The Underground Electric Railways Company of London (route map pictured), known operationally as The Underground for much of its existence, was established in 1902. It was the holding company for three deep-level tubes (underground railway lines) opened in London during 1906 and 1907: the Bakerloo, Hampstead and Piccadilly tubes. It was also the parent company of the District Railway and a precursor of today's London Underground. The company struggled financially in its first years and narrowly avoided bankruptcy in 1908. Acquisitions before World War I gave the company control of most of the underground railways in London and large bus and tram fleets, the profits from which subsidised the financially weaker railways. After the war, new railway lines were extended outward from London to stimulate passenger numbers. In the 1920s, competition from small unregulated bus operators reduced the profitability of the road transport operations. The company's directors sought government regulation, leading to the establishment of the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933, which absorbed the company and all of the other bus, tram and underground railway services in the London Passenger Transport Area. (Full article...)
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