The World's First Underground Railway
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- Опубликовано: 27 июл 2024
- First opened to the public as the Metropolitan Railway in January 1863, the London Underground is the world's oldest metro system.
In this video we'll be looking at what it would have been like to experience a ride on the London Underground when it first began running 160 years ago.
What did the original seven stations look like? What sort of carriages would you have travelled in? And just how smoky were the steam locomotives as they chugged through the tunnels?!
In case you missed it, please be sure to check out the first instalment of this two-part series, which looks at how the Metropolitan Railway was conceived and built:
• How The Metropolitan R...
And please be sure to let me know your own thoughts on the Metropolitan Railway in the comments!
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Chapters:
0:00 Intro
01:12 The Metropolitan Railway's Inaugural Ceremony
04:35 Chaos on Opening Day
06:51 Overcrowding at a Public Execution
07:45 The Early Metropolitan Railway Stations
08:10 Bishop's Road (Paddington)
08:45 Edgware Road
09:51 Baker Street
10:47 Portland Road (Great Portland Street)
11:20 Gower Street (Euston Square)
11:51 King's Cross
13:00 The Regent Quarter Abandoned Tunnel
13:27 Farringdon
14:26 The Steam Locomotives
15:04 Fowler's Ghost
16:29 The Great Western Railway Metropolitan Class
19:42 Metropolitan Railway A Class Locomotive
20:33 Carriages, Crashes & Crime
28:10 Outro
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Thanks again for watching, friends. Stay well, and please be sure to stay tuned!
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Credits:
Footage:
Steam Locomotive Footage: 'The Tube: An Underground History' (BBC, 2003)
Franz Muller Animation: MyHeritage
3D Mapping: Google
Music:
Black Vortex (Kevin MacLeod)
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (Franz Liszt)
See the Conquering Handel Comes (Handel)
• See The Conquering Her...
Our Story Begins (Kevin MacLeod)
The Chamber (Kevin MacLeod)
Forest Lullabye (Asher Fulero)
Darkest Child (Kevin MacLeod)
Magic Escape Room (Kevin MacLeod)
Doh De Oh (Kevin MacLeod)
Air Prelude (Kevin MacLeod)
The Thought of You (TrackTribe)
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When I was going to university in the UK, I was heading back to Baker St station after seeing a theatrical production of the RSC at the Barbican. The Circle Line train wasn’t allowed to stop at Kings Cross station. A fire had broken out on one of the Kings Cross wooden escalators. A truly horrific night.
Gosh John....
Yes, I remember that event well, even though I was only a child at the time. A truly horrific event, and incredible to think about the conditions at the time which facilitated it- smoking, wooded escalators and so on.
Thank you for sharing your memory and stay well.
I love the history of recently forgotten London. I started lorry driving in 1966 delivering goods from the south coast to all parts of London. It was essential to know the whereabouts of the snack bars used by the cabbies and the mostly underground toilets. These toilets were impeccably kept, with highly polished copper pipework contrasting with the dark green and white tiling. I remember one such esablishment, but sadly don't remember the location, which had a full length glass water tank along the ceiling, feeding the urinals. this tank was filled with goldfish. I'm sure these places would make an interesting incorporation into a video.
Great comment Phil! I've heard the toilet with the goldfish was on Holborn? Cheers and stay well.
Another interesting video, thank you. My great father worked on the line as a signal man. He save a woman from the line who sadly wanted to end her life. As he pushed her and tried to save himself he sadly lost his foot. Back then there was no compensation. When my Grandad came back from the WWl, he too worked on line. Even though he suffered with his lungs from the gas they used in WWl, the smoke you described aggravated it further and had to look for other work. Your description brought this to life for me as what they would of experienced. Once again loving the videos ❤
A truly incredible comment Gill. Thank you so much for taking the time to share.
Much respect to your great grandfather and stay well.
Robs London videos really are a work of art, patience and perseverance
That is so kind of you to say! Many thanks indeed; your comment just made my day 😊
Thanks! It has been far too long since I was last in London, but your channel is the next best thing to being there.
Thank you so much Leonard, that means a lot to me
Leonard what a lovely man you are.
Human nature doesn't change, so I don't think we should underestimate the draw that public hangings would be today. But your idea of going by Underground to witness them will stay with me for a long time. Another excellent video, Rob. Thank you for all your hard work putting these together.
Thanks so much for the kind words Chris- and yes, regarding human nature I very much agree. Cheers and stay well.
Good stuff. I believe the universal term 'metro' derives from the Metropolitan Railway (where, ironically, it has never been used!)
Cheers David, good comment 😉
It was used in there marketing name 'MetroLand'.
I think “Metro” comes from the official name for the Paris Metro which is “Métropolitain de Paris”.
@@jlelliotton but the Parisian Metro didn’t open until around 1900.
@@markshrimpton3138 True, but the comment was about the term "Metro" for a subway not which came first. The Paris Metro was the 1st to be commonly called that, not the London Underground (Tube).
First class video Rob with lots of cool information, I love riding on the tube and reading all about its history. after my wife passed away in 2016 i have had lots of day trips to London and set myself a the task of going on every tube line from end to end which i completed including the northern extension to Battersea power station on opening day. i have also completed the Overground Croydon trams and all the main lines in zones 1 to 6 and the DLR i still have 2 small section of the Elizabeth line to do but they will be done by the start of summer. Not bad for someone who lives in West Yorkshire i guess you could say i am into trains and railways.
This is such a beautiful comment Tony, thank you my friend.
I’m so sorry for your loss, but am delighted to hear you’ve achieved such a feat.
Stay well sir.
One can only imagine that with all your excellent history videos that you must spend simply hours and hours in libraries, on the internet, buried in reference and history books, newspapers, archives and the rest to be able to provide your followers with such facts and interest filled content, just like this one. The thoughts of steam, soot and clatter in the early tubes must have been hell - let alone an oaf on one's knee! Thanks to you, Rob, I was informed, amused and entertained all from the comfort of my seat and study!
Rob
Thanks Rob! I’ve collected a lot of London history books over the past 20 years or so, all helps 😉
Love this second part. That lunch banquet on Farringdon platforms was EPIC! Packed full of information plus great choice of footage and stills. Great video, as always.
Cheers Michael! Yes, I’d love to have been there 😉 Cheers and stay well.
Aha! So your trailer featured the art deco firefighting kit at Great Portland Street, now we know. I was lucky enough to be living in London when they reopened Baker Street (or as it was originally written, Baker-street), which immensely impressed me, it looked so fine. But my favourite station remains Farringdon, whose Metropolitan Underground, Thameslink Overground and now Crossrail services offer destinations to almost anywhere at all outside London, giving it a mainline terminus vibe. Also, Clerkenwell is my favourite bit of London. They should build a bridge café in the roof so that total nerds like me can sit there with a latté watching all the different trains coming and going, and Celia Johnsons can have soot particles removed from their eyes by Trevor Howards.
What a truly brilliant comment! 😄 Cheers and stay well 😉
When I first lived in London as a young man in 1980 the underground was quite a thrill! Those iconic lines. I'd schlep up to Chelsea, Sloan Square, from Hammersmith, Stamford Brooke, to meet my old actor uncle for lunch on a Saturday. He lived in a hotel on Sloan Square. Basically posh bed sits. Taught English and did some strange Royal liason stuff. So my first experiences of the Smoke were pretty odd! Nice vid Rob. Thanks for all the hard work.
Lovely comment David, nice memories. And thanks so much for the kind words; stay well.
It's interesting that someone found the tunnels "chilly". These days it is more often too hot, but I suppose that is a function of almost exponentially more users knocking about.
Educational and entertaining as always. Thanks Rob.
Thanks Paul, and yes; good point.
I may be wrong, but from what I understand the tunnels were cool at first but eventually came to trap heat within them.
Cheers and stay well mate
@@Robslondon I typed before you got to the bit about the massive vents as at Baker Street. I'm sure they kept things cool for a good while.
Another video packed with interesting information, love the old images especially the one with all the men in top hats !
Thank you so much Rachel!
More Undegrounf videos! I love the history of the Tube.
There will certainly be more in the future! Thank you Jovan :-)
12:56 omg! I was looking at the 'Do not alight here' signs here today thinking "I wonder why this platform is here?"
So strange!
😉
Another well researched and presented video Rob. I loved the smoke wafting along the top. The conditions must have been atrocious for the crews. But it says a lot about our forebears that they took to using this new mode of transport so quickly.
Brilliant comment Mark, thanks so much for your thoughts and kind words. Stay well mate.
Like a fine wine you are getting better with time. Okay, actually most wines turn into vinegar after a little while. Like a good beer maybe? Regardless this was another great video. The BBC really needs to hire you do a special or two on London.
Thank you so much Patrick. That means a lot to me mate. Maybe one day I’ll get lucky 😉
Thanks Rob. One can only imagine how traveling on the early underground can have been. We all appreciate your hard work to give us the usual detailed historical insight… keep up the excellent work mate.
Really appreciate that Doug, thank you. Stay well mate.
Rob What a concise in depth vlog ! Used Farringdon over 13 yrs but most of this was entirely new to me ! Thanks for all your research - more of the same please. Best. Ray
Thank you so much Ray. Stay well my friend.
This was excellent research, I don’t know how you do it, I’m useless at research. I found this really fascinating and imagined myself in 1860s on these trains. Thank You for showing these. Also your voice is calming.
Thank you so much Özel, it was my aim to make people feel like they were there! Really appreciate your kind words; stay well my friend.
Another top video Rob, my favourite station is Baker Street as I am a big fan of Sherlock and there’s a really nice pub just outside the station which is a Wetherspoons but is stunning inside.
Great comment Mark, thank you my friend
Rob, many thanks for the research, editing and delivery you put in to this one. I particularly like your renditions of the historical transcripts which bring the whole thing to life; truly remarkable!
Thank you so much 😄
Really well put together and very interesting. This could be used in education for anyone studying history of the underground.
Really appreciate that Chris, thank you my friend
What an amazing 2 parter. I am not sure 😕🤔 if I could have put up with all that smoke. The carriages were so small. I am a northern line fan myself due to where I used to live. I never went on the metropolitan line very much. I love traveling on the tube. Thank you for all the hard work you put into this.
Thank you so much Lesley, such a lovely comment. Stay well my friend.
Wonderful episode Rob. Rich with facts, anecdotes, photos and illustrations.
Even the opening of it being delayed due to signal problems shows some things with railways have never changed.
Beautiful comment Raymonda, many thanks my friend 😊
Thanks!
😊
That was one of the best videos I have watched on RUclips Rob, thank you. I was born and grew up about half half way between Paddington and Edgware Road stations and used both frequently into my twenties. Therefore this subject and your portrayal was absolutely fascinating.
Were you born at St Mary's?
Really appreciate that Reaper, many thanks my friend and stay well.
@@Tishanfas Indeed I was
Thanks again for a great video, Rob! It's obvious that an awful lot of research and hard work goes into these videos, and it shows. Such high quality.
I really appreciate that Richard, thank you.
Thank you for another fantastic video Rob. Your videos are better than anything I have seen on television, I really enjoyed this one :)
That's so kind of you Darren, many thanks. Cheers and stay well.
Brilliant Rob,didn’t realise when the line was being built the American civil war was being fought.Really like these two part video’s.Having someone wanting to your seat at the time in question is very different in today’s society like things getting ugly,or on RUclips.Keep up the good work and see you next time 👍👍
Cheers Nicholas 😉
Another great video Rob. Baker St is definitely a glorious looking station. Not sure I'd of coped with all that smoke down there.
Nice comment Paul, thank you :-) Stay well.
Great video as always, do love the pigeon logo 😂❤
Thanks so much ☺️
As interesting and informative as ever Rob! Great to see the history of the Line I use the most! 😃👍🏻
Thank you so much Lady Ellice 😊
Excellent. So interesting and so tastefully put together. A really enjoyable video.
That’s so kind of you to say Roderic, many thanks my friend
A joy to watch!
Thank you so much Ronny, that means a great deal to me my friend. Stay well and. cheers! Much appreciated 😄
Fascinating! Another great video Rob 😊
Thank you so much 😊
Hi Rob. The research and effort you put into this is truly amazing. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us 🦆💕
Thank you so much Pam ☺️
Must have been a challenge travelling underground those day, health n safely very limited.. one of Londons most interesting form of travel Rob, excellent vid🙂👍
Cheers Dave! Yes, gas lighting, smoke, wooden carriages... no health and safety at all ;-) Hope you're keeping well mate.
Absolutely amazing video Rob. You presented us with more facts than Christian Wolmar in The Subterranean Railway. Brilliant presentation as always.
Gosh Barry, that’s quite a compliment! Thank you so much mate 😄 Hope you’re keeping well.
@@Robslondon You're very welcome as always Rob. I'm doing good thank you, hope you are too mate.
@@barrywa39 All good here, thanks Barry
Brilliant episode! Thank you for your hard work!
It’s a pleasure l, thank you so much for watching 😊
Nicely Produced.
Many thanks
Ahhhh, that old abandoned exit to Kings Cross brought back memories - it was the one I always used when I visited the old Scala Cinema around the corner. I always imagined that the building where the Scala was located might have had an interesting history - do you know anything about it, Rob?
Lovely comment, thank you! I’ll have to look into the Scala’s history 😉
@@Robslondon The interior walls were full of graffiti and they sometimes had bands playing there (there's a photo somewhere of Sid Vicious on the stage surrounded lots of small children!). The seating was incredibly steep and I suspect it may once have been a music hall, but pretty sure it's not the same as the oft-mentioned Scala Theatre which I think was in Charing Cross Road.
Very enjoyable and informative video! Re what it was like to travel then, Erkine Childers, in 'The Riddle of the Sands' refers to a journey (actually on the District Railway, to Aldgate, probably from Westminster) as 'sulphurous', and 'taking nearly as long as the journey to Flensburg' - obviously an exaggeration, but probably suggestive of boredom, discomfort and irritation; presumably by then the novelty had worn off ...
Great comment Rick, thank you- I’ll have to look that up, sounds interesting. Cheers and stay well.
Another well researched video, thanks for your time and effort.
Much appreciated Stephen, thank you
Thanks for the retrospective, I always wondered about that part of the transit history.
Much appreciated; thanks for watching
@@Robslondon I subbed, actually. You make videos on the subject I enjoy. Thank you for your videos.
Thanks! Nice to have you here ;-) @@protheu5
i've been inspired by the metropolitan railway and the story of Fowler's ghost to write one about my own. So this video helped good show.
So glad I can help in some way, thank you! Good luck with the project.
@@Robslondon thank you Rob.
@@FlashCameraStudio Any time.
A great video Rob, very interesting!
Much appreciated Barney, thanks.
Great video as usual. 👍
Thank you so much asheland 😊
@@Robslondon anytime! 🤗
Another very informative and enjoyable video 📹
Much appreciated Paul, thank you
Much appreciated Paul, thank you
Pretty sure there's a remnant of the original Farringdon station to the right of that Parcel Office sign👍
I'll have to go and have another peek! ;-)
How interesting. Thanks again John in Chicago
Cheers John.
Another great upload Rob. Really interesting information. And as always, the Tube is always an 'interesting' journey 😜
Thanks Basil 😉 Stay well mate
Another great video -- thanks so much Rob. Fascinating!
It’s a pleasure, thanks so much for watching!
Nice one Rob!
Thank you so much Martin 😊
Very much anticipated Rob and well worth waiting for. As usual, on the deeper dives you embark upon , this was wonderfully detailed and exceptionally well presented. It looks as though a steam train did travel the tunnel in recent history by the looks of the footage. I bet that was something to witness. Cheers, Lance
Thanks so much for the kind words Lance; really appreciate it and hope you’re keeping well.
Great stuff!
Thank you 😊
Always such a pleasure to see your uploads Rob. Any notes on when megaphones were used to bellow "Mind The Gap" before the tannoy?
Thank you so much John!
That’s a good question which I don’t know the answer to unfortunately… maybe someone else in the comments does?
Greetings again from Thailand. Not a lot of interesting news coming from the UK at present. Bit late catching up on this one , yet another interesting video, it was all English adverts generally out here itsThai adverts SAME PLOT DIFFERENT WORDS !!
Ha ha! Cheers Butch; good to hear from you as always 😉 Stay well mate 🇹🇭
Great video 📹
Thanks Jonathan
Great content. I love it all the time. Thanks Robert. 👍👍👍❤️❤️❤️
Thank you so much Sharon 😊
Great video!
Thank you so much Paul 😊
Very interesting and helpful 👍 👌
Thank you!
Another great video. 👏
Thanks Rob. 👍
Cheers Roy 😊
Great vid
Cheers wendalboy :-)
Thanks again, really interesting video giving a real feeling of travelling on the first underground system. 😊
Thank you so much! That’s what I wanted people to feel when watching it 😊
Imagine thinking that steam from a train is the cure for asthma, I imagine said person also believed that by 1899 you could resurrect the dead lol
:-D
Great video Rob. Very interesting indeed. Antisocial behaviour by youths and adults on the railways? Who would have thought it eh?😊
Ha ha, yep! Cheers Dave ;-) Stay well.
Amazing video. Where did you get the footage from ?
Thank you…. Been a while since I made the video so can’t recall, the historic footage is all available online though
Man id wish to attend the metropolitan railway banquet
😄 Same!
Well this was a train I caught early, released 30 sec ago wow, great Fact's 🎬🗣️🇬🇧💯🤔1860s, fighting all sorts of PLACES 💪👍🇬🇧🆘✌️
Just coming up to the Crimea
👁️💥👁️🧐😏
Knowing the engine's and us getting to see them💪👍🇬🇧💯 I do wonder if ISAMBARD KINGDOM BRUNELL , road on them train's 🤩😎🗣️✌️
Yeah cool😉... Thanks
LONDON'S LOVIN IT 🤩😍🇬🇧
🙏😇 LOOK AFTER😁
Cheers Gary!! 😄
A brilliantl film, although i found the moving murderer who was going to be hanged quite disturbing. What strange people the Victorians were
Much appreciated thank you... and yes, crazy isn't it!
how come there a great portland street but no lesser or little portland street near it.
There is a Little Portland Street not too far away… just north of Margaret Street
18:26
(The Railway Series reference.)
👏👏👏👏
50/50⭐⭐
☺️
what year did they convert to electric operation? TM who likes electric trains
It was around the turn of the 20th century I believer; early 1900s.
I'm back.
Hello
Older than the USA.
😉
Thanks!
You're a gentleman Eric, thank you so much. Truly appreciate your support; stay well my friend.