Cross Rail
Mar. 16th, 2019 11:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
qatsiBook Review: The Tunnel Through Time - A New Route for an Old London Journey, by Gillian Tindall
This book themed around the Elizabeth Line, which of course should have been open for several months by now, but currently isn't expected to open until 2020. It's a history of some districts of London, focused on the route mostly from Tyburn to Stepney, and mostly focused on the medieval period through to the nineteenth century. As such it's a bit disappointing, because it chops off both ends of the line; even Paddington barely gets a mention, never mind Slough, Maidenhead or Reading, and the routes out to Shenfield and Abbey Wood are largely omitted too. But what remains is interesting, describing the once genteel area of Stepney and Mile End; the more colourful history of the St Giles area; the trials and tribulations of Railway Mania, failing for some time to penetrate into the City itself, until Fenchurch Street station arrived, promptly followed by Liverpool Street. There were great plans for a terminus in the Farringdon area, and the station will become an increasingly important hub as the interchange between the Elizabeth Line and Thameslink, as well as the Underground. In more recent times, the dubious charting of "progress" is recorded, with shady deals and plans justified in the name of slum and/or bomb site clearances giving rise to developments such as Centre Point. The book weaves erratically, taking neither a geographical nor a chronological path; although there are a handful of illustrations, there are also some tantalising references to old maps which sadly are not reproduced in the book.
This book themed around the Elizabeth Line, which of course should have been open for several months by now, but currently isn't expected to open until 2020. It's a history of some districts of London, focused on the route mostly from Tyburn to Stepney, and mostly focused on the medieval period through to the nineteenth century. As such it's a bit disappointing, because it chops off both ends of the line; even Paddington barely gets a mention, never mind Slough, Maidenhead or Reading, and the routes out to Shenfield and Abbey Wood are largely omitted too. But what remains is interesting, describing the once genteel area of Stepney and Mile End; the more colourful history of the St Giles area; the trials and tribulations of Railway Mania, failing for some time to penetrate into the City itself, until Fenchurch Street station arrived, promptly followed by Liverpool Street. There were great plans for a terminus in the Farringdon area, and the station will become an increasingly important hub as the interchange between the Elizabeth Line and Thameslink, as well as the Underground. In more recent times, the dubious charting of "progress" is recorded, with shady deals and plans justified in the name of slum and/or bomb site clearances giving rise to developments such as Centre Point. The book weaves erratically, taking neither a geographical nor a chronological path; although there are a handful of illustrations, there are also some tantalising references to old maps which sadly are not reproduced in the book.