The Guard is called Malcolm Barber, lovely bloke. He and I were both Train Guards at Barking in the mid seventies, I went on to become a Motorman and joined the ranks of Malcolm's brother Peter Barber... Lovely family.
Tommy Dudley , that brought back some memories, my dad was a driver on br for many years he’s retired now, but I knew lots of men like your guard friend, sadly they are all now gone.
I started as a direct recruit guard on 14th February 1994 and I'm still here as a driver. I vaguely remember Malcolm but I never personally knew him. Happy times.
Sense of humour? Many of us had one back in the day... you needed one when finding that your train was stabled on the furthest road away with the heaters off at 04.30 on a January morning....
Soi Buakhao I tried to do mostly lates... nights were rare for me... and then only on the DIstrict... Barking usually... last Ealing to Earls Court then staff to Upminster and back to Barking (DT around 01.40} prepare the spare... then (DT 04.25) staff back to Upminster then run to ECw and finish... no time to grab a kip with the cleaners wandering thru with their bloody watering can and the fitters wandering around scribbling NDF (not done ****all) on the trouble cards...
It’s funny to think this video is 30 years old and 62 stock was 30 years old then and being replaced. And the crazy thing today the 92 stock is now same age as the 62 stock as it started to replaced.
As a current Guard down under its wholesome to see how it was done back in England. Especially seeing that im not the only guard to make a cupper on the run. It was difficult to do on all stop suburban working here in Sydney but recently ive gone to the intercity side and can have a cupper made long before im any where near my next stop. Wish that former guard the best from a new generation guard working older rolling stock.
Being a Guard was great, being a Guard Motorman was even better, but being a Motorman was easily my favourite role. Central and Northern Lines, I was a Guard and Motorman on 56, 59, 62 and 72 stock trains, and those times were unforgettable. Going to work and liking what you do is a massive bonus, and the people I worked with were a great bunch. Great to see the 62 again in this video!
My pleasure. I too have spent my working life working on tubes, railways and buses. Not a bad way to earn a living (BR was best followed by the Underground)......
Same here, was at White City, East Finchley, White City (again) Golders Green, White City (yet again but this time as Guard/motorman!) and then Morden while I was waiting for a transfer to H&C. Guard job was great fun
Love this video. Woodford was my local Station as a young boy in the 1960's and my parents often took me on the Central Line for rides to Bank on the way to Moorfields Eye hospital for my regular monthly check ups. Dad often sat me near the guard so that i could watch him pushing the buttons and opening and closing the doors. I think one of his buttons on the panel was always lit up blue. Happy days.
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus I remember the central one on the 1938 stock. A clear pygmy with a blue end. As a lighting collector, I've been looking for one for years but never found one. I asked at the LT museum in Covent Garden if they knew of any, but sadly they only had the one in the car they have on display.
I remember on some occasions when the odd guard would be confident enough to open the passenger doors just before the train has come to a complete stop
@@q1164 I've had some good runs with the right driver. If it was in our interest to go slow wec would (and boy, could some of them wind up a train sloooooow!) but if it was in our interest to go like the clappers, we would. Working together as a team worked best evey time!
peter marshall I only ever drove 38’s when they reintroduced a couple on the Northern line around ‘86. Before I got on the front there were only 56/59 stock and 72’s (mk1&2) when I was displaced from the district line as a guard due to opo
I'm a lighting collector and I'm trying to find one of the pilot lamps for the 1938 stock, clear pygmy with a blue end, but never seen any. Got any ideas..?
I was a guard/motorman on the Central at this time and I remember seeing this guy. Didn't know his name, I was at White City, but you would see guys from other depots in passing.
An everyday occurance at one time. As a child i used to enjoy sitting in the rear car and watch the guards at work Happily years later i was one myself!
Ah, the 1962 stock on the Central line. Fairlop was my local station and I used it every day to go to school at Wanstead and also Camden Town when I started work in 1972. I miss it still, London has changed out of all recognition from how I knew it, tbh I'm glad I don't live there any more 😿
@@LANBritain1 He is still going strong and living life to the full in Essex. And still likes a day out to his old stomping ground, as he like to visit the Epping-Ongar Railway where he started work in the mid 70s doing station training at North Weald. Back then it still had a passing loop and the signal box was still open plus an all day service!
When I first started work in 1973 age 17 I would always get on in the guards carriage for safety. Trains were not so crowded then either so you could most of the time get in the guards carriage.
Yes, London has a lot more people living there now, the joys of imigration. Best place to sit now is behind the dtivers cab in casae of chaos on the train.
The current stock is now coming up to the age of this stock now. But the 92s are going to be given a heavy refurb to keep them running as LUL have run out of money!
When the guards weren’t used anymore, as a kid I used to love using their hidden chair and seeing the reactions of other passengers who never knew it existed.
thats funny cos so did i those tip up seats for the guard were ment to be "lockable", they was'nt cos all you had to do was lift the catch and down it came
I remember sitting on a former guards chair on an A60 stock after refurbishment. It wasn't practical as the seats were close to the tail doors, so passengers would walk right into me.
@@MannyAntipov I doubt you sat on the guards chair on an A60, unlike all other stocks with little pull down seats, the A60s had a great big drivers style seat that was locked in position by Guards key, it was in the Guards gangway and faced the car end rather than looking down the car as on other stocks. The A60s did have four little pull down seats for passenger use, and these wern't locked
I remember Malcolm, lovely guy. I joined LT in 1976 as a direct recruit guard & was sent to Elephant & Castle depot on the Bakerloo Line even though I'd nominated Barking District Line. They were desperately short of guards on the Bakerloo & I was rostered straight away. By the time I transferred to Barking six months later, there were approx seventy surplus station guards at the Elephant! I'm nearly 6ft 6ins tall, my head nearly touched the roof on those 38 stock trains!
I miss guards on the tube. I was always fascinated watching them. I knew a couple of Waterloo guards and they worked down the Drain as well as the mainline.
The Drain guards were BR employees so would have signed routes upstairs on the main line. Some Waterloo crews did like the Drain and would change duties to work it!
I really enjoyed watching this! It really reminded me of travelling on the tube when I first moved to London in the eighties. I think these old trains feel so much more familiar than the new ones do to me. I remember the wooden floors and those windows. Thanks for sharing this. R.
@@infrared567 Yes, it's amazing to think they are that old, i still think of them as new! As for replacement soon, i don't think so. LUL have run out of money and their grand plan for the 'New Tube (train) For London' to replace stock on the Picc, Central & Bakerloo , all with new signalling has been dropped. All that they are doing now is getting new stock for the Picc but that line won't be re-signalled and the Bakerloo & Central will carry on with the stock & signalling they have. The 92s are now going to go through a refurb programme and the 72s although they've had a heavy mechanical refurb they now need an internal on as well! So we'll be riding on these trains for quite a while yet!
This guard started on the District with CO/CP and R stocks then on C & D stocks when they were withdrawn. After the District went OPO he went onto the PIcc and went that went OPO headed off to the Central finally ending up on the Northern, retiring in 1998, a couple of yaers before guards became history.
Thank you. I thought it would be nice to show what a guard's duties actually were. Now if the 62 stock had developed a Train Line burst on the front unit, i could have shown what the guards had to do to assist the driver, and drive the train while the driver braked from the rear!......
Brilliant video which I could watch over and over again - takes me back to a better time. Though I knew about the tip up seat (I remember 59 stock when I was a lot younger, you could make the seat come down by pressing your finger into the slot) I never realised there was a fold down table. I got chatting to an ex-Central guy about this who remembers it well. I recalled from this video that I loved the way that Malcolm (from the comments section) the guard got his jars and bottles out and got organised - the ex-Central guy recalled that the table was used as a graffiti pad for guards to tell other ones what they thought of them!
I’ve just left a similar comment! 😀 Was brilliant using that chair. If I remember correctly, there were some you couldn’t open in the end (almost like the mechanism was glued shut) but you’d find the odd one that worked and it was funny watching passengers reactions who clearly didn’t know a chair was there when you pulled it down.
@@HammerLex77 They were locked shut and could be opened by using the Guards Position Key (a spanner like affair you used to liven up the door control panel's you were using) but over time the mechanism became looser and could be opened by hand.
1:05 love that… taking the air. I believe that would be a h&s code violation now 😂 🙄 I loved seeing the guards door open on the slam door trains back then too. Then you knew it was hot! 🌞
If I remember rightly from my boyhood days travelling on the Central Line from Woodford with my parents, the Pilot light was a blue light indicating an active panel.
Not exactly..... The pilot light indicates all the doors are closed and allows the guard to ring the start bell. Unless the circuit is made the bell will not ring. The panels liven up when a guards key (like a spanner) is inserted but there is no indication to show a key is in. Without the key in (which actually turns a barrel and allows contacts to make) the panels are dead and the buttons do nothing.....
I remember getting the application form to be a guard on the Central/ Northern line. I didn’t want to start at 2am so I never applied, I might not have got a position but the fact I never applied still bugs me today 😢.
You either like shift work, and revolve your life around the job or public transport is not for you. I spent my working life on trains & buses and never had a problem with it.......
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus Same here. I did 15 years on British Rail (station and office staff, never driving or guard) and another 15 years on the buses. Transport gets into your blood. Wouldn't want to do shift work now, though, especially the split ones...
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus I agree. I was born shortly after the 1962 stock was taken off the network but my mum always goes on about how much better they were compared to the 92 stock! & how they would shake the life out of you lol!
@@safiae6875 Your Mum is right! The 62s could get a fair turn of speed up, especially out on long runs to Epping and West Ruislip. I wish i had videoed a ride in one. I think i may have a car ride on a 59 out Harrow way on the Bakerloo, i'll get them up at some point-same, same but different!
This brings back so much memories! My childhood was spent riding the Central Line, I loved these trains! Beautiful times - thank you for sharing 🙏🏼 Happy Holidays!
My pleasure! I thought it would be interesting to see the duties of a guard. It's been 19 years since an Underground train was worked by one, a whole load of people don't even realise the Underground had guards! And this one was a friendly soul who ws happy to be filmed, as he said so he could show his family what he gets up to at work!
@@gabri_maybe All lines had guards (except the Victoria which opened from new in 1968 as an automatically worked trains line), the first to convert to OPO in 1984 was the Hammersmith Met Line, followed by the Circle, East London, Met Main, District, Picc, Jubilee, Bakerloo, Central & finally the Northern in 2000. Back before air worked doors were introduced trains had a driver, guard and gatemen who open & closed the gates at the end of each car. So a train might have up to 7 people operate it!
When I saw him at Hainault at the start of the video I thought the train would be the shuttle service to Woodford. When was the 92 stock fully introduced to the Central line? I am of course aware that the Epping-Ongar line used the Cravens unit until the very end. Great video by the way!
Thank you. The 92s had been introduced in 1993 and the last 62 ran in February 1995. If the Cravens ever broke down they used a 4 car 62 stock complete with guard. One of the rosters at Leytonstone had crews who signed the Epping-Ongar line for this possibility. Here is my upload of the Cravens unit and the Epping-Ongar line, enjoy! ua-cam.com/video/3X8GUO9PAOs/v-deo.html
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus We still have conductors, however in the old days (and I mean far before my time) the elevated train lines in Manhattan and the subway used to require a rather lengthy crew. For instance, a train of gate cars operating five to seven cars would require a conductor situated between the two cars as well as a motorman driving the train. The conductor at the end of the train was known as the guard. The same process also took place on the subway as the early fleet of cars had doors that could not work in tamdem with one another. When multiple unit door control was a invented for the subway, the guard at the rear was no longer required. However, the el cars with doors (known as the MUDCs) had doors that could only be operated by three at a time. As a result, the guard was used on the el lines up until the demolition of the last el line in Manhattan (the Third Ave. El' sadly). Today, subway trains have a motorman driving the train and a conductor at the middle of the train who operates the doors and makes announcements.
@@blakemcnamara9105 Today's Underground just has the driver in charge of the train, driving (unless on an auto equipped line) and working the doors. Of course a lot of the early London Tube lines were built with American finance and that's why even today we have tube 'cars' instead of carriages and northbound/southbound rather than Up & Down lines like on the main line railways. And we had the same system of working in the early 20th century, eatrly tubes had gatemen along the train, that's why off peak they ran shorter trains as it required less staff!
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus Interesting. I was not aware that the London Underground was backed by American money and that certain railway terminology is American because of it. By the way, why do cars and trains use the left side of the road or track in Great Britain?
@@blakemcnamara9105 No idea why it started that way. Why is America that way considering it was a UK coloney at one time? Maybe it was a way of showing they were indepentant and different? It was only the deep tubes (not the Metropolitan or the District lines) like the Bakerloo, Piccadilly and parts of the Northern that had American money via a dodgy financier called Caerles Tyson Yerkes. Albert Stanley was British born but worked his early years in the USA, and became the Chairman of Underground Electric Railways Group which was formed after Yerkes died and took the unfinished tubes to completion. It grew over the years and added the Central London railway (Central Line) and the District plus later on the London General bus company and when London Transport was formed in 1933 the UERL was the main component of the new LT and basically amalgamated the rest of London'snon main line railways public transport into the fold. So we owe America a lot! So, 'Mind The Doors' and Pass Right Down Inside The Cars' and enjoy the London/Ameriacn Underground Railroad system!.........lol
Seldom did I travel last car..with shorter trains there, I'd have thought higher prospect of there being more such memories, but nada - nothing 💡 Watching that it was neat reading afresh guards' culture or characteristic ways of doing things (can't think of the right descriptor to nail on the head what your subject seemed to carefreely - not carelessly! - reveal).
@@warweezil2802 I think he did 24 years before calling it a day. Started as a Railman and did his training in part at North Weald when the signal box there was open along with the passing loop. He has been back since the line became a heritage railway and thoroughly loved it!
A very enthusiastic guard I may say! By the way, I wonder what happens if you put the special activation key (that one that is used to activate doors control panel) on both cabins (rear and also front) 🤔. Will it work on both?
I was at the very east end of the platforms at Mile End. Yes as technology moves on so less staff are needed on trains. Back in the early 1920s there was a driver, guard and perhaps 3 to 5 gatemen to open and close the manually worked gates at the end of each car.
This guard I knew 👍. 00:13 he puts his guards key in ,makes all doors (Guards panel) "LIVE" and walks away to check the tail lights and correct destination.... Very naughty !!
Technically. He shouldn’t be “bridging” the open buttons with thumb and finger either... but most of us did that..... as long as an area manager wasn’t riding with us
When I was a guard on the DIstrict there was one that used to lurk upstairs by picc line lift at Earls Court to get a good view into the cabs of the trains below. Many of the A.M.s (as they were called when I was there) would get on the front with you and drive for a couple of stops to keep their hand in (as ex drivers themselves) I do miss driving them.. wish things had worked out differently in my life.... although now I’d probably be on the Baker driving 72s... and hiding from modern stocks. I would have left the Northern with opo coming in and tried to go back to the District.. enjoyed driving the D78s in Guard training
What I'm most glad about is that our trains now have COLOUR. I mean the 38 stock yes was entirely red, was at least in colour. Then for years it was just this bare stripped of paint looking grey dullness. So glad that today, our LU trains are painted to a colour scheme. The White, Red and Blue just looks great! Still today the MTA (New York) is a dull grey, no paint (but they've been charging flat fares at a discount for decades and thus really honestly have no money, the MTA declared a state of emergency a few years back (2017) due to lack of investments, and no money. The MTA is still using 100yr old signalling, so there are delays and electrical failures all over the shop! In one sense this makes me think I'm glad that the London Underground was so highly priced. It isnt cheap to run an underground in any city and I do realise that the LU is one of the priciest out there, but switch to an oyster or contactless and its literally half price as the paper ticket. Using contactless or Oyster, maximum charge a day is £6.50 (as of my knowledge, may have changed) but a paper all zone ticket is over £12. However it does mean they can do line upgrades and investments. By 2035 the Bakerloo line is going to have new trains and ATO. PED's are going to get installed along the Piccadilly line, but their timeframe is again by 2035 which seems like too long and little effort. Hey, at least things are done eventually eh?
Yes, i have heard the New York Subway was using very old equipment, and like TfL in London suffer from a lack of cash! The Underground stock in un-painted ali (or silver as LT called them) suffered the passing of time and then graffeti arrived and made it worse. I can't see the Bakerloo 72s going anytime much before 2040 if then! Horrid, rancid trains......i worked on them as a guard and then driver and they are the worse stock i have ever worked on! The 73 stock are much better trains and although new trains for the Pic have been selected i don't think the contract has been signed yet.......The resignalling for the PIc is now on hold for the forseeable future!
I grew up with the unpainted aluminium 62 stock and quite honestly I loved it. I was really disappointed when they had to start painting them due to graffiti.
Soi Buakhao For me on tube stock with no pa the shout came out more like “ind’adoors” 🤣 . Funnily enough I was just reminiscing with my partner about xmas and New Years working on the network... always willing to volunteer for that with the extra pay and a day in lieu.... my first new year I was dead late at Gloucester rd Picc but John Shields the Stn Foreman told me to go home @ 10 30 as he knew My partner was waiting for me at a friends New Years party... he didn’t have to do it... I didn’t ask for it... I was rostered... I accepted that I’d be working extra late because close of traffic was later on New Year... but he did that... a gentleman to work for... like many of the old railwaymen on the network then...doubt it has the same feeling now... if I could go back to then I would... even to go down the Northern again in the dust and gloom with sticking doors and late running....
@@warweezil2802 Yes, i enjoyed my time working (well, gainful employment really. Much to my colleague's annoyance i enjoyed my time on public transport) on the buses, tubes and main line railways......
They had troubles with the new trains IE the wheels on the new trains were more concave than the tracks they were running on hence the mass engineering works they had to undertake with the rails.
@@q1164 I remember the motors falling off in the early 2000s. I was working on the buses by then and we had an emergency contract to do rail replacement between Hainault & Ilford, i earn't good money then, what with the 185s on a temporary contract as well!
It was indeed great fun to stand at the open doorway as the train rolled into a station and departing as well. But as long as you held the handrail and kept your balance all was ok. The only danger was from the great travelling public throwing something at you! People would get to the platform after you had shut the doors and givern the bell and the train would be moving but it was all your fault THEY missed the train! Funny things passengers.........
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus sorry for those lousy passengers. hey Soi, can you imagine as you standing at the edge of the door,,the long distance tunnel between Liverpool St--Bethnal Green--Mile End--Stratford--Leyton would be the most exciting tunnel section of the whole network and if just passing by, the Stratford would be like the peak of a Rollercoaster
@@AlfaRomeo128 I only opened the door in a tunnel section just as we were just rolling to a stop at a station. There is no room around the edge of a tube train unlike the District or Met lines where you could put your head out in the tunnel!
They never checked tickets on the Underground (unlike on main line trains) and as well as being in charge of the train LT guards were trained to drive the trains as well (BR guards were never allowed to drive trains) in emergency situations ie-if the driver collapsed, especally usefull 100 feet down under Regents Street!
@@shorey66 That gangway was for the sole use of the guard when he was working from that end of the train. You put that up to keep the passengers out, likewise they were not allowed to use your door to get on & off. When it wasn't busy most guards would sit on the passenger seats but when it got busy would put the bar up and stay in the gangway.
ATO and in cab monitors have put pay to the guards job now mind you with the driver in of an ATO train only having to do the doors todays drivers on ATO lines are only really doing the guards job except their up the front instead of the rear.
@@danwoodhouse9290 And they are trained to drive and are in total control of the train. When the Vic line opened it was ATO and they were the highest paid drivers on the system! No one with less than a 1949 start date had a chance of transferring to the line. A lot of senior drivers did, it boosted your pension as you retired as an ATO not a Motorman!
The guard was (and indeed on crew trains still is) in charge of the train. On the Underground he operated the doors, kept order on the train and was trained as an emergency driver in case the driver should collapse.
@@warweezil2802 Well, the 92s are almost there age wise! And as TfL have no money for the Deep Tube Upgrade (apart from new Picc stock but no re-signalling) the 92s are in line for a major refurb to keep them running until the 2030s, as will the Bakerloo 72s. They have had a structual refurb recently and now they are down for an internal refurb as well. Unless central government coughs up some serious cash there will no more new stock for at least a decade nor any resignalling (apart from the ongoing sub-surface upgrade). Interesting times ahead.......
@@the_9ent Yes, both the 72MkII & 73 stock have had a refurb around two-thirds of their supposed normal working life. They are due for replacement and by mid 2020s the 92s will also be due to be replaced (they will then be as old as the 62 stock seen here) but TfL have run out of money. It is a combination of Crossrail opening late (extra cost to build it+no fare revenue coming in), cut in Government Grant and the Sub-Surface lines re-signalling in partnership with Bombardier which went wrong when Bombardier hadn't got the ability to deliver to TfL's price+i don't think they quite had the tech to do what TfL wanted, so the whole process had to be started again with a new supplier but after shed loads of cash had been spent! The last edition of Modern Railways had an artical on TfL's plans for the New Tube Train for London. New trains for the Picc, complete with driver and OPO worked! No money as yet for re-signalling the Picc, and no money to buy new stock or re-signal the Bakerloo & Central Lines. They have scrapped enough cash together to refurb the 72 &92 stocks and that's where we are now! I think the Picc gets new trains (even though the 72s are slightly older & more worn out) first as it's the 'premier' line, running right through the West End and out to Heathrow, the line is sort of rush hour busy all day long!
Daylight touched Mile End until 2012 when it was remodelled. The District Line is only sub surface and the Central Line hits surface only down the lane at Stratford.
Auckland, New Zealand still has guards, known as train managers. The door checks are similar to these trains except all doors have to be closed before departure. Most train managers work on the AM Class EMUs introduced in 2014.
@@andykr2253 You don't have opening windows on underground trains, there is no room to put your head out. The door is fine as when the train gets to the end of the line the driver & guard change ends, that door is in use for passengers!
Back then everyone seemed much more friendly towards photographers/enthusiasts. Nowadays people can become shockingly hostile when you point a camera in their face, even by accident...
Yes, i know what you mean..... although in this case the Guard was a friend of mine who was happy to make a record of what a Guard did on the Underground.... all history now!
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus Yep, sadly I was born a couple of decades too late to properly experience what it was like travelling with a guard on the underground, though everything I have seen/heard about them is highly positive. Hence I am thankful for all this gold footage capturing them at work in what appear to be much better times...
I think perhaps we live in such a ‘big brother’ environment that it’s increasingly difficult to find one’s space and privacy. Remember these were the times before mobile phones were everywhere and so tolerance, of this nature anyway, was far higher.
@@weetabix2 you make a valid point however that doesn't change the fact that people do not have and have never had the right to privacy in a public space, which is something that they should simply understand and learn to accept. If they do not want to appear on camera they should just move out of the camera's sight and not attempt to take matters into their own hands. An astonishing number of times I have seen photographers get harassed, threatened, abused and even assaulted by both members of public and authority, when they are doing nothing other than enjoying their hobby, and yet someone has to try intervening and causing chaos just because they are unable to handle their own emotions...
I confess I've never really liked having my photo taken, which was a bit awkward growing up as my father was a keen amateur photographer..! But I was always happier in the darkroom doing the developing and printing tbh.
William Smith , women who grew up using the tube when they had guards felt safer by often traveling in the rear car with the guard if traveling late at night , nowadays , I think young women traveling on their own late at night by tube are very vulnerable.
@@Richardsrailway Yes, i recall passengers making a point of being in the rear car even if the station they alighted at had the exit at the other end of the platform. Nowadays i suppose sitting in the front car near the cab is the best you can do.
@@janegibbon1532 The Met line A Stock was early 60s and was the sub surface lines version of the 59 stock......Have you seen this upload of mine where they run side by side? ua-cam.com/video/zztpn-9a8sM/v-deo.html
At the beginning at Hainault, when he's keying on, I know what the first two are (opening up the little table and activating the panel) but I'm at a loss as to what the last one is. Do you remember what it was for?
That was the emergency brake. Since the 62 stock had a mod removing the emergency brake for passengers use (it is now just an alarm, up to the driver to stop) they still needed to have one for the guard to use but it was locked when the guard's gangway was not in use..... Funnily enough, i went out with him a few days ago for some pie & mash!
The London underground also had the guard at the rear. This car we were in was the last car in the train, on some more modern stock like the C, D, 73 & 83 stock the guard was in the rear cab. No LU trains have ever worked with a guard mid way in the formation unlike on the main line railways where on a long unit train the guard was in a middle cab or guards van.
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus Love it when he say, oh it’s Barkingside, beg your pardon, and then giggles childishly. Pilot light! 😂 He must be in his 70’s now.
@@Richardsrailway I used to lean against the galss facing the panel and read my book/paper when it was busy. When emptier of course, bar down and sat on the normal seats! (like 99% of guards did)....
We had a gangway at the front of the rear car all for our own use! Or in the back cab on 73, 83 + D & C stock. Later, OPO converted A & 72MkII stock also had the door controls moved to the cabs so the guards ended up in there (until the line in question converted to OPO of course!)
@@user-vf9qc6io9i Well, the last crew operated train ran in 2000 but in the 1990s it was only the Central & Northern that had them by them until both lines got new OPO fitted stock.
No, the last Underground trains with a guard on ran in 2000, on the Northern Line. I was on it as well! This particular guard is still going strong, and living in Essex......
@@infrared567 The avarage amount of time the train spends at the station. As there's a guard he/she can check if there are any passengers left behind, whereas the driver must rely on CCTV and cannot see from all the angles, which makes the driver have to spend more time on the platform to ensure the passengers have successfully boarded the train.
@@CityWhisperer well as you can see, the guard opens the doors before the train is birthed on the platform, before it has completely stopped- something modern tube stock (92 onward) won't even let you do - and 92 stock tells the driver when to leave the station anyway. The time saved by opening the doors early (which is in itself a health/safety issue) is exponentially reduced by modern ATO being able to operate trains closer together than the age old signalling system that would have been used during the filming of the video - thus a faster service for the customer all round. As far as I was aware, the technology on board modern stock mentioned alleviates the second part of your comment, one person Cctv, directly in front of the driver covers every door of every car - so what you've mentioned is basically an un-issue and not worth going into. I have never seen a tube driver on modern stock close the doors from their side door, if they do, or if you've seen it, it's by choice: the technology allows them to do it without even leaving the drivers seat.
jay will There is no place for costumer service on 2019 tube as well... I would rather prefer this system with guards, ticket offices and personal service over the modern tube with ticket machines, oyster and ATO. I was born in ‘99, so I haven’t had the pleasure to use the “olden days” tube system, but I really wish I had... Now I use the 2019 tube system and there are many points, where I assume that the old system was a lot better for costumer satisfaction.
jay will I don’t think we will see trains without an operator any time soon. You need a member of staff on hand in case of “control defects” affecting the ability of the train to move... which is a big part of the training given to Drivers /Train Operators. Also needed on the spot in case of the need to evacuate trains - which was almost unheard of whenI was driving on the Northern line. That’s without the public resistance to unmanned trains.
@@warweezil2802 you're right- I think we're a while off automation level 4 (driverless/unattended) - in fact, no time soon. most of our lines are already at level 2 (ato/driver for doors and emergencies) - it's being rolled out on SSR. But importantly DLR was manufactured as a Level 3 in the 80's. So the technology is easily and readily available. The unions are the biggest hurdle. We're definitely due a DLR style level 3, train captain/psa/door opener on the tube by the next decade out.
I wouldn't fancy trains running without any staff on board on the deep level tubes of the London Underground. Perhaps a thousand people on a train and no staff? Doesn't bear thinking about if there was another fire or bomb incident.....
Soi Buakhao I get that on an emotional level, but the safest trains in the world like the DLR in London have never had any incident and there is no driver or guard. There is a member of DLR staff but that is only for assurance due to passenger feedback because there was no one on board when the DLR was first running. Look for the new tube for London video which states there will be no drivers when current trains like the Central Line are replaced.
@@paulcs2607 The DLR Train Captain's can and do indeed drive when required. And thay are still a member of staff on the train. Now imagine a deep tube, in the peak and the train starts to fill with smoke. Bad enough there is only a driver but at least he can get the juice off and give instructions over the PA, even if only to say it's safe to get off the rear and onto the track. I doubt driverless trains will be totally staff free. Lines in the world that are tend to be new build with a totally different tunnel systems unlike the worlds oldest tube system!
That view will work right up until there’s a time that a train breaks down.... modern rolling stock is just as prone to failure as any other computer controlled machine as the default is to stop if something is not as expected by the programming. Can you imagine the outcry the? “ we were abandoned in the tunnels”... “where were the staff”.... and that’s without idiots getting down onto the track where lives 630volts of traction current... just like they have done around London on the old southern region lines that have a third (traction current) rail. As a wise old road trainer once said to me.. “you’ll drive these day in and day out - no problem most of the time.... but when she sits down in the peak... you’ve got to get it going again and THAT is where you earn your grade.”
Before train radios and more modern trains it was deemed necessary to have two people crew a train. until air worked door stock in the mid 1920s as well as a driver & guard you had gatemen who opened & closed manual gates at the end of each car. On a 7 car train there could well have been 5 gatemen plus the driver & guard. As technology improves so does automation and jobs disappear.....
The Guard is called Malcolm Barber, lovely bloke. He and I were both Train Guards at Barking in the mid seventies, I went on to become a Motorman and joined the ranks of Malcolm's brother Peter Barber... Lovely family.
Bless you sir. Thank you.
Is he still alive now ?
Tommy Dudley , is he still alive now?
I don't know if Malcolm Barber, or his brother Peter Barber are alive... I haven't seen either of them in over 30 years.
Tommy Dudley , that brought back some memories, my dad was a driver on br for many years he’s retired now, but I knew lots of men like your guard friend, sadly they are all now gone.
Just note how much quicker the stops were!
I started as a direct recruit guard on 14th February 1994 and I'm still here as a driver. I vaguely remember Malcolm but I never personally knew him. Happy times.
He is still going strong out in Essex, living life to the full! He likes a day out at the Epping-Ongar railway now and again to re-live happier times!
well done for finding a guard with a sense of humour
This guy has always been good for a laugh!
Sense of humour? Many of us had one back in the day... you needed one when finding that your train was stabled on the furthest road away with the heaters off at 04.30 on a January morning....
@@warweezil2802 I used to do dead lates and nights mainly, so my trains were always warm! Split turns though were a different matter......
Soi Buakhao I tried to do mostly lates... nights were rare for me... and then only on the DIstrict... Barking usually... last Ealing to Earls Court then staff to Upminster and back to Barking (DT around 01.40} prepare the spare... then (DT 04.25) staff back to Upminster then run to ECw and finish... no time to grab a kip with the cleaners wandering thru with their bloody watering can and the fitters wandering around scribbling NDF (not done ****all) on the trouble cards...
@@warweezil2802 Yes, i also assumed that's waht NDF stood for, the appalling state of the 72MkII's, lots of running faults never repaired.......
It’s funny to think this video is 30 years old and 62 stock was 30 years old then and being replaced. And the crazy thing today the 92 stock is now same age as the 62 stock as it started to replaced.
Health and safety out the door ... literally.
Lol .... Makes the panel live and walks away 😲.
@@q1164 Yes, but i was standing there (and was BR traincrew at the time) otherwise he wouldn't have done it!
As a current Guard down under its wholesome to see how it was done back in England. Especially seeing that im not the only guard to make a cupper on the run. It was difficult to do on all stop suburban working here in Sydney but recently ive gone to the intercity side and can have a cupper made long before im any where near my next stop.
Wish that former guard the best from a new generation guard working older rolling stock.
Being a Guard was great, being a Guard Motorman was even better, but being a Motorman was easily my favourite role. Central and Northern Lines, I was a Guard and Motorman on 56, 59, 62 and 72 stock trains, and those times were unforgettable. Going to work and liking what you do is a massive bonus, and the people I worked with were a great bunch. Great to see the 62 again in this video!
My pleasure. I too have spent my working life working on tubes, railways and buses. Not a bad way to earn a living (BR was best followed by the Underground)......
Same here, was at White City, East Finchley, White City (again) Golders Green, White City (yet again but this time as Guard/motorman!) and then Morden while I was waiting for a transfer to H&C. Guard job was great fun
Love this video. Woodford was my local Station as a young boy in the 1960's and my parents often took me on the Central Line for rides to Bank on the way to Moorfields Eye hospital for my regular monthly check ups. Dad often sat me near the guard so that i could watch him pushing the buttons and opening and closing the doors. I think one of his buttons on the panel was always lit up blue. Happy days.
The blue light is the Pilot Light and only illuminates when all the doors are closed. Until then the Guard cannot ring the starting bell....
Yes I can see now, only goes off when doors open.
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus I remember the central one on the 1938 stock. A clear pygmy with a blue end. As a lighting collector, I've been looking for one for years but never found one. I asked at the LT museum in Covent Garden if they knew of any, but sadly they only had the one in the car they have on display.
Bring back these trains. They look dirty, stingy and cramped. Perfect fit for the central line.
I miss the old 72 stock on the Northern Line
They are still used on the Isle of Wight , absolutely comfortable and airy you can even open a window your self.
@@pegjames188 You can open a window on the current central line stock if you feel like accelerating your development of lung cancer.
@@WannabeMarsanach they really are a pleasure to ride on and it would be a shame if they did away with them.
The trains on the IOW are even older, they are 1938 stock! On their last legs now they are to be replaced by ex District Line D Stock.
I remember on some occasions when the odd guard would be confident enough to open the passenger doors just before the train has come to a complete stop
Yes, that happened at times. Normally when they were on their finishing run or coming off for their break!
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus came with experience and trust in your driver 👍
I remember that! It was always exciting to leap off the train while it was still (slightly) moving. :-)
@@q1164 I've had some good runs with the right driver. If it was in our interest to go slow wec would (and boy, could some of them wind up a train sloooooow!) but if it was in our interest to go like the clappers, we would. Working together as a team worked best evey time!
my manager keeps pulling me up for this on DOO, apparently 0.3 miles per hour is still a rules violation (luckily he's chill)
Was a guard on 1938 stock...loved it...
peter marshall I only ever drove 38’s when they reintroduced a couple on the Northern line around ‘86. Before I got on the front there were only 56/59 stock and 72’s (mk1&2) when I was displaced from the district line as a guard due to opo
I'm a lighting collector and I'm trying to find one of the pilot lamps for the 1938 stock, clear pygmy with a blue end, but never seen any. Got any ideas..?
I was a guard/motorman on the Central at this time and I remember seeing this guy. Didn't know his name, I was at White City, but you would see guys from other depots in passing.
He is still going strong, living out in Essex......
He could still be alive today
I have news for you.... he is! Alive & well in Essex......
Another great video Sol, and a lovely record of times past.
An everyday occurance at one time. As a child i used to enjoy sitting in the rear car and watch the guards at work Happily years later i was one myself!
Thank you for the video, brings back a lot of memories. How different things were in those days.....
Ah, the 1962 stock on the Central line. Fairlop was my local station and I used it every day to go to school at Wanstead and also Camden Town when I started work in 1972. I miss it still, London has changed out of all recognition from how I knew it, tbh I'm glad I don't live there any more 😿
Mee too. But such a shame.
The Guards name is Malcolm Barber, well remember him from my time as SM at Leytonstone.
A nice, friendly bloke.
Do you have any news of what Malcolm Barber is doing now, has he retired or has he since passed away?
@@LANBritain1 He is still going strong and living life to the full in Essex. And still likes a day out to his old stomping ground, as he like to visit the Epping-Ongar Railway where he started work in the mid 70s doing station training at North Weald. Back then it still had a passing loop and the signal box was still open plus an all day service!
👍 🙂
malcolm barber is my grandfather and hes really enjoying reading all your comments & wish you all well..
When I first started work in 1973 age 17 I would always get on in the guards carriage for safety. Trains were not so crowded then either so you could most of the time get in the guards carriage.
Yes, London has a lot more people living there now, the joys of imigration. Best place to sit now is behind the dtivers cab in casae of chaos on the train.
what a lovely caring man.
Yes, a lovely guy. Still around who likes a day out at the Epping-Ongar heritage railway, a line well worth visiting by the way.....
Love these old tin cans! Totally remember them!
The current stock is now coming up to the age of this stock now. But the 92s are going to be given a heavy refurb to keep them running as LUL have run out of money!
When the guards weren’t used anymore, as a kid I used to love using their hidden chair and seeing the reactions of other passengers who never knew it existed.
thats funny cos so did i
those tip up seats for the guard were ment to be "lockable", they was'nt cos all you had to do was lift the catch and down it came
The springs became quite worn in the end which made it easy.....
I remember sitting on a former guards chair on an A60 stock after refurbishment. It wasn't practical as the seats were close to the tail doors, so passengers would walk right into me.
@@MannyAntipov I doubt you sat on the guards chair on an A60, unlike all other stocks with little pull down seats, the A60s had a great big drivers style seat that was locked in position by Guards key, it was in the Guards gangway and faced the car end rather than looking down the car as on other stocks. The A60s did have four little pull down seats for passenger use, and these wern't locked
I remember these days; bring the guards back to the tubes!
I agree ☝️
I remember Malcolm, lovely guy. I joined LT in 1976 as a direct recruit guard & was sent to Elephant & Castle depot on the Bakerloo Line even though I'd nominated Barking District Line. They were desperately short of guards on the Bakerloo & I was rostered straight away. By the time I transferred to Barking six months later, there were approx seventy surplus station guards at the Elephant!
I'm nearly 6ft 6ins tall, my head nearly touched the roof on those 38 stock trains!
Yes, tube trains are a lot smaller than the District & Met!
I don't know if you know mel blatt she was in the band all saints. A real beauty.
@@johnsmith-wx5fb I know who she is, but I don't know if we're related.
@@StephenBlatt54 i think she might have been a goldblatt if memory serves.
@@johnsmith-wx5fb I'm just a base metal Blatt!
Excellent stuff, I remember it well.
The happy days of when it took 'two to crew' as the NUR put it!!!
brilliant upload mate, thanks!
My pleasure....
I miss guards on the tube. I was always fascinated watching them. I knew a couple of Waterloo guards and they worked down the Drain as well as the mainline.
The Drain guards were BR employees so would have signed routes upstairs on the main line. Some Waterloo crews did like the Drain and would change duties to work it!
Indeed,Exeter and back one day,Bank the next. Quite a contrast.
@@SpoonyMcSpoonface And quite a few more trips to Bank than one return run to Exeter!
I remember seeing a guard slightly older than my father onboard a 1959 built Northern Line Tube train.
The Northern was the last line to have guards, finishing in 2000. Even Malkcolm worked there after the Central Line went OPO.....
I really enjoyed watching this! It really reminded me of travelling on the tube when I first moved to London in the eighties. I think these old trains feel so much more familiar than the new ones do to me. I remember the wooden floors and those windows. Thanks for sharing this. R.
Yes, it's nice to look back at perhaps, happier times......
I like those silver trains
The first of the "new" central line trains (1992 stock) are now 28 years old and are set to be replaced in the coming years!
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus I think it was a busier time when I used to commute....and obviously younger and travelling about more for socialising.
@@infrared567 Yes, it's amazing to think they are that old, i still think of them as new! As for replacement soon, i don't think so. LUL have run out of money and their grand plan for the 'New Tube (train) For London' to replace stock on the Picc, Central & Bakerloo , all with new signalling has been dropped. All that they are doing now is getting new stock for the Picc but that line won't be re-signalled and the Bakerloo & Central will carry on with the stock & signalling they have. The 92s are now going to go through a refurb programme and the 72s although they've had a heavy mechanical refurb they now need an internal on as well! So we'll be riding on these trains for quite a while yet!
I love the way this guy's priority is his tea making compartment, even after he's opened his door at Fairlop.
The railways run on tea....... lol
Nice video. My Grandfather worked as a guard on the Tube. He started on the Piccadilly Line before transferring to the Central Line in later years.
This guard started on the District with CO/CP and R stocks then on C & D stocks when they were withdrawn. After the District went OPO he went onto the PIcc and went that went OPO headed off to the Central finally ending up on the Northern, retiring in 1998, a couple of yaers before guards became history.
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus did this guard not ever fancy being a driver?
Pretty cool! Thx for sharing with us. Merry XMas to you!
Thank you. I thought it would be nice to show what a guard's duties actually were. Now if the 62 stock had developed a Train Line burst on the front unit, i could have shown what the guards had to do to assist the driver, and drive the train while the driver braked from the rear!......
Brilliant video which I could watch over and over again - takes me back to a better time. Though I knew about the tip up seat (I remember 59 stock when I was a lot younger, you could make the seat come down by pressing your finger into the slot) I never realised there was a fold down table. I got chatting to an ex-Central guy about this who remembers it well. I recalled from this video that I loved the way that Malcolm (from the comments section) the guard got his jars and bottles out and got organised - the ex-Central guy recalled that the table was used as a graffiti pad for guards to tell other ones what they thought of them!
Yes, there was a lot of staff graffetti about in non public places. And some traincrew were always well prepared on the tea front!
I’ve just left a similar comment! 😀
Was brilliant using that chair.
If I remember correctly, there were some you couldn’t open in the end (almost like the mechanism was glued shut) but you’d find the odd one that worked and it was funny watching passengers reactions who clearly didn’t know a chair was there when you pulled it down.
I didn’t know there was a table there either by the way! 😀
@@HammerLex77 The Guard had all sorts of bits & pieces for their use. Including a heater in the gangway.
@@HammerLex77 They were locked shut and could be opened by using the Guards Position Key (a spanner like affair you used to liven up the door control panel's you were using) but over time the mechanism became looser and could be opened by hand.
1:05 love that… taking the air. I believe that would be a h&s code violation now 😂 🙄 I loved seeing the guards door open on the slam door trains back then too. Then you knew it was hot! 🌞
As a guard you were suppose the watch the train on its way out of a platform for the first two-thirds of the way.....
If I remember rightly from my boyhood days travelling on the Central Line from Woodford with my parents, the Pilot light was a blue light indicating an active panel.
Not exactly..... The pilot light indicates all the doors are closed and allows the guard to ring the start bell. Unless the circuit is made the bell will not ring. The panels liven up when a guards key (like a spanner) is inserted but there is no indication to show a key is in. Without the key in (which actually turns a barrel and allows contacts to make) the panels are dead and the buttons do nothing.....
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus Thanks, but I am going back 55 years mate.
Brilliant video and i do believe this is the guard from your epping central line video
Well observed! It is indeed the same friendly guard from the Epping upload.....
I remember getting the application form to be a guard on the Central/ Northern line. I didn’t want to start at 2am so I never applied, I might not have got a position but the fact I never applied still bugs me today 😢.
You either like shift work, and revolve your life around the job or public transport is not for you. I spent my working life on trains & buses and never had a problem with it.......
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus I’ve worked shifts on and off for many years. I was young at the time, I do double days now.
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus Same here. I did 15 years on British Rail (station and office staff, never driving or guard) and another 15 years on the buses. Transport gets into your blood. Wouldn't want to do shift work now, though, especially the split ones...
I’d loved to be a guard on one of these trains! As I’d imagine it was quite a fun job to do!
I quite enjoyed my time doing it! Hanging out the door as the trains entered & left the stations.....happy days!
Great video! It's nice to see Hainault Station pretty much looks the same as it did back then :)
Yes, i don't think it has changed much over the years, probably ticket gates in the booking hall being the biggest change.
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus I agree. I was born shortly after the 1962 stock was taken off the network but my mum always goes on about how much better they were compared to the 92 stock! & how they would shake the life out of you lol!
@@safiae6875 Your Mum is right! The 62s could get a fair turn of speed up, especially out on long runs to Epping and West Ruislip. I wish i had videoed a ride in one. I think i may have a car ride on a 59 out Harrow way on the Bakerloo, i'll get them up at some point-same, same but different!
@@safiae6875 Running empty from Epping to Loughton with Steveee hover was a true bone shaker lol ....
Soi Buakhao 59s down the bank from High Barnet to Totteridge and Whetstone.... or Golders to Hampstead... both southbound...
This brings back so much memories! My childhood was spent riding the Central Line, I loved these trains! Beautiful times - thank you for sharing 🙏🏼 Happy Holidays!
My pleasure! I thought it would be interesting to see the duties of a guard. It's been 19 years since an Underground train was worked by one, a whole load of people don't even realise the Underground had guards! And this one was a friendly soul who ws happy to be filmed, as he said so he could show his family what he gets up to at work!
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus I didn't know About a guard on a train,I found it very strange...
@@gabri_maybe All lines had guards (except the Victoria which opened from new in 1968 as an automatically worked trains line), the first to convert to OPO in 1984 was the Hammersmith Met Line, followed by the Circle, East London, Met Main, District, Picc, Jubilee, Bakerloo, Central & finally the Northern in 2000. Back before air worked doors were introduced trains had a driver, guard and gatemen who open & closed the gates at the end of each car. So a train might have up to 7 people operate it!
I like this video👍The guard on this video is so cool 😀 (im french)
He was a friend of mine so was quite agreeable to being filmed. I let him have a video tape of it so all his family could see what he did at work!
This certainly brought back memories. I was a guard based at Hainault back in 1973. I was only 18. I could tell you some shocking stories! Happy days.
I aim to please. I too have been a guard so i know what you mean!!!!!
Great vid!
Thank you, a nice bit of history now.....
What a great guard!
He was. And still enjoys days out to the Central line by visiting the Epping-Ongar railway
When I saw him at Hainault at the start of the video I thought the train would be the shuttle service to Woodford. When was the 92 stock fully introduced to the Central line? I am of course aware that the Epping-Ongar line used the Cravens unit until the very end.
Great video by the way!
Thank you. The 92s had been introduced in 1993 and the last 62 ran in February 1995. If the Cravens ever broke down they used a 4 car 62 stock complete with guard. One of the rosters at Leytonstone had crews who signed the Epping-Ongar line for this possibility. Here is my upload of the Cravens unit and the Epping-Ongar line, enjoy! ua-cam.com/video/3X8GUO9PAOs/v-deo.html
As an American, I always forget about the guard. Although we did have them in New York City on the old el' lines.
Is the New York Subway OPO? I was under the impression you still had guards? Or conductors as you call them....
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus We still have conductors, however in the old days (and I mean far before my time) the elevated train lines in Manhattan and the subway used to require a rather lengthy crew. For instance, a train of gate cars operating five to seven cars would require a conductor situated between the two cars as well as a motorman driving the train. The conductor at the end of the train was known as the guard. The same process also took place on the subway as the early fleet of cars had doors that could not work in tamdem with one another. When multiple unit door control was a invented for the subway, the guard at the rear was no longer required. However, the el cars with doors (known as the MUDCs) had doors that could only be operated by three at a time. As a result, the guard was used on the el lines up until the demolition of the last el line in Manhattan (the Third Ave. El' sadly). Today, subway trains have a motorman driving the train and a conductor at the middle of the train who operates the doors and makes announcements.
@@blakemcnamara9105 Today's Underground just has the driver in charge of the train, driving (unless on an auto equipped line) and working the doors. Of course a lot of the early London Tube lines were built with American finance and that's why even today we have tube 'cars' instead of carriages and northbound/southbound rather than Up & Down lines like on the main line railways. And we had the same system of working in the early 20th century, eatrly tubes had gatemen along the train, that's why off peak they ran shorter trains as it required less staff!
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus Interesting. I was not aware that the London Underground was backed by American money and that certain railway terminology is American because of it. By the way, why do cars and trains use the left side of the road or track in Great Britain?
@@blakemcnamara9105 No idea why it started that way. Why is America that way considering it was a UK coloney at one time? Maybe it was a way of showing they were indepentant and different? It was only the deep tubes (not the Metropolitan or the District lines) like the Bakerloo, Piccadilly and parts of the Northern that had American money via a dodgy financier called Caerles Tyson Yerkes. Albert Stanley was British born but worked his early years in the USA, and became the Chairman of Underground Electric Railways Group which was formed after Yerkes died and took the unfinished tubes to completion. It grew over the years and added the Central London railway (Central Line) and the District plus later on the London General bus company and when London Transport was formed in 1933 the UERL was the main component of the new LT and basically amalgamated the rest of London'snon main line railways public transport into the fold. So we owe America a lot! So, 'Mind The Doors' and Pass Right Down Inside The Cars' and enjoy the London/Ameriacn Underground Railroad system!.........lol
I used to be a guard on the central line too.
Me too, I was at White City!
Super good
Thank you.....i always aim to put up interesting vids......
Tut, opening his position and then going to check destination and tail lights is a no no.
Yes, but i was standing there and i'm traincrew! So quite safe. Normally, yes never put your key in and walk away!
Excellent.
What are the grey knobs dangling from the ceiling called? I always called them "varley knobs".
The were the hanging straps for the standing passengers, those standing were known as 'strap-hangers'......
This recording must surely well up much fondness in us watchers 🍺
Those of us that remember such sights and sounds, or even did the job themselves.....
Seldom did I travel last car..with shorter trains there, I'd have thought higher prospect of there being more such memories, but nada - nothing 💡 Watching that it was neat reading afresh guards' culture or characteristic ways of doing things (can't think of the right descriptor to nail on the head what your subject seemed to carefreely - not carelessly! - reveal).
@@trainrover He enjoyed being a guard and did not go for driver, which with a 1974 start date he could certainly have become.
Soi Buakhao bloody hell Almost as much seniority as old Charlie Cope
@@warweezil2802 I think he did 24 years before calling it a day. Started as a Railman and did his training in part at North Weald when the signal box there was open along with the passing loop. He has been back since the line became a heritage railway and thoroughly loved it!
A very enthusiastic guard I may say! By the way, I wonder what happens if you put the special activation key (that one that is used to activate doors control panel) on both cabins (rear and also front) 🤔. Will it work on both?
The controls at each panel would work but you wouldn't be able to get a pilot light and give the starting bell. And quite possibly blow a fuse!
Wow, I just barely remember these guards in those old trains. I guess technology has moved on that they were no longer required. Mile End looks dead.
I was at the very east end of the platforms at Mile End. Yes as technology moves on so less staff are needed on trains. Back in the early 1920s there was a driver, guard and perhaps 3 to 5 gatemen to open and close the manually worked gates at the end of each car.
Such an old school train, they won’t make them like that anymore
Forza223 Bowe atleast you can see them on the bakerloo line for now
The ones on the Bakerloo are 10 years newer being 72 Stock.....
This guard I knew 👍. 00:13 he puts his guards key in ,makes all doors (Guards panel) "LIVE" and walks away to check the tail lights and correct destination.... Very naughty !!
Technically. He shouldn’t be “bridging” the open buttons with thumb and finger either... but most of us did that..... as long as an area manager wasn’t riding with us
@@warweezil2802 Many of the DTM's and DLM' s I knew, best was rolling into camden.... Paper in hand and there they were standing there lol .... Oops .
When I was a guard on the DIstrict there was one that used to lurk upstairs by picc line lift at Earls Court to get a good view into the cabs of the trains below. Many of the A.M.s (as they were called when I was there) would get on the front with you and drive for a couple of stops to keep their hand in (as ex drivers themselves) I do miss driving them.. wish things had worked out differently in my life.... although now I’d probably be on the Baker driving 72s... and hiding from modern stocks. I would have left the Northern with opo coming in and tried to go back to the District.. enjoyed driving the D78s in Guard training
As ya say, had some great times on LUL , met some great people also 🙂 . Tip my hat to all you fellow guards an majority of drivers 👍.
Yeah... knew some great characters at all 3 depots I worked out of. Great guys mostly..
I never knew you had daylight visible at Mile End back in the day.
Yes, it was hidden behind some adverts up above. I don't know if it's still the same these days?.....
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus I am pretty sure now its been covered over by buildings.
Still exists. At least on the central line eastbound side.
What I'm most glad about is that our trains now have COLOUR. I mean the 38 stock yes was entirely red, was at least in colour. Then for years it was just this bare stripped of paint looking grey dullness. So glad that today, our LU trains are painted to a colour scheme. The White, Red and Blue just looks great! Still today the MTA (New York) is a dull grey, no paint (but they've been charging flat fares at a discount for decades and thus really honestly have no money, the MTA declared a state of emergency a few years back (2017) due to lack of investments, and no money. The MTA is still using 100yr old signalling, so there are delays and electrical failures all over the shop!
In one sense this makes me think I'm glad that the London Underground was so highly priced. It isnt cheap to run an underground in any city and I do realise that the LU is one of the priciest out there, but switch to an oyster or contactless and its literally half price as the paper ticket. Using contactless or Oyster, maximum charge a day is £6.50 (as of my knowledge, may have changed) but a paper all zone ticket is over £12. However it does mean they can do line upgrades and investments. By 2035 the Bakerloo line is going to have new trains and ATO. PED's are going to get installed along the Piccadilly line, but their timeframe is again by 2035 which seems like too long and little effort. Hey, at least things are done eventually eh?
Yes, i have heard the New York Subway was using very old equipment, and like TfL in London suffer from a lack of cash! The Underground stock in un-painted ali (or silver as LT called them) suffered the passing of time and then graffeti arrived and made it worse. I can't see the Bakerloo 72s going anytime much before 2040 if then! Horrid, rancid trains......i worked on them as a guard and then driver and they are the worse stock i have ever worked on! The 73 stock are much better trains and although new trains for the Pic have been selected i don't think the contract has been signed yet.......The resignalling for the PIc is now on hold for the forseeable future!
I grew up with the unpainted aluminium 62 stock and quite honestly I loved it. I was really disappointed when they had to start painting them due to graffiti.
MIND THE GAP STAND CLEAR OF THE CLOSING DOORS PLEASE. WHAT HAS CHANGED, IT USE TO BE VERY INTERESTING THEN.
I used to holler those announcements out when it was busy.....happy days!
Soi Buakhao For me on tube stock with no pa the shout came out more like “ind’adoors” 🤣 . Funnily enough I was just reminiscing with my partner about xmas and New Years working on the network... always willing to volunteer for that with the extra pay and a day in lieu.... my first new year I was dead late at Gloucester rd Picc but John Shields the Stn Foreman told me to go home @ 10 30 as he knew My partner was waiting for me at a friends New Years party... he didn’t have to do it... I didn’t ask for it... I was rostered... I accepted that I’d be working extra late because close of traffic was later on New Year... but he did that... a gentleman to work for... like many of the old railwaymen on the network then...doubt it has the same feeling now... if I could go back to then I would... even to go down the Northern again in the dust and gloom with sticking doors and late running....
@@warweezil2802 Yes, i enjoyed my time working (well, gainful employment really. Much to my colleague's annoyance i enjoyed my time on public transport) on the buses, tubes and main line railways......
Looks a bit like a cockney Clarence Boddicker from Robocop lol.
Nice sample of how it was.
Some guards were happy people, most quite morose!
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus He was a character for sure. You chose a good one :).
@@jamesfrench7299 He is a nice bloke and still with us, now in his 80s!
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus shows the rewards of being happy in life. Longevity. Good genes helps too.
A Cockney Clarence Boddicker!
😂😂😂😂
Healy and safety at its very best 😂
Yeh before we 21st century over the top extremely risk averse Health and |Safety.
wow the 1992's were still rolling out I take it?
At this time yes. Over half the service was still 62s.
Just before the new/current Central line trains came into service...
They had already started by this time but there was still more 62s out than 92s.
Yea they started year before I think
They had troubles with the new trains IE the wheels on the new trains were more concave than the tracks they were running on hence the mass engineering works they had to undertake with the rails.
@@q1164 I remember the motors falling off in the early 2000s. I was working on the buses by then and we had an emergency contract to do rail replacement between Hainault & Ilford, i earn't good money then, what with the 185s on a temporary contract as well!
2nd coolest job on trains AS FOR ME PERSONALLY IT'S SUCH FUN to stand at the edge of open doors on a RUNNING TRAIN, but it's dangerous for them
It was indeed great fun to stand at the open doorway as the train rolled into a station and departing as well. But as long as you held the handrail and kept your balance all was ok. The only danger was from the great travelling public throwing something at you! People would get to the platform after you had shut the doors and givern the bell and the train would be moving but it was all your fault THEY missed the train! Funny things passengers.........
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus sorry for those lousy passengers. hey Soi, can you imagine as you standing at the edge of the door,,the long distance tunnel between Liverpool St--Bethnal Green--Mile End--Stratford--Leyton would be the most exciting tunnel section of the whole network and if just passing by, the Stratford would be like the peak of a Rollercoaster
@@AlfaRomeo128 I only opened the door in a tunnel section just as we were just rolling to a stop at a station. There is no room around the edge of a tube train unlike the District or Met lines where you could put your head out in the tunnel!
Probably not so much fun on rain or snow days.
@@Paul34Grand THAT'S TRUE
Apparently, 92 stock is held together with ducktape and string!!!
I've worked a few trains like that....and a fair few buses!
Did guard’s check tickets? Or was there only job door operations?
Jettera Ismabash guard was in charge of the train and the doors , he was the time keeper
They never checked tickets on the Underground (unlike on main line trains) and as well as being in charge of the train LT guards were trained to drive the trains as well (BR guards were never allowed to drive trains) in emergency situations ie-if the driver collapsed, especally usefull 100 feet down under Regents Street!
What was that bar he put across for?
@@shorey66 That gangway was for the sole use of the guard when he was working from that end of the train. You put that up to keep the passengers out, likewise they were not allowed to use your door to get on & off. When it wasn't busy most guards would sit on the passenger seats but when it got busy would put the bar up and stay in the gangway.
@@shorey66 To stop passengers from entering his working gangway whilst he was on duty
Malcom barber
Correct!......
Any more guard footage, like this??
I do have some if I rememby correctly. I will check when I am back home in about 9 days time
There is now another one up! See it here ua-cam.com/video/4_d1shCkwTo/v-deo.html
health and safety wouldn't allow that nowadays lol.
I don't see why not, on the main line shunters & guards can still hang out the side of moving trains to see what is going on.
Bring back guards!
Don't think that will happen now, it's been almost 20 yaers ago the last ones finished!
ATO and in cab monitors have put pay to the guards job now
mind you with the driver in of an ATO train only having to do the doors todays drivers on ATO lines are only really doing the guards job except their up the front instead of the rear.
@@danwoodhouse9290 And they are trained to drive and are in total control of the train. When the Vic line opened it was ATO and they were the highest paid drivers on the system! No one with less than a 1949 start date had a chance of transferring to the line. A lot of senior drivers did, it boosted your pension as you retired as an ATO not a Motorman!
Waste of money
Oh Hainault loop lol
He was on a Hainault to White City working that day.
Soi Buakhao yeah I realised thanks tho :D
Somewhere i do have a few shots of the loop shuttle, i'll see what i can get uploaded.....
Christ alive, the state of those trains! What was a guards duty? And why don’t we see them any more?
The guard was (and indeed on crew trains still is) in charge of the train. On the Underground he operated the doors, kept order on the train and was trained as an emergency driver in case the driver should collapse.
The state of them wasn’t that bad considering the age of the units... I doubt you will see modern stock lasting as long...
@@warweezil2802 Well, the 92s are almost there age wise! And as TfL have no money for the Deep Tube Upgrade (apart from new Picc stock but no re-signalling) the 92s are in line for a major refurb to keep them running until the 2030s, as will the Bakerloo 72s. They have had a structual refurb recently and now they are down for an internal refurb as well. Unless central government coughs up some serious cash there will no more new stock for at least a decade nor any resignalling (apart from the ongoing sub-surface upgrade). Interesting times ahead.......
Soi Buakhao The Piccadilly and Bakerloo lines are long overdue a replacement. They’ve already been refurbished once right?
@@the_9ent Yes, both the 72MkII & 73 stock have had a refurb around two-thirds of their supposed normal working life. They are due for replacement and by mid 2020s the 92s will also be due to be replaced (they will then be as old as the 62 stock seen here) but TfL have run out of money. It is a combination of Crossrail opening late (extra cost to build it+no fare revenue coming in), cut in Government Grant and the Sub-Surface lines re-signalling in partnership with Bombardier which went wrong when Bombardier hadn't got the ability to deliver to TfL's price+i don't think they quite had the tech to do what TfL wanted, so the whole process had to be started again with a new supplier but after shed loads of cash had been spent! The last edition of Modern Railways had an artical on TfL's plans for the New Tube Train for London. New trains for the Picc, complete with driver and OPO worked! No money as yet for re-signalling the Picc, and no money to buy new stock or re-signal the Bakerloo & Central Lines. They have scrapped enough cash together to refurb the 72 &92 stocks and that's where we are now! I think the Picc gets new trains (even though the 72s are slightly older & more worn out) first as it's the 'premier' line, running right through the West End and out to Heathrow, the line is sort of rush hour busy all day long!
At 3:40 - is that daylight onto the tracks/platforms at Mile End??
James T yes
Daylight touched Mile End until 2012 when it was remodelled. The District Line is only sub surface and the Central Line hits surface only down the lane at Stratford.
Auckland, New Zealand still has guards, known as train managers. The door checks are similar to these trains except all doors have to be closed before departure. Most train managers work on the AM Class EMUs introduced in 2014.
All passenger doors are closed, the guard has his door still open so as to safely see his train out of the platform.
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus why not build in a window?
@@andykr2253 You don't have opening windows on underground trains, there is no room to put your head out. The door is fine as when the train gets to the end of the line the driver & guard change ends, that door is in use for passengers!
Wow
How Underground trains used to be worked, with Guards on the rear!
Back then everyone seemed much more friendly towards photographers/enthusiasts. Nowadays people can become shockingly hostile when you point a camera in their face, even by accident...
Yes, i know what you mean..... although in this case the Guard was a friend of mine who was happy to make a record of what a Guard did on the Underground.... all history now!
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus Yep, sadly I was born a couple of decades too late to properly experience what it was like travelling with a guard on the underground, though everything I have seen/heard about them is highly positive. Hence I am thankful for all this gold footage capturing them at work in what appear to be much better times...
I think perhaps we live in such a ‘big brother’ environment that it’s increasingly difficult to find one’s space and privacy. Remember these were the times before mobile phones were everywhere and so tolerance, of this nature anyway, was far higher.
@@weetabix2 you make a valid point however that doesn't change the fact that people do not have and have never had the right to privacy in a public space, which is something that they should simply understand and learn to accept. If they do not want to appear on camera they should just move out of the camera's sight and not attempt to take matters into their own hands. An astonishing number of times I have seen photographers get harassed, threatened, abused and even assaulted by both members of public and authority, when they are doing nothing other than enjoying their hobby, and yet someone has to try intervening and causing chaos just because they are unable to handle their own emotions...
I confess I've never really liked having my photo taken, which was a bit awkward growing up as my father was a keen amateur photographer..! But I was always happier in the darkroom doing the developing and printing tbh.
Lovely jubbly , proper train 62’s , and when passengers felt safer .
Back when trains didn't 'whine' when they were moving!
Who feels 'unsafe' on a Tube train? They haven't had guards for 20 years.
William Smith , women who grew up using the tube when they had guards felt safer by often traveling in the rear car with the guard if traveling late at night , nowadays , I think young women traveling on their own late at night by tube are very vulnerable.
@@Richardsrailway Yes, i recall passengers making a point of being in the rear car even if the station they alighted at had the exit at the other end of the platform. Nowadays i suppose sitting in the front car near the cab is the best you can do.
TRIPLEVALVE62 THE DEPOT Definitely felt safer in the guards carriage if you were travelling at night.
Wow guards as late as ‘94.
I think the last Central Line guard was in 1995 and that left the Northern to carry on until 2000!
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus Everything else on the ‘90s underground looks modern compared to those beasties!
@@janegibbon1532 The Met line A Stock was early 60s and was the sub surface lines version of the 59 stock......Have you seen this upload of mine where they run side by side? ua-cam.com/video/zztpn-9a8sM/v-deo.html
At the beginning at Hainault, when he's keying on, I know what the first two are (opening up the little table and activating the panel) but I'm at a loss as to what the last one is. Do you remember what it was for?
That was the emergency brake. Since the 62 stock had a mod removing the emergency brake for passengers use (it is now just an alarm, up to the driver to stop) they still needed to have one for the guard to use but it was locked when the guard's gangway was not in use..... Funnily enough, i went out with him a few days ago for some pie & mash!
Seems like a really lovely bloke.
Interesting that the guard was controling at the middle of the train in London while the rest of the world the guard stays in the rear end cab
They're in the middle cab in NYC too if I'm not mistaken.
@@tanithrosenbaum I know, also some Sydney trains but what I mean is the middle of the train (carriage) not the cab.
@@tonytan8721 Ohhhh I see, my mistake. True, that was pretty unique.
Also Japanese Shinkansen
The London underground also had the guard at the rear. This car we were in was the last car in the train, on some more modern stock like the C, D, 73 & 83 stock the guard was in the rear cab. No LU trains have ever worked with a guard mid way in the formation unlike on the main line railways where on a long unit train the guard was in a middle cab or guards van.
The door was open as the train was moving
Carl Headley Yes, that’s correct. Quite normal. And ?
Only the guards door could be opened seperately, it was on a different circuit to all the other doors when the guard has his key in at that panel.
Alan Gee I didn’t know that I thought it was unsafe that’s why I asked.
@@carlheadley9775 are you too young to know the good old days before overload health and safety?
This guy's a hoot. 🤣
He is still going strong out in Essex, and just as crazy!!!.... lol
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus Love it when he say, oh it’s Barkingside, beg your pardon, and then giggles childishly.
Pilot light! 😂
He must be in his 70’s now.
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus If he was on the Central line in the 60's, I probably knew him, made friends with a lot of them back then.
Didn't they used to have a bar separating them from the rest of the public
Towards the end of this upload he puts it up!
Soi Buakhao used to resemble a horse looking over a fence post !
@@Richardsrailway I used to lean against the galss facing the panel and read my book/paper when it was busy. When emptier of course, bar down and sat on the normal seats! (like 99% of guards did)....
Blake Hall.
???
What. We had train guards on the tubes!?!? They wouldn't have enough room to board the carriage these days 😂
We had a gangway at the front of the rear car all for our own use! Or in the back cab on 73, 83 + D & C stock. Later, OPO converted A & 72MkII stock also had the door controls moved to the cabs so the guards ended up in there (until the line in question converted to OPO of course!)
Yeah they ended around 1990 give or take a few years
@@user-vf9qc6io9i Well, the last crew operated train ran in 2000 but in the 1990s it was only the Central & Northern that had them by them until both lines got new OPO fitted stock.
Sadly no guard today
No, the last Underground trains with a guard on ran in 2000, on the Northern Line. I was on it as well! This particular guard is still going strong, and living in Essex......
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus oh u know him?
@@boeingkp2 Yes, that's why i was able to film him the way i did! I did him a copy (it was on VHS tape back then) and his grandkids loved it!
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus OoO
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus Your name seem odd I never see uk people name like that sorry for asking
Well it seemed like a really efficient system. And it looks like it was faster.
In what way?
@@infrared567 The avarage amount of time the train spends at the station. As there's a guard he/she can check if there are any passengers left behind, whereas the driver must rely on CCTV and cannot see from all the angles, which makes the driver have to spend more time on the platform to ensure the passengers have successfully boarded the train.
@@CityWhisperer well as you can see, the guard opens the doors before the train is birthed on the platform, before it has completely stopped- something modern tube stock (92 onward) won't even let you do - and 92 stock tells the driver when to leave the station anyway. The time saved by opening the doors early (which is in itself a health/safety issue) is exponentially reduced by modern ATO being able to operate trains closer together than the age old signalling system that would have been used during the filming of the video - thus a faster service for the customer all round.
As far as I was aware, the technology on board modern stock mentioned alleviates the second part of your comment, one person Cctv, directly in front of the driver covers every door of every car - so what you've mentioned is basically an un-issue and not worth going into. I have never seen a tube driver on modern stock close the doors from their side door, if they do, or if you've seen it, it's by choice: the technology allows them to do it without even leaving the drivers seat.
@@CityWhisperer in other words Mikel. It's probably not more efficient at all and there is no place for a guard on the Underground in 2019!
jay will There is no place for costumer service on 2019 tube as well...
I would rather prefer this system with guards, ticket offices and personal service over the modern tube with ticket machines, oyster and ATO.
I was born in ‘99, so I haven’t had the pleasure to use the “olden days” tube system, but I really wish I had...
Now I use the 2019 tube system and there are many points, where I assume that the old system was a lot better for costumer satisfaction.
Was better with the guard on the trains.
Sentiment! A redundant role on the London Underground I'm afraid. As will the driver role be in the not so distance future.
@@infrared567 like very soon apparently
jay will I don’t think we will see trains without an operator any time soon. You need a member of staff on hand in case of “control defects” affecting the ability of the train to move... which is a big part of the training given to Drivers /Train Operators. Also needed on the spot in case of the need to evacuate trains - which was almost unheard of whenI was driving on the Northern line. That’s without the public resistance to unmanned trains.
@@warweezil2802 you're right- I think we're a while off automation level 4 (driverless/unattended) - in fact, no time soon. most of our lines are already at level 2 (ato/driver for doors and emergencies) - it's being rolled out on SSR. But importantly DLR was manufactured as a Level 3 in the 80's. So the technology is easily and readily available. The unions are the biggest hurdle.
We're definitely due a DLR style level 3, train captain/psa/door opener on the tube by the next decade out.
jay will The big difference being that deep level tube is a scary place for punters..
Thank god driverless trains are coming. Good old days not. Romantic, nostalgic perhaps.
I wouldn't fancy trains running without any staff on board on the deep level tubes of the London Underground. Perhaps a thousand people on a train and no staff? Doesn't bear thinking about if there was another fire or bomb incident.....
Soi Buakhao I get that on an emotional level, but the safest trains in the world like the DLR in London have never had any incident and there is no driver or guard. There is a member of DLR staff but that is only for assurance due to passenger feedback because there was no one on board when the DLR was first running. Look for the new tube for London video which states there will be no drivers when current trains like the Central Line are replaced.
@@paulcs2607 The DLR Train Captain's can and do indeed drive when required. And thay are still a member of staff on the train. Now imagine a deep tube, in the peak and the train starts to fill with smoke. Bad enough there is only a driver but at least he can get the juice off and give instructions over the PA, even if only to say it's safe to get off the rear and onto the track. I doubt driverless trains will be totally staff free. Lines in the world that are tend to be new build with a totally different tunnel systems unlike the worlds oldest tube system!
That view will work right up until there’s a time that a train breaks down.... modern rolling stock is just as prone to failure as any other computer controlled machine as the default is to stop if something is not as expected by the programming. Can you imagine the outcry the? “ we were abandoned in the tunnels”... “where were the staff”.... and that’s without idiots getting down onto the track where lives 630volts of traction current... just like they have done around
London on the old southern region lines that have a third (traction current) rail. As a wise old road trainer once said to me.. “you’ll drive these day in and day out - no problem most of the time.... but when she sits down in the peak... you’ve got to get it going again and THAT is where you earn your grade.”
Others have given you the polite answer. My answer ... you're talking utter bollocks.
Old train
Well, 32 years old then. But the current Central Line stock is not far short of that age now.....
Bit pointless having a guard when the driver can do it all. Hardly surprising they were removed.
Before train radios and more modern trains it was deemed necessary to have two people crew a train. until air worked door stock in the mid 1920s as well as a driver & guard you had gatemen who opened & closed manual gates at the end of each car. On a 7 car train there could well have been 5 gatemen plus the driver & guard. As technology improves so does automation and jobs disappear.....
Not pointless at all, I think you need to look at the bigger picture 'Nigel K Thomas'!
tl50camiva What bigger picture? The cost of paying more wages than absolutely necessary?
Service first, Profits second is my take on it, but you're free to have your opinion - as I am to have mine.
tl50camiva Absolutely! The service seems to run OK at the moment with just a driver. I’ve no complaints against LU, apart from when I’m overcharged!