伦敦地铁150岁了(2)

Buckley points out the Deco treasures this station still possesses: orange columns and glass cylinder lights, an original clock, smart lettering on the walls, small, elegant shop booths (still in use) and a magnificent linear world clock encased in a handsome wood and glass case. Pick not only commissioned great architects and artists (such as Jacob Epstein and Henry Moore) to create beautiful stations and artworks for the Tube, he also introduced its famous bullseye symbol, promoted the use of beautiful artistic poster-advertising that encouraged people to explore their city using the trains and introduced a universal typeface for all of the network's branding. Londoners have a lot to thank him for. Nikolaus Pevsner, the great British architectural historian, described Pick in 1968 as "the greatest patron of the arts whom this century has so far produced in England, and indeed the ideal patron of our age". Not bad, really, for a railway manager. In honour of the area's most famous son, Leytonstone Tube station is covered in a remarkable array of mosaics depicting scenes from Alfred Hitchcock films. They include Psycho, North by Northwest and The Birds. The first, the greatest, the most innovative, the most visionary... the facts, figures and superlatives that I hear during my Tube tour never seem to end. And then there's the simple, ingenious design for which the Tube is most famous: the map, designed by Harry Beck. This iconic design—much copied, never bettered—was first approved and printed in 1933 (thank you, Mr Pick), and was an instant hit. The map isn't geographically accurate, but as any Londoner will tell you, it's how we all mentally imagine our city. If it's not on the map, we can't tell you where it is. With a life of its own but always intertwined with the city above, the London Underground even has its own species of mosquito, which evolved from an above-ground species that moved to live in the tunnels during excavation in the 1850s. Even the thick moquette fabric on the Central Line seats tells a story. Buckley makes me closely examine its apparently abstract blue pattern. As I gradually realise, it is a cunningly designed depiction of London's skyline . It's just another example of incidental beauty that passes unnoticed by most travellers. Stop and look around you, though, and you'll be taken aback by how inspiring the Underground is in its scope, ambition and attention to detail. One rarely thinks of it as a romantic place, but what a lot of love has gone into it over the years. Happy Birthday London Underground. 这是一个典型的英格兰冬日的早晨，天空是灰白色的，空气中传来阵阵寒意，我穿行在人流如梭的帕丁顿铁路车站的中央大厅里。我将要踏上自己人生中最大开眼界的旅行之一。不过，我不是要乘上火车离开伦敦去旅行，而是要进行一次伦敦地下之旅。 今年的一月九日，伦敦地铁已经年满150岁了。这是一个意义重大的出生纪念日，因为伦敦地铁是全世界第一个地下铁路系统。1863年，“大都会铁路”的第一部分在帕丁顿开通，这项工程是维多利亚时代工程史上的奇迹，它不可思议地让蒸汽式机车在地下隧道里运行。这件事引起了极大的轰动，伦敦地下铁每天载着大约两万六千名乘客穿梭往来。 同大多数伦敦市民一样，地铁通畅运行的日子我把它视作理所应当，地铁伴着风声飕飕驶过，几分钟之内便可以载着我在城市里穿行好几英里，而地铁拥挤不堪或是延时晚点的时候，我又会抱怨起来。因此，在它的生日到来之际，我决定借此机会向这个躺在我脚下的迷宫般的地铁系统致以敬意。 米歇尔?巴克利是我的导游，她供职于徒步旅行公司“伦敦知情人”。我们在帕丁顿站的大厅里站了几分钟，巴克利为我介绍150年前第一个地下铁路之旅如何从这里开始。 “伦敦的道路拥堵不是现代才发生的事，”巴克利说着，举起了一件古斯塔夫?多雷的版画。画面描述了伦敦街道的可怕景象，街道上挤满了马车、公共汽车、行人、商人和被赶往市场的羊群。在19世纪，伦敦人口激增，到1900年，人口数量已经由1800年的一百万增长到将近七百万。 必须做一些事让这座城市运转起来，巴克利告诉我，提出建立地下交通系统这个“大胆”想法的人是一位律师，名叫查理斯?帕尔森。人们对他的提议反应不一，《泰晤士报》这样的报纸甚至还讽刺这个想法是一个荒诞的白日梦。 巴克利和我进入地铁通道，在区域线上乘坐了两站到达诺丁山门，诺丁山门是1868年开通的一座早期地铁站。巴克利指给我看车站内美丽的维多利亚式砖质拱门、巨大而光滑的屋顶和头顶上玻璃与铁混合制作的圆形吊灯。“这些都是1868年原装的吊灯”，她说。贝克街站台上也悬挂着这样曲线优美的球体。