I have never been to England since my dreams could not become possible. As I worked in the Indian railways for nearly about 40 yrs.in various departments, I love the railways very much.i I therefore like to see all the rly.system of all over the world. Thanks for the video here.
I have many memories of the Piccadilly Line particularly during my working days in Piccadilly Circus for which the line bears the name and of course the West End area of London, beginning at Heathrow all the way to Cockfosters. Trafalgar Square is a short distance from either Piccadilly Circus or Leicester Square. Nearby Covent Garden is not far either. Kings Cross St Pancras as we know, busy and the two rail terminals. Holloway Road and Finsbury Park are situated by railway bridges above (the line from Kings Cross all the way to Scotland or the East Coast main line). Arsenal of course is named after a famous football club. Used to be at Highbury, now at Emirates Stadium, located south of Finsbury Park.
The sub-surface station platforms at Hounslow West only came into being when the new Heathrow Airport extension of the Picc was constructed in 1975 as the original terminus platforms at Hounslow West were located to the right as you leave Hounslow West, these old platforms which have since been made into a large commuter car park. District Line services also ran between South Ealing and Hounslow West up until October 1964, hence the four-track layout between South Ealing and Northfields whereupon between Northfields and Hounslow West the District Line services alternated with the Piccadilly Line services.
that’s it’s mad as the tunnel just goes on and on…and while i’m watching im constantly looking for a signal and my eyes are scanning coz if the darkness!! really interesting video..i love the underground as it’s rich in history and thankfully it hasn’t been changed that much too over the years so it’s kept it’s originality from the good old days
49:00 The first track is a crossover track from the westbound Piccadilly line track. The track that merges immediately afterwards is a connector track to the Northern line's Bank branch.
Biggest change would be Acton Town to Hammersmith, they removed the ability for Piccadilly Line trains to run down the local (District line tracks) past Acton Town due to the District Line being automated. This was done in 2021.
Rest of the abandoned tunnel stations 40:14 Down street abandoned station 46:33 junction for abandoned aldwych branch 51:22 York road abandoned station
This is a great video. I have one question (hoping someone will know): the station starter numbers are really cryptic. Is there any logic to the numbering?
It's a long time since I did my LU operational training, so my memory is a bit sketchy, but yes...A as the first letter indicates a fully automatic signal, other letters (WR etc) indicate semi-automatic signals which usually protect points. There's different rules for passing them at danger. The letters indicate the signal cabin or interlocking machine room that controls the signals. An "X" signal (i.e. WRX123) is semi-automatic but can be treated as an automatic for the purposes of passing at danger.
Is there a reason why the track zig-zags so much between South Kensington and Knightsbridge? I use the Piccadilly line almost everyday coming from Hammersmith to Oakwook. You can really hear the train wheels squealing on the tight curves on the section between South Kensington and Knightsbridge.
@@grahammckechnie8438 Partial urban myth.... sometimes the line is laid around underground structures, which may be plague pits for all we know, but more than often it's simply to do with land ownership. When the deep level tubes were built, land owners smelled money. "If you dig under my house/land, you pay up" was the general response to new tube plans. Railway companies of course resisted, so in the end a law was passed that forced railway companies to buy any land they wished to tunnel under. The official reason was "fear of building collapse due to digging", but in reality is was just greed by influential land owners. So instead, the companies that built the lines tried to have them follow the streets as much as possible to avoid having to pay the land owners. The direct line between S. Kensington and Knightsbridge would have cost a pretty penny would it pass underneath the buildings in that area. Nowadays there are laws that prevent land owners to claim everything below their land as theirs. And that's a good thing too, or someone in NZ or Australia might have gotten a bill from a London land owner for building a shed "right underneath their land" ;) Collapse due to tunnelling is a real thing though... as anyone in the German city of Cologne can attest to[1]. When the latest tube line in Amsterdam was built, a number of historic houses were starting to tip over and (expensive) measures needed to be put in place[2] before construction could continue, leading to a 10 year (!) delay in opening the line. [1] www.tunneltalk.com/Cologne-collapse-Mar09-Deadly-collapse-in-Cologne.php [2] www.dutchamsterdam.nl/691-amsterdam-north-south-metro
@@grahammckechnie8438 Erwin's reply sums it up nicely. By the time the Victoria line was built in the sixties, the issues were largely resolved. It's much straighter - and therefore faster - than earlier tube lines.
video125's videos are for enthousiasts; brilliant but not suitable for line knowledge and training drivers. The video here is a training video for tube drivers that does away with all the fun facts and history and instead lists signals and speed restrictions. Fun, yes, but for tube fans video125's vids are obviously more fun. Now if they'd only remake everything in HD... ;)
these videos are cool I love them :) but why as a driver you need to know all numbers and letters for signals is beyond me, if it's green you can proceed if it's red you wait quite a simple notion really
All train drivers have to know the numbers of all the signals on their routes, the curves, junctions and gradients. It's called "signing the route". It's been like that since Victorian days. Once you know the code system and its quirks it becomes easier.
I’m not sure whether you have to remember the actual numbers off the top of your head (the mainline railway didn’t expect you to at least some time ago) however knowing e.g. which signals often get passed at danger/are difficult to sight is useful knowledge to have...
I had a listen to the commentary during the departure from Covent Garden; "If the PEA is operated within the station counter markers, stop immediately." I couldn't quite make out if he said PA or PEA, but this means the Passenger Alarm (or Passenger Emergency Alarm). Upon departure from each station, the station counter markers (the reflective blue plates on the tunnel walls counting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) indicate to the driver how many carriages of the train are in the tunnel and how many carriages are still in the platform). If a passenger pulls the red emergency alarm handle whilst the train is within the counter markers, the driver must stop immediately, owing to the fact that part of the train is still within the station platform. This way, any required assistance will be easier to attain, rather than if the train had passed the 6th counter marker and was entirely in the tunnel. I hope I explained that well for you, it's a difficult thing to describe in a simplified way 😂
Alex Dunn: Yes, cut and cover from Hounslow W platforms to Hatton X platforms inclusive (apart from the open section obvs), then tube construction to Heathrow - for some reason they weren't allowed to dig up the airport runways when they were building the line! As a result the route from Hounslow to Hatton is not very direct, it follows the main roads.
@@kinkisharyocoasters: Yes, I believe that if District line operation were restored on that branch it could probably reach as far as Hounslow West (I think only slight adaptations to the station would be needed, the entrance looks relatively high to me) but certainly no further. I think the question has been considered officially, although I don't know the details.
@TheRenaissanceman65 a train driver has to think of not only passenger safety but watch out for hazards outside the train. extream example, people ignoring a legal crossing
During underground (tunnel) operation the running speed is between 20 & 25 mph. On the surface the Piccadilly Line runs at up to 45 mph. Some sections of lines which extend well outside of London have stock operating at around 60 mph.
@@paulanderson79 There are only a few places underground that are limited to 20 or 25. Most places are much higher and even line speed of 45mph. Between Kings Cross and Caledonian Road, for example, or Turnpike Lane and Manor House.
my trio of thumbs down here must've been for the preceding clip that I'd must have watched right beforehand, because I now can't tell why I'd snub some old corporate training material like this
At first I was confused as to why they mentioned the signals until I realized that it’s a training video for Tube drivers.
Filmed in mid-2004 for anyone wondering!
that would explain all of the unrefurbished D stock trains
So around the time the LHR Terminal 4 loop was closed while they constructed the T5 extension?
Wow, it feels much older than that
@@forza223bowe5 Why/how does it feel older?
Andy JS probably the picture quality
I have never been to England since my dreams could not become possible. As I worked in the Indian railways for nearly about 40 yrs.in various departments, I love the railways very much.i I therefore like to see all the rly.system of all over the world.
Thanks for the video here.
You will find plenty of countrymen to show you around ..same as in Melbourne Australia where I worked for 27 years. !!
Anyone notice in the time that it took to leave Hounslow East station, all the leaves grew back on the trees and it became sunny? 😮
Amazing how the seasons changed at Hammersmith! 🍂
I have many memories of the Piccadilly Line particularly during my working days in Piccadilly Circus for which the line bears the name and of course the West End area of London, beginning at Heathrow all the way to Cockfosters. Trafalgar Square is a short distance from either Piccadilly Circus or Leicester Square. Nearby Covent Garden is not far either. Kings Cross St Pancras as we know, busy and the two rail terminals. Holloway Road and Finsbury Park are situated by railway bridges above (the line from Kings Cross all the way to Scotland or the East Coast main line). Arsenal of course is named after a famous football club. Used to be at Highbury, now at Emirates Stadium, located south of Finsbury Park.
Very very good video....
The tunell looked great and you could see it...
The sub-surface station platforms at Hounslow West only came into being when the new Heathrow Airport extension of the Picc was constructed in 1975 as the original terminus platforms at Hounslow West were located to the right as you leave Hounslow West, these old platforms which have since been made into a large commuter car park. District Line services also ran between South Ealing and Hounslow West up until October 1964, hence the four-track layout between South Ealing and Northfields whereupon between Northfields and Hounslow West the District Line services alternated with the Piccadilly Line services.
that’s it’s mad as the tunnel just goes on and on…and while
i’m watching im constantly looking for a signal and my eyes are
scanning coz if the darkness!! really interesting video..i love the underground as it’s rich in history and thankfully it hasn’t been changed that much too over the years so it’s kept it’s originality from the good old
days
49:00 The first track is a crossover track from the westbound Piccadilly line track. The track that merges immediately afterwards is a connector track to the Northern line's Bank branch.
Thanks Karen. I hadn't previously realised there was a crossover to the Northern Line anywhere from the Piccadilly
Biggest change would be Acton Town to Hammersmith, they removed the ability for Piccadilly Line trains to run down the local (District line tracks) past Acton Town due to the District Line being automated. This was done in 2021.
it's *MY* sleepover and *I* get to pick the movie
FANTASTIC upload, MUCH APPRECIATED
36:51 Brompton Road station!
Rest of the abandoned tunnel stations
40:14 Down street abandoned station
46:33 junction for abandoned aldwych branch
51:22 York road abandoned station
12:59 Osterley Park and Spring Grove
😁😁
ha! I wish I'd seen this comment before going looking for Brompton Road! Thanks for finding it for me!
51:24 that's York Road Tube Station, which closed to passengers in the 1930's.
Quite remarkble really. :)
Would be scary if you saw someone was standing on the platform with luggage
Much more interesting with the light on instead of peering into just darkness
I now suffer from tunnel vision after watching this!
The points at 28:58 routing onto the District line, and 29:13 routing onto the Piccadilly line, no longer exist as of 2021.
The driver in this train is driving with more speed than the Video 125 version of the Piccadilly Driver’s eye view.
I noticed at southgate that the "D on" sign changed to a "D off". what is that about?
Piccadilly Line 1973 Tube Stock
that woman from tiktok was right there is a plague pit between south ken and knightsbridge
is this a training video used by tube crews to learn the route?
I don't think so but it is very detailed all the same.
Having watched a bit further I've changed my mind. I think it is an in house route learning video.
This is a great video. I have one question (hoping someone will know): the station starter numbers are really cryptic. Is there any logic to the numbering?
I was wondering about this too!
It's a long time since I did my LU operational training, so my memory is a bit sketchy, but yes...A as the first letter indicates a fully automatic signal, other letters (WR etc) indicate semi-automatic signals which usually protect points. There's different rules for passing them at danger. The letters indicate the signal cabin or interlocking machine room that controls the signals. An "X" signal (i.e. WRX123) is semi-automatic but can be treated as an automatic for the purposes of passing at danger.
Is there a reason why the track zig-zags so much between South Kensington and Knightsbridge? I use the Piccadilly line almost everyday coming from Hammersmith to Oakwook. You can really hear the train wheels squealing on the tight curves on the section between South Kensington and Knightsbridge.
I've always wondered that as well, I think I read somewhere once that it was to avoid plague pits, maybe that's an urban myth?
@@grahammckechnie8438 Partial urban myth.... sometimes the line is laid around underground structures, which may be plague pits for all we know, but more than often it's simply to do with land ownership.
When the deep level tubes were built, land owners smelled money. "If you dig under my house/land, you pay up" was the general response to new tube plans. Railway companies of course resisted, so in the end a law was passed that forced railway companies to buy any land they wished to tunnel under. The official reason was "fear of building collapse due to digging", but in reality is was just greed by influential land owners.
So instead, the companies that built the lines tried to have them follow the streets as much as possible to avoid having to pay the land owners. The direct line between S. Kensington and Knightsbridge would have cost a pretty penny would it pass underneath the buildings in that area.
Nowadays there are laws that prevent land owners to claim everything below their land as theirs. And that's a good thing too, or someone in NZ or Australia might have gotten a bill from a London land owner for building a shed "right underneath their land" ;)
Collapse due to tunnelling is a real thing though... as anyone in the German city of Cologne can attest to[1]. When the latest tube line in Amsterdam was built, a number of historic houses were starting to tip over and (expensive) measures needed to be put in place[2] before construction could continue, leading to a 10 year (!) delay in opening the line.
[1] www.tunneltalk.com/Cologne-collapse-Mar09-Deadly-collapse-in-Cologne.php
[2] www.dutchamsterdam.nl/691-amsterdam-north-south-metro
@@grahammckechnie8438 Erwin's reply sums it up nicely. By the time the Victoria line was built in the sixties, the issues were largely resolved. It's much straighter - and therefore faster - than earlier tube lines.
When was this filmed?
Square tube stations!? What is this sorcery?
Is this video an older version than the one narrated by Rob curling from the video 125 series was wondering.
video125's videos are for enthousiasts; brilliant but not suitable for line knowledge and training drivers.
The video here is a training video for tube drivers that does away with all the fun facts and history and instead lists signals and speed restrictions.
Fun, yes, but for tube fans video125's vids are obviously more fun.
Now if they'd only remake everything in HD... ;)
these videos are cool I love them :) but why as a driver you need to know all numbers and letters for signals is beyond me, if it's green you can proceed if it's red you wait quite a simple notion really
All train drivers have to know the numbers of all the signals on their routes, the curves, junctions and gradients. It's called "signing the route".
It's been like that since Victorian days.
Once you know the code system and its quirks it becomes easier.
I’m not sure whether you have to remember the actual numbers off the top of your head (the mainline railway didn’t expect you to at least some time ago) however knowing e.g. which signals often get passed at danger/are difficult to sight is useful knowledge to have...
in case a signal plays up or train brack down ect so when help comes it easy
I guess these vids are also pitched at enthusiasts ? ...some of the amateur vids don't give as much detail.
Was this video upload in the 1980s
At 43:56, Outside Coventry Garden, what is the commentator saying "At the [PA Marker] if it is red, stop immediately. What kind of signal is this?
I had a listen to the commentary during the departure from Covent Garden; "If the PEA is operated within the station counter markers, stop immediately." I couldn't quite make out if he said PA or PEA, but this means the Passenger Alarm (or Passenger Emergency Alarm).
Upon departure from each station, the station counter markers (the reflective blue plates on the tunnel walls counting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) indicate to the driver how many carriages of the train are in the tunnel and how many carriages are still in the platform). If a passenger pulls the red emergency alarm handle whilst the train is within the counter markers, the driver must stop immediately, owing to the fact that part of the train is still within the station platform. This way, any required assistance will be easier to attain, rather than if the train had passed the 6th counter marker and was entirely in the tunnel.
I hope I explained that well for you, it's a difficult thing to describe in a simplified way 😂
@@joeymandrews Thanks
@@dcmoisan You are very welcome 😁👍
A655 is bae
Much of the western end tunnels are rectangular with a flat ceiling instead of the round TBM-drilled. Are these cut and cover tunnels?
Yet they are presumably too small for surface stock trains, given the height detectors
Alex Dunn: Yes, cut and cover from Hounslow W platforms to Hatton X platforms inclusive (apart from the open section obvs), then tube construction to Heathrow - for some reason they weren't allowed to dig up the airport runways when they were building the line! As a result the route from Hounslow to Hatton is not very direct, it follows the main roads.
@@kinkisharyocoasters: Yes, I believe that if District line operation were restored on that branch it could probably reach as far as Hounslow West (I think only slight adaptations to the station would be needed, the entrance looks relatively high to me) but certainly no further. I think the question has been considered officially, although I don't know the details.
@TheRenaissanceman65 Exactly!
@TheRenaissanceman65 :D :D :D
51:25 York road
36:50 Brompton road closed
Who wrote the captions on ths? "Chyzyk Park" - "Raymonds Court Park" - Finchly Park" - Come on!!!
It’s English but automated
@@RealLTBB Badly automated
Raymond was Earl's brother. Common knowledge.
40:16 down street ghost station
Have we got a version with no commentary? I find it really annoying I just want to watch a real time video
@TheRenaissanceman65 That's the easy part! Driving a tube train is literally childsplay. Having driven one, I should know ...
@TheRenaissanceman65 Because we have to face extremely stressful jobs and suicides in front of our train...
@TheRenaissanceman65 a train driver has to think of not only passenger safety but watch out for hazards outside the train. extream example, people ignoring a legal crossing
@TheRenaissanceman65 you fair point, I was just giving that example in general
@TheRenaissanceman65 level crossing I mean and none on the underground, unless north wield was still part of the central line
What’s the top speed
During underground (tunnel) operation the running speed is between 20 & 25 mph. On the surface the Piccadilly Line runs at up to 45 mph. Some sections of lines which extend well outside of London have stock operating at around 60 mph.
@@paulanderson79 There are only a few places underground that are limited to 20
or 25. Most places are much higher and even line speed of 45mph. Between Kings Cross and Caledonian Road, for example, or Turnpike Lane and Manor House.
45 mph for 1973 stock
WW1, WW2 Terrible times but WW3....Only if Trump gets his way. Rather unfortunate designations for those signals.
👎👎👎
It’s a video from the front of a train. What do u want man?
my trio of thumbs down here must've been for the preceding clip that I'd must have watched right beforehand, because I now can't tell why I'd snub some old corporate training material like this