From Mexico City to Montreal, underground railways are called the metro, after the first of them all, the Metropolitan Railway (sometimes called the Met, never the metro), which was opened to the public 150 years ago today. What a work it was! Three and half miles, from Paddington to Farringdon, wide enough to accommodate GWR trains on the 7ft gauge, built in 33 months at a cost of £1.3 million raised by private enterprise. Gladstone enjoyed a run, in an open wagon, in his very tall hat, the year before opening. That was before the Fleet sewer burst in and flooded the works to a depth of 10ft. And still the pace of construction was kept up. The problems of coal-fired steam were overcome, and coal-gas bags to light carriages caused no disaster. The whole venture was a triumph of engineering and of optimism, in which the British at their best still excel.