Tag: the Tube

Secrets of the Hammersmith and City Line by Geoff Marshall

In this video Geoff Marshall has a look at the secrets of the Hammersmith and City line. Some of the highlights include:

  • The subway that linked the two Hammersmith stations.
  • Where to find the third Hammersmith station.
  • Where to find the newest station on the whole network.
  • The secret exit used only one weekend a year.
  • The only station where you exit to a canal.
  • Where to find the original Baker Street station entrance.

For a complete list of trivia and facts for each station read: Hammersmith & City Line Underground Stations – Facts, Trivia And Impressions

For more of Geoff’s videos see:

Secrets of the Piccadilly Line By Geoff Marshall

In the video above, Geoff Marshall shares some of the secrets of the Piccadilly line. These include:

  • The architect who designed 26 of the 53 stations, including many of its most famous ones.
  • The station that depicts rural scenes through ironwork.
  • The secret design trick that allows the illiterate to identify stations.
  • Where you can find the remains of a spiral escalator.
  • Which station has secret platforms that are no longer used.
  • And most importantly, Geoff’s favourite station!

And if you enjoyed that, then you can watch the other videos in the series:

The Secrets Of The Jubilee Line By Geoff Marshall

While the Jubilee line may be the youngest, even it has its fair share of secrets. Geoff Marshall shares just a few of the line’s secrets such as the Tube’s most pointless waiting room, where to find a Beatles themed coffee shop, the secret platforms at Charing Cross, the hidden entrance to the Houses of Parliament, and the cinema inside a tube station.

And if you enjoyed that one there’s even more videos:

For more Tube trivia be sure to visit his website.

A Simplified Map of London’s Ghost Stations

Click for full size
Click for full size

Above you can find yet another map of London’s abandoned and disused ghost stations. However, what sets this one apart is how simple it is to read.

Created by current Tube Challenge record holder Geoff Marshall and author of Do Not Alight Here Ben Pedroche it’s a really easy way to see what bits of the network are no longer in use.

For more on maps of disused stations be sure to check out:

Disused Tube Stations Mapped – London Underground’s Ghost Stations

London Underground Tube Map Showing All Ghost Stations & Unbuilt Lines

James Borrell: Walking the Victoria Line Video

Well it seems walking tube lines is becoming ever more popular. The video above shows James Borrell and his girlfriend Jess walking the Victoria Line from Brixton to Walthamstow Central. Really brought back a lot of memories for me.

Continue reading James Borrell: Walking the Victoria Line Video

Watch A ‘Day in the Life’ of London Underground in it’s 150th year

The TFL video above looks at the Tube over the past 12 months during its 150th anniversary. It quickly whizzes you around the network in (bizarrely) one minute and 52 seconds. It includes several great timelapse shots as well snapshots of normal Londoners using the network.

Give it a watch to quickly relive the past year on the Tube.

Full video title: Snapshot 1:50 – a ‘Day in the Life’ of London Underground in it’s 150th year

Want To Be A Tube Sherlock? Then Read These Books About London Underground’s Abandoned and Disused Ghost Stations

With Tube 150 over, I figured interest in the London Underground would die down a little this year. I appear to be wrong. This is a result of the first episode of Sherlock series 3 heavily featuring the network as a central part of its plot.

Without spoiling it for the 7 people who haven’t seen it yet, one of locations featured is a fictional ghost station. While the station mentioned in the episode never actually existed, there are dozens of real ghost stations, some of which you can visit to this day.

Here some maps with their former locations: Google Map and Beck Style Map.

However, if you’d like to learn a little more about these stations, including their individual histories and why they became abandoned or disused in the first place I highly recommend the following books:

1. Do Not Alight Here: Walking London’s Lost Underground and Railway Stations

Ben Pedroche’s book is my favourite on the subject of ghost stations. Not only because he talks about the stations themselves, but because he provides walking routes for where to find them. Something I have some experience with.

Not convinced? I think this Amazon review sums it up nicely: “Got this book as a present for someone else but ended up keeping it for myself! Has lots of stuff about London I never knew, including places I’ve walked by every day for years and not noticed. I’ve done two of the walks and they were well informed with good directions. The best bit for me is the tube journeys section.”

Click Here To Buy: Do Not Alight Here

2. London’s Disused Underground Stations

Looking for something a bit more factual? Well then London’s Disused Underground Stations is the book for you. It has tons of great photos of many of the most best known ghost stations. In my opinion it’s the most comprehensive book on the subject.

Sample review: “This book is an excellent source of information about the 40 or so disused stations on London’s Underground, including both a wealth of facts and also pictures of the stations both past and present. Thoroughly researched, this book provides a window into parts of the London Underground that have long since been forgotten.”

Click Here To Buy: London’s Disused Underground Stations

3. Underground: How the Tube Shaped London

Underground: How the Tube Shaped London is not just about ghost stations but about the whole tube system from its earliest days until the present. I’ve included it here as it is in my opinion the best book summarizing the entire history of London Underground.

However be warned: “The book was excellent about the history of the Underground time-wise, politically, architecturally, and community-wise but was very poor on the mechanical side of the rolling stock, its developmental details etc. Difficult to understand how someone could write so much about a rail way and be so skimpy about what rolls on the rails!!”

Click Here To Buy: Underground: How the Tube Shaped London

4. Haunted London Underground

Now this is the first of the books on the list I haven’t personally read. However, if you’re after the spookier side of the tube this is probably the book for you.

Sample review: “I have to admit I purchased this book not expecting much as I have been a bit disappointed with previous books on hauntings that I have picked up. I found this book to be exactly what I was after; A solid coverage of hauntings on the London Underground without going overboard with unnecessary details.”

Click Here To Buy: Haunted London Underground

5. Secret Underground London

Another one I haven’t personally read but given that it gets 4.5 out of 5 stars it might be worth a look if you’ve read the other books above.

Review: “Excellent book with some excellent pictures and as a Londoner and a transport and London enthusiast it was great to find out some little details about which I’ve never been able to find out elsewhere. The only (slight!) drawback is the size and weight of the book!”

Click Here To Buy: Secret Underground London

6. Amazing and Extraordinary London Underground Facts

Finally if you just want some quick facts about the tube this may be the book for you. Again I have not personally read this one (even I have my limit) but the reviews look good.

Sample Review: “It works as a basic facts book for people wanting to get a sense of the history of the system, but no more than that. Its small size makes it handy for reading on trains, even those underground trains that were the book’s inspiration, though of course you would have difficulty reading it during the rush hour with everybody fighting for space.”

Click Here To Buy: Amazing and Extraordinary London Underground Facts

Now I’m sure I’ve left off many wonderful books dealing with the lost, missing and abandoned side of the Tube. So let me know what I’ve missed in the comment section below:

Done! I’m Now The First Canadian To Have Walked The Entire London Underground

Done

At 2:19 pm today (August 24th, 2013) I completed my final walk of the London Underground, walking from North Acton to Bank with my wife and my father. As far as I know I am now the first Canadian to have walked the entire Tube above ground and will claim that title unless someone can prove otherwise.

I’ve also manged to raise £1,145.07 for Bowel Cancer UK, which while a great start is still far below my initial goal of £16,013. As I continue to post more detailed updates of my walks I’ll continue to ask for donations to support this very worthy cause.

This completes a journey that started just over a year ago (August 19th, 2012) with a short half hour long walk along the Waterloo & City Line.

Since then I’ve walked beyond the borders of London and the M25 to the mythical Zone 9. I’ve walked east, west, north but only rarely south. I’ve walked through some rain, but have on the whole had incredible luck with the weather. I’ve mostly walked it alone, but finished on a high-note completing the last two legs with my father and the last with my wife as well.

It’s been a journey that’s taken up a huge portion of my life to the extent that it still feels a little surreal that it’s all over. During the same time period I also manged to visit all 270 tube stations separately, just because the Tube is really cool and it would have been a shame not to visit the stations I was walking past.

Over the next 6 months I’ll post detailed accounts of all my walks (and station visits), but in the meantime I thought I’d post just a few quick stats about what I’ve done.

Total distance walked: 394.3 miles (634.56 km) – almost the distance from London to Edinburgh
Time spent walking: 151 hours 16 minutes – almost 1 full week
Number of lines walked: 12 (11 current lines + former East London Line)

Total number of walks: 23
Shortest walk: Waterloo & City line: Waterloo to Bank – 1.6 miles (2.6 km)
Longest walk: Central line walk #3: Epping to Leytonstone to Woodford via Hainault – 27.97 miles (45.01 km)

Average walking speed: 2.61 miles/hr
Average walk length: 17.14 miles (27.58 km)
Average walk time: 6 hours 34 minutes

Unique stations visited: 270
Total stations visited: 381 (multiple vists to stations where more than 1 line goes through them)

Favourite walk (besides last ones): Metropolitan Line day 3 (Watford to Moor Park to Amersham and Chesham) – great weather & scenery.
Least favourite walk: Jubilee line day 2 (Waterloo to Stanmore) – constant rain for several hours while walking through suburban London.

Thanks to everyone who has supported me during this journey. I hope you stick around to read the full account. If you’d like to know any other stats just ask in the comments section below: