I went to London all the way back in 2012 for the first time (I'm from latin america) and it was honestly much better before all the immigration. Went there again in 2022 and it was like a hell hole x.x
24:19 That's the very reason I don't want driverless trains. Driving trains isn't only about doing a job. It's a passion as well. What kids would smile at a train that never whistles back when waving at it?
Watching from across a very big pond in south Brooklyn, New York USA. Your video is like Don Coffey, a train driver for TransPennine Express. By the way your voice is very relaxing and calming to listen to. Very odd to say but true.
Thanks so much for your fabulous video. I grew up in Ruislip and Eastcote so it was really cathartic. When you blew your whistle between Eastcote and Ruislip Manor, that was where I used to wave from.
Hello from Houston, Texas, I love your videos, Mr. Dale and love the chitchat along the way, thank you for the wonderful videos. Keep up the good work.
I'm a lifelong. SH/RL retired resident and occasionally use this line. Grandfather remembered RL when it was a wooden halt and the service was steam driven i. e when it was all open fields, before the 1930s housing development took the place. Mother recounted tales of the line in the 1940s when so many workers from the then busy industrial estate used to get on the train at Park Royal that it was standing room only. Today, a lot of that light industry has gone and those that remain use a car to get to work. Also told that ma had to walk home after workn one evenng, during an air raid, from PR to TG, after the lne in Hammersmith was bornbed. Note the re-vamped Hillingdon Station following the A40 road re-routing 25 years ago. Recently, had to use the Piccadily line to travel RL to KC early in the morning i. e. Before 7:00. Train was all seating occupied by Acton Town and no room standing once it departed Hammersmith. As a l living-out uni student in the 1970s I used to travel daily RL to UX .
I used to live in South Harrow and the station has never changed. I moved away from London 37 years ago and now live on the South Coast in Brighton. I will be making a trip next month to meet up with an old school friend from my early days in London and he lives at Sudbury Hill. I'll come up by train to London Victoria then tube it from there on the District Line to Acton Town, change there onto the Piccadilly Line up towards Uxbridge. Looking forward to it
Thank you for such an interesting video, I’ve certainly learned a lot. I’m a seasoned Piccadilly line traveler so thanks also for being part of the team that get me to work everyday 👍
Thanks Dale. Another really enjoyable video. There’s something very relaxing and comforting about watching those rails gliding towards us and listening to your very relaxed conversational style.
Great upload, I used to live in Rayners Lane and would watch the piccadilly line travelling from South Harrow to RL from my bedroom window. Grew up a bit further down the line near Acton Town as well so very familiar with the piccadilly line and all of these stations.
Fascinating videos. I am from Birmingham, I go to London frequently, driving to Uxbridge (M42, M40.) and usually get the Piccadilly into London. Excellent channel, really informative. The thing that sticks out for me is just how safety conscious the operators of the tube are.
Very interesting and quite relaxing! It's amazing just how many signals you can see in some places. Lovely evening light. Compulsive viewing with a pot of tea.
Thanks for a very informative video. It is so frustrating to open one of the cab ride videos only to find that there is no commentary or even station identification. Your videos are full of interesting information and chat. No matter how superfluous some information may seem there will always be someone who will be interested - like myself. Also it is a treat to find someone who is proud of the job they do. Keep up the good work.
What an amazing experience watching you explain the things I always wondered. Coming from the driver himself - couldn’t have experienced it any better than this. I hope it’s safe for you do so while still on your duty. Acton town and Uxbridge hold very special memories. It’s probably time they transformed these almost historic stations. Thank you and have a wonderful weekend 👍👍
Brilliant videos - can't wait for more. I've watched many, some with captions, some with just the driver talking in the background to someone else, but your commentary is very entertaining and enlightening 👍
Really like these videos so have joined as a member. I find them extremely interesting and informative as well as being well put together. The camera is very clear indeed. Thank you for putting the many hours in making the videos for us to see.
Love this video as I catch the Met line from Hillingdon and sometimes the slower Piccadilly line. I agree, please do not risk your job. The rule of London is "Don't mess with TFL!"
Loved it. I lived in North Harrow until I was 24 and can only ever remember going once from Rayners Lane to Park Royal and back. Never went to Uxbridge
I watch your videos all the way from Malta. I just love the way you channel your passion for this work. I've always wanted to be a train driver since I was a nipper. Alas, none of those here on our island. Cheers.
Hello friend from the USA! I love the running commentary as I’m pretty much ignorant how things run in Britain. Hope you are doing well and best luck for you!
I used to work in Ruislip from 1970 to 1972. I took the Met line from Harrow on the Hill to Ruislip for a year. I'm in Australia now. Thanks for the memories. Your commentary is very informative.
From Alperton to Wembley Stadium is just over 2 miles I used to date a girl who lived in Alperton & I worked in a warehouse on the stadium grounds & thanks for another great video Dale
@@dalecharmantravels8057 As a person who grew up living in Alperton I can confirm that it is a fraction over 2 miles to Wembley Stadium. As a point of interest, incase you didn't know, Alperton station has a disused escalator up to the Eastbound platform. It was unfortunately taken out of action after the Kings Cross fire, as it had wooden treads. New safety measures, and the cost of replacing it was thought to be too expensive to justify.
Just as a complement to this great video, the wanderizm channel has a great night video (4am) taken from the upper deck of a london bus doing route N207 from Uxbridge to central London. Its cool to see the route from different transport perspectives.
I think it would make a lot of sense for the Royal Albert Hall foundations to be avoided and I think you are probably spot on right to make that assertion in your videos. I have published a Travelogue on London and the South East and have done a lot of writing on the Underground and other services. What you say about South Kensington etc does make quite a lot of sense. Well done by the way, keep up the good work with your videos.
A very interesting trip with an excellent commentary as always. The Ealing and South Harrow line was originally part of the District Railway. It was the first part to be electrified, apart from a trial run from Earls Court to High Street, Kensington. There was a small two-road depot somewhere near Park Royal, I think, and two District Railway 'A' stock trains ran the service.
This is just great. I lived between eastcote and pinner so could walk to either branch. I used eastcote mainly, you can hear but not see the trains approaching you could know which train and direction it was after a while. So much nostalgia thanks dude
I noticed a number of surface platforms have the ends fenced off. Presumably when you get the longer trains they can just move the fences. (And the video, mirror and train stop position) I was pleasantly surprised as to how good the simple mirror is for seeing along the train. It's a really effective low-tech solution.
mirrors are great assuming you have a reasonably straight platform. As for the barriers, they could move them or they could just have some sets of doors not open. some of the tunnel stations we will stop slightly in the tunnel so the first set or 2 sets of doors would not open. I am just guessing as a driver we are usually the last to know any thing 😄
This is very enjoyable Dale. A wonderful way for a Canadian to get a grip on London. (I'm in London, Ontario, Canada) I had no idea how big the Tube really is!. Just pulled up a map to see your stations. (Whoa - as big as Tokyo) You have a great voice and are a natural calm presence. Dang but I love trains of all kinds. Thank you.
Good morning! New subscriber here, but I have thoroughly enjoyed this series of videos on your day to day on the Pic, very informative with some interesting views. In regards to the bends east of South Ken., it would be a combination of reasons. Yes, the Great Northern, Piccadilly & Brompton Railway, which is what became the modern day Piccadilly line, was formed as an amalgamation of two other railways, the Great Northern & Strand, and the Brompton and Piccadilly Circus railways. However, it must be noted that the new route authorised to connect the two railways was from what was originally going to be called Cranbourn Street (now Leicester Square) to a redesigned Holborn with the branch to Strand, which was later renamed Aldwych. This new route is of course not in South Kensington, so can be discarded. One of the more likely reasons the reverse curves were put in was to keep the railway alignment on public land through the more expensive parts of town since, much in the same manner as the US's Air Rights, property owners in the UK have rights to the ground beneath their property and would be entitled to compensation for the railway to cut a tunnel beneath their foundations, and more so if the railway damaged them. Therefore to reduce costs, surveyors would have planned a route directly beneath public spaces and thoroughfares as they had no such compensation entitlement. This can be observed with a georeferenced route map of the Pic as it swings northeast out of South Kensington, roughly following Alexandra Place before running directly beneath Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, Piccadilly, Cranbourn Street, Leicester Square, Long Acre, Great Queen Street, Kingsway and Southampton Row before breaking off to run into Kings Cross. It is also worth noting that utility services like gas, water, sewage and electricity would have also have been avoided or diverted during the construction of stations and shallower tunnels, which would also have played a part in its alignment, though not nearly as much as on the subsurface railways like the District and Met. I hope that puts that matter to rest. Keep up the good work and I look forward to seeing your next adventure. Cheers from Bristol.
Hello Dale, ive travelled the Underground many times on our family trips up to London from Liverpool. Your videos are a fantastic insight into what its like to be in your seat. Keep up the great work!
Another great video Dale. Interesting how and where the Met shares the Pic with the same line. Please keep the commentary going with all these snippets of information!
Really good Video. Really inspiring. It is also interesting and educational. One day, I hope to become a driver on the Northern Line. Though, I still got work to do. Keep up the brilliant work with the videos, don't stop. (Nice how you also got a passion for the job as well!)🎉🎉🎉🎉
Excellent video. Thank you so interesting to see how the underground works after travelling on it hundreds of times as I was born in North London and lived there for 19 years.I would have absolutely loved to have been a train driver unfortunately I am colour blind so that prevented me from doing so. Also what a fantastic piece of engineering the underground system is
Thank you for reaching out. I believe you can drive on auto lines now if you a colour blind. I know of some one who worked on the jubilee line but is colour blind.
Great videos! I love the commentary! It's always so interesting to see "behind the scenes" I would love to see you operate the controls, can hear a lot of clunks and sort :) Or maybe explain them. Cheers from Sweden 😊
Again, so enjoyable and informative. Impressive the amount of infrastructure, ie track, signalling, cables, safety, all kinds of signs etc. Those signals are at really short disctances. I assume to be able to run as many as possible.
22:00 best park in the whole country on the right - through the other side (just before the hill on the main road right from Eastcote) has a great mini railway on Sunday afternoons.
I have once been on an Uxbridge train which decided to go down the hill to Ealing Broadway after Ealing Common. Luckily for me, I wanted North Ealing, no big deal, but it was disconcerting for the other passengers. Thanks for this bird's eye view.
Regarding the South Kensington bends, the line doesn’t run near the Albert Hall anyway, so that won’t be the reason. If you look at the TFL asset map online you can see that going westbound the line follows underneath Brompton Road for as far as is feasibly possible (to avoid having to appease landowners above) before having to veer off to hit the right point underneath South Ken. station, hence the sharpness of the turns required.
Thanks Dale, I enjoy your videos with your commentary. A quick question for you if you don't mind - How do you judge your slowing down / stopping distance etc considering speed, track conditions and the like. I'm sure it's easy to overshoot slightly or stop short a bit. Thanks Dale.
Sub-surface LUL trains are allowed to run on the section of the Piccadilly Line between North Ealing, Alperton, Sudbury Town and Rayners Lane as the line was originally built by the District Railway in the early 1900s with a crossover at South Harrow, so all the road bridges and footbridges which cross over the Piccadilly Line at this section have clearance for sub-surface stock trains to pass under safely.
thank you for that. As mentioned in a couple of my videos most information is passed down from older staff members and you never know if it is correct or not.
Hello from south africa, Great cabride videos Dale! in the 1980s i used to work for south african railways. Love Your vids, i do like British trains, i used to buy British railway magazines, now you dont find them here anymore lol.
@@dalecharmantravels8057 Yes Dale thank You for the reply, yes can get it online! They use to sell it in bookstores and local news stands in the old days🙂
Brilliant content once again Dale, thanks for sharing. I know it's a long shot as trains don't often terminate at Wood Green, and when they do it's often at late notice and you likely wouldn't have the GoPro on you... but if there was a chance you could show us Wood Green sidings at any point in the future I'd be incredibly grateful. I know it'll look the same as any other dark tunnel but I'm just curious about them! Always look back to see if there's a train in them when travelling west from Bounds Green (of course 99% of the time there isn't)
Hey thanks for the comment. I will try my best to get all the sidings filmed. It could just take me a while. The good news is Wood Green and down street siding both have the tunnel lights on so you can see more than normal
i dont see any issues as long as your not showing anything security related I dont see a issue speak with your train management team and also I would like to see same depot movements great video
I have at least one depot move filmed. I plan on doing more but they are more difficult to film as for example I don’t visit Northfields depot very often. Hopefully at some point I will get them all done for you all
Great video - I just subscribed ... and very many thanks for the interesting commentary. I remember Ickenham station in the early 1950s, and riding on - I think - 1927 tube stock - scarily noisy! The station then was a bit basic - un-roofed wooden footbridge, and a shed as a ticket office. It was used a fair bit, for local journeys to Ruislip and Uxbridge, as well as central London. It was certainly not quiet in any sense, as there was an electric sub-station just the other side of the road bridge which we children thought must be inhabited by whining aliens! Presumably one reason to hand the Uxbridge branch over to the District would be to enable level boarding at all those stations. Rather than send Piccadilly trains down to Ealing Broadway, however, I suggest it might be better to build an interchange station ('East Ealing' maybe) between the (new) District, Central and Elizabeth lines. That way Ealing Common too could be level boarding, and all Piccadilly trains would serve Heathrow, making it less confusing for tourists, and giving both T4 and T5 good frequencies. Look forward to your next video
Hello and welcome. Thank you for sharing your memories with us. I was alsways told the reason the district would run to Uxbridge was all to do with it running in ATO ( automatic). That way the pic line wouldn’t slow down the met line when they went ATO all the way to Uxbridge. It makes some sense but who knows if it true or not. Time will tell
An interesting event happened on this section of the Piccadilly Line in 2001/2002 when a train of Metropolitan Line A60 stock ran along this section by pure accident late one evening on an empty stock movement from the former East London Line to Neasden Depot. Normally the former empty stock movements from the East London Line up to Neasden travelled via Aldgate East and then onto the Metropolitan Line through Liverpool Street, King's Cross St Pancras, Euston Square and then from Baker Street up to Finchley Road and into Neasden Depot that way. However one driver of A60 stock accepted the wrong signal at Aldgate East Junction so he instead had to drive his train of A60 stock westwards along the District Line through the likes of Tower Hill, Embankment, Victoria, Earl's Court, Hammersmith and Acton Town. Then the train of A60 stock had to go onto the Piccadilly Line through Ealing Common, Alperton, Sudbury Hill and South Harrow before reaching 'home turf' at Rayners Lane. From Rayners Lane the A60 stock reversed onto the Metropolitan Line eastwards towards Harrow-on-the-Hill and Wembley Park before eventually reaching Neasden Depot.
I have never heard of the A60 stock. I shall have to Google that one. Thank you for sharing the story. I just hope one day I am not a story like that 😜
@@dalecharmantravels8057 The A60 stock were lovely trains. Built for the Metropolitan Line by Cravens in the early 1960s, they were the last link between steam and the present-day S stock. The A60 stock were designed more like main-line trains than Underground trains and they had very comfortable seating as well as a fast turn of speed.
@@dalecharmantravels8057 There is an A60 stock DM car (5034) preserved at the LT Museum Depot in Acton as that was from the last A60 stock train which ran in service on the Met in 2012.
I am in agreement with you about not showing the viewes "How it's done"; there are various other videos on You tube which do show the actual driving but I think that was because it was this particular driver's very last day. But my thoughts are that none of the viewers should really try this at home. Driving a train of any kind is a serious business and you are right to want to preserve your job (and of course your home). Well done!!
With well maintained track the 73s ride is very good for a tube train I noticed this between Park Royal and Alperton after they laid CWR in the trailer car very smooth ,do sub service operators get more per hour 😂,great video your a good 😊😊ambassador for the tube mate All the best Mark
Hello Mark. All Train ops get the same pay. Saying that eng drivers and test train operators are on different pay grades. Some of the new track in that area really is smooth
Love the video I’ve watched the others used to use the Piccadilly line quite a bit to get to Hammersmith from Kings Cross I’m jealous You can look at the plans as you’re driving sounds like my dream job keep up the great work
As to the reason for bendy tunnels, it is basically because the old tube tunnels were following the line of the roads above. If they went off the road alignment and under private land, there could have been liability issues if they happened to cause any subsidence or damage to buildings above. So in order to be safe, they stayed under the roads where the financial risk was lower. Newer lines like the Victoria and Jubilee felt no such constraints, and so you can hear the rumbling of passing trains inside any buildings that they happen to pass below.
The golden hour is a lovely time of day to film. Makes west of London look a pleasant place to live… almost.
I’m not saying any thing. That way I can’t get in to trouble 🤣🤣
😂😂😂 you kinda did there@@dalecharmantravels8057
in my experience, it is pleasant! just too expensive. :/
I went to London all the way back in 2012 for the first time (I'm from latin america) and it was honestly much better before all the immigration.
Went there again in 2022 and it was like a hell hole x.x
24:19 That's the very reason I don't want driverless trains. Driving trains isn't only about doing a job. It's a passion as well.
What kids would smile at a train that never whistles back when waving at it?
I agree 😀
Watching from across a very big pond in south Brooklyn, New York USA. Your video is like Don Coffey, a train driver for TransPennine Express. By the way your voice is very relaxing and calming to listen to. Very odd to say but true.
Thank you I appreciate it
Thanks so much for your fabulous video. I grew up in Ruislip and Eastcote so it was really cathartic. When you blew your whistle between Eastcote and Ruislip Manor, that was where I used to wave from.
Every one loves to wave at trains 👋👋👋
Hello from Houston, Texas, I love your videos, Mr. Dale and love the chitchat along the way, thank you for the wonderful videos. Keep up the good work.
Thank you I appreciate it
Acton town to Uxbridge route + sunset/dusk video= I LOVE IT!!
Commuted Uxbridge - Earls Court for seven years. Interesting to see driver’s view with explanations. Thanks Dale!
You are most welcome
I'm a lifelong. SH/RL retired resident and occasionally use this line.
Grandfather remembered RL when it was a wooden halt and the service was steam driven i. e when it was all open fields, before the 1930s housing development took the place.
Mother recounted tales of the line in the 1940s when so many workers from the then busy industrial estate used to get on the train at Park Royal that it was standing room only. Today, a lot of that light industry has gone and those that remain use a car to get to work.
Also told that ma had to walk home after workn one evenng, during an air raid, from PR to TG, after the lne in Hammersmith was bornbed.
Note the re-vamped Hillingdon Station following the A40 road re-routing 25 years ago.
Recently, had to use the Piccadily line to travel RL to KC early in the morning i. e. Before 7:00. Train was all seating occupied by Acton Town and no room standing once it departed Hammersmith.
As a l living-out uni student in the 1970s I used to travel daily RL to UX .
Thank you for sharing your memories
The District ran up to Uxbridge till 1933 being taken over by the Piccadilly.
I did not know that. Thank you
I used to live in South Harrow and the station has never changed. I moved away from London 37 years ago and now live on the South Coast in Brighton. I will be making a trip next month to meet up with an old school friend from my early days in London and he lives at Sudbury Hill. I'll come up by train to London Victoria then tube it from there on the District Line to Acton Town, change there onto the Piccadilly Line up towards Uxbridge. Looking forward to it
Hey thank you for sharing. I hope you have a nice visit
I notice the platforms at South Harrow are much longer than the trains.
Thanks for the tour! Absolutely love the commentary.
Thank you
Loving these videos, very interesting. Thank you.
You are most welcome
Thank you for such an interesting video, I’ve certainly learned a lot. I’m a seasoned Piccadilly line traveler so thanks also for being part of the team that get me to work everyday 👍
You are most welcome. Make sure you give me a wave if you see me 👋👋👋
Only just discovered your channel and i'm loving it . These cab views are absolutely fascinating , thank you for sharing them
I’m glad you enjoyed it
60 years ago I travelled daily from Hillingdon to Barons Court for school. This video has been a very pleasant nostalgic experience. Thanks.
You are welcome
Very interesting and enjoyable video. I also like the commentary as there is a lot of interesting information. Thanks again and have subscribed!
Thank you and welcome to the family. That does mean I expect a birthday present now 🤣
Thanks Dale. Another really enjoyable video. There’s something very relaxing and comforting about watching those rails gliding towards us and listening to your very relaxed conversational style.
Hello Brian. Always good to hear from you. Thank you for the comment. Of cause my voice is not as poised as yours
Great upload, I used to live in Rayners Lane and would watch the piccadilly line travelling from South Harrow to RL from my bedroom window. Grew up a bit further down the line near Acton Town as well so very familiar with the piccadilly line and all of these stations.
Thank you for sharing your memories of the Pic Line
excellent video mate, love the explanations as they are so informative
Thank you I appreciate it
Fascinating videos. I am from Birmingham, I go to London frequently, driving to Uxbridge (M42, M40.) and usually get the Piccadilly into London. Excellent channel, really informative. The thing that sticks out for me is just how safety conscious the operators of the tube are.
Living the dream Dale. Hi from California.
Thank you, another great video. love the evening views. Can't wait for more.
Thank you
Very interesting and quite relaxing! It's amazing just how many signals you can see in some places. Lovely evening light. Compulsive viewing with a pot of tea.
I hope you had a chocolate biscuit too
Great video , full of information and a cracking sunset . Roll on the next one 👍
Thanks for a very informative video. It is so frustrating to open one of the cab ride videos only to find that there is no commentary or even station identification. Your videos are full of interesting information and chat. No matter how superfluous some information may seem there will always be someone who will be interested - like myself. Also it is a treat to find someone who is proud of the job they do. Keep up the good work.
Again, good commentary, nice scenery, informative info, safe journeys, and enjoy Australia.
thank you
What an amazing experience watching you explain the things I always wondered. Coming from the driver himself - couldn’t have experienced it any better than this.
I hope it’s safe for you do so while still on your duty.
Acton town and Uxbridge hold very special memories. It’s probably time they transformed these almost historic stations.
Thank you and have a wonderful weekend 👍👍
Much appreciated Thank you for your efforts. Looking forward to some more, as possible.
Thank you. I have a couple of videos all ready recorded how ever I have not yet looked at the footage. Hope to get them uploaded soon
Another great informative video, many thanks Dale.
You are most welcome
Brilliant videos - can't wait for more.
I've watched many, some with captions, some with just the driver talking in the background to someone else, but your commentary is very entertaining and enlightening 👍
Thank you I appreciate you saying that
I Really enjoy watching your uploads, Very imformative 😊
Thank you
Really like these videos so have joined as a member. I find them extremely interesting and informative as well as being well put together. The camera is very clear indeed. Thank you for putting the many hours in making the videos for us to see.
Thank you. I really appreciate the support
Love this video as I catch the Met line from Hillingdon and sometimes the slower Piccadilly line.
I agree, please do not risk your job. The rule of London is "Don't mess with TFL!"
Loved it. I lived in North Harrow until I was 24 and can only ever remember going once from Rayners Lane to Park Royal and back. Never went to Uxbridge
You are not missing much 🤣
I watch your videos all the way from Malta. I just love the way you channel your passion for this work. I've always wanted to be a train driver since I was a nipper. Alas, none of those here on our island. Cheers.
Hey I am glad you enjoy my videos
Hello friend from the USA! I love the running commentary as I’m pretty much ignorant how things run in Britain. Hope you are doing well and best luck for you!
Hello from a wet Washington state!
Another fine video, very relaxing. Thank you for making these.
Hello Washington State. Thank you for the kind words.
Thank you for the fascinating series.
Thank you Dale for another interesting video👍
You are most welcome
Thank you Dale, another top class video, quality graphics and excellent commentary I hope you keep posting them.
Thank you. There will be a handful more of these coming up soon
Very interesting. Looking forward to my next London trip 🇧🇻.
Thank you. I hope you intend on using the great Pic line on your next visit 😜
I used to work in Ruislip from 1970 to 1972. I took the Met line from Harrow on the Hill to Ruislip for a year. I'm in Australia now. Thanks for the memories. Your commentary is very informative.
You are most welcome. Glad you enjoyed it
From Alperton to Wembley Stadium is just over 2 miles I used to date a girl who lived in Alperton & I worked in a warehouse on the stadium grounds & thanks for another great video Dale
Thank you. I have never left the station
@@dalecharmantravels8057 As a person who grew up living in Alperton I can confirm that it is a fraction over 2 miles to Wembley Stadium. As a point of interest, incase you didn't know, Alperton station has a disused escalator up to the Eastbound platform. It was unfortunately taken out of action after the Kings Cross fire, as it had wooden treads. New safety measures, and the cost of replacing it was thought to be too expensive to justify.
Just as a complement to this great video, the wanderizm channel has a great night video (4am) taken from the upper deck of a london bus doing route N207 from Uxbridge to central London. Its cool to see the route from different transport perspectives.
I think it would make a lot of sense for the Royal Albert Hall foundations to be avoided and I think you are probably spot on right to make that assertion in your videos. I have published a Travelogue on London and the South East and have done a lot of writing on the Underground and other services. What you say about South Kensington etc does make quite a lot of sense. Well done by the way, keep up the good work with your videos.
What a lovely video with such a nice explanation, thank you Dale!
You are most welcome
I am loving it! Thank you!
A very interesting trip with an excellent commentary as always. The Ealing and South Harrow line was originally part of the District Railway. It was the first part to be electrified, apart from a trial run from Earls Court to High Street, Kensington. There was a small two-road depot somewhere near Park Royal, I think, and two District Railway 'A' stock trains ran the service.
at 18:56 you can see the old gas works sidings spur on the right - when I was a kid there was a gas tower where the flats are now.
Thank you for that
I've learned something today, thanks for explaining the four rails, now I know....
This is just great. I lived between eastcote and pinner so could walk to either branch. I used eastcote mainly, you can hear but not see the trains approaching you could know which train and direction it was after a while. So much nostalgia thanks dude
You are most welcome
I used to live in Ealing and caught the tube from Ealing Common to Angel most days. The start of this video was very nostalgic!
I noticed a number of surface platforms have the ends fenced off. Presumably when you get the longer trains they can just move the fences. (And the video, mirror and train stop position) I was pleasantly surprised as to how good the simple mirror is for seeing along the train. It's a really effective low-tech solution.
mirrors are great assuming you have a reasonably straight platform. As for the barriers, they could move them or they could just have some sets of doors not open. some of the tunnel stations we will stop slightly in the tunnel so the first set or 2 sets of doors would not open. I am just guessing as a driver we are usually the last to know any thing 😄
Great commentary and an informative video, thanks!
Keep posting, subscribed!
Very clear video and your comments are great, thank you
You are most welcome
Well that was so cool. The stations looked great with all the lights on. Very enjoyable. All the best.
Thank you
This is very enjoyable Dale. A wonderful way for a Canadian to get a grip on London. (I'm in London, Ontario, Canada) I had no idea how big the Tube really is!. Just pulled up a map to see your stations. (Whoa - as big as Tokyo) You have a great voice and are a natural calm presence. Dang but I love trains of all kinds. Thank you.
I am glad you enjoy it. It’s nice to see so many people from all over the world watching and enjoying my videos
Brilliant Dale, been up this branch many times with my old mate Darrel Clark
Glad you enjoyed it
just found your channel recently, great videos and nice with the comments from you where you explain things :)
Thank you. Glad you enjoy my videos
Dale lovely video and love your commentary and thank you ❤
Good morning! New subscriber here, but I have thoroughly enjoyed this series of videos on your day to day on the Pic, very informative with some interesting views.
In regards to the bends east of South Ken., it would be a combination of reasons. Yes, the Great Northern, Piccadilly & Brompton Railway, which is what became the modern day Piccadilly line, was formed as an amalgamation of two other railways, the Great Northern & Strand, and the Brompton and Piccadilly Circus railways. However, it must be noted that the new route authorised to connect the two railways was from what was originally going to be called Cranbourn Street (now Leicester Square) to a redesigned Holborn with the branch to Strand, which was later renamed Aldwych. This new route is of course not in South Kensington, so can be discarded.
One of the more likely reasons the reverse curves were put in was to keep the railway alignment on public land through the more expensive parts of town since, much in the same manner as the US's Air Rights, property owners in the UK have rights to the ground beneath their property and would be entitled to compensation for the railway to cut a tunnel beneath their foundations, and more so if the railway damaged them. Therefore to reduce costs, surveyors would have planned a route directly beneath public spaces and thoroughfares as they had no such compensation entitlement. This can be observed with a georeferenced route map of the Pic as it swings northeast out of South Kensington, roughly following Alexandra Place before running directly beneath Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, Piccadilly, Cranbourn Street, Leicester Square, Long Acre, Great Queen Street, Kingsway and Southampton Row before breaking off to run into Kings Cross.
It is also worth noting that utility services like gas, water, sewage and electricity would have also have been avoided or diverted during the construction of stations and shallower tunnels, which would also have played a part in its alignment, though not nearly as much as on the subsurface railways like the District and Met.
I hope that puts that matter to rest.
Keep up the good work and I look forward to seeing your next adventure. Cheers from Bristol.
Thank you for the info
I love the underground. I am always amazed by the sheer amount of electric cables along side the railway.
Hello Dale, ive travelled the Underground many times on our family trips up to London from Liverpool. Your videos are a fantastic insight into what its like to be in your seat. Keep up the great work!
Thank you for the comment. I appreciate it
Another great video Dale. Interesting how and where the Met shares the Pic with the same line. Please keep the commentary going with all these snippets of information!
Thank you
Amazing Video Mr Charman
Thank you. You are most kind
Really good Video. Really inspiring. It is also interesting and educational. One day, I hope to become a driver on the Northern Line. Though, I still got work to do.
Keep up the brilliant work with the videos, don't stop. (Nice how you also got a passion for the job as well!)🎉🎉🎉🎉
Thank you I appreciate it
Excellent video. Thank you so interesting to see how the underground works after travelling on it hundreds of times as I was born in North London and lived there for 19 years.I would have absolutely loved to have been a train driver unfortunately I am colour blind so that prevented me from doing so.
Also what a fantastic piece of engineering the underground system is
Thank you for reaching out. I believe you can drive on auto lines now if you a colour blind. I know of some one who worked on the jubilee line but is colour blind.
Great videos!
I love the commentary! It's always so interesting to see "behind the scenes"
I would love to see you operate the controls, can hear a lot of clunks and sort :)
Or maybe explain them.
Cheers from Sweden 😊
A few people have asked me to film me driving. I’m not sure the bosses would like that. Maybe it’s some thing I can do in the future
Top content, brilliant narration. Look forward to seeing more! Subscribed of course!
Thank you and welcome to the family
I am i train operator out of Washington dc its cool how each system is different
Again, so enjoyable and informative. Impressive the amount of infrastructure, ie track, signalling, cables, safety, all kinds of signs etc. Those signals are at really short disctances. I assume to be able to run as many as possible.
Yes I’m some areas the signal sections are shorter so you can get close to the train in front and more in that area
Once again loved the journey and I always wondered how a stop at the end of line crosses back to come the other way.
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it
22:00 best park in the whole country on the right - through the other side (just before the hill on the main road right from Eastcote) has a great mini railway on Sunday afternoons.
Thank you for the information. I have never left the station
travelled on this line many many times over 60 years, retired and in Devon now but still pop back occasionally.
I hope you like the new trains they enter service
You are a very good driver
Another excellent and informative video, looking forward to more.
Thank you
I have once been on an Uxbridge train which decided to go down the hill to Ealing Broadway after Ealing Common.
Luckily for me, I wanted North Ealing, no big deal, but it was disconcerting for the other passengers.
Thanks for this bird's eye view.
You are welcome. I’ve not had the pleasure of having to take a train down to Ealing Broadway yet
Great video's, brings back all the memories of when I lived down there(Greenford-Central Line!) Keep up the good work, nice Merc. by the way !
Thanks glad you enjoyed it
Another great video
Thank you
Thanks, I'd never seen Uxbridge station before like that. One day soon I'll see it as a passenger I hope.
This way at least you can see the station while in your PJs and a cuppa
@@dalecharmantravels8057like I am right now!
@@CaseyJonesNumber1 yes and hopefully with a nice cuppa and your feet up
Another great video👍
Thank you
I found the video very interesting the first time too Uxbridge.
I am glad you enjoyed it
Regarding the South Kensington bends, the line doesn’t run near the Albert Hall anyway, so that won’t be the reason. If you look at the TFL asset map online you can see that going westbound the line follows underneath Brompton Road for as far as is feasibly possible (to avoid having to appease landowners above) before having to veer off to hit the right point underneath South Ken. station, hence the sharpness of the turns required.
Thank you. I appreciate the info
This is my second time on your channel loving it
It’s great to have you here
Thank you Dale, great video.
You are most welcome
Thanks Dale, I enjoy your videos with your commentary. A quick question for you if you don't mind - How do you judge your slowing down / stopping distance etc considering speed, track conditions and the like. I'm sure it's easy to overshoot slightly or stop short a bit. Thanks Dale.
It really comes down to experience. Some days you do it better than others 😜. Luckily I have not over shot a platform. Well not yet any way
Sub-surface LUL trains are allowed to run on the section of the Piccadilly Line between North Ealing, Alperton, Sudbury Town and Rayners Lane as the line was originally built by the District Railway in the early 1900s with a crossover at South Harrow, so all the road bridges and footbridges which cross over the Piccadilly Line at this section have clearance for sub-surface stock trains to pass under safely.
thank you for that. As mentioned in a couple of my videos most information is passed down from older staff members and you never know if it is correct or not.
Hello from south africa, Great cabride videos Dale! in the 1980s i used to work for south african railways. Love Your vids, i do like British trains, i used to buy British railway magazines, now you dont find them here anymore lol.
Hey thank you. Are the British railway magazines not available on line in South Africa?
@@dalecharmantravels8057 Yes Dale thank You for the reply, yes can get it online! They use to sell it in bookstores and local news stands in the old days🙂
I know it’s not the same on line as the actual magazine but at least you can keep up with all things British rail
@@dalecharmantravels8057 👍
Brilliant content once again Dale, thanks for sharing.
I know it's a long shot as trains don't often terminate at Wood Green, and when they do it's often at late notice and you likely wouldn't have the GoPro on you... but if there was a chance you could show us Wood Green sidings at any point in the future I'd be incredibly grateful.
I know it'll look the same as any other dark tunnel but I'm just curious about them! Always look back to see if there's a train in them when travelling west from Bounds Green (of course 99% of the time there isn't)
Hey thanks for the comment. I will try my best to get all the sidings filmed. It could just take me a while. The good news is Wood Green and down street siding both have the tunnel lights on so you can see more than normal
i dont see any issues as long as your not showing anything security related I dont see a issue speak with your train management team and also I would like to see same depot movements great video
I have at least one depot move filmed. I plan on doing more but they are more difficult to film as for example I don’t visit Northfields depot very often. Hopefully at some point I will get them all done for you all
Great ambassador for TfL. Love your videos 🙂
Thank you
I found you channel yesterday, and about to binge watch :) I wish the sound were a bit louder. Greetings from windy Aberdeen, SCO
Hey welcome. Sorry about the sound I do tend to turn it down when editing as it can be very loud. Especially with the wheel screeching
Great video - I just subscribed ... and very many thanks for the interesting commentary. I remember Ickenham station in the early 1950s, and riding on - I think - 1927 tube stock - scarily noisy! The station then was a bit basic - un-roofed wooden footbridge, and a shed as a ticket office. It was used a fair bit, for local journeys to Ruislip and Uxbridge, as well as central London. It was certainly not quiet in any sense, as there was an electric sub-station just the other side of the road bridge which we children thought must be inhabited by whining aliens!
Presumably one reason to hand the Uxbridge branch over to the District would be to enable level boarding at all those stations. Rather than send Piccadilly trains down to Ealing Broadway, however, I suggest it might be better to build an interchange station ('East Ealing' maybe) between the (new) District, Central and Elizabeth lines. That way Ealing Common too could be level boarding, and all Piccadilly trains would serve Heathrow, making it less confusing for tourists, and giving both T4 and T5 good frequencies.
Look forward to your next video
Hello and welcome. Thank you for sharing your memories with us. I was alsways told the reason the district would run to Uxbridge was all to do with it running in ATO ( automatic). That way the pic line wouldn’t slow down the met line when they went ATO all the way to Uxbridge. It makes some sense but who knows if it true or not. Time will tell
An interesting event happened on this section of the Piccadilly Line in 2001/2002 when a train of Metropolitan Line A60 stock ran along this section by pure accident late one evening on an empty stock movement from the former East London Line to Neasden Depot. Normally the former empty stock movements from the East London Line up to Neasden travelled via Aldgate East and then onto the Metropolitan Line through Liverpool Street, King's Cross St Pancras, Euston Square and then from Baker Street up to Finchley Road and into Neasden Depot that way. However one driver of A60 stock accepted the wrong signal at Aldgate East Junction so he instead had to drive his train of A60 stock westwards along the District Line through the likes of Tower Hill, Embankment, Victoria, Earl's Court, Hammersmith and Acton Town. Then the train of A60 stock had to go onto the Piccadilly Line through Ealing Common, Alperton, Sudbury Hill and South Harrow before reaching 'home turf' at Rayners Lane. From Rayners Lane the A60 stock reversed onto the Metropolitan Line eastwards towards Harrow-on-the-Hill and Wembley Park before eventually reaching Neasden Depot.
I have never heard of the A60 stock. I shall have to Google that one. Thank you for sharing the story. I just hope one day I am not a story like that 😜
@@dalecharmantravels8057 The A60 stock were lovely trains. Built for the Metropolitan Line by Cravens in the early 1960s, they were the last link between steam and the present-day S stock. The A60 stock were designed more like main-line trains than Underground trains and they had very comfortable seating as well as a fast turn of speed.
I wonder if they have one at the museum at Acton Town. I shall have to do some research. Thank you for the information
@@dalecharmantravels8057 There is an A60 stock DM car (5034) preserved at the LT Museum Depot in Acton as that was from the last A60 stock train which ran in service on the Met in 2012.
I have visited the museum a few years ago. I will have to make another visit to look over the tube train
Excellent video just came across your channel, just subscribed,
Thank you and it’s great to have you with us
Found your videos interesting 😊
I am in agreement with you about not showing the viewes "How it's done"; there are various other videos on You tube which do show the actual driving but I think that was because it was this particular driver's very last day. But my thoughts are that none of the viewers should really try this at home. Driving a train of any kind is a serious business and you are right to want to preserve your job (and of course your home). Well done!!
With well maintained track the 73s ride is very good for a tube train I noticed this between Park Royal and Alperton after they laid CWR in the trailer car very smooth ,do sub service operators get more per hour 😂,great video your a good 😊😊ambassador for the tube mate
All the best
Mark
Hello Mark. All Train ops get the same pay. Saying that eng drivers and test train operators are on different pay grades. Some of the new track in that area really is smooth
Love the video I’ve watched the others used to use the Piccadilly line quite a bit to get to Hammersmith from Kings Cross I’m jealous You can look at the plans as you’re driving sounds like my dream job keep up the great work
thank you. Glad you enjoyed the video
As to the reason for bendy tunnels, it is basically because the old tube tunnels were following the line of the roads above. If they went off the road alignment and under private land, there could have been liability issues if they happened to cause any subsidence or damage to buildings above. So in order to be safe, they stayed under the roads where the financial risk was lower. Newer lines like the Victoria and Jubilee felt no such constraints, and so you can hear the rumbling of passing trains inside any buildings that they happen to pass below.
I appreciate the information