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Bakerloo line

London Underground line

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 3, 2026
Entity authorityQ19892 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Bakerloo line () is a London Underground line which runs between Harrow & Wealdstone in suburban north-west London and Elephant & Castle in south London, via the West End. Printed in brown on the Tube map, it serves 25 stations, 15 of which are underground, over 23.2 kilometres (14.4 mi). It runs partly on the surface and partly through deep-level tube tunnels.

The line's name is a portmanteau of its original name, the Baker Street and Waterloo Railway. From Queen's Park to Harrow & Wealdstone (the section above ground), the line shares tracks with the London Overground Lioness line and runs parallel to the West Coast Main Line. There is, however, a short tunnel at the western end of Kensal Green.

Opened between 1906 and 1915, many of its stations retain elements of their design to a common standard: the stations below ground using Art Nouveau decorative tiling by Leslie Green, and the above-ground stations built in red brick with stone detailing in an Arts & Crafts style. It is the ninth-busiest line on the network, carrying more than 125 million passengers annually.

The line currently operates 1972 Stock trains, which at 54 years old, are the oldest electric multiple unit trains in regular passenger service in Britain. An extension to Lewisham has been proposed.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Bakerloo line” as london Underground line. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Bakerloo, line and London.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1906, 1915, 1972—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Bakerloo, line and London providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Bakerloo line”, the useful work is to connect “london Underground line” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q19892. VIAF identifies the subject as 129989305. Authority coordinates are 51.593, -0.336. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1906, 1915 and 1972.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Bakerloo line” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.