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| Photographer / Copyright: Damon Cross Images should not be reused without permission. Date added to site:15/12/20 | ||
| Details: This interesting photo shows Emergency Passenger Services Mercedes 1114 demountable 2496M (most likely with body DB2 mounted) parked on the ramp to the Kingsway tram subway on 15th August 1992 during public visits. Following the formation of the Emergency Response Unit in 1992, the side lettering on the bodies was later changed from 'Passenger services' to 'Response unit'. When the ERU received a new fleet of Mercedes Vario and Volvo FL lorries in 1998/1999, 2496M was sold, along with similar 2492-2495M. The Kingsway tram subway is a remarkable survivor, at least in part. Opened in 1906, the subway was originally intended as a means of joining-up (via Waterloo Bridge) the London County Council's two separate tram networks, but legal problems resulted in it emerging on the Embankment underneath Waterloo Bridge, rather than on it. The north entrance was on Kingsway near the crossing of Theobalds Road, and the tunnel included the only two underground stops on the London tram network. After the last trams ran in 1952, the tunnel was disused for several years, until most of its length was used for a new road underpass that opened in 1964. Due to the restrictive width of the tunnel, this was a one-way road, and it rose to the surface much nearer the Strand than the original tram tunnel. This left the northern section of the tunnel, and the access ramp (as shown here) intact and, as of 2020, no permanent use has been found for them. I had a real sense of déjà vu while researching and writing this caption, as if I had only recently been doing the same thing. However, I could not find any earlier photos in which I would have mentioned the subway. If I have unduly repeated the information then I apologise. Now, where did I put my slippers? | ||
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