I don’t love steam trains for the same reason I don’t love bonfires or barbecues: My nose and respiratory passages are too sensitive to the attendant smoke for such situations to be tolerable. Not that I have any objections to their *existence;* I just try and avoid them where possible for my own sake.
Love it. My big brother used to drive Piccadilly line (was one of the youngest ever drivers), I would come back from work in West End at about 6:30pm, see him at Wood Green, and turn right back round to sit up front with him as we went to Heathrow and back to Cockfosters, then I'd get off at Wood Green again! He'd show me all the abandoned and ghost stations and platforms and tell me all sorts of tall tales. He went to the Victoria line before he retired, but it was always great fun being with my big bro "up front". My BFF little bro got taken in the cab with him once and that was it - he became a tube driver when he was old enough too!
I know the one! The distance to the Natural History and V&A Museums isn't too bad, but walking the full length to the Science Museum or the Royal Albert Hall is quite a trek! It used to be easier when there was a connecting passageway between the Natural History and Science Museums, but that closed some years ago. (There used to be a Standard Stock Underground car in the Science Museum, but I think that's gone now as well!)
That foot tunnel is a very good walk in rainy weather. I remember being down there with my family over many years. Stay away from the street sellers though, because they are usually fraudsters.
If you have time, and the weather is clement, may I suggest: DLR to Island Gardens and a stroll through the Greenwich Foot Tunnel, followed by a wander through Greenwich Village, then up through Greenwich Park and across Blackheath, then back into Central London from Blackheath Southeastern Station.
* the Greenwich Foot Tunnel * Known as "The Pipe" to those 'in the know'. I used it most days in the mid-1990s and often enough in the 200Xs and 201Xs. Used to have attendants on the lifts.
@@rjjcms1 I went some years ago to Greenwich Park, and if you have a wander around the 'Deer Park Trail' with a handful of birdseed . . . Wild birds like Finches, Robins and Blue Tits will literally come and land on your hand to eat!
Two things I'd add for the dedicated rail fan: 1. The mechanical platform indicators at Earl's Court - refurbished, alas, so not as beautiful as they were 20 years ago, but still operational. 2. The surviving NSE platform signs on the Northern City line. I'd recommend getting off at Essex Road and walking to Old Street (or vice-versa), as they're not really visible from the train.
Subdury Town is a good station to visit, its good because, its the only station with a barometer, has a map on the ceiling of the station, has an old ticket centre hut, and the writing on the roundel is different to traditional font
I'm a local, so there's a good pub in Sudbury and another one nearby on the Harrow Road. There are also some interesting local independent shops nearby as well as a small local park and a larger local park, which occasionally has a visiting funfair, times of which you could check.
Jago has a video about Sudbury Town Station. That was my local station when I was growing up, from which many journeys started, way back when employee families got a very discounted fare - 6d return took me anywhere on the underground.
My grandad told his grandsons about him taking us there until his dying day, and all of us shouting "we can hear you, Thomas!" every time that the whistle sounded
I stayed in Reading, did the entire length of the Elizabeth line (excluding Heathrow), met a mate for lunch in Camden Town and visited the depot. Not a bad way to spend a day.
@Hyberus the elizabeth line has slashed so many journey times It's proved that your more likely to get sustained passenger growth by building new railways than by reducing fares In the end, fares will be increased again, and any passenger growth gained can be lost, or a significant proportion of it can be....
@@Keithbarber The Lizzie Line has shrunk London horizontally - the economic impact of letting people get easily to work and making the travel more viable is huge if I extrapolate from my old journey from Paddington to Stratford. By being able to get places fast and reliably, I'm also more confident to spend more time in town, having dinner for instance instead of trying to get home, money stays in the city. Crossrail may have been decades in the making but absolutely worth it. It also adds capacity back to older busier lines where people can now hop on a big fast Lizzie Line taking weight off the rest of the network. So glad it didn't get "HS2'd".
@@pdrg But is it worth pricing working people out of the areas it passes through? Londoners can afford to live outside of London, but the locals to those areas now can't because of the moving Londoners, and the way small towns are turning into extensions of London.
The BMW Isetta DOES have a railway connection. The UK built ones were constructed from kits at Brighton Works just before it closed. All the parts had to be railed in and the new cars railed out, as there was no road access.
Great list. In addition I'd suggest 1) a ride on the Piccadilly line (maybe from Heathrow if you're flying in) to see all the Charles Holden stations, 2) a ride on the Jubilee line extension between Westminster and Stratford, stopping at, Southwark, Canary Wharf and North Greenwich along the way. 3) Take the District Line out to Richmond, have a beer at the river or walk up the hill to Richmond Park and then come back via mainline rail to Waterloo. You could also do the same to Wimbledon if you like tennis.
Yes, I was thinking about a Charles Holden tour at both ends of the Piccadilly Line for anyone even vaguely interested in architecture and the LT "house style". Plus 55 Broadway / St James' Park. I also like the east end of the Central Line with interesting stations at Gants Hill (Moscow), Mile End / Redbridge (subsurface), Loughton (butterfly awning), Newbury Park (bus shelter) and Leytonstone (mosaics!) plus the nice countryside.
I'd like to add 2 more cents: The Acton depot weekends are often sold out, so book that in advance. Postrail also offers tunnel walks, that also usually sell out in advance but are quite interesting. When taking the DLR and sitting in the front row, try to do the "dive" into Bank station. And finally, the Brunel tunnel museum above Rotherhithe overground stations, and the tunnel itself, meaning to "overground" connection from Rotherhithe to Wapping. Can easily be combined with that DLR dive, changing at Shadwell.
@@grandaddyoe1434 also interesting for some: IIRC / AFAIK the last building over the DLR tracks before daylight was built long after that DLR branch opened.
My 4 year old niece loves sitting at the front of the DLR. Especially the tunnel to Bank. She's not tall enough yet to go on any rollercoasters but this is a great substitute. 😅
In the section on preseeved railways, I'd include the Ruislip Lido railway - there's a beach as well but the railway is a preserved narrow-gauge line. Just inside the Greater London boundary - a 10 minute bus ride on the H13 from Ruislip station.
When I was in Londen the misses liked the statue of Paddington in Paddington station, Platform 9 3/4 in KX station, and the Transport Museum. In this way a nice day on the underground can be made together 🙂
Yes indeed - I mentioned that too. Great spot to take an iconic London tube photo from. (That plus the island platforms on Northern Line stations which were shown.)
I’ve been 3 times so far. On my second visit I took the tube to see the fantastic Postal Museum and rode Mail Rail. Brilliant little railway. Then I headed to Covent Garden to check out the London Transport museum. Later that day I then took the DLR to Royal Albert Docks to do some plane spotting at London City Airport. I then took the Elizebeth Line back to my accommodations. The next day I took the Metropolitan to Barbican in the morning to appreciate its exquisite brutalism. I eventually found myself by The Globe Theatre and hopped on an UberBoat to Greenwhich where I too a stroll through the observatory gardens. I then walked through the Greenwhich Tunnel and fool the DLR back! London definitely has one of my favourite transportation systems out there!
As a londoner i was racking my brains as to what i would add to that list Jago. The only extra i would add would be to take the river bus from Greenwich to Westminster - though strictly that's outside of the scope of the video
Hello Jago, That was a very decent short video on all things Transport in and around London. The LT Museum Depot, when open, is full of various interesting items. The Buckinghamshire Railway Centre at Quainton, Quainton Road station was on the Metropoliton Railway to Aylesbury and the Brill Tramway branch which was proposed to extend to Oxford. The former Oxford LMS Rewley Road station building, that stood adjacent to the present day Oxford GWR station, was dismantled and moved to Quainton Road and reconstructed in 1999 for preservation. The Rewley Road site being redeveloped. Best wishes from Oxfordshire.
@@thomasburke2683 thank you Thomas for correcting me on my spelling. I was told that I had dyslexia when I was doing my apprenticeship at Aldenham bus works. But went on to become the foreman at Hemel Hempstead LCBS garage. And I go to pub with my welsh springer spaniel to play cards(dominoes) at the age of 76.
I'm in London as you speak. I never saw you filming as I zoomed over the network, hither and tither. I would add the Crossness Pump House on a steam day (today was one such Sunday), via Abbey Wood Station where on steam days (so therefore "I am not a monster!") there's an old Routemaster bus who'll drive you to the Pump to a small very narrow gauge (volunteer) railway which will take you the 400 metres to the actual pump - or you can walk next to the line. The area can get a bit whiffy from the working sewage treatment plant next door. Anyway, whilst I'm about I'll keep an eye out for you filming so I can say "You are Jago Hazzard and I claim my £5".
This was a nice reminder of my previous visits to London, particularly riding in the front car on a DLR train (I’m from the USA). My last visit was in 2001, and so much new transport stuff has sprung up since then, plus I’m reminded of what I missed checking out on my previous visits, like The Science Museum and the Heritage Railways.
well.. if you happen to visit the imperial war museum... I suggest you take the bakerloo or northern line to 'elephant and castle' and if you are up for a challange... use the spiral staircase to get to the surface ;-)
In your list of heritage railways visitable from London, you missed the Cholsey & Wallingford Railway, home to Brunel's 1840 Maidenhead canopy. It's only one stop down the line from Didcot, so both can be visited on the same day.
Thanks for another great video, Jago! As a non-Londoner (though if I could have my years again...) I'd add Angel station for geek value - extensively remodelled over 30 years ago; the southbound platform nowadays occupying what used to be the entire operation before the extra tunnel and platform were constructed. Prior to that, a superb documentary was filmed there: "Heart of the Angel" in 4 parts, which can readily be found aboard a popular video hosting site not a million miles from... this one!
An interesting trip for anyone wanting to get out of London for the day could be to catch a train to Southminster and enjoy riding on a railway that was saved from the Beeching axe by a nuclear power station. New fuel rods for Bradwell nuclear power station were carried by train to Southminster from Sellafield, and used ones were taken away the same way. The line runs through some fairly picturesque Essex countryside on the way to Southminster. Burnham, the town before Southminster is probably worth a visit on such a trip. It's a small port town on the River Crouch. I have to admit that, although I grew up only a dozen or so miles from Southminster, I've never done that journey, which seems a shame as I'm unlikely to ever be in that part of the world again.
The London Underground is full of surprises no matter where you go to and every tube line has its own history and how it was built. Along with the tube stations and the tube trains.
On my first visit to London, I accidentally ended up at Bakerstreet. The underground station is lovely. I came there after having lunch at the German gymnasium. My hotel was actually near Bayswater. I never visited the fake houses😢. Not taking the underground but following the central line from bank above ground in the direction of Oxford Street is interesting. You will see a lot of known and lesser known monuments or other points of interest.
I’d suggest a trip to Hampstead on the Northern Line. The village is lovely to stroll about, a lunch at the Hollybush pub is lovely and then a walk up to Kite Hill on Hampstead Heath with its amazing view over London is always worth it. It’s also the deepest tube station on the Underground . It’s a long walk up if the lifts are out of action, I know from experience!
@@Roland-pw5xj Absolutely, although Hampstead is a bit of a slog..! I once came across an almost hidden one at Charing Cross (before it became Embankment) that surfaced somewhere between the District/Circle platforms, but I can't find it these days. As for lifts, the fast ones that they used to have at Goodge Street were always good, I rather miss those.
Appreciate the video is based on a London visit but your heritage roundup included non London based. One you omitted that I'm sure you'd love is the Leighton Buzzard Narrow Gauge railway, centenary in 2017 and has run uninterrupted for 107 years. No delays between commercial ceasing and heritage starting.
I found myself ticking a lot of these in the "Done" category, but for me a glaring error was the Thames Tunnel and museum at Rotherhithe..the first underwater tunnel in the world, contructed by the duo of (Sir) Marc and Isambard Kingdom Brunel..got to have that on your list! But apart from that, a top vid, Jago!
Whato Jago, Nothing to do with railways but try a visit to the Princess Louise pub on High Holborn, a fine Victorian gin palace with cut glass windows, remarkable tile work and varnished wood partitions (some are actually modern copies). A visit to its Gents is a must with its brass and slate. Of course it could be pointed out the site of the British Museum tube station is just across the road.
8:59 Excellent! I would add the north end of the north-bound Bakerloo line platform at Piccadilly Circus station to gaze down TWO tube tunnels. And a propos heritage London Underground sites, Quainton Road - once the furthest-flung junction station on the Metropolitan Line.
Please dont say the DLR is driverless. It is automatic. The politicians get confused about that. To be specific it's GOA3 Grade of Automation 3. Driverless is GOA 4. And down off my soapbox. Lovely video.
Back in the late 1980s, the Financial Times termed DLR as "The Toy Train", not mentioned very often these days. Breakdowns and delays were common then, much less so today.
While we’re on the topic of all-day trips - you could also go and visit Southend and take a trip on both the Cliff Railway and the Pier Railway. The former is a cute little “incline lift” system (which likes to call itself a “funicular” online, even though it’s not), while the latter will whisk you along the longest pleasure pier in the world.
This is a fantastic branch line to your normal brilliant journeys. More please! Have you done Postmans Park? A lovely place to sit with a sarnie and a flask of tea with interesting places close by too.
The Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice in Postman's Park includes a plaque dedicated to "Walter Peart driver and Harry Dean fireman of the Windsor Express on July 1898 whilst being scalded & burnt sacrificed their lives in saving the train."
Always try to sit on the front right seat of the DLR as the PSA (passenger service agent)will often move people from the left front seat to manually operate the train
The Hidden London tours are amazing. I have done two this year and loved them. I wish they were not so expensive, especially Down Street. One day I will do that one!
If you are going from Greenwich to London Bridge you might as well go one stop further to Blackfriars which gives you a unique view of London as the station is ON a bridge across the Thames with excellent views of St. Pauls, The Shard, The City skyscrapers, Tower Bridge with Canary Wharf behind it and West you can see Charing Cross, Somerset House, The Shell building and maybe, even you crane your neck and use a pair of binoculars, The Ministry of Defence.
No votes for Clapham Junction? It was one of the first places that I visited where trains got into my blood. Always LOTS of trains to see, slow ones, fast ones, some parked up in the sidings and even the odd freight train or two. Then an exhilarating ride into Victoria racing the other trains as you go.
Excellent stuff Mr Hazzard. I suggest windmills you can visit using the underground - two of my passions together. I have a rather wonderful underground poster extoling the vitures of Upminster and illustrated with its windmill.
That was a splendid Baedeker Blitz! I think a visit to Clapham Junction might be worth a shout. Even if it isn't still the busiest railway station in the world, it's busy enough at any time to induce shock and awe in folk from countries with few railways. Combine with a trip to East Croydon then back to London Bridge via Thameslink & you'll have seen London at best and worst, at a fare capped price.
You could say that if people want to travel to Covent Garden, lovely station though it is, there is no need to change at Leicester Square if travelling on a line other than the Picadilly, as it is quicker to get out and walk along Long Acre.
I would recommend looking out not only for old abandoned stations, but film locations, old signage and architectural quirks like the tunnel junction on the Bakerloo and the side alley on the Metropolitan. I'm not going to spoil the discovery, by telling you which stations, but you can look them up. Its also worth looking out for unsual features like the art displays at Gloucester Road and other unusual things like evidence of wartime history and old station furniture. There are also shopping arcades attached to some stations where you can hear the trains noises from below. Do look out for maintenance trains and you can sometimes visit depots on opening days.
I would definitely recommend a visit to the London museum of water and steam at Kew Bridge. I would also recommend visiting the giant triple expansion engines at kempton
A very good guide for those unfamiliar with what London has to offer and also interesting for those who do know the city. Thank you for this Jagorough Guide !
I’d recommend one of the trains that goes over the Thames, at least once. Blackfriars is the classic but I’ve also recently taken a train from Brixton to Victoria with a cool view!
Although it doesn't go over the Thames, the DLR, between Canning Town and East India stations, does go alongside and over the River Lea, with some wonderful views.
Shocked that this didn’t exactly before I was leaving. All I managed was Piccadilly Line (my favourite) and the Victoria Line (like one segment) and King’s Cross Station. Thanks to Geoff and you, I could finish a notebook with recommendations.
Many years ago I lived in Ongar when I was a student and I fondly remember my journeys from Ongar to Blake Hall, North Weald and Epping, then changing onto a second underground train to get right into the centre of London on the Central Line to Oxford Circus. Ah happy memories 😊
My wife and will be in Wales, in two weeks, followed by a week in London. When I saw this video pop up , my first thought was, "oh no! More things and places we don't have time to do or see!" But I was glad to see some of the top items on your list: London Transport Museum - We were there two years ago on out last trip to London, and I have to say, it is worth it! Very enjoyable museum! Mail Rail - booked for this trip! A Hidden London Tour - booked, for Baker Street. We'll definitely be taking your ride suggestion into consideration! Thanks Jago!
If you’re a tile fan, try to take the spiral emergency stairs down instead of the lift. A lot of times the tiling in these areas escapes the station “refurbishments” due to the stairs not being used as much. For example, at the bottom of the Northern line stairs at Elephant and Castle, you can see original City and South London fleur de lis tiles from 1890.
While it's not the Underground one thing I remember from one of my London visits was riding the No.15 bus. At the time this route and one other, which I can't remember, were being run with Routemaster buses. In a recent walking video by Watched Walker I noticed a No.15 bus using a modern bus so maybe the Routemasters aren't running anymore or maybe they were just short of buses. Another bus route my wife and I took was the No.24 bus. We were staying at a B&B in Belgravia and this bus gave you a nice tour passing through most of the top tourist spots at a cheaper price than the Big Bus tour. You did show a brief shot of the No.24 bus.
@@khidorahian So I take it "heritage" operations aren't grandfathered under the accessibility laws? I'm sure there's other bus routes serving most if not all of the stops the No.15 serves. Oh well, it was a neat ride for me as a transit nerd.
The District was known as the tourist line when I worked for LUL because well it connects a real lot of the big tourist attractions ! Tower of London, Embankment (London Eye is walkable !) , Westminster, South Kensington (The big museums) , and runs pretty much along quite a bit of the Thames !
This is such an informative and inspiring video! This should be a “must see” for anyone planning a visitors trip to London and looking for a unique way to see the city. I dislike the “guided packaged tours” because they only show you what is popular. I like to see how a community actually looks and functions, and what better way than using and experiencing the best transit system in the world? Added bonus is you get to meet actual locals and have a chat if so inclined.
There are farctoo many grm hidden across the underground to mention in a short video. You've covered modt of them in specific videos, but for the visitors, they may slso be interested in the clock at Piccadilly station. It has a map of the world. It shows the relative current time for each country.
Fantastic Jago. I’ve admired work for quite sometime. You’ve just helped me put more things on the list for my next visit to London. Can’t wait for the next video.
Several of the hertiage railways mentioned also host annual beer festivals. I was at the Epping - Ongar this year and plan to visit those at the Bluebell and Spa Valley.
Brilliant video Jago! I'd certainly agree with many of your choices. We visited Mail Rail only last week, it's a superb and quirky place. We really must get back to Covent Garden too, having visited last year; the LT depot at Acton will have to be on our ,''to do' list as well. We can also recommend the Epping Ongar Railway, a very friendly heritage line. One last thing, purely for the hardcore tube nerd- on the foot tunnel between Bank and Monument, there is a section of tunnelling shield left in situ..
Pre-covid I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to tour the depot on a trip over from the US that happened to coincide with an open weekend. I cannot possibly express how that has been, and likely always be, a major highlight of my travels. The expanse of the collection combined with the tour guide we had was by far the coolest experience I have ever had on a trip. If you aren't a London local and you have a chance to go I absolutely recommend it.
I have a relative who has a 20 hour layover on her way back to Canada, but don't think I can persuade her on any of these. Still some of them are things I can do in the future, so thank you Jago.
