Underground in 1888?

[Sophie Dublanc Dunaway]

Hello.
I need information about the 'underground' in Whitechapel, but... East End has underground?
I'm from Spain, so I can not understand some concepts of England and less of Whitechapel in 1888

[Limehouse]

'Underground' refers to the underground railway service, now more commonly called 'the tube'. There was an 'overground' railway station in Whitechapel at the time of the murders and the District Line underground trains ran through Whitechapel from 1884 but i think that at the time they operated by steam and were later electrified.

[Archaic]

Hi, Sophie, and welcome to the forums.

Here are a couple of web-links which will give you the basics on the history of the London Underground.

http://everything2.com/title/The+History+of+the+London+Underground

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_London_Underground

If you have more specific questions there are very knowledgeable people here who can help you.

Best Regards & Merry Christmas, Archaic

[Sophie Dublanc Dunaway]

Thanks Archaic
But, the people can walk in the underground like a pavement?

[perrymason]

Thanks Archaic
But, the people can walk in the underground like a pavement?

Sophie its just like the many Subway systems around the world in major cities....the Underground, The Tube, Le Metro....

Its a subterranean transit system, something that was started in cities like London and New York in the early 1800's due to the size of the populations and the need for them to get around town in reasonable time frames.

Hope that helps, Happy Holidays and Welcome.

[Archaic]

Hi, Sophie.

>>Are you asking whether the London Underground might have been used as an underground pedestrian escape route by Jack the Ripper in 1888?

That question has been raised before, as there were underground tunnels being built at the time for both railways and sewer systems.

I've seen old photos of the sewer systems and some of them were remarkably large with walkways for the workers.

I think there was a previous thread relating to this subject; can anybody recall?

Thanks and best regards, Archaic

[Robert]

Bernard Brown's essay used to be available online, but it doesn't seem to be available any more.

[Sophie Dublanc Dunaway]

Hi, Sophie.

>>Are you asking whether the London Underground might have been used as an underground pedestrian escape route by Jack the Ripper in 1888?

It's a good idea

[ChrisGeorge]

Hello Sophie

The same question came up several weeks ago. Check out this thread including my answer at the time:

http://forum.casebook.org/showthread.php?t=3341&page=3

Chris

[Luke111]

I found this map of the London underground from 1889 somewhere on the forum or maybe another source.Correct me if Im wrong, it could be a map of the metropolitan railway.
Hope this helps.

By the way, how likely do you guys think it would have been that the ripper used the underground/ metropolitan railway?

[The Grave Maurice]

Great map. Among other things, it shows how uncircle-like the Circle Line actually is.

As people have said, Luke, the question of JtR using the Underground has been discussed before. As I recall, someone said that the trains stopped running about 12:30 a.m. so, at least after the murders, it would be too late for him to hop a train as a means of escape. It has been argued that he could have walked through the empty tunnels (assuming that there were no guards on duty) but that has always seemed to me to be more trouble than it would be worth, given that he could simply blend in with the people on the major streets.