Building    From 24/2/1906 

Kingsway tram tunnel / Strand underpass

Categories: Transport

The title of Wikipedia's page "Kingsway tramway subway" has way too many 'way's, but the page is very informative.

The tunnel was constructed 1906, enabled by the 'slum clearance' project in the Aldwych / Kingsway area. There were two stations in the tunnel: at Holborn and Aldwych. Trams ceased using the tunnel in 1952, after which it was mainly used for storage. It was opened for north-bound motor traffic in 1964 in an effort to reduce congestion around the Aldwych. 

You can see two northern entrances/exits to the tunnel, one in Southampton Row, just south of the junction with Theobald's Road, and another in Kingsway just north of the Aldwych. The northern one was used by the trams. The southern one was constructed in the 1960s as an exit for motor traffic.

The southern entrance/exit has changed twice. Originally the trams entered/exited from the Embankment, just to the west of Waterloo Bridge (shown in this photo). When the bridge was rebuilt during WW2 that entrance/exit was moved to be centrally below the bridge. In the 1960s that was closed off (and the space used to accommodate a business) and a new entrance created for traffic from the bridge itself.

Stories of London has many images that help to make sense of this history in words. The image on this page shows a tram exiting the tunnel when the mouth was on the Embankment to the west of the old Waterloo Bridge.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Kingsway tram tunnel / Strand underpass

Commemorated ati

Strand underpass

The Strand underpass is a one-way vehicle tunnel connecting Waterloo Bridge t...

Read More

Other Subjects

Bentley Motor Car

Bentley Motor Car

Walter Owen Bentley (1888 - 1971), "W. O." to his friends, founded Bentley Motors Limited. The chassis for the first model (3 litres) was exhibited at the London Motor Show in October 1919. By Dece...

Vehicle, Engineering, Transport

2 memorials
Temple Mills

Temple Mills

A district on the boundaries of Newham and Waltham Forest. The name derives from the water mills which straddled the River Lea. Medieval Hackney was largely rural and crops were grown that needed ...

Place, Commerce, Transport

1 memorial
C. Harman Wigan

C. Harman Wigan

Director of Vinot Cars Ltd. Andrew Behan has kindly carried out some research on this man: Cecil Harman Wigan was born on 7 June 1874 in Mortlake, Surrey, a son of James Wigan and Maria Branley He...

Person, Industry, Transport

1 memorial
West Brompton Station

West Brompton Station

A station was first opened here as part of the West London Extension Joint Railway (WLER). In 1869 the Metropolitan District Railway (MDR) opened its own station (pictured, still in use and now Lis...

Building, Transport

1 memorial
Malcolm Campbell

Malcolm Campbell

Holder of land and water speed records. Born Chislehurst, Kent. He broke the land speed record for the first time in 1924 and went on to break it a further nine times (five at Daytona Beach, Florid...

Person, Sport / Games, Transport, USA

2 memorials