Docklands Light Railway, do your homework or no Pudding tonight! Docklands Light Railway, go to sleep or I take away your Abbey Road vinyl! Docklands Light Railway, apologize for what you did or you won't get any allowance to put in your piggy Bank that you call West Ham!
Obviously the absolute best thing about the DLR is getting to sit at the front and pretending to be the driver. I'm turning 45 next Saturday and I haven't stopped doing it yet...
They're missing a trick, though. If you do the same on the metro in Copenhagen, you'll find a big sticker there with train controls on it. Kids of all ages (including my 46-year-old self) love it.
@@deeser A man after my own heart! :D:D:D Years ago, when I used to drive school buses out in the sticks, I used to make full-lip brrrm brrrm noises for the craic! The youngsters loved it - and these were UK high school students!!
When I worked in Canary Wharf for a few months a couple of years ago, I’d always take the DLR as part of my journey home; forget the Jubilee Line at the height of summer! So every evening, without fail, I’d do my best to get the very front seat. I got very good at making sure I was stood perfectly aligned with the front set of doors...
Hmm, not sure that's correct. Possibly rekindled and facilitated your interest. London is not short of history at all, some of it minor, some of it major and some of it completely mind-blowing. Just remember that the next time you look at your watch.
Good call! It’s a really fun ride...if you ever get the chance, start from tower hill & make sure you nab one of the seats right at the front with the best view!:)
Brings back memories from being based at Poplar in the early 1990s while working on the initial upgrading of the DLR signalling and fare collection systems. Fond recollections of many a lunch in Carty’s pub in Poplar eating ham, egg and chips and drinking pints of Beamish, before alcohol was banned on the railways. Happy days!
When Southern House in Croydon housed all the BR(S) infrastructure engineers years ago, half of the top floor (17?) was devoted to a subsisdised cafeteria and.... bar! Happy days indeed :-)
What's the deal with broadcast people and being into railways? So many people from the broadcast industry end up moving over to the rail industry, it can't be a coincidence
@paul smith No doubt, but my point was they were happy to splash the cash for motorists, but less so for the choo-choos. But Limehouse Link was literally tunnelling into the unknown : < 20 recorded buried services, yet >80 found. No wonder it was so costly and 'they' might've baulked at the final cost if it was presented as an initial estimate. Few cost estimates stay accurate once the first spade has cut the ground.
As a kid from Vancouver, my summer holidays were spent in Mitcham. I was there when the DLR started. Thanks for the nod to SkyTrain. Anyways, great video as always.
Interesting fact: at 3:24. The house next to Bow Church station used to be the City stay hotel, where in 2018 the two Russian agents accused of carrying out the Poisoning of sergei and yulia skripal, stayed before travelling on to sailsbury. I had a weird feeling about where I had seen that house before despite never been to bow.
Love the DLR. After staying in docklands for the first time a few years ago and using it a few times a day for a week I found it so interesting, clean and quiet! Love the history of the area. Great video as usual!
Strangely pleasing to see the Skytrain in one of your videos Jago. I think I saw car #63 go by today actually. Yes, I do sometimes make note of the numbers... Because of... You know, reasons.
Really informative video, and rest assured: your concept of what constitutes 'very interesting' coincides entirely with my own. So you have nothing to worry about.
I love the DLR now. I like to sit at the front and pretend I'm driving. I try to not look too disappointed if some young kids get the seat first. But I was first introduced to the DLR back in the early days; when the service was, shall we say, 'limited'. A friend had a job in the proto-Docklands. We went to meet him for a drink but he said we had to get into the City before the last DLR train. I asked what DLR stood for. Apparently back then it was "Doesn't Like Running".
There's actually a very easy solution to making sure trams that run on streets won't get delayed by traffic: give trams their own lanes and absolute priority when it comes to lights.
@@chrisjohnson7929 I mean, that's an even better solution, I'd agree. If cars must be kept, though, then trams should be given absolute priority over them. It's that way over here in Germany, and it usually works decently.
If i remember correctly when it first opened there was a ghost stop, i think that was programmed for what was to later become canary wharf station, i also remember the docklands clipper midi-bus service pre DLR but painted in the DLR livery - fantastic bit of engineering and planning and now one of London's best and cheapest sight seeing tours ! Fantastic and informative video
The P86 we're built in Germany and had inward opening door's, the P89 we're built in the UK and had the same doors but we're converted to sliding doors, the motor's etc we're the same.
Despite not living in London ( I worked there at Limehouse Studios in 87 for just 12 months) these videos are fascinating - I remember the DLR in its infancy ( quite a popular filming location when it first opened, Carnival films used it quite a bit for productions like Bugs that the BBC aired) Thank you for taking the time to make them.
The DLR is the only means of escape (other than by boat service) from Canary Wharf when the Jubilee line is down...altogether I find it quicker to get to the City and Bank Station via the Jubilee Line and changing at London Bridge, especially as King's Cross St Pancras is also on the Northern Line.
The DLR may have had a torturous birth, and the original section has had to be regularly upgraded, but we have ended up with a brilliant system. It serves far more of Docklands than the Fleet Line would ever have done, and is self contained and away from roads so super reliable and regular. That short street running tram section going up the Mile End Road would have been a nightmare for traffic jams, and terrible for all the bus routes which go into London that way also.
I discovered the DLR in 1987 the year after I moved out of London. My Father was an artist and lived in his studio in Stratford. Docklands was still pretty much a desert and it struck me how solid and confident the Victorian warehouses were compared to the ephemeral new construction, though the passage round Canary Wharf was very futuristic.
Damn! I didn’t see your comment and said exactly the same - absolutely. How could anyone not get excited about the DLR? I still feel slightly guilty about the time that I may have sidled my way in front of a group of schoolchildren to get the coveted front seat in the front carriage. But I honestly don’t think that they could’ve been as excited about it as I was ;-)
There's also the fun thing that the first DLR train to run in the UK ran on a temporary track with a pantograph (!) in Manchester as a demo for what Metrolink might be like.
Reminds me of waiting for the rest of the party to arrive in the car park of a pretty rural Chinese restaurant just outside Nottingham, and watching a London Underground train trundle past on the far side of the field opposite. I had no idea the abandoned railway line, that actually then runs into my little suburb a few streets away from me, but has been half built over, and half turned into a nature reserve, is actually a fairly well known test track.
I wonder when will your channel get big enough for tfl to notice you and give you tours of cool historic and in general interesting stuff closed to the public Can't wait
They are looking already, Netflix included. He needs alot more subscribers, so we all need to like, share, subscribe etc Then on top of that does he have time, have a life, would want to do it etc etc
In the mid-80s I worked in Dagenham and have photos I took of the derelict railways in the area in the days before DLR, one photo I have is of a derelict diesel shunter that hadn’t moved in a long time on the rusty rails
I have a book from the late 1990's all about the Docklands regeneration, which interviews a lot of people involved (on all sides). The LDDC really fought for the DLR, the head guy wanted something flashy to announce that Docklands was to be transformed. But Department of Transport was saying it was too expensive and all they actually needed was a busway. (sounds familiar). He got his way but yes they managed to build it for £88 million. You have to remember that Docklands was not expected to be anything other than another inner London neighbourhood, like Camden or Islington, filled with crinkly tin sheds and low rise apartment blocks and small offices. Providing space for businesses that supported Central London firms. It was the arrival of Canary Wharf and Banking deregulation and a City planning authority that believed that Banks had no choice where they could build their offices and that London did not need skyscrapers. That made plans change somewhat. One of the big criticism of Docklands in the literature at the time was that it was unplanned (that was the big selling point for it's proponents), that it was not orderly. But if it had of been planned, then Canary Wharf would never have happened, as it would go against the agreed low raise plan. It would have taken a decade of more to change a local plan and in the meantime those offices would have gone elsewhere, or even other cities.
I have a weird obsession with the DLR as well, it's a bit like a toy minature railway/roller coaster in slow motion. If you're on it late at night when carriages are empty you can stand right at the front window and do an epic video of the approach and entry to Bank station through the mysterious and long curvy roaring tunnel with its streaming lights. Marvellous
The story with the P86s (and the P89s a few years later) is even funnier. Both were sold off to Essen because they weren't certified for tunnel running in the UK, supposedly due to missing some required safety features. In Essen they were not only converted for street running, but also for tunnel running, since Essen's tram/light rail network has a few central tunnel sections and street running sections on the outskirts.
I love how much the Docklands look like Rotterdam sometimes. It must be the blending of and old harbour and modern architecture. The opening shot really reminded me of a view from a Rotterdam metro.
I remember going on the DLR just after it opened (me and my dad went, mum decided to stay up west and look round the shops). IIRC they had a fellow standing at the front of the train explaining how it all worked... it was all very exciting and new compared to the old slam door trains we came into Waterloo in (still my favourite kind of train carriage, clatter dethump clatter dethump clatter dethump). I’m sure that was the same trip when we went over the top of Tower Bridge... there was a little museum there where you could “raise the bridge” in a little booth with a video screen. I bet that’s not there any more.
Yes here in Coventry we have a light rail plan going ahead , Warwick university has done the designs , ultra light rail they call it running on lightly laid track , many plans were put forward I while ago but ground to a halt because of objections "not in my back yard " sort of thing , thanks for this insight , very interesting !
It warms my heart to see a shot of Stratford Station (a claim I'm not sure anyone else shares) from a similar perspective to my old office window. Watching trains going back and forth all day was highly distracting!
A line from Poplar to Mile End would have been great when I was in university as it would have been a nice alternative to my daily walk. I lived right by the line, a request stop halt out the back would have been even better :)
Not quite true. Give Thatcher credit as she became a fan of the Tyne and Wear Metro with Nicholas Ridley describing it as a very effective transport system. They also endorsed the Sheffield Supertram and Manchester Metrolink which was planned by transport officials in the Thatcher years, in fact they became converts to tram technology!
Little thing most folks don't realize about the DLR is it goes all the way out to London City airport, arguably the only way to travel to London in style.
To get me off to sleep at night, I watch the tram cab view rides around Germany . Mad, but makes me feel as though I've been somewhere! However my eyebrow raised in approval to know that they could be the old docklands trains!
Yes, we’re starting to hate them 😠, I myself have always disliked masks - any covering of the face. And revolted at the Covid-19 regulations of being forced to wear one on public transport and in shops, so I decided to stay couped-up in the house and not/stop going out to the public/when mask wearing was made mandatory in supermarkets = stopped going shopping with my parents ☹️. At the beginning of the first lock-down, my voluntary work experience had stopped operating as it served the vulnerable, and we had our last church meeting at the chapel with out masks and being able to sing - praising God, after that we started making UA-cam videos of the service’s (quite convenient in my case) and I could go in the car with my parents to our beach house/my friends house and to my great-grandparents bungalow to clear it out (in Harrow-on-the-hill) at the time. Now we have the second lock-down and people are being lax at the restrictions and like this idiot don’t wear their masks properly and if they see a police officer (in this case, a TFL ticket inspector) they would quickly pull their mask up to not get fined 🙄. It is said that the authorities are aware of this (but as always, their solution is to fine us - I don’t know if being thrown in prison is a last resort for repeat offenders?) and that 2 supermarket brands have stopped customers from entering if their not wearing a mask/giving them one to enter. So I’m playing it safe by staying in the house and not going out to the public 😉☹️
Not far off 100k subscribers now, Jago. Amazing growth over the last few months. Well done ... ... in advance. (So don't crash and burn in the next month !)
Really threw in a twist there by mentioning Essen, the city I went to school in for years. I find it interesting that Essen's U-Bahn (subway) is actually light rail. It is also worth mentioning that while the U-Bahn runs along the road in some places, it's actually almost always separated from traffic, unlike Essen's tram lines which are more traditional.
Well, tbh, the vast majority of German "U-Bahn" Systems are actually light rail. Most of them still use a numbering system with U-lines as most passengers wouldnt care anyway. I guess 80% of passengers wouldnt even know the actual term "Stadtbahn". The only 4 proper U-Bahn networks in Germany are Berlin, Nuremberg, Munich and Hamburg. I do actually prefer the Stadtbahn/light rail approach. First its obviously cheaper because of less tunnels/seperated tracks, but also outside of the city center the stations are basically directly on or at the road so theres shorter walking times. The only disadvantages are tho that on older light rail lines disabled access can be a problem and of course congestion or waiting times at traffic lights. But many German cities are already working on improving these factors, the latter being solved more easily of course by accelerating traffic light phases or adding priority systems. My city (Düsseldorf) is also pretty invested in making the stations/lines more accessible, but there are still problems because we basically got 3 networks (high-floor light rail, which uses cars with a floor height of 1000mm and foldable steps, low-floor light rail, which exists since 2016 and regular trams which also have been 100% low floor since 2012) and those networks are also interconnected and we even got high floor light rail going through tight streets where building high floor platforms is basically impossible. Idk if anyone is actually interested in this but i guess i felt the need to point this out because i just love our light rail xD
I've heard that a minister or even Thatcher herself commented that "It must not look like a bloody tram! Trams come from socialist countries, we are not in a socialist country!"... not sure if that was actually ever said, but it would be an amusing quote if it was.
Thanks for like - I agree there is something particularly 'morish' about the DLR - I have seen it expand over (many) years, and hope to see it reach Thamesmead/Abbey Wood and maybe Charing Cross...I live in Hastings, and find myself almost drawn to it on my jaunts, like a moth to a flame. Keep knocking out the fab videos, as this is the only way of getting my 'fix' while in that pesky lockdown!
I think you may have confused the stations at Bow. The station you show, Bow Road is long disused, but the track above, complete with overhead cabling, is still very much in use by the mainline and is a link between Fenchurch Street and Stratford. The DLR sits on the old North London Railway right of way, and Bow Church station is the other side of the road to the original Bow Station - a building that was as big and impressive as Fenchurch Street. Sadly, all that is left of that is a couple of the original columns and a plaque inside a car rental yard.
Oh boy. I've been living on the Isle of Dogs my entire life and have recently been trying to find out a bit more about the history of the Docklands (and the other nearby areas I visited a lot pre-plague), so this video came at a great time. You've created another DLR enthusiast. Also, seeing some of these places makes me want to go outside and revisit them. I miss Millwall Park.
Ahh the tramway system i got dropped off from my dad who worked at Thames TV 'Bill' Set down Deerpark in Merton and took my first journey to Croydon on the Tramway line just as a bit of a joyride type thing! I had a bit of time spare and said to me dad i'll make my way back to Lower Morden(where he lived) on the bus later. It was quite an exciting adventure and long before i went on the DLR a couple years later once again as newcomer to check it out. You know somedays i must have looked like Geoff Marshal doing all these new lines & stations. Marc in Bletchley Towers G6XEG
Greetings from Essen. 🖖 The Docklands are still in use today, but not for long anymore. Before they where allowed to be used on the street, they had to be upgraded so they could accelerate faster, brake better. But they also had to built in rail brakes as well, additionally to the already improved brakes.
I think the DLR (or Docklands Light Railway if it has annoyed its mum (see, I do listen!)) ended up, despite all the cost cutting and political shenanigans, being one of the best urban transport systems around. And you can pretend to drive the train! Great video :)
@@hedgehog3180 I noticed that when I visited. DLR should do that! Probably some Health and Safety weenie risk-assessed it and didn't want to encourage the kids that stand there anyway to stand there.
@@6yjjk since there are real controls under there, perhaps they don’t want to give any help to someone who might want to sabotage them by poking a big sharp hot stick thru the metal?
Ah DLR, how I miss you! I was living in Isle of Dogs and working in Canary Wharf for almost 3 years. And from user perspective I think that DLR does its job pretty well
The DLR is such a peak 80s aesthetic railway. That photo of the exported one on a street-running tram line was fascinating, though! A proposal; Computer controlled AI tramway with sensors that trigger the automated trains to speed up dramatically if a pedestrian or road vehicle is detected in its lane
"I'm going to go a bit tinfoil hat here..." My favourite new phrase, which I'm definitely remembering, and hopefully, in the not too distant future, will be able to use in a good-natured pub argument... Possibly about something 'Gerry Anderson' in nature. Thank you for that.
walked dozens of times from Tower gateway to Tower hill, always enjoyed the walk and the view. But then, I flew in from Antwerp, maybe clouring my view :)
3:07 We got to Mile End Road, my heart skipped a beat Standing right behind me, I'm a shakin' in my seat 3-4 minutes and the train comes through I'm ridin' on the Central, I'm a-lookin' at you Yes, I am Woman on the eastbound train Sometimes I wanna see you again
The Mile End Road had London’s only surface contact tramway on the Griffiths-Bedell system. It makes quite the interesting read as it was converted to conduit before public service could commence.
Not surprised at all by the obsession with the DLR. It's unique in many ways. It's always fun to ride in front, and despite the automation there are no platform screen doors. Not to mention that whole part of London is interesting
There's sort of a Vancouver-DLR connection...in the UK Pavilion at the Expo '86 world's fair, there was (as I recall) a mock-up of a DLR train on display. Our SkyTrain [thaks for the correction ;) ]--which like the DLR was driverless and reused old rail infrastructure--had just opened at the end of 1985, too...not long before the DLR.
@@yohan12. Hello, fellow Vancouverite! :) That is mostly true, but in Downtown Vancouver, the Expo Line uses the Dunsmuir Tunnel under Dunsmuir Street, which was used by the CPR to shuttle trains between Waterfront Station and their False Creek railway yards (where Expo 86 would later be held, and are now the highrises along Pacific Boulevard). In the same way, the DLR used the old London & Blackwall Railway viaduct to get access into the City of London.
P.S.: The Canadian (originally a CPR train) used to begin and end service at Waterfront Station (until 1979), and they would turn the train and service it at the False Creek yards. The tunnel was single-tracked with a high ceiling, so they built the upper deck in the early 80s to accommodate the westbound SkyTrains. And at Waterfront, the concourse to access the SkyTrain and West Coast Express is a heavily-rebuilt version of the original concourse that was used to access the platforms for the Canadian and other CPR passenger trains. Sorry for the lengthy reply, but it's kind of an interest of mine. :)
Thanks for another fascinating look at London! If you ever feel like a change of geography then Essen (along with the rest of the Rhine-Ruhr region) has a fascinating public transport infrastructure. And a monorail in Wuppertal!
‘As its mum calls it when it’s in trouble’ - fine work
Docklands Light Railway, tidy your room now or you'll get a kick up the Mudchute!
Lmao
@@davidbull7210 great lmao
Docklands Light Railway, do your homework or no Pudding tonight!
Docklands Light Railway, go to sleep or I take away your Abbey Road vinyl!
Docklands Light Railway, apologize for what you did or you won't get any allowance to put in your piggy Bank that you call West Ham!
@@davidbull7210 oh my jubileee line!! What is it mow TFL??
Obviously the absolute best thing about the DLR is getting to sit at the front and pretending to be the driver.
I'm turning 45 next Saturday and I haven't stopped doing it yet...
Do you make train noises too? :D
They're missing a trick, though. If you do the same on the metro in Copenhagen, you'll find a big sticker there with train controls on it. Kids of all ages (including my 46-year-old self) love it.
@@cargy930 I do very good "CHOO CHOO!". Proper head turner. My mates who live in London hate me for it
@@deeser A man after my own heart! :D:D:D
Years ago, when I used to drive school buses out in the sticks, I used to make full-lip brrrm brrrm noises for the craic! The youngsters loved it - and these were UK high school students!!
When I worked in Canary Wharf for a few months a couple of years ago, I’d always take the DLR as part of my journey home; forget the Jubilee Line at the height of summer!
So every evening, without fail, I’d do my best to get the very front seat. I got very good at making sure I was stood perfectly aligned with the front set of doors...
TFL: Docklands light railway!!!!
Me: ooooohhh someone's in trouble.....
BR throws a strop
Any other rail provider: *exists*
BR: "Are you challenging me!?"
I was a member of the engineering team that built the original DLR in 1985-1987. This video is an excellent summary of how it came to be. Thank you!
Great to hear from you!
Geoff Marshall smashed the Like button.
The introduction of busses to replace electric trollies was entirely a coup by the oil industry fight me
This channel is worth watching for the humour alone, but it's actually quite interesting to learn the history of these lines.
Don't be silly Jago. You know we find all this stuff interesting. I'm pretty sure we all enjoy the witty asides too though.
You've got me interested in railway systems of a city that is over 7,000 km away.
Hmm, not sure that's correct. Possibly rekindled and facilitated your interest.
London is not short of history at all, some of it minor, some of it major and some of it completely mind-blowing. Just remember that the next time you look at your watch.
Good call! It’s a really fun ride...if you ever get the chance, start from tower hill & make sure you nab one of the seats right at the front with the best view!:)
Good story telling does that :-)
Welcome aboard; you'll absolutely love the Jago ride. And tell yr friends too 😊
London isn't 7,000km from anywhere. We only use miles in the UK. :)
Brings back memories from being based at Poplar in the early 1990s while working on the initial upgrading of the DLR signalling and fare collection systems. Fond recollections of many a lunch in Carty’s pub in Poplar eating ham, egg and chips and drinking pints of Beamish, before alcohol was banned on the railways. Happy days!
When Southern House in Croydon housed all the BR(S) infrastructure engineers years ago, half of the top floor (17?) was devoted to a subsisdised cafeteria and.... bar! Happy days indeed :-)
5:32 I used to go under that bridge to go to the Northern and Shell building when I worked on TV :D
What's the deal with broadcast people and being into railways? So many people from the broadcast industry end up moving over to the rail industry, it can't be a coincidence
Hello, you! You seem to pop up everywhere
Jago Hazzard - the hardest working man on UA-cam - putting out an interesting video almost every day right now, and putting the rest of us to shame.
Spread the word so that Jago gets 100,000 subscribers and then the prized UA-cam Creator Awards plaque.
So many snippets of historical information
all delivered in that unmistakable, not too serious style
I love it
More please!!!
These videos are strangely relaxing and make me want an afternoon in a London pub
The government at the time wanted to avoid tunnelling due to the cost then build an extension to Bank, in a tunnel!
Grr! Bloody Thatcher!!;
And spent at least £800 million on Limehouse Link, a
And eventually another tunnel to Woolwich.
Nothing new there. Politicians of all shades are allergic to good sense XD.
@paul smith No doubt, but my point was they were happy to splash the cash for motorists, but less so for the choo-choos. But Limehouse Link was literally tunnelling into the unknown : < 20 recorded buried services, yet >80 found. No wonder it was so costly and 'they' might've baulked at the final cost if it was presented as an initial estimate. Few cost estimates stay accurate once the first spade has cut the ground.
As a kid from Vancouver, my summer holidays were spent in Mitcham. I was there when the DLR started. Thanks for the nod to SkyTrain. Anyways, great video as always.
You mean the SkyTrain goes all the way from Vancouver to Mitcham? Make sure you take a decent packed lunch!
Why would they relegate a citizen of beautiful Vancouver to... *whispers* Mitcham?
Interesting fact: at 3:24. The house next to Bow Church station used to be the City stay hotel, where in 2018 the two Russian agents accused of carrying out the Poisoning of sergei and yulia skripal, stayed before travelling on to sailsbury. I had a weird feeling about where I had seen that house before despite never been to bow.
Love the DLR. After staying in docklands for the first time a few years ago and using it a few times a day for a week I found it so interesting, clean and quiet! Love the history of the area. Great video as usual!
Was that one of the Premier Inns along the way to the Excel Centre?
Strangely pleasing to see the Skytrain in one of your videos Jago. I think I saw car #63 go by today actually. Yes, I do sometimes make note of the numbers... Because of... You know, reasons.
3 people recently had to walk from Tower Gateway to Tower Hill
I dont think I understand that comment ?
@@highpath4776 it's 15 people now .... 😁
@@highpath4776 If you *still* don't understand, it's the number of thumbs-down votes, as Jago suggested at the end of his commentary
That'll larn me to scroll all the way to the bottom of the comments before I post something completely identical and make myself look silly! :-)
@@catinarage5538 It will learn me to listen to the whole vid to the end too !
1:04 ayeeee I live there
Humour drier than a van full of silica gel in the Sahara desert. Thanks again sir.
Good morning, Jago. We've got to stop meeting like this. For you, it's morning. Here it's 02.19!
Thus is going to be incredible.. I used to travel the length of the DLR in various conditions whilst I worked in the city... I miss you London!
And here I am again, watching a video on a subject I am sure I am not interested in and thoroughly enjoying it once more. Thank you.
Really informative video, and rest assured: your concept of what constitutes 'very interesting' coincides entirely with my own. So you have nothing to worry about.
If you're watching make a new comment and reply to others. Let's get this boy engaged!
On the Jago!!
ok
Engaged you say, I'll pick the ring 💍
Fairy muff!
Dum, dum, de dum....
Sure. Brilliant vid as always!
I love the DLR now. I like to sit at the front and pretend I'm driving. I try to not look too disappointed if some young kids get the seat first.
But I was first introduced to the DLR back in the early days; when the service was, shall we say, 'limited'. A friend had a job in the proto-Docklands. We went to meet him for a drink but he said we had to get into the City before the last DLR train. I asked what DLR stood for. Apparently back then it was "Doesn't Like Running".
There's actually a very easy solution to making sure trams that run on streets won't get delayed by traffic: give trams their own lanes and absolute priority when it comes to lights.
Or get rid of the cars...
@@chrisjohnson7929 I mean, that's an even better solution, I'd agree. If cars must be kept, though, then trams should be given absolute priority over them. It's that way over here in Germany, and it usually works decently.
Another splendid video Mr Hazzard! Please stay safe when you are out and about 😷
Don’t worry, this was filmed before lockdown!
Good old days working for BR in Poplar Dock, Walking to Stratford along the old track. Going in the abandoned Stations. All part of my days work.
If i remember correctly when it first opened there was a ghost stop, i think that was programmed for what was to later become canary wharf station, i also remember the docklands clipper midi-bus service pre DLR but painted in the DLR livery - fantastic bit of engineering and planning and now one of London's best and cheapest sight seeing tours ! Fantastic and informative video
6:17 I often Take the Stadtbahn in Essen and I newer See a P86 or travel with It. Mostimes run here P89 (I dont know whats the diefrents)
The P86 we're built in Germany and had inward opening door's, the P89 we're built in the UK and had the same doors but we're converted
to sliding doors, the motor's etc we're the same.
No Sunday morning is complete without a new JagoHazzard video. Perfect accompaniment to my breakfast, thank you!
Despite not living in London ( I worked there at Limehouse Studios in 87 for just 12 months) these videos are fascinating - I remember the DLR in its infancy ( quite a popular filming location when it first opened, Carnival films used it quite a bit for productions like Bugs that the BBC aired)
Thank you for taking the time to make them.
There's a documentary about the LDDC. It's called The Long Good Friday
The DLR is the only means of escape (other than by boat service) from Canary Wharf when the Jubilee line is down...altogether I find it quicker to get to the City and Bank Station via the Jubilee Line and changing at London Bridge, especially as King's Cross St Pancras is also on the Northern Line.
The DLR may have had a torturous birth, and the original section has had to be regularly upgraded, but we have ended up with a brilliant system. It serves far more of Docklands than the Fleet Line would ever have done, and is self contained and away from roads so super reliable and regular. That short street running tram section going up the Mile End Road would have been a nightmare for traffic jams, and terrible for all the bus routes which go into London that way also.
I discovered the DLR in 1987 the year after I moved out of London. My Father was an artist and lived in his studio in Stratford. Docklands was still pretty much a desert and it struck me how solid and confident the Victorian warehouses were compared to the ephemeral new construction, though the passage round Canary Wharf was very futuristic.
You're not making any sense: "Weird obsession with the DLR" - how's an obsession with the DLR weird? 😉
I like the DLR
it's weirder if you DON'T have an obsession with the DLR really... 😁
@@theundeniablegem agreed
Damn! I didn’t see your comment and said exactly the same - absolutely. How could anyone not get excited about the DLR?
I still feel slightly guilty about the time that I may have sidled my way in front of a group of schoolchildren to get the coveted front seat in the front carriage. But I honestly don’t think that they could’ve been as excited about it as I was ;-)
@@jamiejones8508 yes of courses
There's also the fun thing that the first DLR train to run in the UK ran on a temporary track with a pantograph (!) in Manchester as a demo for what Metrolink might be like.
Reminds me of waiting for the rest of the party to arrive in the car park of a pretty rural Chinese restaurant just outside Nottingham, and watching a London Underground train trundle past on the far side of the field opposite. I had no idea the abandoned railway line, that actually then runs into my little suburb a few streets away from me, but has been half built over, and half turned into a nature reserve, is actually a fairly well known test track.
@@johnd6487 was it the Old Dalby test track?
@@chrismcgarry2840 according to Google, yes :-)
Nice👌
The P86 and P89 in Essen(First seen in 1994), I love these units and I can't even count how often I've riddem them.
I wonder when will your channel get big enough for tfl to notice you and give you tours of cool historic and in general interesting stuff closed to the public
Can't wait
It is coming! I bet London has loads of hidden stuff not accessable to the public too
@@SuperTflat It does! Geoff Marshall gets to visit a fair bit of it for his channel; here’s hoping Jago joins that club in the near future.
@@hyperdistortion2 I'll check Geoff out, cheers
I've been having the same thoughts!
Edit: He said, commenting to hurry things along!
They are looking already, Netflix included. He needs alot more subscribers, so we all need to like, share, subscribe etc
Then on top of that does he have time, have a life, would want to do it etc etc
In the mid-80s I worked in Dagenham and have photos I took of the derelict railways in the area in the days before DLR, one photo I have is of a derelict diesel shunter that hadn’t moved in a long time on the rusty rails
I have a book from the late 1990's all about the Docklands regeneration, which interviews a lot of people involved (on all sides). The LDDC really fought for the DLR, the head guy wanted something flashy to announce that Docklands was to be transformed. But Department of Transport was saying it was too expensive and all they actually needed was a busway. (sounds familiar). He got his way but yes they managed to build it for £88 million. You have to remember that Docklands was not expected to be anything other than another inner London neighbourhood, like Camden or Islington, filled with crinkly tin sheds and low rise apartment blocks and small offices. Providing space for businesses that supported Central London firms. It was the arrival of Canary Wharf and Banking deregulation and a City planning authority that believed that Banks had no choice where they could build their offices and that London did not need skyscrapers. That made plans change somewhat.
One of the big criticism of Docklands in the literature at the time was that it was unplanned (that was the big selling point for it's proponents), that it was not orderly. But if it had of been planned, then Canary Wharf would never have happened, as it would go against the agreed low raise plan. It would have taken a decade of more to change a local plan and in the meantime those offices would have gone elsewhere, or even other cities.
Brings home how much I miss London. Post pandemic I’ll be going straight back.
All I can add is I once was almost run over while drunk one night by those street running ex DLR trains in Essen. Great video as ever.
I have a weird obsession with the DLR as well, it's a bit like a toy minature railway/roller coaster in slow motion. If you're on it late at night when carriages are empty you can stand right at the front window and do an epic video of the approach and entry to Bank station through the mysterious and long curvy roaring tunnel with its streaming lights. Marvellous
When lockdown is over....
DLR->DLT->BLT->DELICIOUS
Keep up the good work fella and stay safe.
never thought I'd see the train I work on (1:49) mentioned on your videos!
The story with the P86s (and the P89s a few years later) is even funnier. Both were sold off to Essen because they weren't certified for tunnel running in the UK, supposedly due to missing some required safety features. In Essen they were not only converted for street running, but also for tunnel running, since Essen's tram/light rail network has a few central tunnel sections and street running sections on the outskirts.
Interesting! I couldn’t find much information on the conversion.
Great video as always buddy. Really enjoy waking up and seeing what you have to offer. Keep up the great work!
I sincerely enjoy this channel and watch whenever I'm feeling anxious. It calms me right down. Thanks Jago!
Glad I could help!
I love how much the Docklands look like Rotterdam sometimes. It must be the blending of and old harbour and modern architecture. The opening shot really reminded me of a view from a Rotterdam metro.
Thank you for mentioning the skytrain! the picture shown was one of the refurbished UTDC ICTS MK1s, in the newer paint scheme.
I remember going on the DLR just after it opened (me and my dad went, mum decided to stay up west and look round the shops). IIRC they had a fellow standing at the front of the train explaining how it all worked... it was all very exciting and new compared to the old slam door trains we came into Waterloo in (still my favourite kind of train carriage, clatter dethump clatter dethump clatter dethump). I’m sure that was the same trip when we went over the top of Tower Bridge... there was a little museum there where you could “raise the bridge” in a little booth with a video screen. I bet that’s not there any more.
This is fascinating Jago, I love these lost schemes. Great work.
Yes here in Coventry we have a light rail plan going ahead , Warwick university has done the designs , ultra light rail they call it running on lightly laid track , many plans were put forward I while ago but ground to a halt because of objections "not in my back yard " sort of thing , thanks for this insight , very interesting !
It warms my heart to see a shot of Stratford Station (a claim I'm not sure anyone else shares) from a similar perspective to my old office window. Watching trains going back and forth all day was highly distracting!
Stratford has a more prominent role in an upcoming video.
I love the DLR! When I was a kid, I’d never seen anything like it and me and my older brother would play at driving it.
After covid I would 100% come to a live talk done by jago. Anyone else?
A line from Poplar to Mile End would have been great when I was in university as it would have been a nice alternative to my daily walk. I lived right by the line, a request stop halt out the back would have been even better :)
Not quite true. Give Thatcher credit as she became a fan of the Tyne and Wear Metro with Nicholas Ridley describing it as a very effective transport system. They also endorsed the Sheffield Supertram and Manchester Metrolink which was planned by transport officials in the Thatcher years, in fact they became converts to tram technology!
My favourite UA-cam channel! Cant wait to visit London post pandemic!
Little thing most folks don't realize about the DLR is it goes all the way out to London City airport, arguably the only way to travel to London in style.
Reminds me of the original name for the on board personnel.... 'Train Captain'.
To get me off to sleep at night, I watch the tram cab view rides around Germany . Mad, but makes me feel as though I've been somewhere! However my eyebrow raised in approval to know that they could be the old docklands trains!
Snap!
3:40 - Note the guy on the left’s mask. I see a lot of this. Do these people think we breathe through our chins?
Mask compliance has gone down the toilet, so many people do not seem to bother and nothing is done about it either.
Yes, we’re starting to hate them 😠, I myself have always disliked masks - any covering of the face. And revolted at the Covid-19 regulations of being forced to wear one on public transport and in shops, so I decided to stay couped-up in the house and not/stop going out to the public/when mask wearing was made mandatory in supermarkets = stopped going shopping with my parents ☹️. At the beginning of the first lock-down, my voluntary work experience had stopped operating as it served the vulnerable, and we had our last church meeting at the chapel with out masks and being able to sing - praising God, after that we started making UA-cam videos of the service’s (quite convenient in my case) and I could go in the car with my parents to our beach house/my friends house and to my great-grandparents bungalow to clear it out (in Harrow-on-the-hill) at the time. Now we have the second lock-down and people are being lax at the restrictions and like this idiot don’t wear their masks properly and if they see a police officer (in this case, a TFL ticket inspector) they would quickly pull their mask up to not get fined 🙄. It is said that the authorities are aware of this (but as always, their solution is to fine us - I don’t know if being thrown in prison is a last resort for repeat offenders?) and that 2 supermarket brands have stopped customers from entering if their not wearing a mask/giving them one to enter. So I’m playing it safe by staying in the house and not going out to the public 😉☹️
I noticed straightway too, makes me worry for Jago filming these videos
@@hetty5531 - I assume Jago is being compliant and wearing one ✅
@@samuelfellows6923 A mask protects others from you, it offers you no protection. even if Jago is masked that fuy could have infected him
What a nice start of the Sunday morning.
Thanks for that!
Not far off 100k subscribers now, Jago. Amazing growth over the last few months. Well done ... ... in advance. (So don't crash and burn in the next month !)
Really threw in a twist there by mentioning Essen, the city I went to school in for years.
I find it interesting that Essen's U-Bahn (subway) is actually light rail. It is also worth mentioning that while the U-Bahn runs along the road in some places, it's actually almost always separated from traffic, unlike Essen's tram lines which are more traditional.
Well, tbh, the vast majority of German "U-Bahn" Systems are actually light rail. Most of them still use a numbering system with U-lines as most passengers wouldnt care anyway. I guess 80% of passengers wouldnt even know the actual term "Stadtbahn". The only 4 proper U-Bahn networks in Germany are Berlin, Nuremberg, Munich and Hamburg. I do actually prefer the Stadtbahn/light rail approach. First its obviously cheaper because of less tunnels/seperated tracks, but also outside of the city center the stations are basically directly on or at the road so theres shorter walking times. The only disadvantages are tho that on older light rail lines disabled access can be a problem and of course congestion or waiting times at traffic lights. But many German cities are already working on improving these factors, the latter being solved more easily of course by accelerating traffic light phases or adding priority systems. My city (Düsseldorf) is also pretty invested in making the stations/lines more accessible, but there are still problems because we basically got 3 networks (high-floor light rail, which uses cars with a floor height of 1000mm and foldable steps, low-floor light rail, which exists since 2016 and regular trams which also have been 100% low floor since 2012) and those networks are also interconnected and we even got high floor light rail going through tight streets where building high floor platforms is basically impossible. Idk if anyone is actually interested in this but i guess i felt the need to point this out because i just love our light rail xD
I've heard that a minister or even Thatcher herself commented that "It must not look like a bloody tram! Trams come from socialist countries, we are not in a socialist country!"... not sure if that was actually ever said, but it would be an amusing quote if it was.
I believe it. I do like the look of the DLR, I must say. I'm glad it isn't a conventional tram, just not glad about the reason why.
This is very true in Berlin, there is a major lack of trams in what used to be West Berlin, although I'd call this something the DDR got right!
@@chrismcgarry2840 Not any more. They are extending the Tramways into West Berlin now ,with new low floor trams
Kind of ironic; as Trams certainly don't exist because of socialism; as the very un-socialist Victorians invented them XD.
That sounds like something that people would expect Thatcher or a member of her government to say. I suspect it’s apocryphal.
Had a few enjoyable rides on the DLR, thanks for doing this.
Loving the deadpan delivery, great history, funny and entertaining...
Thanks for like - I agree there is something particularly 'morish' about the DLR - I have seen it expand over (many) years, and hope to see it reach Thamesmead/Abbey Wood and maybe Charing Cross...I live in Hastings, and find myself almost drawn to it on my jaunts, like a moth to a flame. Keep knocking out the fab videos, as this is the only way of getting my 'fix' while in that pesky lockdown!
I love this channel.
Yes, that walk from Tower Hill tube stn is stupidly far from Tower Gateway DLR. Now I know why, thanks Maggy!
I think you may have confused the stations at Bow. The station you show, Bow Road is long disused, but the track above, complete with overhead cabling, is still very much in use by the mainline and is a link between Fenchurch Street and Stratford. The DLR sits on the old North London Railway right of way, and Bow Church station is the other side of the road to the original Bow Station - a building that was as big and impressive as Fenchurch Street. Sadly, all that is left of that is a couple of the original columns and a plaque inside a car rental yard.
Oh boy. I've been living on the Isle of Dogs my entire life and have recently been trying to find out a bit more about the history of the Docklands (and the other nearby areas I visited a lot pre-plague), so this video came at a great time. You've created another DLR enthusiast.
Also, seeing some of these places makes me want to go outside and revisit them. I miss Millwall Park.
I have a couple of videos featuring Millwall Park coming up!
@@JagoHazzard has it gone ?
Ahh the tramway system i got dropped off from my dad who worked at Thames TV 'Bill' Set down Deerpark in Merton and took my first journey to Croydon on the Tramway line just as a bit of a joyride type thing!
I had a bit of time spare and said to me dad i'll make my way back to Lower Morden(where he lived) on the bus later.
It was quite an exciting adventure and long before i went on the DLR a couple years later once again as newcomer to check it out.
You know somedays i must have looked like Geoff Marshal doing all these new lines & stations.
Marc in Bletchley Towers G6XEG
Greetings from Essen. 🖖
The Docklands are still in use today, but not for long anymore. Before they where allowed to be used on the street, they had to be upgraded so they could accelerate faster, brake better. But they also had to built in rail brakes as well, additionally to the already improved brakes.
I think the DLR (or Docklands Light Railway if it has annoyed its mum (see, I do listen!)) ended up, despite all the cost cutting and political shenanigans, being one of the best urban transport systems around. And you can pretend to drive the train!
Great video :)
Is my niece's favourite line because she got to pretend to drive the train when she first went on it
@@archstanton6102 - I still enjoy doing that as an adult (!) although my kids always want to take my space!
The Copenhagen metro is also driverless and the put up stickers there with fake controls which is great.
@@hedgehog3180 I noticed that when I visited. DLR should do that! Probably some Health and Safety weenie risk-assessed it and didn't want to encourage the kids that stand there anyway to stand there.
@@6yjjk since there are real controls under there, perhaps they don’t want to give any help to someone who might want to sabotage them by poking a big sharp hot stick thru the metal?
I used the DLR in 1988 and most of the time it broke down and the guard used to have to go to the front to manually drive the train.
Fascinating especially because I used to live around the DLR network
Another interesting video
They were still running in Essen in November 2020.
Some of the most interesting content on UA-cam.
Ah DLR, how I miss you! I was living in Isle of Dogs and working in Canary Wharf for almost 3 years. And from user perspective I think that DLR does its job pretty well
The DLR is such a peak 80s aesthetic railway. That photo of the exported one on a street-running tram line was fascinating, though!
A proposal;
Computer controlled AI tramway with sensors that trigger the automated trains to speed up dramatically if a pedestrian or road vehicle is detected in its lane
"I'm going to go a bit tinfoil hat here..." My favourite new phrase, which I'm definitely remembering, and hopefully, in the not too distant future, will be able to use in a good-natured pub argument... Possibly about something 'Gerry Anderson' in nature.
Thank you for that.
Another brilliant video sir!
walked dozens of times from Tower gateway to Tower hill, always enjoyed the walk and the view. But then, I flew in from Antwerp, maybe clouring my view :)
Jago. Late to the party mate. Glad I came across your vids. Great work. Very interesting.
3:07 We got to Mile End Road, my heart skipped a beat
Standing right behind me, I'm a shakin' in my seat
3-4 minutes and the train comes through
I'm ridin' on the Central, I'm a-lookin' at you
Yes, I am
Woman on the eastbound train
Sometimes I wanna see you again
I love travelling on the DLR!! Brilliant as always!!!
The Mile End Road had London’s only surface contact tramway on the Griffiths-Bedell system. It makes quite the interesting read as it was converted to conduit before public service could commence.
Not surprised at all by the obsession with the DLR. It's unique in many ways. It's always fun to ride in front, and despite the automation there are no platform screen doors. Not to mention that whole part of London is interesting
The beautiful shot at 5:49-5:59 suggests a consummate cinematographer alongside your witty reporting guile. Jag of all trades? Love it.
Thanks!
There's sort of a Vancouver-DLR connection...in the UK Pavilion at the Expo '86 world's fair, there was (as I recall) a mock-up of a DLR train on display. Our SkyTrain [thaks for the correction ;) ]--which like the DLR was driverless and reused old rail infrastructure--had just opened at the end of 1985, too...not long before the DLR.
The Vancouver skytrain doesn't use old infrastructure other then the right of way, everything is elevated. The old lines were all at grade trams
@@yohan12. Hello, fellow Vancouverite! :)
That is mostly true, but in Downtown Vancouver, the Expo Line uses the Dunsmuir Tunnel under Dunsmuir Street, which was used by the CPR to shuttle trains between Waterfront Station and their False Creek railway yards (where Expo 86 would later be held, and are now the highrises along Pacific Boulevard).
In the same way, the DLR used the old London & Blackwall Railway viaduct to get access into the City of London.
P.S.: The Canadian (originally a CPR train) used to begin and end service at Waterfront Station (until 1979), and they would turn the train and service it at the False Creek yards. The tunnel was single-tracked with a high ceiling, so they built the upper deck in the early 80s to accommodate the westbound SkyTrains. And at Waterfront, the concourse to access the SkyTrain and West Coast Express is a heavily-rebuilt version of the original concourse that was used to access the platforms for the Canadian and other CPR passenger trains.
Sorry for the lengthy reply, but it's kind of an interest of mine. :)
That was fascinating, thank you for this video, it was great.
Thanks for another fascinating look at London! If you ever feel like a change of geography then Essen (along with the rest of the Rhine-Ruhr region) has a fascinating public transport infrastructure. And a monorail in Wuppertal!