The Docklands Light Railway

The Docklands Light Railway is the unsung hero of London transit, and I shall prove it.

Today, it is a sleek, driverless marvel handling over 100 million passenger journeys a year. But back in the 1980s it was a low-budget experiment that critics confidently predicted would be an absolute disaster.

Here is the story of how London’s futuristic "toy train" grew up to save the East End.

1987: The "Toy Railway" Opens for Business

By the early 1980s, London’s historic Docklands were in a sorry state. The shipping industry had moved downstream, leaving behind miles of derelict, silent quays. The government wanted to transform the Isle of Dogs into a shiny new financial district, what we now know as Canary Wharf, but there was a massive problem: nobody could get there.

Building a standard Underground line was deemed way too expensive. The solution? A cheap, cheerful, "light" railway utilising abandoned railway viaducts.

When Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the DLR in August 1987, it was... modest.

• It had just 11 trains and 15 stations.
• The trains were tiny single-car units that were compared to 'Lego' blocks.
• The original stations were so basic they didn't even have roofs to protect passengers from the classic British rain.

The media immediately dubbed it the "Toy Railway," and sceptics laughed at the idea that bankers would ever swap their black cabs for a glorified rollercoaster.

'Athena' by Nasser Azam

I spotted this large bronze statue, in the centre of a roundabout, outside London City Airport and was immediately struck by its size. Unfortunately, as it was a cloudy day, I couldn't get a photo with the sun lighting up the silver coating that covers this giant bronze statue.

Standing at 12 metres (39 feet), it has to be one of the tallest bronze statues that I have ever seen. In fact, it is the tallest bronze statue in the United Kingdom.

Newham Council's Strategic Development Committee were the ones who commissioned the statue, stating:

“London Athena will face east towards the airport and its approach road with her head looking up at the sky and her arms outstretched about her as if greeting or waving to aircraft in and out of the airport.”

Nasser Azam, who designed 'The Dance' on the South Bank, was commissioned to design the figure and it was unveiled in 2012. 

Athena is the Greek Goddess of war, handicraft and practical reason.

London City Airport objected to the statue, who had requested to use the roundabout for signage and advertising related to the airport. They lost their objection, which I am glad about as this statue is definitely an improvement for the area.

Nasser Azam, who was originally from Newham, had the bronze cast at his foundry, Zahra Modern Art Foundries, which he had purchased in 2010. This foundry, originally called the Morris Singer Art Foundry, was the one that cast the Trafalgar Square Lions.

Because of the finish, applied to the statue, many people forget that it is made of bronze.

A small disc states:

"Athena

by

Nasser Azam

bronze

2012

with the support of

Elan Corporation, plc"