It's neither in Northumberland or County Durham, and the modern day equivalent of those is not Sunderland council (miles off) nor South and North Tyneside councils, it would be entirely in Tyne & Wear
I thought I remembered wooden escalators from my time in London. I had been in London for a month when that fire occurred but somehow missed hearing about it. Young me not paying attention, much?
They wern't all removed. Greenford had one until 2014. I think it was only ones that were actually underground that were removed. Unusually at Greenford the Underground platforms are above ground, so the escalators went up from ground level.
I remember all sorts of wooden escalators on the Underground. IIRC the Victoria and Jubilee lines always had metal escalators, but pretty much everything older was wooden before the fire. It was just the treads of the steps that were wooden, not the machinery, of course. I remember the handrails were often an ancient rubber that was probably more flammable than the wood! The landing platforms could be wooden as well as the balustrades (the sides).
They had already been replacing them with metal ones when the wooden ones were life-expired. After the KX fire they simply accelerated the process and replaced all the remaining wooden ones below ground whatever the state of repair.
@@jonathancombe9991 Greenford is also interesting as it has signs to the "British Rail" bay platform. Never changed as it's been a London Transport then London Underground station ever since BR was a thing. I remember when there were two escalators at Greenford and a pedestrian tunnel under the mainline to get to the mainline platforms which were still open in the late 1960's (now long closed of course)
I live in south shields and as part of training for the (now covid-postponed) manchester marathon, I did some long runs that went through the pedestrian tunnel back in february - i can confirm there are 125 steps on the escalators, give or take a couple depending how much of a 'step' at the end of a stopped escalator counts as a step :D
I used to cycle through there when I was a boy 50 years ago. The trick was to pedal like mad from the start so that your momentum would carry you up the incline to the escalator on the other side, otherwise it was a real struggle. Lovely piece of work, and great to see it again. Thanks. 👍
And isn't there one (or at least a part of it) at the London Transport Museum at Covent Garden? In my memories there was a section with a wooden escalator.
I was in London in 1985 and I remember a lot of wooden escalators still in the tube. Specifically Maida Vale near the B&B we were at for a while. Even at the time it seemed a bit dubious to my Canadian eyes.
I went to see the tunnels only a few weeks back while on a trip to South Shields. I love the crittall steel windows and doors in the two terminal buildings, so 1950's.
johnny5057. I think you'll find Critall windows were much, much earlier than that. I have been aware of Critall Windows since I was a kid in the late 1940's and early 50's, because some of the houses on our 'estate' in south London had Critall windows, where most of them had wooden window frames. I knew these houses to be ones that were bomb damaged during the war. However, the church hall where I help run a Scout Group (or will, when we are eventually allowed to) was built in 1927 with....Critall Windows. As was my old primary school from 1928 (now rebuilt so none of the original survives.) In fact, as google will tell you, Critall windows have been around since about the mid eighteen - eighties! Like most successful British companies, they got taken over and bought and sold and bought and sold. So, I'm not sure what nationality they are, but they still exist, in roughly the same place they have been for at least a hundred years. They had a factory (which I remember, so up to at least 1965 when I got my driving licence) on a junction/roundabout on the A2 - Foots Cray, I think? - which is still called 'Critall's Corner'.
The interior looks a lot like the pedestrian tunnel in Antwerp which was finished in 1933, also has a wooden escalator and same bathroom tiled round tunnel. We only have one tunnel though for both pedestrians and cyclists.
Thank you Vicki for taking me with you to ALL of your amazing adventures , I binged watched them this afternoon and for awhile I didn't think about anything else! Stay safe and healthy guys , Cheers from California!
I’ve walked through the tunnel a few times, but not since it reopened. It was built in the 50s to help shipyard workers travel to and from the yards, which lined both banks of the Tyne - on the north bank from Walker in the East End of Newcastle, right through Wallsend to Howdon, and on the south bank, the towns of Hebburn and Jarrow directly opposite.
Just a minor point. The Redheugh Bridge is pronounced 'Red-Yeuf' not 'Red-Hue'. Not many people from outside the area pronounce it correctly though. Nice to see you exploring Tyne and Wear!
I pronounced it more like Ready-uff, although to be honest I rarely actually say it's name. My favourite thing about it is there's no pavement on the northbound road so when you're upstairs on a double decker you look straight down to the Tyne. Many a time have I witnessed drug deals on the quayside from up there!
@@animationcreations42 I once drunkenly walked across the entire length of the Redheugh on the wrong side of the fence. It was really windy and at one point my hat blew off and I saw it spiral down into a speck in the river and all of a sudden I felt very exposed.
Wooden escalators used to be more commonplace but I imagine they don''t do them anymore because of the king's cross fire in 1987 where a fire started under a wooden escalator and ended up killing 31 people.
Macy's in New York City still has wooden escalators. I think wooden escalators were banned in Canada (or at least Ontario) after the Kings Cross fire, because the only one I know of in Toronto is walled off.
Similar tunnels exist on the continent as well, St. Pauli-Elbtunnel in Hamburg, opened in 1911, I think Tom Scott has made a video about it, it's particular because cars can go through it as well, and in Antwerp the St-Annatunnel, opened in 1933, also with beautiful wooden escalators, are two that come to mind. Well worth a visit.
I too am old enough to remember all the wooden escalators on the LU. And also the terrific up-lights on vertical metal supports. I think they still have those lights at St John's Wood station.
The uplighters still exist at Southgate and Tooting Broadway. Sadly most others were lost to "modernisation". Gants Hill was a particularly sad loss, they blended well with the remarkable underground concourse.
Great video! I'm a Geordie lad but have new walked this Tyne Tunnel before. Putting it on my list of things to do when we're allowed outside again! Hope you enjoyed your vist to our city!
There were wooden escalators on the underground many years ago, but as far as I’m aware they were all replaced following the fire 🔥 at Kings Cross in 1987. Great video!
I remembervisiting London as a teenager in the '80s and marvelling at the clattery old wooden escalators on the Underground. None left on the Tube now and rare to see one anywhere. Those ones look to have been sympathetically restored.
2:32 I remember wooden escalators on the Tube in around 1966. Over the next few years many were replaced with metal ones. I got a mild case of nostalgia seeing that one.
Well! This is interesting! I’m a Geordie by birth (now living in Scotland) but I’ve never actually walked up the Tyne Tunnel. I’ve been driven many times up and down the normal tunnel but this is brand new to me!
"I've never seen a wooden escalator before". The London Underground used to be full of them, and very elegant they could be, especially those with wooden panelling. However, the Kings Cross fire in 1987 showed how vulnerable they could be, and the remaining ones were gradually replaced by metal escalators. The last was removed in Greenford in 2014.
Yes, after 1974 the whole tunnel is now in the county of Tyne & Wear. I was born in Gateshead on the south bank of the Tyne when it was in County Durham but moved within a week to Wallsend which was in Northumberland. Both of course now in Tyne & wear
These used to be (probably still are) the longest wooden escalators in Europe. Only a few miles from where I live I remember using them often 'back in the day'. The refurbishing of them has been going on for the last decade or so!
Lovely vlog again! Thanks. Elimination of wooden escalators accelerated after the disastrous Kings Cross underground fire of 18 Nov 1987 which killed 31 people. I am bit surprised that this one on Tyneside still exists.
Our wooden escalators survived because they hadn't been used for years before the tunnel was closed for renovation. Once the shipyards closed, there was very little traffic through the tunnels. Not many people in Howdon need to get to Jarrow and vice versa, and the 19 bus through the road tunnel is a lot quicker if you're on foot.
I remember wooden escalators as part of childhood videos to London. The last ones I traveled on is, still operating, in Antwerp serving the St Anna's Tunnel under the Scheldt. Would be worth a visit when things get back to normal.
Great video Vicki - I'd always been curious about this tunnel - mainly because of the escalators, so really interesting to see it. Bit of escalator geekery here (I really need to get out more!)... they are Otis MH (or at least based on that design) which were installed in large numbers throughout the London Underground. On LU, they originally had wooden panelling, which used to look really nice IMHO. This had to be replaced after the King's Cross fire (involving MH escalators) but the steps were found not to contribute to the fire and were allowed to remain. The ones in this tunnel had metal panels from new, and a slightly different design at the ends. I have vivid memories of going on these escalators in London as a child, and feeling a bit scared of these huge clanking, slightly shaky and vicious looking machines;-) They were extremely reliable and long lasting, with the last one being removed from Greenford in 2014 as Richard Holst says below. And relax....
@@trueriver1950 Too true! I'm stuck at home with the kids for three months with my immune-compromised wife :-( Oh well, looks like I'll be watching more videos like this...
Lovely little bit of public infrastructure! There are still similar escalators in the former Soviet Union, but I didn't expect to see one in the UK, very cool.
All gone the last was removed from Greenford in 2014 it was not subject to the Section 12 regulations as Greenford station is above ground so lasted longer than the others. One of the few (only ?) where you get an escalator up to the underground platform.
Brilliant video! Seeing the wooden escalators brings back memories of Greenford Station not so long ago, which strangely also has an inclined lift so in my books it's a form of railway. Was the song you were thinking of at the end "Fog on the Tyne" by Lindisfarne?
Two things just to be pedantic... Howdon is spelled 'Howden' on your map... And also since the 70's the tunnel is solely within the County of Tyne and Wear, so you enter in Tyne and Wear and exit in Tyne and Wear... The Northumberland and Durham signs are original from the 50's.... Still, another great video... Thanks!
@Chris Fosdyke Tyne and Wear is a Ceremonial and metropolitan county... As much a county as Northumberland or Durham. Cleveland was an administrative county... After living in Newcastle for 30 years I can assure you that Newcastle hasn't been part of Northumberland since 1974 and Gateshead not part of Durham since then either...
The historical counties of England still exist and are alive and well in many organisations. Football clubs in Gateshead or South Shields are answerable to the Durham F.A. and churches there are in the Diocese of Durham. These are just 2 examples. Metropolitan Counties were created in the 1970s to amalgamate high density population areas from the edges of adjoining counties for ease of administration but by the mid 90s had become failures. Most of these ‘new’ counties exist now in name only with no administrative power. The local council areas from within these created counties have become Unitary Authorities fulfilling the functions of both local and county councils. Indeed both the post 1974 counties of Durham and Northumberland became single tier Unitary Authorities themselves in 2009. In effect the local authorities from the created counties have become mini counties in their own right as Sunderland, Newcastle, South Tyneside or Hartlepool have the same powers as Northumberland or County Durham. Cleveland have retained Police and Fire Services and Tyne and Wear has retained Fire Services but shares it’s police with Northumberland. In most other respects Cleveland and Tyne and Wear are non functioning lines of an address that even Royal Mail says isn’t needed provided you use a postcode. In retrospect the new counties have been expensive failures and one wonders if it would have been cheaper and easier to continue with our historical counties as administrative units the larger ones with 2 tier governance and the smaller ones as Unitary Authorities?
I wonder why Geoff didn't put the "Vicki ____s" on that "Explore" sign in during post-production like he sometimes does in his least used station videos.
"I've never seen a wooden escalator before," says Vicki. Me, I said the same thing in 1984 when I visited Britain, but I was in London riding the Tube. It was probably Bank station. This was, of course, before the Kings Cross tragedy. Its amazing that anyone ever thought they were a good idea.
I am locked down in Tenerife and have nothing to do for the next month, so might watch the complete All the Stations (again LOL). That will keep me going for a few days.
Have you never seen the wooden escalator at Greenford? It was up all the way up until 2014, at what point it was replaced by a metal one and an incline elevator which both opened in 2015
I live in the north east, admittedly near Hartlepool rather than near the Tyne, and have never done that tunnel but I've done all 3 London one's you can walk including the terrible Rotherhythe Tunnel.I've done the Tyne Ferry and the the now broken Transporter Bridge between Port Clarence and Middlesbrough loads of times as it's near here.
Fascinating stuff. Lots of bridges crossing the north side (Newcastle-Upon-Tyne) and the south side (Gateshead) of the River Tyne. 14 in total as I’ve counted. Plus the incline lift is just like at Greenford station in West London and right by the Millennium Bridge on the north side of the River Thames near to Bank. And also it reminds me of Greenwich underground pedestrian walkway. When is Part 2 of Vicki Explores Canterbury due to come out.
I wonder if that Northumberland/County Durham boundary is still a thing? It does seem to me that both sides now belong to the county of Tyne and Wear now, which of course did not exist back in 1950s.
@@jeg1972 Tyne & Wear is no more. It was abolished by Mrs Thatcher. Howdon is in the Metropolitan Borough of North Tyneside, Jarrow is part of the MB of South Tyneside.
It's really reminds me of the Maastunnel in Rotterdam that was built in the '30s and '40s. First of its kind if I'm not mistaken. They also still have wooden escalators! It's now a national monument. Rotterdam doesn't have that many river crossings, let alone tunnels so especially before the construction of the metro in the late '60s it was an extremely busy commuters route, and still remains so to a lesser extent today. Especially convenient since the bridges were always opened (or so it seemed anyway,) for ships. That was also one of the big motivations to build the metro.
Good to see that a historic wooden escalator has survived. They are perfectly safe as long as they and the surroundings are kept with a modicum of cleanliness; solid wood is very difficult to burn, and there were no problems for 70+ years. The Kings Cross fire occurred after grease, dirt and rubbish had been allowed to build up, and a small fire started which gradually grew and then exploded into a moving fireball. Some similarities to the horrifying Bradford City stadium fire a couple of years earlier. In both cases, airflow and other flammable materials (accumulated litter and a pitch/bitumen/felt roof covering at Bradford) were probably more to blame than the wood.
When I was young (long,long ago) I had an aunt who lived in Willington Quay and when we visited we always liked to walk through the tunnel and back. Later when the road tunnel was announced, or under construction not too sure, one of my teachers mentioned it being built and when I said there was already a tunnel under the river she got quite stroppy with me and wouldn't believe me or admit she was wrong :) I took my own kids through one day and they thought it was great. I seem to remember that the wooden escalators were the longest in Europe (maybe the world) at one time but then I was born the year the tunnel was opened so my memory could well be faulty.
I believe their are one or two still in the 'secret' government tunnels at Corsham in Wiltshire. They were borrowed during WW2 to allow the workers access but were never returned. I can't remember the site(s) they were removed from but one may have been St Paul's. So they are still underground but not on The Underground. In fact they are now scheduled monuments see historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1409125 . The BBC site at www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/content/image_galleries/escalator_c_exit_burlington_site3_gallery.shtml?1 shows some images and also says one at least was destined for Holborn Station.
Hello Vicki and good informative video thanks as I’ve never heard of the Tyne tunnels and you done a very good job in your explanation with a nice bit of humour and I’m aware that albeit sunny it looks windy cold as I’ve experienced the sharp cold winds from the North Sea in winter when visiting that part of the country and wondered if you’ve heard of a song back in the 1970s called I’m going to leave old Durham town even though you’re in County Durham and the song was by Roger Whitaker if I’m correct and just a bit info for you as you said the tunnels were built in 1951 well it was in the mid 1950s that Newcastle Utd FC won the FA cup a few times or so anyway that’s it so I hope you and Geoff are staying safe amidst the coronavirus and cheerio
Here's hoping the incline lift is more reliable than the one at Greenford Central Line (which also used to have a wooden-tread escalator up until a few years ago)
I went through with my bike one time in the late 80s, when the shipyards were pretty much silent. I'd been working on a show at Newcastle Playhouse, and I was commuting home to New Herrington, so it was about 1am, and I wasn't entirely sure the tunnel would be open, or the lifts working. The ride was so quiet, and the air still, and as I rode up to the lift, it arrived at the top level and opened its doors. I expected someone to step out, but no one did. Bit spooky. Anyway, I rode through, and, just as I reached the lift doors the other end, praying it would be working, the lift appeared, and the doors opened. I took the lift up, and rode off into the peace of a Jarrow night.
Always loved this Tunnel, you can get up a hell of speed in the cyclist Tunnel. Knew you would bottle it at the end and use the lift : ) Don't blame you though, it really takes it out of your knees walking up the escalator.
Ran thru that a fair few times and when there's a queue at the lifts, chucked my bike on my shoulder then ran up escalators to work nearby. In its heyday I gather there was nigh on a queue from one end to the other. PS. If you look carefully at the end of the escalators you'll see the pre-1973 boundary markers for Northumberland and Durham County Councils. PPS. now North Tyneside and South Tyneside.
I was born in country Durham. And you must be really younger than Geoff. As I remember the wooden escalators on parts of the underground back in the early 80's on a school trip.
@@dahorn100011 slightly younger than me. I'm 49. But I was just pointing out that Vicki must be younger than Geoff if she never seen wooden escalators. 👌
The Northumberland and Durham signs are original features that have been left in place, the tunnel is actually in neither Durham or Northumberland, but wholly within Tyne & Wear
Lovely short video Vicki - you packed a lot into under 5 minutes! Thanks also for the nod to Lindisfarne towards the end (FOG on the Tyne). And is that Geoff we hear momentarily a couple of seconds before the end?
Oh gosh I have not seen a wooden escalator since the early 60s They look like man eaters when you are a wee thing. I always thought my feet would fall between the slats
On my first trip through the tunnel I didn't realise there was a vertical lift, and since the lift comes out in the pedestrian tunnel I didn't spot either of those exits. I carried my bike down and back up each set of escalators. Funnily enough I didn't count the steps either.
It's the 'Historic counties' of Northumberland and county Durham by definition. The term can be used for a geographical reference point in all circumstance, through out the ageses. The coat of arms of the modern Durham council now has the Yorkshire rose as one of the device for the arms.
"Now beautifully refurbished and waiting visitors!" Umm, yeah... about that... I didn't know it was counted as part of the transport network (see the Rockwell font and such that is also used on the other modes of transport).