Tower Subway
The Tower Subway is a tunnel beneath the River Thames in central London, between Tower Hill on the north side of the river and Vine Lane (off Tooley Street) on the south. In 1869 a 1,340-foot (410 m) circular tunnel was dug through the London clay using a wrought iron shield, a method that had been patented in 1864 by Peter W. Barlow. A 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge railway was laid in the tunnel and from August 1870 a cable-hauled wooden carriage conveyed passengers from one end to the other. This was uneconomic and the company went bankrupt by the end of the year. The tunnel was converted to pedestrian use and one million people a year crossed under the river, paying a toll of 1⁄2d. The opening of the toll-free Tower Bridge in 1894 caused a drop in income and the tunnel closed in 1898, after being sold to the London Hydraulic Power Company. Today the tunnel is used for water mains.
The same method of construction was used in 1890 to dig the tunnels of the City and South London Railway, the first of London's "Tube" railways.
In 1864 Peter Barlow patented a method of tunnelling using a circular wrought iron or steel shield and filling the gap between the tunnel lining with lime or cement to prevent settling of the ground above. He published a pamphlet in 1867 suggesting a network of tunnels with cars carrying up to 12 people. In 1868 authority was obtained for a tunnel under the Thames between Great Tower Hill and Pickle Herring Stairs near Vine Street (now Vine Lane), but there was a delay finding a contractor due to recent experiences with the Thames Tunnel until his former pupil James Henry Greathead tendered for £9,400.
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