Geoff Marshall follows in the footsteps of John Betjeman into Metroland, following London's Metropolitan Line. There's more over on Geoff's personal channel here: / geofftech2
@@perceptoshmegington3371 - He's the Mayor of London. Watford isn't in London. Why should we Londoners contribute towards something for northerners? Tongue is slightly in cheek here.
It's fun watching these old vids because not only has Geoff come in on P4 at High St Ken (Circle Line) but he's also ridden the Norf Kurve at Watford, despite what he said at 2:25
Devito D But how many stops do you need on a tube journey to recite in your head every station on every line on the underground? I have got it down to 4 stops.
***** bank and Monument are the same station. I don't know why they have different names for it. It even says on the Waterloo and city line "Bank change here for the Central, Circle, District and Northern Lines and the DLA
Six summers ago I stayed about a mile from the Croxley station. Took the Metropolitan line every day into London. Some of our group complained about the long commute, but I loved taking the tube!
Tai Thai That video is brilliant, and I see your point, but my point was that you don't have to live in Britain to appreciate the marvel of the London Underground and all of its quirks and history
thanks so much Geoff, loved this one! appreciate your hard work bringing us the series, goes without saying that any more you can do would be well received...'a day in the life of a driver', 'a depot tour', 'a night with the fluffers'
As I recall, you never got off an electric train, and onto a steam train at Rickmansworth - they merely swapped the locomotives - the stock was the same, six-car Metropolitan "dreadnought" sets.
1:28-2:05 update - Mayor of London and TFL after many plans and deliberation actually decided to cancel the upgrades to the Watford line, so we’re stuck taking the bus to the shopping center :(
I love the series. I think ive rewatched most of these two or three times. Brings back memories of living in Dagenham back in the early 90s. When I had a day off I would ride around London on various tube and NSE lines. Similar journeys here in Toronto may be less expensive, but quite dull by comparison.
Chesham is one of my favourite tube stations. Reasons: Gorgeous, Beautiful garden, Beautiful signal box, Beautiful canopy and Beautiful small station building. I love the station a lot.
Really interesting, I like the presentation style, and camera work, really brings the viewer into the subject. Gonna check out more of this, but it is 2 in the morning and I need some z's
Try Railmaponline You Can Find Historic Tracks And Old Trams And Underground And High Speed Two And Purposed TracksAnd Wikipedia And New Aldestrop Atlas And Open Street Map And Open Railway Map You Can Find Ambadoned Tracks Too
Excellent series. Your videos have made me see the Underground in a different light. Please consider doing the DLR, Overground and Tramlink in the future.
I rode down the North Curve today at around 4pm because the Metropolitan line was suspended between Watford and Northwood and the train stopped on the northbound platform at Rickmansworth and then reversed and turned into a fast service which went to Moor Park,Harrow On the Hill and Finchley Road and then the usual stations in zone 1
I have thoroughly enjoyed every Tube video you have posted! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE try to do the other Tube related video(s) you spoke about in this video!
A brilliant video once again. I have visited Watford Met terminus a couple of times, the most recent when the IWA held its festival at Cassiobury Park in 2013.
2:24 GEOFF : 'but I wasn't prepared to get up at 4am to catch the 5am train around the curve to Croxley' *Smashcut to 2021* GEOFF : 'let's go catch catch the 5am train between Richmond and Croxley then wait around until midnight to do the same in reverse.'
Brilliant series of videos, very interesting details and very professionally produced. Any chance on an episode covering the rules of Mornington Crescent perhaps?
To J Hughes. I found the story of the London Underground fascinating as a kid. Back then, in the 70s of course, it was much more atmospheric with the older rolling stock, ticket booths, smell of asbestos brakes, clunky ticket dispensers, Christmas tree type train departure indicators (especially at Baker street Met line platform 5 up to about 1990. I remember the original Drain and trains weren't so well insulated. The noises and smells were incredible. The signage, paint schemes were of a magical age. I remember taking some underground steel signs out of a skipful at Harrow waste transfer site. No trouble getting £60 each. I should have taken the lot! Nostalgia is something the British make an art form out of. No one does it like they do. Unfortunately there's so much they take it for granted and, next thing you know it's all gone. The stations are all that's left. They could and should put on the occasional vintage train.
The Chiltern Railways drivers are the only train drivers in the UK to be fully familiar with two different signalling systems - the London Underground signalling as well as the Network Rail signalling as the Chiltern Railways class 165, 166 and 168 DMUs are fitted with a tripcock in order for the units to work over the LUL signalling system between Harrow-on-the-Hill, Rickmansworth, Chorleywood and Amersham as they share the line with the LUL Metropolitan Line.
I live in Chesham, and I’ve ALWAYS wondered what the little ‘slip track’ was between Chorleywood and Rickmansworth was for. Now I know! Also I didn’t know the little tower was a water tower!
Too all the people who are here in 2020/2021 the extension from coxley was cancelled due to funding issues and was denied by TFL who owned the line at the time.
One did not have to de-train at Rickmansworth, the electric loco was removed from the train, and replaced with a steam engine to continue to Ailesbury. I use to bunk of school and watch them do the changeover.
I went on the Metropolitan Line when it went as far as Aylesbury. The old slam-shut-door individual compartment carriages were pulled by an electric locomotive from Baker Street to Rickmansworth and then by a steam locomotive to Aylesbury. There was no need to change trains, they just swapped the motive power. Incidentally the map inside the carriage was a topographical map, not a diagram, and the Metropolitan Line was shown in green instead of the usual mauve colour.
There used to be an old tunnel from Central London which came up just before you get to to Wembley Park which was used as as a fast network in the 70's. Part of the tunnel is still in use from time to time but only to get in to Neasden Depot.
Very late to this but just to add that, when I was working in Amersham a few years ago, and had to go in REALLY early one day, I caught the 4-car shuttle from Wembley Park to Chalfont & Latimer (it was going on to Chesham) - so I think they kept it in the Wembley depot overnight.
In 1935, the Metropolitan Line ended service at the Brill Tramway. In 1936, The Metropolitan Line ended service at Verney Junction and went back to Aylesbury. In 1961, the Metropolitan Line ended at Aylesbury and went back to Amersham and Aylesbury Station has been converted. And Verney Junction is still abandoned.
Used to use the met regularly to go to amersham and on to Wendover for RAF Halton. Used to meet up with others at Moriarty's bar at baker Street station. No longer there I think. Happy days!!
3:19 I found some Easter Eggs with the old tube map! The hammersmith & city is in Purple which is the Metropolitan line colour and the Central line on that map goes up to Ongar So this map was before 1990
The tunnel with Wanstead, Redbridge and Gants Hill is in the London Borough of Redbridge. The Chigwell-Grange Hill tunnel however is in the Essex District of Epping Forest.
Not sure if anyone realises but the met between farringdon and paddington was Broad Gauge. You can still see the very wide infrastructure. The line was built dual gauge and the three rails can be seen in the painting of Praed Street junction shown on the Metropolitan Railway Wikipedia article. It is also shown at commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Praed_Street_Junction,_Metropolitan_Railway_Chromolithograph.jpg.
So far as I know, Chesham began with only the one platform. The bay was built much later, making a total of two platforms. The bay was latterly withdrawn from service, and the track removed.
Regarding changing to steam at Rickmansworth. As I remember, the trains to Aylesbury from Baker street (Liverpool Street in rush hours) were hauled by electric locos, known as "Bugs" as far as Rickmansworth. There, the Bug was detached and switched to the southbound line, and replaced by steam loco which was parked in the side platform. No need to get off the train. After departure, the Bug waited for the southbound steam-hauled train when the whole changover process was reversed. Sounds compicated I know, but if you had seen as many times as I did 50+ years ago, it was very simple. The carriages were compartment type almost identical to the "T" stock which ran on the Met from Baker Street (Aldgate in rush hours) to Watford. The Baker Street (Moorgate in rush hours) to Uxbridge trains were "O/P" stock; a nice red colour rather than the "T" s dirty brown.
I remember travelling on the met from Harrow on the Hill to Baker Street being pulled by an electric locomotive. The locos were painted grey with red stripes, although some were painter maroon. They had name plates,I don’t know if any are preserved. The coach stock was painted like brown timber or might’ve been timber. There was a half buffet car in one coach..
Geoff this is what I found about verney junction. Verney Junction was an isolated railway station at a four-way railway junction in Buckinghamshire, open from 1868 to 1968; a junction existed through the site without a station from 1851.
I've been to Verney Junction! It is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, there's maybe two or three properties nearby. In its heyday it was a four way junction, you could get trains to almost every place in the local area. Nowadays the lines running north and south (south being what was the Met) are long gone but the east west alignment still exists, as do the platforms and even a sign telling you to watch for trains! Everything is fully overgrown but the tracks are still there. Fortunately the east west rails will soon be back in use when trains run again between Oxford and Bletchley, but Verney Junction, with its three houses, is most definitely not going to be a reopened station!
When I lived in Oxford I looked on the map for the town of Verney. There isn't one! Apparently the station is named after the farmer that the railway company bought the field from. It's rather difficult to find any reason why the Metropolitan thought it worthwhile to construct a line to it; I suppose it could have given access on to Buckingham, Brackley and Banbury, but I don't think that ever happened.
The station wasn't named after the nearby settlement, it was the other way around: the nearby settlement was named after the station. I'm not sure where the name of the station (or the junction) came from but there is a tiny hamlet called Verney Junction, near the now disused station.
Sir Harry Verney, born Harry Calvert, was a director of both the Buckinghamshire Railway and the Aylesbury & Buckingham Railway, which met at the junction in question. Another station, on the Great Central, was called Calvert after him.
The stained glass windows at Uxbridge are the coat of arms for the former county of Middlesex (the crown with three scythes) and the county of Buckinghamshire (the white swan) as Uxbridge was in Middlesex up until 1965 with the border with Buckinghamshire being located very close by.
Traveling on the Met . in 1944 , there was no changing of trains at Rickmansworth , it wasn't necessary .The BO BO from Baker St. was replaced by steam ready waiting in the siding , the whole changeover being done very swiftly .The BO BO then used the crossover waiting in the up siding ready for the next Baker St . train , wher the procedure took place in reverse .
This is now 2024 but none of the stations mentioned to be added exist. But these videos are very cool and i love it. Its a bit outdated now, since this is 10 years later, but its still very interesting to see the metropolitan line from the perspective of someone a decade ago
Shame they cancelled the extension through Watford. I wish someone would renovate Harrow-on-the-Hill station. It is a wonderful Art Deco building but has seen better days. I'm sure with all the talent of London at our disposal they could do a wonderful job if the funds were available.
Uxbridge is a Met Station as it was built for the railway in 1904 the District reached Uxbridge in 1910, and taken over by the Piccadilly in 1932 with the District being withdrawn , the currant Uxbridge station was opened in 1938 replacing the old one on Belmont Road.
I once was on the district line I frogot which one but it's bettwen victora and tower gate there was a station and abandon platform can you explain what it is and why they closed it
The "secret" rear entrance to Moor Park Station serves Merchant Taylors' School by a footpath which could get muddy in wet weather.. In the 1960s perhaps more than 400 boys would use this path, not so many now with most (???) coming to school by car.
as a current mts student, i can indeed clarify that the spinney does still get extremely muddy and we do still have a good 30-40% of students and a few teachers getting the tube home, myself included
One did not have to change trains at Rickmansworth. The electric loco, (of the Sarah Siddons) type a was removed, and a BR steam loco backed down and takes the vintage carriages to Aylesbury.
I know this video is a bit old, but at Rickmansworth the Met changed locos, electric to steam and vice versa. Passengers did not disembark and get on a different train. The track layout was set up so that as the loco coming off ran forward, points changed behind it and the replacement loco backed on to the train. The change over took about three minutes, allegedly the fastest loco change in the world at the time.
Thank you for the series, Geoff--a fantastic almost-hour's worth of trivia gold but excuse the capital-shouting when I say ABANDONED STATION VIDEO! YES! Yes please.
I go through Uxbridge all the time, and I thought you'd like to know that Uxbridge has that curved shape as it was originally designed as a trolley bus terminus.
0:40 That's the longest gap between stations on the London Underground? I can give you some transit systems with bigger station gaps, such as the Washington Metro's Silver Line, which has this 4.5 mile distance between East Falls Church and McClean, and a 6 mile gap from Spring Hill to Reston. There's a four mile gap on MARTA's Red Line between Buckhead and Medical Center.
Full of interest, well shot, edited and narrated. Dubbing was quite iffy in one or two episodes. Only real complaint is tried to cram far too much in. Some of the cutaways were so short you could blink and miss them. It leads me to wonder if the series is a sketch to pitch at the MSM to win a full broadcast treatment. That would be wonderful.
Fairly sure that the North Curve features in older versions of the map. Also given it has trees on top of it, and the road level is significantly higher than the the entrances i would contend it is a tunnel, and yes it is the only underground outside London. I placed a geocache there to that effect
