Island Gardens DLR Station 1991 2015 Contrasts

Island Gardens station and Millwall Viaduct on London's Docklands Light Railway (DLR) as seen in 1991 and 2015, plus a few few other times as well.
The 1991 footage was filmed on the Bank Holiday Monday at the end of May 1991.

[@Buckstom]

I can remember travelling here in 1990 when we wondered why on earth the railway had been built to service the wasteland !

[@eattherich9215]

I never rode the DLR until it crossed the river. I really would have been in the middle of nowhere and still needing to get to the south side.

[@ianmcclavin]

It's a pity that although the station itself had to be relocated underground to facillitate the extension to Lewisham, that the retail outlets, café and newsagents were not retained under the arches when the platforms were removed from on top. There was even a "DLR Shop" in there. Amongst other things, there were stickers in the original P.86 trains (and I think in the P.89's as well) reading "High Performance Vehicle, please hold on tight!". Spares of these were available from the shop to stick on your cars!! They'd established a pleasant ambiance in the circulating area beneath the station, unfortunately it was all swept away with the platforms.

[@jonnylons1]

So nice seeing people looking out of the windows rather than staring at their phones like drones.

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

Some people do still look out the windows! But yes, others stare are the phones - except perhaps when below ground, where there is no reception - but that is also when there is nothing to see (beyond tunnel walls) when looking out the window!

[@tobeytransport2802]

Although the new island gardens is very impressive and very shiny new the old one kinda seems more village like, it has the perfect combination of big city and small town, being a fairly small station but at the same time having a lift and bright colours, it was almost perfect for southern area of the isle of dogs, the new station feels much more like it belongs further north in the city or canary wharf

[@eattherich9215]

@4:10, those were the days when the One Canada Square building dominated the skyline. Now it's barely visible amongst the forest of other skyscrapers.

[@icefahrer]

Wow! Super Video👍👍 The P86 are cool. In 1995 I had my first ride in Essen and i like these units. The Sound and the original blue/red livery! Unfortunately, they have all been rebuilt and repainted(Also the doors of the P86 are now single slide doors). But, there are still in service🤩

[@freddiefoottunnel6936]

Well done for that, you've captured a piece of history.

[@NEWCASTLE.UNITED.]

Is strange seeing just one lonely skyscraper at canary wharf, what a difference now.

[@Chloe12347-c]

Exactly, now it's overrated because it's the first skyscraper

[@jamestoyn9755]

i remember the old Island Gardens DLR Station

[@LFaureVideos]

Love your videos. Takes me back and very inspirational

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

+LFaure Videos Thanks :-)

[@mrkipling2201]

You can see one Canada square in the background and that’s it!! No other tall buildings around it thankfully!! I remember travelling on the DLR in 1991 and couldn’t believe how futuristic it looked!!

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

I had been on fully driverless / unstaffed metro trains in Lille France (early 1980s) and Vancouver Canada (1986). So for me the DLR being fully automated was not anything special. But I do prefer a real human to close the doors and verify that it is safe for the train to depart from the station.

[@mrkipling2201]

​@@CitytransportInfoplusI must admit that I do as well. I love nostalgia. Parts of life were much better back then, just as parts of life and the world are better now. I'd love to go back for one day though!! 😂😂

[@waiyinka]

Note that the new station is underground.

[@ecxpac]

Been waiting years for some footage of Island Gardens; patience has certainly paid off! What a shame it only saw operation for 12 years. I can wholeheartedly say this is the best DLR vid I've watched, as it has so much of what was iconic in my childhood. Fantastic closeup views of the old P86 bat-wing doors, too (I'd forgotten how loudly they slammed shut!) I very much enjoyed the internal views as well, looking down from aisle to aisle, rather than just an onboard ride from the front window. The kid at 00:17 sounded just like me whenever I got to ride on these. ;-D

[@KayJayOffical]

The station still operates, it's just no longer a terminus since 1999 when the Lewisham extension was build

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

***** Thanks :-) This link leads to video of a two-car DLR train in Essen, Germany. I think it has one each P86 and P89. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bnvalnuBh7abp6s

[@KayJayOffical]

citytransportinfo yh but the original doors were removed:(

[@tobeytransport2802]

ThrashPlus yes but it is underground in a tunnel now and just isn’t as nice as the original with its angles and big dome

[@danielferris7960]

Shame, I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the original 'hi-tech' destination display on the early stock - basically a revolving block with a name on each side! It seemed an oddly shoddy compromise on what was otherwise such a cutting-edge railway. I suppose they were long gone by 1991, though.

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

yes, I remember that but alas I did not film it

[@jamesharvey8654]

I remember the excitement of the trains being driverless and being able to see at the front. I also remember hearing the trains whistling which could be heard if you were anywhere near a station

[@albe69696]

Wow you got yourself a piece of history

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

I lived the history - and through these films by me and other people like me a slice of history lives on!

[@SiVlog1989]

I wonder if the second platform at the original Island Gardens station was ever used. Every picture, still or moving, I've ever seen of the original showed the trains using just one of the platforms

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

same here - I looked through my films to see if I could show both platforms in use, unfortunately withough sucess.

[@SiVlog1989]

@@CitytransportInfoplus to its credit it was advanced for its time, being step free access. I believe this was before the passing of the Disability Discrimination Act?

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

I am not sure on the timescale with relation to the DDA but as far as I can recall all British tram and light rail systems since the 1980's included full accessibility in their remit.

[@MrSofakinggreat]

Very soon after opening, i think it was decided to use 2 car trains. Platform 1 was only long enough for a one car train, so saw very little use.

[@someamazingpenguin8531]

2:33 Nice jacket xd

[@Chocksy808]

😂I watched the video and was thinking what are these people wearing ha👍

[@VascoRoblox-yp5rw]

RIP Old island gardens 1987-1999

[@BroadCastPlanet]

The B90 stock is still used today, impressive!

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

Yes but not for much longer - new (replacement) trains are being built and I think the first of them will arrive in London in 2023.

[@jayunited3025]

Life was so much simpler back then 😌

[@5toCanningTown]

I wouldn't mind of the DLR IS 2022 though but it's awesome! Thanks for sharing!

[@mitchellgiffard1978]

I remember coming to island gardens then around 1998 were it terminated then way after in 2011 the Lewisham extension was complete

[@VascoRoblox-yp5rw]

I love this motor of the B07 Stock

[@danwillis7339]

What no kids holding a phone in them days

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

I suspect that only the yuppies could afford mobile phones in those days.

[@leonardssenkindu5802]

Dan Willis lol

[@StuAnderson90]

No white kids talking like their black.... 😂😂

[@jamesharvey8654]

I know it's weird looking back. I remember when people would chat to each other on public transport

[@ctra1ns]

Love the slam of the doors at 0:57. A bit pacer like. 3:09 Even better.

[@asldkjaslkdj]

SHELL SUITS!!!

[@profil7]

Does the DLR always have a guard on board? Like for tecnical failures or when the train needs to emergency brake, like if someone has fallen down on the tracks

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

Yes, there is always a member of staff on the train .. they have to be there because they close the doors and initiate station departure. The trains cannot do this themselves.

[@profil7]

@@CitytransportInfoplus oh, ok!

[@redphone1438]

Does the B89 stock have Pre Recorded station announcements?

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

sorry, I do not remember. Certainly however the member of staff on the train could make announcements.

[@BroadCastPlanet]

I think this all became that underground train station

[@lfewell2161]

P86-p89 now running in Germany, until recently some were still in DLR colour's, they looked the same apart from a pantograph on the roof. Also did not a train attempt to go in the direction of Lewisham from the old island gardens station ! I believe it was being driven manually at the time.

[@FnafFanProductions]

Why didnt you filmed shots of the Mudchute DLR station

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

work got in the way, limited time, and my not realising the date of the new station until too late - its a shame and I later regretted it; this is not the only thing I missed filming which I now regret having missed

[@FnafFanProductions]

Oh Dang 😕

[@poznanskiszybkowiec_official]

6:02 Why Not Converting the Viaduct for Other DLR Lines? It's Just Sad How DLR Deals With Original Routes and stations

[@tobeytransport2802]

Konstal105NRocks because the viaduct is on an island near to the edge of the island and so it can’t really go anywhere

[@harryturner8701]

It’s funny to see Canada tower is the only skyscraper in the background

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

Even that did not exist when the DLR first opened!

[@ajs41]

It was the only tall building there for about 10 years.

[@harryturner8701]

@@ajs41 yeah well I was born in 1998 so…

[@matthewburke5241]

Just while watching this, it has reminded me to ask a question! Has anyone seen (ever) platform three at Mudchute used for passenger service and not just for broken down trains? Otherwise is it not pointless in keeping it? I know that it was a part of the original Mudchute DLR station, that closed when the Lewisham Extension was built!

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

I've never seen it used but that is because I am rarely in that area.

[@73APhotography]

citytransportinfo I saw it used 2 months ago

[@CBeaumontHIGTFY]

It's useful as a turn back siding or where trains can terminate if the tunnels are shut for engineering works. To keep up the frequency, Crossharbour's reversing siding is also used alternately sometimes I think.

[@bfapple]

It's not exactly going to cost a lot of money to maintain P3 if barely any trains use it ;)

[@unknownywuux_bus]

Nice one nogolstia

[@theelectricfanboy1368]

that little girl possibly be in her 20s right now

[@airplaneplustrainguy8143]

This is just as same as Manila MRT 3 except Manila is manual not automated train And a question: Are you a fan of Geoff Marshall new World Cup Of Tube Lines in Twitter

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

I did comment on Geoff's Twitter World Cup of Tube Lines but did not follow it too closely as there were too many tweets and I could not keep up with them all. I voted for the Wirral Line in Liverpool / Merseyside. Yes, tube trains, and at one time steam trains running through tube tunnels! (below the River Mersea)

[@Grenade45]

Why was the Tower ‘doomed’? Someone educate me pleaseeee

[@brendansheehy802]

Its a domed tower, it had a dome on top of it.

[@Grenade45]

@@brendansheehy802 I read as Doomed, hahahaha

[@wclifton968gameplaystutorials]

when was the service taken over by TFL?

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

wclifton968 - gameplays & tutorials I am not sure, possibly early 1990s? Or when the LDDC (London Docklands Development Corporation) was dissolved?

[@wclifton968gameplaystutorials]

Thanks

[@tobeytransport2802]

citytransportinfo TfL wasn’t a thing until 2000. I think it might have taken over the DLR in 2006-2008 maybe? Not too sure but I do know that the tube came under TfL in 2003

[@tobeytransport2802]

wclifton968 I think around about 2006

[@gsw8734]

Serco operated the DLR since 1997 and the contract ended in 2014.

[@HMPeterHearty7818]

Lol they were like pacers in the olden days

[@TheEastEndBusRider]

Milwall viaduct has been abandoned 2 times😂

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

yes!

[@thischannelisdisused5841]

My mum remberes the p86 and 89 stock from the 1990s I wasn't born in the 90s

[@thischannelisdisused5841]

***** I was born in the early 2000s I didnt even knew what dlr standed for untill 2009

[@thischannelisdisused5841]

***** ok

[@thischannelisdisused5841]

***** I can spell when I write but I cant when I type

[@thischannelisdisused5841]

***** yeah well anyway goodnight

[@thischannelisdisused5841]

***** im leaving London at 6 am

[@Lewwytravels]

So the original stock has bus like doors... eww. They looked dangerous as well.

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

when trains were crowded they were an absolute nuisance.

[@malachymolloy6038]

And on the poster, it says 'Docklands, the safer railway's

[@thesalandarian3314]

Malachy Molloy lol

[@reporterecho6000]

The Old Trains Looks Ugly

[@thesalandarian3314]

They do don’t they lol

[@reporterecho6000]

@@thesalandarian3314 actually, they aren't that ugly. they still remind me of pacers, tho

[@BroadCastPlanet]

The doors are disgusting, they look like the buses doors

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

lessons learnt, lessons forgotten, lesson re-learnt Inward opening doors were fitted to tube trains in the 1920s and it was found to be a nuisance because passengers standing inside the train would often be in the way of the opening door. But then .... the first DLR trains had them, and so did the rear platform on the first batch of Boris / New Routemaster buses. And, in both cases further supplies of these trains / buses had sliding doors!

[@hocusmcpocus8876]

@2:30 ‘I need another 15p!’ 🤣 when there were only white people and not as many foreigners like me! Bliss