Short History & Description of the Baker Street & Waterloo Railway

Opened by Sir Edwin Cornwall, M.P. Chairman of the London County Council, 10th March, 1906.

The opening of the Baker Street & Waterloo Railway, better known as the Bakerloo line, in 1906 was a milestone in the development of London’s Underground railways as it marked the inauguration of the first of the tube lines financed and constructed by the Underground Electric Railways of London group. The UERL was the vast, American backed, concern that had bought its way into London’s transport by effective purchase of the existing steam operated District Railway to electrify it, the construction of the power house at Lots Road, Chelsea, and the acquisition and construction of three tube railway schemes: the Baker St & Waterloo, the Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway and the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway. The first stages of the three tube railways, under construction since 1902/3, were to open in 1906/7 – a great relief to the cash strapped company who had financed them as it meant that at last passenger fares started to provide income.

The very smart booklet produced for the opening is in simple deckle edged card covers (similar to that for the opening of the Met’s Uxbridge Extension) and this copy is signed “Cecil G Page” or Paget. The script typeface is a German design first cast by the foundry of Benjamin Krebs Nachfahren in Frankfurt/Main in 1903 as Ridingerschrift. The small text is set in two widths of De Vinne, which was domestically available from Caslon.

Read more about the history of the Baker Street & Waterloo Railway and see more images from the brochure on Flickr.