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Aerial view from the Thames riverside looking west towards Lots Road generating station, 10 July 1934

Chelsea monster, 1905 : The central power station built for the Underground Electric Railways of London in 1902-5 was the largest electricity plant in Europe. Chelsea Reach was chosen for its water supply and because coal could be delivered by barge. The site was used until 2002.
  • Reference number: 2004/15913

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    Providing the power

    Electricity for underground railways is generated in power stations. Steam turbines produce energy, which is transmitted through cables via substations to the conductor rails, where it is picked up by the trains. In 1890 the first electric Tube railway had its own small power station at Stockwell. The station barely generated enough power to run the trains. When the giant Lots Road power station opened at Chelsea in 1905, it could generate electricity for a whole network of underground lines from a single station. London Underground generated its own electricity for nearly 100 years. It now draws all its power from the National Electricity Grid.

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