Will Noble

The Jubilee Line Is 40 Years Old... Here Are Some Awesome Vintage Photos

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The Jubilee line opened 40 years ago — on 1 May 1979. In 1999, the Jubilee line extension opened in stages. Here, we celebrate its 40th and 20th birthday, with some images from the archives.

Much of the Jubilee line actually existed long before the 1970s — at least the track did. Queensbury station began life in 1934 as a Metropolitan line station (this image shows that original station being dug with the 'cut and cover' method), before transferring to the Bakerloo line in 1939, and finally the Jubilee line in 1979.

St John's Wood is another station that had a previous life on the Bakerloo line, before switching to the Jubilee line in 1979. This image shows the station in the mid 1950s.

In 1932, the Metropolitan Railway ran a special service to open the new Stanmore branch line. This line would go on to form the 'backbone' of the Jubilee line.

In 1972, a 'road deck' was installed over Oxford Street, meaning that traffic could continue to run, while the new Bond Street station was dug out beneath.

An unfinished Jubilee line platform at Charing Cross in 1977. The line ran through this station until 1999.

And here's the same station up and running a couple of years later.

Prince Charles gets to ride a Jubilee line train, a day before the line opens to the public. Jammy so and so.

Plans for a Jubilee line extension — with an additional 11 stations running eastward between Westminster and Stratford — were first mooted while the original line was being built in the 1970s. It wasn't until the late 1980s that the plans were revived, and not until 1999 that the extension opened.

Then-prime minister John Major attends a ceremony at Canary Wharf in 1993, marking the start of the Jubilee line extension.

This is what North Greenwich station looked like while it was being carved out in 1997.

Canary Wharf station was designed by Norman Foster, and opened in 1999 as part of the Jubilee line extension.

Excavation work for the new Westminster Jubilee station, in the mid 1990s. The tunnelling was so severe, that it caused a slight tilt in the Elizabeth Tower.

Exciting times:

All images © Transport for London courtesy of London Transport Museum