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Secrets of the London Underground. Series 2 coming 5th May at 8PM on Yesterday


Paul.Uni
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6 hours ago, Nick Gough said:

Or where Patrick Troughton encountered the Yeti?

 

10 minutes ago, Nile said:

 

That would be Ealing studios.

 

Apparently at least part of that story was filmed in the recently constructed, but yet to be opened, new Victoria Line tunnels.

A family friend, at the time, was an engineer with London Transport and was involved in facilitating the filming.

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I think its been great so far,  there are bits of which I new a little about and now I have been enlightened further, I look forward to the rest of the series and any future series.

 

Once the secrets of the underground have been exhausted, I'm sure that there must be some secrets of the rest of the rail network that could be looked at as a series or two.

 

 

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On 02/08/2021 at 00:41, timdunn said:


 

I have nowt to do with the broad editorial of the series - that is not my remit - but I would note that the programmes must cater for both knowledgeable enthusiast and those who have just flicked on to the channel. 
 

personally, I have hope that the content satisfies both; i want the former to feel they have something comfortingly familiar yet see some new features or viewpoints on it - whilst the latter should be inspired to seek out more and eventually become enthusiasts (ie the former) later. 
 

therefore - to all (I presume) enthusiasts reading this - I ask that you remember that whilst YOU know of something, there will be literally hundreds of thousands of people watching along with you on their TVs, laptops and phones live or the days after, for whom this is all new news.

 

It is a delight and a privilege to be able to take the years of rail-related things that I and others have learned and loved to a genuinely massive audience. The editorial balance will not appeal to all (I saw the comment re tiles - yet there are Facebook forums with design enthusiasts very very happy about this aspect… remember this is a series about the underground, not just “trains”…) - but gosh, I can tell you that (a) we are proud of the team and (b) the team - much of the same lot which makes The Architecture The Railways Built - will always read and listen to constructive feedback. Because we want to make stuff that people enjoy.

 

cheers! Tim


I think it’s been spot on, and last nights episode was another cracker. 
My only complaint is that the hour passes too quickly! 
 

I also enjoying the “spot the Siddy tile mention” game, she even managed to get one in the excellent section on Highgate! 

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Spent the rest of the evening revisiting memories of exploring Highgate High Level & Ally Pally branch. Enjoyable series.

 

Dava

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I hope a future series will include the Metropolitan Widened Lines, steam & freight traffic to Smithfield, & how it became Thameslink. Great series 1.

 

Dava

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33 minutes ago, Dava said:

I hope a future series will include the Metropolitan Widened Lines, steam & freight traffic to Smithfield, & how it became Thameslink. Great series 1.

 

A visit to "West Ashfield" could also be interesting - although I'm not convinced that trainspotters would find too much to interest them ... .

 

 

Huw.

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On 01/08/2021 at 10:29, col.stephens said:

I remember a horror film (possibly Hammer) based on the Underground whereby lone passengers were disappearing from platforms late at night, never to be seen again.  It transpired that they were being abducted and eaten by a Yeti type being who lived on the Underground system.  I thought it was hilarious when, after finally being hunted down and fatally wounded, he uttered his final words, "Mind the gap!"

Terry

 

There was also another horror film "Quatermass and the Pit", where alien remains are uncovered during excavations at "Hobbs End" underground station - originally thought to be ape-like, they release energy that threatens London (if not, the World). 

 

On 22/07/2021 at 10:13, GoingUnderground said:

But what Wikipedia doesn't tell you is that on the first escalators on the Underground you got on and off at the side, not at the ends. And when the first one was installed on the Underground, UERL is said to have employed a man with a wooden leg, known as "Bumper Harris",  to travel on it all day to show passengers how easy it was to use.

 

History has forgotten the name of his other leg...

[Sorry!]

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On 04/08/2021 at 15:01, EddieB said:

where alien remains are uncovered during excavations at "Hobbs End" underground station

 

Ant-like Martians who influenced the development of humanity.

 

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Tim & Siddy do make an excellent presentation team, and I am really enjoying the series. 

 

Whilst there is probably plenty of material for a second series, I would imagine that the problem would be finding sufficient "new" material to interest non-railway buffs who may well outnumber the rail enthusiast viewers. Take the non-enthusiasts away and the viewer numbers may not make for a viable programme. Much as I love the Underground, and have done since I was 9, there is a limit on the number of abandoned stations and tunnels that you can look at before you start thinking "Oh no, not another abandoned tunnel/disused station". 

 

So my thoughts would tend to turn towards including parts of the Underground in the open air, which is over 50% of the system. That could cover former coal and freight workings on the Met and District, including the coal trains to Chiltern Court as well as the former goods and coal yards, and the Widened Lines to Smithfield and Moorgate. The different architectural styles over the years and to a certain extent between the lines. There is the lesser-known fact that most of the Tube stations were built in such a way that additional storeys could be added later. There is also the abandoned routes and projects:

West Ruislip-Denham;

Northern Heights;

Bakerloo beyond Elephant & Castle;

Fleet/Jubilee Charing Cross station;

Epping-Ongar,

The St Mary's Curve link to the East London line.

Re-routeing of the Metropolitan's Watford Branch to Watford Junction which now seems to have been quietly forgotten about;

The link between the Metropolitan and the LSWR & District west of Hammersmith.

South Acton-Acton Town

Northern Line beyond Morden;

The District's services from Ealing Broadway to Southend.

The Metropolitan beyond Amersham, and the Brill branch, and possibly the intention to go beyond Chesham to Berkhampstead to connect with the LNWR.

 

The "hidden" parts still in daily use not accessible to the public such as the Depots might also be worth a mention, and the "hidden" turnback sidings in the central area.

 

There could even be a bit of history showing how parts of the network were built in the green fields of Middlesex and the housing followed. I tend to forget myself that it wasn't just the Metropolitan that created NW London's suburbia but the Northern and the Piccadilly lines also have a history of building in open countryside.

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As another suggestion, 2023 is the 50th anniversary of the first broadcast of Metro-Land by Sir John Betjeman.

 

How about a Metro-Land revisited?

 

How much of what Betjeman wrote and broadcast so eloquently about has been lost and gained from the Metropolitan Railway landscape, especially architecture, over the intervening 50 years?

 

 

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I have no idea if any more is planned or what the contents might be - but I have always considered the Brill and Verney Junction routes as being part of the "lost" London Underground; and it's a railway close to my heart.

 

And the 2023 date hadn't escaped my notice either...

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There was a BBC programme (World Around Us possibly?) in the early 1970's that saw a couple of intrepid explorers walk from London Bridge along the old CSLR tunnels to King William Street.  Trying to find any copy of said programme has thus far proved impossible so maybe time for a revisit, probably once the Bank Station works in the area has finished?

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On 01/08/2021 at 08:57, Nick Gough said:

Or where Patrick Troughton encountered the Yeti?

 

Still traumatised by that one .  These were the days when truly I was hiding behind the couch when Dr Who was on 

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1 hour ago, Legend said:

 

Still traumatised by that one .  These were the days when truly I was hiding behind the couch when Dr Who was on 

On the subject of "horror" there is the Ruth Rendell, writing as Barbara Vine, book "King Solomon's Carpet" about the Underground which, if I remember the plot correctly is about someone seeking revenge on the system for provoking the death of a young woman on her first journey on the Tube due to a panic attack/claustrophobia. Apologies if I've just spoiled the plot for anyone reading it.

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3 hours ago, John M Upton said:

There was a BBC programme (World Around Us possibly?) in the early 1970's that saw a couple of intrepid explorers walk from London Bridge along the old CSLR tunnels to King William Street.  Trying to find any copy of said programme has thus far proved impossible so maybe time for a revisit, probably once the Bank Station works in the area has finished?

Unfortunately that would be in the period when the BBC routinely wiped and re-used tapes, so the chances of its survival are slim.

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Under London Expedition?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qoG0ACt3UA
Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnCTRV5EwPk

Part 2

 

Having trouble getting links in place, so far, will try again.  Hope the above is enough to use.

 

Early in my career, I was fortunate to make a site visit to King William Street, and walk down the tunnels as far as the construction shaft under the river.  The whole site is totally altered now, thanks to redevelopment above.
 

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