More Secrets of the DLR 

I was a member of the engineering team that built the original DLR in 1985-86-87. It's nice to see how it has grown from "The Little Railway".

I know you joke about adding a seating wheel to the front, but on the Copenhagen Metro (Which if it isn't the same to the DLR stock it's very similar), they've stuck stickers representing buttons and switches on the panel on a front so you can pretend to press them. My partner wasn't the most pleased when I sat jamming my finger on them at every station!

I vividly remember watching the DLR track being laid in the mid 80s and getting so excited about it all. It was a stones throw from my house in Bow. My Dad and I woke up really early on opening day and I was the first person to get on the Westbound DLR at Devons Road. Some older bloke who was on the platform tried so hard to get his foot on the train first but I beat him to it! 😂 I was 10 and have a picture somewhere of that morning as well as the tickets. We travelled up to Island Gardens and then made our way back home. Happy memories. 😀

I love the DLR. It's the sort of system you need in other cities and towns across Britain. Totally revamped east london..

So, I did the easter egg thing OF COURSE! You know what to do.. right? Type it in the comments when you've worked it out!

My favourite little known fact about the DLR is that many (all?) stations have what looks like an arbitrary red line on the ground. This denotes the “compulsory ticket area”, beyond which you need a ticket (or to have touched in). It dates back to the original opening, when there were fears over fare dodging as no stations were to have staff or ticket barriers.

I really love these videos about the tube, overground or dlr. They remind me of the time I lived in the most superb city in the world, London. I'm Chilean, studied at UCL and still miss London.

Pudding Mill Lane is one of the few DLR stations I _have_ actually used, as it was closer than walking back to Stratford after visiting the Olympic Park and the Orbit. Pontoon Dock is the place to be if you want to go see the Thames Barrier up close. There's an entire dry dock that has been converted into a huge ornamental garden next to it.

6:05 On the Metro in Copenhagen, they have stickers with train controls so that kids (of all ages) can pretend to drive. DLR is definitely missing a trick here!

Dude, your videos helped me so much as a visitor to London for the Three months I've been there. Your on point accuracy made me feel like I'm a Londoner. Thank you Geoff

Trying to get the front seat of the DLR is like trying to be first to watch Geoff's video. Great video!

Natural communicator. So many things we just love about the DLR.

Hi Geoff, thanks for all of the great videos! I'm from America and visited London in September 2018 for a week. Flew into London City Airport, Stayed in the Stratford area and made extensive use of the tube and DLR lines. I appreciate your sharing the local knowledge and watched quite a few of your videos prior to my visit.

70 Steps later ;-) How many floors is that? Must be nearly 15 ;-)

Good timing. I've been using the DLR between Lewisham and Bank this week due to the Bexleyheath line closure. And I bagged a front seat on Tuesday!

i love how this got recommended to me exactly 4 years after it came out

Yay, glad to see you still doing these!.

The DLR Pudding Mill Lane station and adjacent bridges have a special meaning to me. When before the Crossrail was built, the DLR Pudding Mill Lane Station and the bridges had to be relocated. I was responsible for the check of structural engineering design of the new station and bridges. The project was not small and I still put it on my CV these days.

I love the plastic steering wheel idea. I am a big kid!! 😂 (Not a London resident, in fact never been to London; would love to visit in the future)

New York has the equivalent to the DLR,but not as long! If you go to Jamaica Station,on the Long Island Railroad,and go upstairs,there is the Port Authority Air Train,(built by Bombardier), which goes to JFK Airport. It covers the terminal area,and also connects to the Howard Beach subway station( on the A line - to the Rockaways,)! There is an extra fare,and it takes somewhat of the long way round,but it is scenic,and Southern Queens isn't too bad looking either! This is one of New York's lesser known lines! Also there is a line operated in Newark Airport,which connects on New Jersey Transit out of Penn Station,as a variation on the theme! New York needs to have a good comprehensive all connected transit system,as London or Berlin,but has a long way to go! Thanks for the information,and keep up the good work!😇😀👍👍👍👏

Another great video Geoff, more please. I like the way the DLR suddenly brakes at corners a little like a fairground ride.

This is literally the best video series on youtube, ever!

Another great video! Really enjoy these videos, they're so insightful. I'm a Londoner born and raised but I don't know half of these things!

I'm up for _DLR Exits You Didn't Know Were There,_ even though, being utterly unfamiliar with the DLR and indeed London, they're _all_ exits I didn't know were there. :) (Also, you're a braver man than I am, sitting on those filthy stairs at 3:00.)

When I was student in London the DLR ran right behind the house I lived in and I used it a fair bit, especially going to the original Island Gardens station and walking through the tunnel to get to Greenwich Park or to and from Bank to switch to the Underground. It was always fun to ride.

Travelled the DLR today for the first time. Great experience. And was at Pudding Mill Lane (among others), too. Great vids, well done!

They don't call it DLArtwork? Seems like a missed opportunity. Love the videos!

Thank you. The variety of entrance and exit types - including ones not signed - makes the DLR a mystery for visitors but very convenient for people who know it. That it doesn't have automatic barriers is a great advantage over the tube and suburban services.

Well done again. I remember riding on those first two lines. And the way the lines went to Poplar Station. My Dad's first worked at Old Poplar Station as a porter in Steam Days. On £2 pound odd a week and he enjoyed every minute. His Lst was 2nd in Comarded of Parcels from Land's End to the North and over with connection with early Europe Days.

Great report Geoff, a tonic in these dark times.

It’s always a good day, when Geoff uploads a new Secrets video

Awesome! Thanks Geoff!

Thanks for another interesting video Geoff. Incidentally the 1990s BBC drama series "Bugs" features quite a lot of shots of the Docklands Light Railway and the general Canary Wharf area before it became as populated as it is today. The production team were deliberately trying to give the show a futuristic atmosphere by filming in the area just after it was built, and I think it works pretty well. Also, the 1991 film Close My Eyes (directed by Stephen Poliakoff) has some interesting shots of the Canary Wharf area as it was being built, including some journeys on the DLR.

Another amazing video from Geoff Marshall 👍👍👍

Great video Geoff and nice to see another video of the DLR.

Great video, great photos thanks for you content👍

Great video. Such a interesting person and a inspiration to me

*sees new secrets video* *delighted screaming*

I wish there was more of these videos, I've watched all the others and absolutely love them

When I was a kid, Limehouse station was called Stepney east.

Omg I thought we’d never get another one of these loved it

dlr is my line and im absolutely in love with it, thanks for the video :)

Another excellent video Geoff.

Awesome content as always!

I'm early!!! Love the videos Geoff, keep it up with the great content!

Wow this video was so interesting! I'll definitely keep my eye out for the 136 train in future. 🙂

We in Montreal are getting a DLR-style line, reconverting an old suburban train line, and adding finally getting direct access and metro service to the airport. It will feature a panoramic front window but no seat! ☹️ And the DLR of course makes me nostalgic of Vancouver’s Skytrain. Very interesting video thanks! 👍🏼😊

Loved the DLR when I stayed in London recently, got to sit up front a couple of times too 😁

At the artwork at Woolwich Arsenal, I am learning about Micheal Craig Martin in School!

Hello There, really useful and informative video, so, so interesting and varied, thoroughly enjoyed it! Cheers Peter

Love these videos so much

Love the DLR, my commute involves going from Langdon Park to Bank everyday, in the last 3 years I can probably count on one hand how many times I have had issues getting in. The Bank DLR from Poplar does get especially busy, so a tip if not in a rush, get to Canary Wharf or West India Quay and catch Bank train from there, more space, possibly even a seat.

You know what Geoff, the more of your stuff I see the more less daft I feel - smile.

Brilliant video!!

a great video to watch when im about to go ride around the dlr for the last time before i move country

Awh. I miss this. Loved living near the docks. Moved up north now and I never thought I’d miss the dlr but I really do 😂

Thanks Geoff ... wonderfully done and soooo informative ... and I thought I knew the DLR rather well having lived near MudChute and used it nearly everyday for about 2 years just moving to St Davids Square (right at the bottom on the Isle of Dogs) at Y2K ... my how it's grown ... Also totally agree on riding at the back of the train ... first ever trip to London in March '99 staying in Docklands, I caught the DLR westbound to TG to catch the LU to LHR (that's a journey x2!) but I was listening to "West End Girls" reminiscing on that trip not sure when (if ever) I'd be back let alone knowing I'd move there in less than a year's time ... wonderful memories (and why yes, I do date myself as I was listening to that track on my CD Discman!)

Good video 👍🏻The Shadwell “secret” exit wasn’t always an used as a public exit, it was only there to be used as an emergency/fire exit. It was opened as an exit on marathon days and it’d be a one way system. I think it was opened fully as an exit in time for the olympics.

I love going on the (DLR), Docklands Light Railway

You hit the nail smack on the blunt end Geoff, when you said "If you're not in a hurry, stop and look around the station." We should all slow down and look around us. I didn't do this until I retired. I thought "What a mug I've been!" Stop and smell the roses! Stop and hear the birds singing! Stop and watch a sunrise! Stop and see kids playing. I do it all now, nothing can stop me stopping to take it in!

I show my family as we went here last week

Moving to Stratford very soon, useful to know about the entrance!

Good video as always geoff👍

Love it.

Thank you 🙏🏼

Very nice watch.

I was on the DLR once when I visited the UK in 2017, I took it out to Greenwich to visit the Observatory and the Maritime Museum. But I forgot to "swipe out" with my Visitor Oyster card (I forgot and wasn't used to that) so it charged me 13 pounds. But I talked to the staff and they agreed to refund me because they saw that I was just a dumb tourist that didn't know better. 😁

Nice narration Geoff

First time I've ever seen a new (London based) Secrets video as I only discovered this channel a year ago.

Great video as always Geoff. Canning Town interchange is, as you say, rather confusing, especially if you're transferring from the Jubilee line to the DLR for London City Airport. I do wish they'd make the signage a little clearer, as we always find ourselves wandering around trying to find the right DLR platform. If one only uses the station once or twice a year (as we do) it's impossible to remember.

I'm enjoying the installments about DLR. (And all the rest of them.) I lived in London for nine months in 1987-1988. For the first month or so I was staying in a new condo on the Isle of Dogs (I think the ones with the brown roofs on the east side), so I was using DLR about a month after it opened. Must have been Crossharbour Station. It was still pretty desolate out there with a lot of abandoned light industry and cement walls. Though I always felt safe going home late at night because there wasn't anyone around.

When we stayed in a hotel at Hyde Park literally over the Lancaster Gate tube station we ultimately took the DLR out to see the Royal Naval College. I can't remember if we had to change lines more than once but it worked well.

You're bang on about the best seats being at the front or the back. The only way to travel on the DLR

I always see the artwork at Woolwich as that's my local DLR station 🙂

This ones a classic. Every escalator and staircase, you’ll know it is 15 floors. Only on the tube.

I remember many years ago using the DAISY system via WAP to see when the next train was due to leave from Cyprus DLR station; was basically what the screens were showing at the station.

Another Secret of the DLR the Porta cabin underneath Pontoon Dock station was for the Extra DLR staff during the Olympics. This Rest/ tea room is still there 7 years later. I had to visit all these locations where extra staff was going to be before the Olympics in 2012 :-)

I remember way back, when the DLR didn't run on a Saturday and One-Day-Travelcards weren't valid on it. Oh, and when Island Gardens was the end of the line. DLR has improved and expanded so much :)

Loved going on the ‘train with no driver’ back in the 90s with a travel card we would get on at the back, ride the train to the end of the line then we’d be a the front when it went back. Good times

I was really fascinated by the different bridge arches.

Nice another one

Canning Town Station is kinda like North Station here in Boston. We have the Green Line (trains (Light Rail) that each end in different places and are light rail. Inbound is on the lower level and outbound is on the upper level. However, the Orange line (Subway) towards forest hills is on the same platform as the Inbound green line but on the other side. The outbound Orange Line (Forest Hills towards Oak Grove) is opposite the Inbound (another platform, like a typical subway). Both platforms connect up to the upper level and the upper level has an underground connection to TD Garden which serves Commuter Rail (Commuter Train), Amtrak, and local bus connections. There’s a really similar aspect to another station called South Station (basically a major station on the South side of Boston instead of the North side) but it’s a tad more complicated.

That part about the bridges is really interesting!

Just skated at pud mill station yesterday. Really nice station.

Interesting facts on the Docklands Light Railway

"secret entries you'd never know were there" - would be a great video.

When I lived in london, in 2008 - for about a week after arriving I was convinced that DLR IS the tube! I got a lift from the airport to the place I stayed at so I haven't seen trains on the way in.

Interesting you mention a plastic steering wheel... I posted a tweet a few years ago of me sitting on the front seat of the DLR. Their social media team got in touch with me and sent me, I kid you not, an inflatable steering wheel with a suction cup so you could stick it onto the window. It says 'front seat on the DLR #happydays' on it.

Talking of DLR artwork and the Beckton branch, I used to study at University of East London, right next to Cyprus station, which is virtually identical in appearance to Beckton Park station. In my last year of studying art there, we had to find a client outside of the university to look at how they'd put an art installation together. My choice was TfL, for how to get platform artworks up at these 2 stations so you could tell them apart more easily (many students and even staff members had mistakenly got off the train 1 stop early at Beckton Park!). Beckton Park's artwork ought to have been a wrap-round tile mural of the park itself, complete with the horses at the horse track, while Cyprus's artwork was intended to have an abstract composition of stationary (pencils, paper, rulers, pens, laptop computer, graduation scroll, etc.) for the university. Though I graduated with a top mark, TfL never got back to me. Hopefully in the future.....

I always take the back entrance at stratford international as it takes you to the mainline station

I always go for the back seat, ssshhhhh :-) I like Michael Craig-Martin's work, I had no idea that work existed as I've always used the main exit at Woolwich Arsenal, will check it out thanks!

If you love the DLR, come to Vancouver! They have the DLR on a whole other level!

I love the "Secrets Of" videos!

‘Thames Wharf’ is the name of the first of the London Levels in 1998’s Tomb Raider III

Amazing vid

fun fact: the start of every facts or tidbits spell "rockwell", very cool geoff!

Nice. I'm only in London for a frew days, but I just used those new escalators at Limehouse a good hour ago ;-)

1:01 It's like Highgate on the Northern Line except the trains overrun to the front end of the platform instead!

Epic its back

I use the link bridge at Limehouse every morning on my travels to university in Greenwich! So annoying that on the way back I have to go the long way down the stairs and re enter the national rail station!