125 Years of the Waterloo and City Line
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- 8th August 2023 is a milestone for the quirkiest line on the Underground - the Waterloo and City!
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Nearly half an hour on a journey that takes four minutes. I like it.
I agree ☝️.
Nearly half an hour on a journey that takes only four minutes. I like 👍 it too!
Train nerd gonna train nerd.
Drain gotta Drain, nerd gotta nerd.
Well, this nearly half an hour certainly felt like four minutes, so it's fitting.
More Jago is always good.
"Bakerloo line" came from Baker Street to Waterloo line. So surely Waterloo to Bank should be "Wankerloo line"?
HA HA HA HA HA I LOVE IT😂!!
😂😂
IMHO the tunnelling shield at Bank is one of the coolest things you can see in a station on the underground, it shows really well how small the tunnels are. You don't get many fogs that impressive these days 8:20
As an ex drain user I have fond memories of the daily subterranean adventure. The challenge of getting on as quickly as possible to secure a seat was always at the forefront of my mind.
When my dad got moved from The City to Canary Wharf, at first he complained that the Tube part of his commute had gotten a bit longer.
(Paddington to Waterloo to Bank became Paddington to ?? to Canary Wharf. I think he still changed at Waterloo even though he could do it at Baker Street?)
Soon after, however, he was mostly talking about how much nicer the Jubilee Line Extension was over the Waterloo and City line! Especially the experience at Canary Wharf station.
Of course, by the time he retired it had gotten a lot more crowded in the station as many more offices moved there. But for a time it was apparently a much more relaxed commute despite taking a bit longer.
@@kaitlyn__L Nowadays he could just take the Lizard Line.
Why? You were not sitting for long..
I remember the snaking queues at Waterloo and bank stations (and when I first started using it a lot of people still wore bolar hats and striped trousers)
My own Waterloo & City titbit: During the last week of operation of the 1940 stock I found myself alone on the line during off-peak. I noticed the carriages had distinctive air vents at each end forming the words ‘Southern Railway’. On closer inspection I saw that these vent covers were secured by just two or three screws and reflected that if only I had a screwdriver I could have helped myself to a souvenir! (I reasoned that they were going to be scrapped soon anyway).
I remember those Southern Railway air vent covers too. I travelled on the W&C a number of times during its BR and Network SouthEast days... usually just because of its uniqueness and interest.
At least some of them were removed and preserved; I knew somebody who had one.
On some cars the vent on the right hand side said 'Region' so I wonder if some had previously been removed, and replaced in BR Days?
I had a screwdriver….😊
@@nilo70 - Ooooooh get you! (I’ve now got screwdriver envy) 🤓
I often used the Drain on Saturday mornings when it ran a single-car service. The ride was akin to being on a fairground roller-coaster.
Yes , the Saturday morning opening was a regular feature of the line for many years. After the replacement of the 1940's stock in the 1990's, a full day Saturday service ran, but after Covid lockdowns in 2020, the Saturday service has since been withdrawn altogether.
Years ago when I worked for BR, I was hidden away in the old lamp arch which adjoined onto the lift area for the W&C and sometimes we were marshalled in to help out with lifts and drops as couple times a year a tamper would be squeezed onto the lift and other utility wagons when renewing track and infrastructure. Curious place to work, my "boss" was colloquially known as "Catweazle" as he looked just like that with the frizzed out beard and hair, he used to talk to himself a lot and he was often pie eyed too whether on proper booze or the lamp oil we never knew, chap could knock a bottle of scotch back in one throw and not even burp or show any outward signs and off he would go muttering to himself whilst I did all the stuff like lamp work and trudging up to the platforms with my trolley laden with fresh lamps and next door stores would load me up with train sundries because I was a lowly knowlessman and they were senior to me. To be fair, we gave other BR staff hell, YTS trainees were excellent fun with my favourite wheeze of sending them up to watch incoming trains, measure buffer to buffer stop distance and if it wasn't 2 and half feet they were told to write a ticket out and give it to the driver... the grumpy Welsh Area Manager constantly had us on punishment duty, including hand sweeping with a normal yard broom the whole concourse he nailed on to me several times. We nearly caused a major signalman walkout when using the stores database we "issued" various signalboxes the staff with old 1950's "Weskit" uniforms that were still in storage, signalmen do not wear uniforms ever and so we issued them to London Bridge, Waterloo, Victoria, Clapham Junction, Borough Market, out went these hideous uniforms and my own father went berserk when he was issued his horrible smelly uniform. It was around then I was encouraged to transfer and moved to Norwood TOPs where I rained hell on unsuspecting folks from there like putting EPB's into service for an erroneous "long weight" and wrong colour yellow cab end corrections...
the thumbnail really made me jump to the conclusion of 125mph running in the tube 😂
Yeah, didn't you hear that the Bakerloo line is getting HSTs?
I loved those 1940s trains especially the art deco lights, I remember riding on them back in the 1970s with my dad, , Even though the trains and stations were getting a bit tired and shabby by then i still have great memories of them.
Another nicely-timed video- James Henry Greathead was born on this day in 1844!
wonder how they dug his grave ?
I first went on it in 1989. Not knowing how it worked at Waterloo I went on to the platform and was surprised how quiet it was. I got on the train which then trundled off into the sidings. I was a bit anxious until the train reversed into the departure platform. I've always been a track basher so this was an unexpected bonus!
Missed opportunity to say: “I’m here at Waterloo and…OH NOT THIS AGAIN!” 😂
Where from? Belgium?
@@PopeLando the reference could be waterloo east on the southeastern line
No, not Belgium, but Liverpool... Waterloo Station on the Northern Line of MerseyRail...
@@trevordance5181he probably doesnt have footage for that unfortunately
@@trevordance5181 And as an alternative handily titled for Another Place 🙂
Thanks Jago for the wonderful broadcasts that you've been doing.
I live on the other side of the Pond, so it's unlikely I will take the W&C anytime soon, but I love hearing about all these little quirks and oddities that result from having a transit system with over a century of history
As a fellow Yank, I find the London Underground to be fascinating. I use it whenever I have the pleasure of being in the UK. While not as long a history as London's on our side of the Pond the NYC system also has an interesting and quirky history all its own dating back 119 years.
I've travelled on the underground when on holiday, but didn't understand the history at the time.
In the BR Days, upto the introduction of the preasant stock and the major rebuilding work the line was controlled by a Signal box, on the platform of the Bank bound platform at Waterloo, just by the end, where the the depot is. Although colour light signals the box still had a lever frame, This controlled the whole line in the off peak. During rush hour there was a very small signalling panel at Bank that could control Bank station, It was located in a tiny space in the building between the two platforms at the Waterloo end of Bank station, accessed from the left hand platform as you faced Waterloo. A unique feature in BR Days was on the tunnel walls rows of three blue lights to indicate the 20 mph speed restrictions on the tight curves.
I like this longer format, but I understand why you don't do more of them.
Well done Jago. You should consider doing more long-form work like this. You're very good at it!
I have fond memories of the Drain and riding the old 1940's stock during the off-peak when there was no one much around. It was like a strange mix of being in a working museum from the 2nd WW, and being on my own personal ghost train. Those trains looked awful when they got the NSE livery put on them. It totally ruined the ambiance of the whole experience.
Looking forward to your next offering soon. Keep up the good work. 👍
I think the Victoria Line should be considered entirely underground, regardless of having an Overground depot at Northumberland Park.
I agree. Every part of the Victoria line to which the public has access is underground and the status of the rest is surely irrelevant
@@nicfripp4159well yes, technically true and I thought that too, but it does mean the trains themselves sometimes go outside, something you don't see at all on the W&C (they have to be winched in and out). I suppose that's what Jago was getting at.
@@stephenholt4670that’s still wrong: it’s technically“below ground” but it still passes an open space before entering the depot…it is never entirely underground except when in swrvice
just south of Waterloo the line actually “gets some air” as the tracks to the depot are exposed. it doesn’t go “aboveground” but it’s not entirely buried underground as is thought
No way was this documentary about a two station line thirty minutes long, that went so quick! Nice work btw, very informative 👌🏻
Great video, Jago - lots of information there! I’ve only been on it once when me and a work colleague decided to go on it during a lunch break when we worked at Baker Street! 😀
Sunday videos with the Jago......
And its a half hour one. ❤❤❤❤❤❤
Superb an comprehensive, Jago. You have truly excelled yourself this time. thank you.
I've been commuting on this line for 22 years. I'm watching this video for a reason to hate it less :)
Great little video about a great little tube line , always been an oddity but well loved by all the Londoners that use it.
A pleasant in depth Sunday excursion. I had no idea it had ever been three rail.
The colour photos of the old 1940 stock were nice to see.
In the small thumbnail the digits on the car saying 201 look like a yellow dash in the title so it says 1-25. Neat trick.
Jago was confined to bed a few weeks ago ( the vids were pre-recorded and time to upload ), he had his depot down below attended to and his canteen moved.
I share my birthday with the W&C but happily not quite so many of them.
Great video!
As always, thanks for another really informative video mate. Very educational videos! As a London Underground enthusiast and regular user, (I used to live in London and am now living just outside of London, still using the Underground frequently) these videos show the history of LU. This history just helps us to appreciate, even more, the transport system many of us use so regularly to this day! Happy 125th to the W&C!
So fascinating and you put so much information into each video and love your narrative and how you describe things. I find all your uploads so interesting.
I've never used the Drain much, but have happy memories of the previous 1940s trains. While of the same vintage, they're surprisingly different to the Underground stock of the same time.
Congrats waterloo and city line!
🤩🤩🤩✴✴ (Bravo, nice one and happy birthday to the W&C Tube line!)
*(And I've never been in there for a long time or ride.)*
What a fab vídeo, so informative! This line was always intriguing for me being so short and closed some days!
Love this longer format. Can we hear more about those fabulous 40s stock units? So distinctive
I really enjoyed this longer form video, you're very satisfying to listen to when you get into the nitty gritty details of things!
Well done!
I really enjoyed that, thank you.
….and here’s to *another* 125 years of ‘Waterloo & City Line’, Sir. Jago Hazzard. What an *eeeeeeeeeeeepiiiiiiiiiiiiiiic* ‘Tale From Da Tube 🚇’!!!!!
Really enjoyed this Video Mr Hazzard - so many facts and dates...needed a lie down afterwards .
'resolved amicably between the LSWR directors and themselves'
best line in the whole video
Great work.. as always!
It's good that a station was never added at Blackfriars and the line was never extended. The Waterloo & City line does one thing very well: get people on, give them the confidence that even if they cram in they'll get off at the other end, and take them four minutes away. A sideways lift really.
Any additions potentially compromise that capacity as people won't cram in if they don't think they'll be able to get out again, and make the line less able to do its basic job - separating the masses of Surrey commuters who work in the City from the rest of London (to the benefit of both?).
Be a master of one, rather than a jack of all trades!
One of the best things I’ve ever watched on UA-cam, and this guy is a decent presenter
Good lord having an interchange at Blackfriars nowdays would be useful, expecially post pandemic...
Really would have been interesting to see it linked to the DLR aswell!
The W&C is my fave route to the city. Go to Waterloo then let the Drain take the strain.
Wow, thx Jago. What a wonderful mini-doc to accompany my solo dined lunch.
Lovely video for what is most definitely my favorite line. I spent a good year or so going Bank to Waterloo and back again during my weekend working hours, arguably the best possible time and route to be using it. Thank you for making this video! Why do you think the train sparks so much pulling up to the platform?
The part where you talked about the engine lift sounda like something out of the early series of thomas
I rather enjoyed this longer, more in depth video. Should there be more such in future I would very much approve.
awesome job Jago! absolutely loved every minute of it!
@18:26, that is a beautiful air intake grill on top of the driver's cab. Could the unexploded bomb have fallen through a ventilation shaft and rolled along the track? Were there still such a thing as platform tickets, I bet the price would be £1. Thank you for an enthralling tale from the tubes.
BR Platform Ticket at Euston was 2d at one time
Often wondered why Victoria was not chosen as the first London terminus for EuroStar as already had the Customs and Immigration facilities from the old Night Ferry to Paris and London end of the Orient Express days but only two platforms, 1 and 2, that were closed off from the rest. The rest had already been realigned and two new ones, an island one, for the Gatwick Express and a mezzanine floor built. Disjointed planning as usual along with the accompanying weekend travel chaos.
Victoria was built as two stations. The LB&SCR "Brighton" side had long platforms (but still not long enough for a Eurostar), but the platforms on the South Eastern side are short (some barely long enough for an 8 car train). Extending these to take Eurostars would have involved the destruction of a lot of high value property, the requirement to find an alternative terminus for the South Eastern, and much more space for passenger handling, customs and immigration. Building at Waterloo was cheaper for the same reason it was cheaper to build a station there in the first place - it is on the "wrong" side of the river so property was cheaper, and it also had the advantage of being partially built on the goods yard already owned by BR, plus the fact that the Eurostars could be slotted into the gaps in the Windsor Line services on the approach to the station.
Surprisingly, only once I used the Drain. It was a 1940 set in BR(SR) livery. I seem to recall that it was natural metal finish with a green cheat line. That Network South East livery you displayed looks horrible.
A note about the 1948 accident: A BR Photographer who photographed the aftermath was asked by his employers to destroy the negative as to avoid embarresment for the newly nationalised railways. The Negative was not disposed of and is now but a Google search away.
I like this length better.
Excellent film. will watch again.
I used W&C daily during the 70s and early 80s. I have a recollection that the Southern Region had marks along the platform to indicate the door position and my fellow commuters stood in queues along the platform.
Yes. As a commuter on South Eastern (or whatever it was called at the time) I occasionally travelled via Waterloo East and the W&C to get to the city. As this was usually during periods of disruption when direct services to Cannon Street were not available I was usually running late. The first time I did this I just pushed onto the first tube having completely failed to understand the very polite (and completely self policed) queueing system which zig zagged up and down the platform to the marks on the edge. A bit of polite tutting made me realise I'd done something wrong and the next time I travelled I was more aware and joined the very civilised queueing system
Fantastic video sir, my favourite railway line in London!
You definitely did justice to the subject matter. More videos like this please!
_Logically,_ Jago, _logically,_ “one point forty-seven” is five and seven tenths, since that little -ty means you should multiply by ten.
Now, with anyone else on the Internet I would have let this slide, but I have come to expect a higher level of pedantry from _you,_ sir!
GREAT video, Jago! Well done!
I guess you could say you finally faced your waterloo…
Edit: wa wa wa wa waterloo
Couldn’t escape if i wanted to (referring to the mess of platforms and the illogical layout)
I always thought it was unfortunate that the Eurostar terminus was moved away from Waterloo as it was a useful reminder of the battle to the French and what happens to them if they are unpleasant to Britain.
"How do we make it look like this is a totally separate company?"
"Let's get a random Welshman on the board that'll do it"
"By Jove that's Brilliant"
The Waterloo & City Line signalling frame that was underneath Waterloo station, which signalled the railway from 1930 to about 1980, is still in existence ! It's now used at the Great Cockcrow Railway, installed at Cockcrow Hill station, and on a busy Sunday is used to handle anything up to 60 trains in about 3 hours so it's kept busy. It's kept in good condition, with shiny rust-free levers and heaven help anyone who touches a lever without using a signaller's cloth....!
Nice one!
I would be interested in a video explaining the whole Eurostar Waterloo and St. Pancras thing.
Waterloo was used for the original Eurostar terminus because it was the only one with enough space that could be readily accessed from the existing lines coming in from Kent - although a new spur had to be built near Queenstown Road to connect the "Chatham" main line with the lines into Waterloo. However, when HS1 was built there was no easy way to bring it into Waterloo, so St Pancras, which had more spare capacity (especially since its suburban services had been diverted to Thameslink), was chosen instead.
Did not realise the Waterloo and City line was that old
People used to queue for each door to board at Waterloo. The doors of the new stock in 93 did not line up with the marks on the platform and boarding in the morning became far more competitive. 28:36
People used to do exactly the same for the 521 bus at Waterloo when it was a 3-door bendy bus - three beautifully ordered queues
the day that instead of me watching in UK, I watched it in hong kong
Happy Birthday
As always, an excellent and well informed video. Just one small point - 1.47 miles is correctly pronounced "one point four seven" not "one point forty seven".
Aah, a true pedant. Bravo, Howard. I like to think Jago would feel the same, lol.🤨😉✌️
Very interesting video, although I haven't knowingly been on the line.
The Strain on the Drain is mainly taken by the Train.
Much enjoyed this longer tale, you should do it more often!
Lovely piece of history
I really did like the Bulleid stock that operated on the Drain with its distinctive design.
I remember sitting at the booking on cabin watching the train being lifted in by crane. Best part of working there was the canteen as it was the same one used by Eurostar drivers so the grub was much better than the usual same egg floating in 3 inches of fat at all the other canteens.
Being Hazzard/tube fans whenever we go to London we always make a point of using this line. It's like using those 'teleporting' links in Cluedo.
Nearly half an hour on a journey that takes only four minutes. I like 👍 it !
24:55 - Have you made a UA-cam video about how the Euro-star train first went to Waterloo, then later to St.Pancras station?
A brilliant video, Jago! Happy 125th, W and C! There seems to be so much potential still in the railways of London...Crossrail 2, 3 and 4?
I took this for the first time today, twice. I have no idea what I expected, but knowing it's the same train as the Central line was cool. The interchange sucks, though.
Great vid! Interesting re use of Siemens electric trains then - could almost be the 'S' in railway names...
For so many years I travelled on this line, never really thinking about it, reflecting on useless things about work mainly. One thought about the line I did have was, “Why didn’t they use travelators throughout?” It seems other people also thought that but somehow it was dismissed, I would like to know why.
a mile and a half of travellator is a bit of a stand , and poss likely to wear out more quickly, I suppose you could do it in sections
Looking back how could the alignment of the Waterloo & City have been improved between Waterloo and Bank to reduce the sharpness of the curves, allowing for both further expansion as well as for the number of cars to be increased from 4 to 6 at most (if not 5 at minimum)? On the eastward side, would it have been better for the Waterloo & City stop at Bank to have used the same track/platforms as the Central Line with a bit of adjustments on the part of the latter given its crooked layout?
Could see the expanded line playing a complimentary role vaguely paralleling the Central Line eastwards from Bank or Liverpool Street with a route to Hainault loosely inspired by the 1988 Central London Rail Study: Jubilee Line Extension to Ilford via Stratford proposal (albeit with possible stops at Spitalfields, Shoreditch High Street / Shoreditch, Bethnal Green Junction and Old Ford / Roman Road), then utilising an underground reconnection onto the Hainault Loop from Ilford to Newbury Park. As for south-east from Waterloo can see it travelling via St George’s Circus onto the CPSLJR at Nunhead to Crystal Palace - High Level, if not at minimum the shortest of the Bakerloo or Northern line extension proposals up to around Camberwell, Peckham Rye and New Cross Gate, etc.
Not me getting excited by the slightest mention of Belgium
Jago said King of Belgium. Naughty Jago. Smacked wrist.
isnt there another Greathead Shield in Place somewhere (Charing Cross ? - think I heard it on a hidden london vid or similar )
There's one at Moorgate. In 1902, a plan was approved to extend the Northern City line to Lothbury (which is not a district, but a street in the City - cf Poultry). Work was commenced but abandoned almost immediately, the shield being left in place where it remains to this day.
The funny thing is, is that the LSWR had a reputation for arguing with itself (usually amicably) anyway!
You literally cannot suggest any new line or line extension in London. They've all been suggested, probably 100 years ago. It always puzzles me why they don't extend Waterloo & City line to Lambeth (and Vauxhaul) and add a station on the line at Blackfrairs and possibly Mansion house (it already passes through both). This could (comparatively cheaply) turn it into a genuine modern line that would provide great connections for South London.
The line is already full and couldn't cope with extra passengers from Blackfriars (although an escalator connection between Mansion House station and the Waterloo end of the platforms at Bank should be possible). As for extensions, you would have to completely rebuild the station at Waterloo on a different alignment to serve Lambeth or Vauxhall (the existing platforms point towards Elephant, and tghere is already a line connecting Bank and Elephant by a much shorter route)
@@norbitonflyer5625 excuse my ignorance but couldn't they increase the number of trains (especially if they had extended the line south) to accommodate extra passengers from Blackfriars?
I assume the station at Waterloo is angled that way due to having been curved to help the slope from going under the river?
Some very interesting information here. But, more on that later.
And it’s a very underrated line.
A year younger than Blackpool Pleasure Beach then.
In honour of John Gosling who just past away.
They should yet look at doing more with the W&C with the extension possibilities you mentioned, although I guess the W&C loading gauge is not big enough for the Northern & City connection unless tube-size trains were used throughout...
There is also too much in the way between Bank and Moorgate, such as the DLR, Elizabeth Line, the central Line, the Metropolitan Line and the Northern Line. As the W&C and the GN&C predate both the Central and that stretch of the Northern, they are at a shallower level so diving under them would not be possible without abandoning the existing stations, and going over the top would break the surface where there are a few buildings in the way, such as the Bank of England, the Royal Exchange, and the Lord Mayor's official residence!
Why is it called the drain? Thank you for another interesting video!
What about the tunnelling shield at Monument en route to Lothbury was it?
Ihad often wondered why the Bank extension to Moorgate was never considered - know better now - pity it never was.
In this corner, weighing 100 000 000 pounds and in red trunks, the LSWR and in the other corner, weighing 100 000 000 pounds and in red trunks, hey who organized this fight, Don King?😂 18:11
Do a video for the 125 for the central pls
It will be nice
Is the Central Line the most popular line?
@@295g295 idk.
Is it the only line without a physical connection to other lines?
Yes.
Does that mean the W&C is the only line that doesn't connect, at a track level, with any other Underground lines? 🤔 I am aware that the stock has to be lifted in an out, but is it unique in the fact that you cannot move stock onto/off the route by rail?
Yes.
@@AtheistOrphanApparently no need to elaborate !!
@@simonwinter8839 - Brevity is my middle name!
@@AtheistOrphan Yes.
There is now a connection between the W&C and Jubilee Lines, so no lifting is required