A closer look
Running a tram network is hard enough without nearby munitions factories spontaneously turning into craters. In 1917, the Brunner Mond chemical works in Silvertown accidentally detonated 50 tons of TNT. The shockwave essentially acted as an instant, non-consensual urban renewal project, obliterating entire streets and twisting the local tramways into unnavigable metal spaghetti. Transit routes had to be completely redrawn because the sheer explosive force rearranged the geography of East London, proving that industrial safety is actually a crucial element of public transport planning.
