Did you know that you can just build an Underground line? Just like that? I didn't, but the District Railway did. Ko-Fi: ko-fi.com/jago... Patreon: / jagohazzard
I don't live in London. I don't even live in UK (livin in Poland) but God I am addicted to every video about London Underground and railways. It makes me want to hop on a plane fly to London and just ride over London trains.
Having been to Poland, notably Krakow and Warsaw I've been impressed by the trains good and not so good. The high speed trains are brilliant, clean, very fast & affordable. Even being rescued after a storm when the electric connector was dislodged, by a passing local train in 40 minutes was impressive. In the UK it has been known for passengers to be stranded for hours. However, not having rail staff on each platform to ask if you're on the correct platform for your intended destination is a minus point as is a lack of communication. Other than that Poland is a beautiful country and I'll certainly visit again once the madness is over
@@mypointofview1111 rail service in Poland improved a lot in last 10 years. Also safety has improved (mostly after 2012 Szczekociny Rail Disaster). The government is now planning to build big network of high speed rail (if 250kph can be called high speed) in the whole country. But some regions lack passenger rail. The biggest train station in Poland Warszawa Zachodnia (Warsaw West) is under big renovation. Warsaw Metro is also rapidly expanding, last parts of the M2 line will opend before 2025 and soon the M3 line will start construction.
@@archivek4 I've read a bit about the Szczekociny Rail Disaster and, although most of what I've seen was uninformed press coverage, it seems to have been mostly human error and rather slack interpretation of the rulebook, not by just one person. Whatever the causes, the terrible outcome will, hopefully, have led to improvements in safety. Its sad that this is so often the case.
In the Autumn and winter of 1964 as a Railway Operating Apprentice ( age 16) I was sent to work odd shifts as a "Box Boy" in Cromwell Road Signal Box. My job was to record District Line trains arriving and departing the four surface platforms at Earl's Court. Later in my career 1978 to 1981 I was a Station Inspector at Earl's Court. A marvellous place to work.
I recall that. On weekend that's pretty normal. The shuttle to/from Olympia uses Platform 4 at HSK. Sometimes the Wimbledon service at w/ends stops short. (R we nerds or what?)
One of the reasons I enjoy this channel so much is that I live in a part of America with very little public transportation. It is cool to see it and the availability of public transportation almost makes me want to move to Europe on its own.
A lot of the US was built up after it was assumed everyone had a car so it's far less dense. It takes a certain density (including nowhere to park, or expensive parking, gridlock etc.) to make public transit make financial sense. Subways are expensive to build and run and require the most density. Cities in the US like Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and Boston have extensive subway systems.
As Jago said, there was broad parliamentary agreement for the railways to be built, just permission for that section hadn't been granted at the time of construction. It's like building an extension to your house without planning permission, even though its within permitted planning rules.
@@mypointofview1111 Except that in this case it seems that section had been specifically removed from the Act - so it's more like building your extension when planning permission has been refused. Hence why it took 30 years to sort it rather than getting it retrospectively granted in a few months.
I've often wondered how these lines decided at their loading gauges. The down side of being at the forefront of railways is that we have very restricted loading gauges on most of our lines. Of course, having a major conurbation in the way of your prospective line, with all its obstructions doesn't help. I have a US friend who couldn't believe our stock was standard gauge. "Your trains look like narrow gauge" was his verdict on seeing a Metropolitan A stock unit. He hadn't even seen a Central line unit at that point... Ta.
Usually the deciding factor was money. The bigger the loading gauge the more everything cost. So naturally the railway companies chose loading gauges that just about met their needs (or their funds). Trouble is once the lines were built, it was usually prohibitively expensive to widen the loading gauge, since not only would the work cost huge amounts, but the lines themselves would at best be disrupted and at worst closed for the duration of the work. This is especially true of tunnels (rather fitting since we're talking about the underground here). Tunnels were costly (both in terms of money and lives), time consuming and often complicated, so they were usually built as small as possible. Unfortunately once dug, it's even more costly to then expand them, requiring not only more tunneling work, but usually also the closure of the line itself. Sometimes it was actually easier and cheaper to dig a new tunnel rather than expand the original (yes Woodhead Tunnels, I am looking at you 😂)
Genuinely didn't know about that curve, cheers! I can't blame the Underground or whoever for closing it and selling off the site, as it did seem pretty pointless and even now would serve little function. Those bay platforms at High St Kensington are useful for terminating District Line trains, whether the Olympia shuttles or any other service stopped short due to problems or planned engineering works.
i use gloucester road tube station all the time when i stay in kensington. i was there just yesterday. then guest what? new jago video turns up about the station. love the history, appreciate the station all the more now. thanks.
Same here - I was down in August and ended up with aching legs because Gloucester Road doesn't have escalators and I'm too impatient to wait for the lifts. 87 steps - how many floors is that now?
That's fascinating - for nearly ten years of my life in the 1960's I must have lived almost right on top of the Cromwell curve, not to mention frequently flying departing from the West London air terminal, yet I never knew that track was even there.
I travelled through South Kensington today on my way to and from the tennis in Wimbledon. I saw this old platform and I was going to ask you if you could explain the reason it’s there. I’m glad I scrolled through your back catalogue first. Thanks Mr Hazzard sir!
I heard tell from a certain other RU-vidr that the line north of High Street Kensington was also going to be duplicated, but it only got as far as the bay platforms 3 & 4 at HSK before the plan was brought to a permanent halt. For ages I've wondered what the point of duplicating those lines was meant to be... and now I know. Greeting from Australia; as a big fan of the British railway system including the Underground I've found your videos to be the perfect blend of entertaining and informative.
Never really noticed it before, but Gloucester Road is definitely one of, if not the best looking stations on the whole Underground. Quite aesthetically pleasing!
I seem to remember it being more open to the outside thirty or so years ago, like South Kensington still is. It must have been built over at some point. The platform lighting is nicely done.
@@johnm2012 me too - I think until about 1990 it was open air. But it was never as impressive as South Kensington - it felt more utilitarian. But the covering actually was done very sensitively.
In the 1960s I worked for a tobacconist called J Leons. My shop was attached to Gloucester Road tube station. We had a side entrance into the station where there was a W H Smith shop. I have fond memories of the area. Thanks for this video.
As someone born in the South West London suburbs the London Underground (and surface rail extensions of the 30s) story has always fascinated me. Thanks for the further insights.
Thank you Jago. I spent many years travelling to and from South Kensington and always wondered why there were spare platforms there and at Gloucester Road. Nearly 40 years later, I have the answer. Thank you!!!
Don't they make use of one of the spare platforms now to separate the westbound District trains from the clockwise Circle trains ahead of the junction where they used to diverge? The eastbound trains all use the same platform.
@@johnm2012 no they don’t. For a while the spare ‘westbound’ platform was used as an art gallery with large art installations you could view from the train. It was rather fun.
Really happy to see some maps and some interesting images of the station signage in this episode - makes the whole story much easier to follow! thank you.
@@david-stewart The District Line is my line. I've used it for years from Chiswick Park. To Ealing Broadway for a drink at the North Star with my friends Rishi and Jyoti. But mostly east-bound to work in Tower Hill and/or Aldgate East. Strange how a line (a tube line!) becomes part of your life...
I was at South Kensington Station last week on a trip down to London and saw the spare platforms , I did wonder why they were disused so thanks for reading my mind and giving the answer!
I now travel around London noticing the train stations and old buildings thanks to Jago ❤️👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 for example we drove by the closed Highbury Station opposite Highbury and Islington station 🤓
When I lived in London in 2008 my family would stay at a hotel across from Gloucester Road Station and I'd always meet them there for breakfast. I think the Waitrose in this video is where we used to buy chocolate croissants every morning. It looks exactly like I remember it but at the time one of the disused station platforms had a massive wooden panda head on it which I always found odd but interesting. I've long since moved back to Canada but I love seeing so much of London through you videos, I really need to get back there one day.
I find all your videos about the tube totally fascinating and find myself looking at all the little bits of hidden gems you mention. I worked for what was then, London Underground and the history and all that is hidden away so unique. Thank you for all the history, videos and information you know.
In 1966 when I started using South Ken, to go to school, it still had 4 tracks, and I think that eastbound trains used two platforms, and all westbound trains were using the platform that they use at present.then by about 1968 they were using the two existing platforms, because they needed room to install escalators for the Piccadilly line. If you are catching a westbound Piccadilly line train, and you actually follow the signs, at the bottom of the steps to access the platform, then you are walking around the old lift shaft. They were quite large lifts, much bigger than any you see in use today.
Well wouldn't you know. Do you remember where you'd go in South Ken station to the extra District and Metropolitan platforms? I'd been wondering this for years given that South Ken was one station I was at often. I also had a look on Wikipedia and someone has provided a nice graphic showing the original layout and there was a line bisecting what is now the main platform. Makes me wonder where the original stairs went or if they just took the two either side and joined them after filling in the middle of the platform. Gosh Kensington has a lot of fun quirks I wish were still in use.
I too remember using Gloucester Road in the 60s and there were definitely four platforms. Going westwards to Earl’s Court wasn’t an issue as the lines split after leaving Gloucester Road. But to go to Victoria you could chose to wait at the top of the stairs to see whether a District or Circle line came in first and then run down the stairs to catch it. Madness, really. It was open-air in those days.
Finished in OxBlood Red similar to the Met's Red (except the map of the time had them in Green), Designed by Leslie Green which is the current colour of the District. My Head Aches
That was very interesting. I've just come back from a trip down to London and was based on Kensington High Street. I found it interesting that two lines, the Circle and district run on the same tracks. In fact I was on a district line train when an announcement came on saying that it was no a circle line train terminating at Edgeware Road. BTW, the stations especially Kensington High Street are beautiful.
I worked at Gloucester road in the ticket office until the ticket office closed in 2015, always enjoyed working at this wonderful station. Nice to see a factual and informative video of the station.
Thanks for this! Gloucester Road is one of my favorite tube stations because of the double surface buildings (even though the Leslie Green one isn't used for station access today).
You’ve just answered my long running question why South Kensington has a disused platform more visible now on the Eastbound side, although wide of the Westbound with no platform. Really fascinating story of rivalries between different railway companies.
Jago, you should collaborate with Don Coffey on a few cab rides through the London Underground. Would like to see you do the history subtitles for a video like that....
Delighted by the brief view of High St Kensington--the street itself, not just the station. Thirty years ago, we stayed at what was then the Kensington Close Hotel on Wrights Lane: the street and station were our starting point almost every day.
Fascinating! I once lived in west London, traipsing all over town by tube, bus and foot, totally unaware of the rivalry that once took place beneath my feet. Thank you for the enlightenment 🚉
Gloucester Road was my primary school station in the 1960s, and back then the Circle Line trains (O and P stock) from High Street Kensington would come in on the left hand track/platform and the District Line trains from Earls Court would come in on the right hand track/platform but that stopped a few years later. Then the extra track was removed and then the final measure was that a new platform was built over it when G Road was rebuilt in the 90s.
As an old retired circle driver, we loved the tunnel e/b between Gloucester Road and South Ken as it was so wide if we were bursting it was ideal for a quick pee. Honest not joking.
So THAT'S why trains frequently used to stop in that tunnel. I'd assumed it was just traffic into Earl's Court. (NB, as a postie, we also have to find novel places - if I've left your parcel in the garden when you're out, I may have discretely improved the soil as well).
As someone who's lived in London for some 45 years, I've travelled through Gloucester Road station many, many times but have never needed to get on or off there, so had no idea about the lovely above-ground architecture. I'll definitely remedy that the next time I'm in that area ! 😎
The hotel where we stayed on our recent visit to London was across the street from here--I bought a lot of necessities from that Sainsbury's over the curve. Had no idea the location was key to that weird long-running Underground feud.
South Kensington is such a cool station. Not only is it a joint district and metropolitan line station, but it also has a completely separate Leslie Green station building for the picadilly line, right next to the metropolitan & district one.
On a slightly pedantic note (as if), the former air terminal and the supermarket are built on a raft above the railway. At railway level are sidings for overnight storage. Since they're within the former triangle they're known as Triangle Sidings.
Interestingly this little argument has a legacy that actually lives on to this day. According to an FOI, the line between Notting Hill and South Ken is operated by the District line controller. However, the stations are run by the Hammersmith and City controller for circle line reasons, despite the district being the main serving line at that station.
Excellent! Had no idea that this was why South Ken had 4 platforms originally! I suppose it turned out to be a useful thing for Gloucester Road in the end though as it meant you now have separate platforms for westbound District and northbound Circle trains 🤔 And I suppose you can say the same for the Olympia shuttles (though I have actually no idea whether they still run those! 🤷🏻♂️). Cheers as ever 👍🍻🍀
Geoff needs a race off High St Ken to South Ken by pavement or circle line. The circle line being at best intermittant - though more reliable than it used to be.
Thank you for enlightening me about the 2 bay platforms at High St. Ken. Having noticed them some 45 years ago, I now know the real reason for their existence! 👍
In the before times, I’d go down to London once, twice or three times a year, and always visit Waitrose and the NHM. Always interesting to see what art was on show on the disused platform. I miss Glo Road and Great Portland Street, my accommodation stations!
Now I understand the layout at Gloucester Rd station! I remember the station back in the 1980s to early 90s when it was still open air, like a budget South Kensington. Once it was covered up it took on the wonderfully spooky look it has today.
thx Jago, Seems that I'm connected to this station. My first school trip in 1979 brought me there. It was an open air station then. I've been returning there intermittingly. And even stayed a year in the Forum next door. Alway wondered about the Cromwell curve. It clearly didn't fit. So after 42 years finally the aswer why.
Another really interesting and revealing account of part of the history of the Underground. Gloucester Road holds a degree of mystique. Maybe it's because like South Kensington it has the same line connections, but is far less busy, or maybe it's because it sits between South Kensington and Earl's Court (both of which are a lot busier), or yet still, maybe it's because it's the last station on the southern part of the western end of the Circle Line. Thanks again, Jago. 👏🏾😊
Point of interest for you. There are also sidings directly underneath the Sainsburys, right between the main line and the Cromwell Curve. It's known as the triangle sidings. Great video as always Jago.
The Cromwell Road terminal was essentially the counterpart, for European destinations, of the BOAC Air terminal in Buckingham Palace Road (opposite Victoria Coach Station) which served the longer intercontinental routes. Before LHR was connected direct to the Underground in 1976 passengers normally checked in at the central air terminals and were then ferried gratis to the airport by the various airlines on their shuttle buses.
Fact for you, underneath that block of flats and Sainsbury's is a sidings used by Circle and District. Circle on one side of the main track district on the other. Great video...
If you head out of the station, turn left towards Sainsburys, there's a brick wall just before the supermarket car park exit, which if you jump up you can see the bend and junctions of the lines below exposed to the elements. There's a little section there that never got covered. At one end of that wall is an unassuming, much graffitied, red door, leading to a precipitous iron staircase going down to the tracks. I carried many bottles of oxygen and propane up and down those stairs 15+ years ago when that track junction was replaced and I was cutting out and welding in new 3rd and 4th rails. The station manager wouldn't let us take the easier route through the station with gas bottles!
Like the best jokes, the answer's obvious once you've heard the punchline. I always thought that Sainsbury's incongruous. Now I know why! Thanks Jago :)
0.27 That Metropolitan Railway logo is something else! A shield on velvet / fur curtain thing, with a chained duck, a deer, 3 swords and a cracked tile under a fist holding lightning. What is going on here??? why is the duck (or goose?) chained? what does the Deer mean, why the swords, is one not enough? Latin banner? Why is the tile cracked? is that important?
I believe that the original design was to be two dead, crossed District Railway chairmen, superimposed on a mound of dead, District Railway chairmen...
