For those new to CabbieBlog or readers who are slightly forgetful, on Saturdays I’m republishing posts, many going back over a decade. Some will still be very relevant while others have become dated over time. Just think of this post as your weekend paper supplement.

Up in the air (02.10.12)

Central London is starting to look as if a giant mole has been at work, with holes appearing at the most unlikely locations the largest of these is to be found beside Centre Point; and just what did happen to the iconic fountains which once stood outside?

Said to be the biggest engineering work being carried out in Europe, CrossRail is, at £15bn, certainly the most expensive. The only compensation is that Knowledge students will never have to memorise the “Dirty Dozen”, twelve road which form a shortcut through Soho from west to east, now that Great Chapel Street has been turned into a hole.

CrossRail is just the latest of the Capital’s grandiose rail schemes, which started in 1836 with the London & Greenwich train line; its name would indicate that Greenwich was not part of the Metropolis at that time.

Unlike CrossRail it was planned to run the tracks over an elevated Roman-style viaduct with its terminus modestly styled on the Acropolis. It was routed through some of the poorer parts of London, so that less compensation had to be paid when demolishing people’s houses and making them homeless, even so, it was costly and time-consuming for no fewer than 878 separate brick arches were constructed, making it at the time the world’s longest viaduct, the surviving arches and station booking office can still be seen in the Spa Road area of Bermondsey. When completed the cabbies at that time, no doubt were among those who complained about “the thundering steam engines and omnibusters”.