground station in the world, it revolutionised the way in which we city-dwellers travel – and went on to influence many similar systems around the world. Baker Street still boasts plenty of its original features – with its gorgeous Victorian brickwork being a tell-tale sign of its age. But the station is also home to some more modern design details that have been added over the years (including some Sherlock Holmes-themed decor to pay homage to the neighbourhood’s most famous fictional resident).
The much-loved London Transport Museum now offer tours around the lesser-known parts of Baker Street station. These ‘Hidden London’ tours allow transport enthusiasts to get a behind-the-scenes peek of parts of the network that are usually closed to the public. The Baker Street tour takes visitors on a trip back in time, where they can find out what the very first passengers thought of the early London Underground, see how much the station has changed over the past 163 years, and explore original platforms, disused lift shafts, and concealed corridors.
