Tower Subway is a tunnel running underneath the Thames between Great Tower Hill on the north side of the river, and Tooley Street on the south. Construction was completed in 1870, it consisted of an iron tube, 7 feet in diameter and about 1235 feet in length (around a quarter of a mile), laid some 18 feet below the bed of the Thames. It’s claim to fame is that it was the world's first tube railway, an underground railway constructed in a tube rather than in a brick tunnel. However the railway only ran for 3 months before suffering from mechanical issues which forced it to halt operations. From then on the subway was used solely by pedestrians on foot who would pay a toll (one halfpenny) to walk through the tunnel. It was open from 5.30 AM til midnight daily. This was a success with up to 1 million people using the tunnel each year up until 1894 when the opening of Tower Bridge provided a means of crossing the Thames for free. This caused Tower Subway to subsequently close it's doors a couple of years or so later.
Sketch of the layout
Artists impression from back in the day
This is one of London’s many oddities, it doesn’t vary a great deal but it’s history makes it a bit special. This was my third attempt at getting in here, on this occasion I visited with @Adders & @Suboffender. Once we reached the middle there was a flooded section up to about knee height. Thankfully I'd sunk enough beers by that point to not really care so I waded through with my jeans and trainers on whilst those two clambered across pipes like demented monkeys! There's something extra cool about disappearing underground on one side of the Thames and coming out not only on the other side but by the Tower of London. Especially when it's through a tunnel that hasn't been open to the public for over 120 years!
Sketch of the layout
Artists impression from back in the day
This is one of London’s many oddities, it doesn’t vary a great deal but it’s history makes it a bit special. This was my third attempt at getting in here, on this occasion I visited with @Adders & @Suboffender. Once we reached the middle there was a flooded section up to about knee height. Thankfully I'd sunk enough beers by that point to not really care so I waded through with my jeans and trainers on whilst those two clambered across pipes like demented monkeys! There's something extra cool about disappearing underground on one side of the Thames and coming out not only on the other side but by the Tower of London. Especially when it's through a tunnel that hasn't been open to the public for over 120 years!
Hats off to whoever put this on the map, I believe @kevin arnold was the first to post a report from here.
Here's my pics, sponsored by Red Stripe 
1. Looking up the southern shaft
2. New and old mechanisms side by side
3. Concrete section modernised at some point over the years
4. Pipes now run throughout the tunnel, not sure whether or not they are still in use
5. I believe this section was once a waiting room
6.
7.
8. After trudging through the flooded section I was too miserable to take any more pics until we reached the other end
9. Looking back
10. Some old decaying pipes half way up the shaft
11. These shafts used to contain 96 steps for public access
12. Inside the turret at the other end near Tower of London, we reached our goal!
Thanks for looking, more info available here: http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/sites/t/tower_subway/index1.shtml
1. Looking up the southern shaft
2. New and old mechanisms side by side
3. Concrete section modernised at some point over the years
4. Pipes now run throughout the tunnel, not sure whether or not they are still in use
5. I believe this section was once a waiting room
6.
7.
8. After trudging through the flooded section I was too miserable to take any more pics until we reached the other end
9. Looking back
10. Some old decaying pipes half way up the shaft
11. These shafts used to contain 96 steps for public access
12. Inside the turret at the other end near Tower of London, we reached our goal!
Thanks for looking, more info available here: http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/sites/t/tower_subway/index1.shtml
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