RAPTD-TRANSIT SUmVAVS IN M I'VI'lJoroi J'l'A N CI'IMKS. 7(')1 



i^as (o ('sca|)(". I)ul (hey xccy iii:i(l('(|iiat('ly |)ci-('()nii(Ml thai fiiiicl ion. 

 'J'lic inaiiaiiiTs, wilh (he charactci-ist ic lOii^lish slowness to adopt 

 new melhotls and the desire to iiiaUe lar^'-e jji-olits, reiiiindiii<^ one 

 of the New \'()rk Manliattan FJevated IJaili-oad Company, refused 

 to adopt electric ti-action, and until JS'.X) there was no method of 

 rapid transpoi-tation in T^ondon other than the steam roads. 



In that year the City and South London Klectric Kailway was 

 opened, about lU miles in extent, extendine- from neai" the moiuunent, 

 in Kiny- A\'illiani street, only a few blocks fi-om the commercial cen- 

 ter of tlu> metropolis, to the suburban district of Stockwell, upon 

 the south side of the Thames. The success of this road and the 

 desire for access to the heart of the city led the Southwestern Kail- 

 way — one of the nu)st important En<;lish roads — to construct a 

 short electric line between its Waterloo station and the Mansion 

 House, o])posite the liank of Eno;land. This line is very short, only 

 1^ miles in ]en<>'th. but it does assist in solving the problem of urban 

 transportation in that it brino;s the suburban districts reached by 

 the Southwestern into closer communication with the business ])or- 

 tion of the city. 



The Central London Railroad, the latest, largest, and best equipped 

 of all London subways, most nearly resembles, from the point of 

 location, the New York subway. It runs from the Bank of Eng- 

 land, under Cheapside, Newgate, Holborn Viaduct, and Oxford 

 street, ])ast St. Paul's Cathedral, Hyde Park, and Kensington (Jar- 

 dens to a station in the suburban district of Shepherd's Bush, a total 

 distance of (U miles. There is a large traffic toward the Bank of 

 England in the morning and to the West End in the evening, and 

 the only means of transportation until lately was by onniibus or 

 carriage or a roundabout route via the underground. No tram- 

 way has been permitted to occupy this main artery, and the new 

 underground road will greatly add to the transportation facilities 

 of London. 



Various other electric undergi'ound lines have been j)roposed, and 

 w^ithin the near future the Metro])olitan and the Metropolitan Dis- 

 trict railways, now operated by steam, will adopt electricity as a 

 motive power. Bids and plans have already been called for. 



CONDITIONS IN lU DAI'KST. 



After London, Budajjcst was the first city to build a subway. 

 Here it was the outcome of various plans for joining the central and 

 business portion of the city with the park, a favorite rendezvous some 

 '2h miles distant. Nothing definite was proposed until the spacious 

 and handsome Andrassystrasse was laid out, which offered a direct 

 and attractive route for a street railway. Application was made for 

 .permission to build a horse-car line, but the plan met with strong 



