This is Sleepy History.

Sleepy History is a production of Slumber Studios.

To listen ad-free, get access to bonus episodes,

and support the ongoing production of this show.

Check out our premium feed.

For many of us, underground travel is a part of life,

whether it's the metro in Paris or Portugal or the German U-Bahn,

or one of the many subways throughout North

America. All are the descendants of the London Underground, which developed in the 19th century. But why there and then, and what impact did it have on Britain and the rest of the world?

We'll answer these questions and more tonight.

So, just relax and let your mind drift

as we explore the sleepy history of the London Underground.

Thank you. the sleepy history of the London Underground. It's the 10th of the 10th of January 1863, and something is happening that Kings Cross London. The streets surround the train station seem quieter than usual, while the station itself is bustling.

Crowds of people, dressed in Victorian attire, form a procession beneath the newly erected

archway, disappearing from view as they descend the staircase.

Locals and tourists, people of all ages, have come here to catch a new kind of train.

There'll be the first passengers on the London Underground, a steam locomotive that travels beneath the ground.

It's a feat of engineering that was inconceivable to many before Britain underwent its industrial revolution.

Just 60 years ago, train travel was unheard of. For distances too long for walking,

the only option was a horse and carriage. Some people here at King's Cross might remember the first

passenger locomotive which opened in

North East England in 1825, less than 40 years ago.

...