Secrets of the District Line

It's Part 3 of 'Secrets of the Underground' and this time Geoff Marshall is starting at Upminster and travelling from east to west on the District Line, and along the way will point out all the things you've most likely missed on your travels.
LIKE THIS? Watch the secrets of other Underground lines on our KZbin channel: / londonistvids

[@lovedathi]

I need a little booklet version of these videos for when I'm on the tube.

[@matthewdunderdale8685]

there is now a book version... if you don't already have it, search for "tube station trivia"

[@bubblyizzy7723]

Matthew Dunderdale ty person :)

[@MattCamelly]

I got it for Christmas 2019

[@MikeWillSee]

Geoff and Vicki have recently written one 😉

[@willingshelf]

@@MattCamelly I got it for summer 2019

[@watson956]

The bit about Sloane Square being under the underground Westbourne River is a great bit of trivia.

[@AlisonBryen]

watson956 I knew about that already because I'm a river nerd...It's an amazing Iittle fact! I love reading about the lost rivers of London!

[@joedrummer363]

I'm from the US, and am currently visiting London for the week. Where I'm from, there is no subway/tube/train and so I was very intrigued by the whole system of how the tube works. This video was especially fun to watch, and I'll have to point these things out to my family in the coming days when we travel on the district line!

[@LordHeath1972]

Totally fascinating. In 2005-6 I photographed every single station on the tube, including Shoreditch when it was still operational. I had over 3000 photos of platforms, facades, trains... everything. Then, one day my son dropped my external hard drive on which they were all stored and I lost the lot! Seeing your video makes me want to re-do the project. I learnt quite a bit from watching this video, and am now off to watch the others you have. Thanks!

[@jaxw2628]

Do you still have it? There is some companies that can restore hard drives.

[@dsrnotverycashmoney1796]

@@jaxw2628 often it is only the reader on the HDD that is broken so often the data can be restored

[@43dl3ntil]

Should've used Dropbox

[@peeper2070]

@@43dl3ntilik this is probably a joke but that stuff wasn’t common knowledge OR didn’t even exist at all back then

[@daroldcarold3443]

Should’ve used specsavers

[@DerekBiryani]

2:25 jesus that timing!

[@MarioJPav]

years of commuting and training

[@KasabianFan44]

Apparently he timed it right on the first take as well!

[@yusufkassim8236]

Charlie Pitcher I

[@buksi6342]

Charlie Pitcher It was not perfect, it was a Circle Line train.

[@thetntminecart1399]

Vilho& Jimi that was a metropolitan line train

[@HFD_637]

I'm watching this in 2022 so the new trains are out... It's kinda nostalgic to watch the old trains in this video :)

[@oneintenman2739]

I had to laugh at the bit about the underground being over the overground etc. It reminds me of my confusion re: why do we drive in parkways while we park in driveways. LOL

[@curiousitykilledthecat9933]

We don’t really say either parkway or driveway in the UK though

[@neobe195]

CuriousityKilledTheCat but we call them a drive.

[@Gambit771]

What is a parkway?

[@joeymandrews]

@@curiousitykilledthecat9933 I still hear driveway being used alot... even though I don't have a driveway. But I still hear it being used. And as for parkway, there are 22 train stations in the UK which have the word "Parkway" in their name. Some of the more known Parkway stations include Luton Airport, Didcot, Bristol, Southampton Airport, East Midlands, Liverpool South, Port Talbot. So, Parkway and Driveway are very much used in the UK... even if we do park on a driveway and drive on a parkway 😂🤣

[@AirportPlaneSpotting]

@@joeymandrews I have a Driveway

[@Arcadia61]

Whenever I'm in London, Earl's Court is my base. From now on, I'll be keeping a lookout for Geoff Marshall. Coming from a place where trains of any sort don't exist, the London Underground is a truly fascinating and integral part of my holiday, as much as all the sites and activities London is famous for.

[@tonys1636]

The Swastika is a design from the ancient Greeks and was commonly used on classical buildings and around the capitals on Corinthian columns. It has vertical and horizontal lines, the Nazis twisted it 45 degrees and used it as their party symbol.

[@ramg658]

really? sir google swastika u will found india

[@mercenarytao-dc]

Sikhism?

[@markshaw270]

Also in China

[@noeldunsky]

As a train aficionado myself, I salut you on your passion for the London Tube! Amazing facts that makes me want to visit London :)

[@MalachiMuhammad-xg4xx]

The line has been stopping at every station between Acton Town, and Hammersmith, which explains why District Line trains as local services on the outer tracks alongside the Piccadilly Line.

[@harrymiles2652]

I don't know if it's still there because I haven't been to Earl's Court for a while, but something I really like about Earl's Court on the District Line is that there were old light boxes on the two sets of platforms, which were still functional last time I went. An arrow would light up on the box next to a terminus or significant station name, pointing to the platform at which the next train would arrive at going to that station. I'm surprised it wasn't shown in the video and I kind of wish it was...

[@branman312]

+Don'tLookOrItTakesYou O.O Yes, those are still there!

[@toastoneggs7356]

Still there now too!

[@caro4281]

Still there!

[@FireHawkGaming]

What many people have forgotten: The District line used to go out all the way to Southend on Sea. The Metropolitan line used to stretch out to Oxfordshire, much of the Chiltern railways lines were Metropolitan lines.

[@kayeecindyleung5606]

Yes

[@thephoenix3155]

FireHawk Gaming In the other direction it used to go all the way to Windsor (now Windsor and Eton Central) now GWR

[@thegourdkingpumpkin6666]

Windsor isn't the far out side of London its just out side the m25 about 7-8 miles from Heathrow about the same distance from harrow to Waterford so "going all the way to Windsor" is a bit of an over statement, although south west London is quite neglected when it comes to the tube.

[@mavizs]

The District never went to Southend but it went to South Acton, Hounslow West and Windsor And the Metropolitan went to Brill and Verne Junction

[@steved8193]

The District Line did go to Southend and Shoeburyness, it was a seasonal non-stop service, not a permanent route.

[@Thisisace]

I've just realised Geoff is wearing a T-shirt in each line's colour. :-)

[@manlykabz9951]

Thisisace 🤦🏾‍♂️

[@JackJackProductions]

Thisisace 🤦‍♂️ 🤦‍♀️

[@carolinabernales7087]

😐

[@blue9multimediagroup]

That's the point He does that in every video

[@Thisisace]

@Jayden Toure Well, I did post this 6 years ago! :-)

[@gabyball6660]

I love these videos! I've only started using the underground recently, but these are so interesting. Especially considering I use most of these lines a few times a week! Brilliant videos, Geoff.

[@cherylhopper6076]

All hail the TARDIS! I loved riding the Tube when I was in London. I miss England.

[@WingsTM]

Classical music to deter loitering.....LOL Gotta love British people

[@innsj6369]

Only a select few of us are like this. Most of us just listen to American pop music. (I'm not of that majority)

[@patrickahearne8770]

They play it at Upminster Bridge station. It's excellent.

[@user-do2rj4sf8j]

What can you expect from newham

[@ovaltineforlife4778]

@@user-do2rj4sf8j Upminster Bridge is in Havering.

[@user-do2rj4sf8j]

OvaltineForLife oh

[@duckwilson3965]

When I was in London earlier this year, they did play classical music through the PA to deter loitering. It was at Ravenscourt Park if I remember correctly. They might've thought I was loitering because I was standing on the Piccadilly line platform, where of course the trains pass without stopping.

[@ZebraMan74]

Good old D Stock ... 1980-2017 ... you were and are still loved by many tube fans

[@RayAllger]

Not strictly speaking the Underground, but the doors on the DLR at Canary Wharf also open on both sides.

[@chaseNicholas-wi1yw]

The other non terminus station where doors open on both sides is the West Ruislip bound trains at Stratford

[@thihal123]

Wow, I'm so jealous of those who live in London. What a marvelous city full of places to explore and look at. Wish I could be living in London!

[@omeireles1706]

In terms of the UK London is a great place, i love living and working here but don't be jealous lol, every place in the world has its unique beauties and characteristics, and its downsides too, appreciate wherever you live 👍🏾

[@SMARTBoardSBMInchInteractiveWh]

Omor A for me it’s hard to appreciate my city because it snows half the year haha

[@D93-w5q]

The Metropolitan Line is the only Underground Line not to connect with the District Line. That's why he said its the closet the Metropolitan Line comes to the District Line

[@KasabianFan44]

Even better: with the exclusion of the Waterloo & City line, the Metropolitan and District lines are the only pair of lines that don't connect with each other - all other lines connect with the other 9 lines somewhere...

[@ianmoseley9910]

KasabianFan44 Since the split of the Met from H&C

[@theotrain745official]

It does it goes pass Aldgate and Aldgate is the starter point off metropolitan line

[@ovaltineforlife4778]

@@theotrain745official No it doesn't. What do you think 'connect' means?

[@theotrain745official]

OvaltineForLife 2:15

[@Arapoksi]

At Barking, I remember when overground trains used to terminate there but they went on a bit further now to Barking Riverside..

[@leopold7562]

3:17 I have seen that view of Sloane Square before. I went looking at a flat share near there back in the early nineties and I walked along Bourne Street. It was pretty cool to see just how narrow the station actually seems from up there.

[@davideweir2473]

Anyway, great stuff! Glad to have found this.

[@annaivanova-galitsina5409]

Lovely to watch the video while in isolation. Thank you, Geoff

[@QwertyScream]

1:10 The one on the Central line is Stratford.

[@oldBRfan]

Brilliant Geoff, you continue to amaze me with your presentation and knowledge.

[@malachimuhammad-dy2ow]

This is my favorite subsurface line of the London Underground.

[@Cigwatch]

It is always worth checking out the displays which can be seen across the line from the Eastbourne platform of Gloucester Road. The recent display was specially commissioned and featured huge 3D eggs and fried eggs. The current display features photos and historical information.

[@amethyst7084]

2:24 - For a short time (maybe in the 90s) I remember that Metropolitan Line trains ran from Barking to Amersham / Chesham / Watford.

[@1258-Eckhart]

Very good that this was made whilst the line was still operating D78 stock, the best trains ever. Also they were changed prematurely - in Munich we still have our stock from 1972.

[@Ishak_2013]

1:07 when I was at Stratford, the central line there are two sides of the door opening and closing

[@sqrt9]

Great series, I really enjoyed watching it. Great timing in 02:30. I wonder how many takes were for this one to capture the right moment

[@Londonistvids]

+sqrt9 We can confirm that Geoff did it just the once! He knows the timing at which point it passes by ...

[@saturnDean]

The classical music wouldn't bother me. That would encourage me to stay. :-)

[@1monthgamer308]

Oh yee boi

[@andymadden8183]

People who say things like "Oh yee boi" (sic) do not seem to me like the kind of people who appreciate classical music.

[@ovaltineforlife4778]

@@andymadden8183 reddit.com/r/gatekeeping

[@Dekeullan]

@@andymadden8183 welcome back to another episode of « classical is just a genre of music so just let people enjoy what they want to and stop gatekeeping »

[@bstrutt]

excellent video. I enjoyed that as a born Londoner now living in Midlands

[@ivehadamnesiafor12years]

This guy.... He wastes his time the best way possible. I really love this channel and the Tube.

[@ianmoseley9910]

London, Tilbury and Southend Railway symbol (LTSR) can still be seen in the ironwork of stations towards Barking.

[@dozenazer1811]

1:06 the woman also changed platforms via the train, a very neat thing

[@MrGoblin60]

Geoff, these "Secrets" presentations are really good. Fascinating stuff. Ten out of ten mate.

[@cpufreak101]

I live in the US why am I watching so many of these?

[@qdog568]

I'm from the US too. I have a fascinating with the London Underground. Interesting stuff.

[@user-sz6wq4xi5f]

Justin Noker I live in Scotland in Glasgow (ps in Gaelic Glasgow is pronounced glas hu )

[@airplaneplustrainguy8143]

Me too I am from Manila I Love this channel

[@charlezplayz5325]

airplane guy Filpino ako din, but I live in London.

[@Outfrost]

I live in Poland. I've recently watched lots of these kind of videos, they're incredibly fascinating :) Not many things come close to the thrill of finding and marvelling at the remnants of the past and other various obscure or not immediately obvious things, hidden in the middle of a jungle of the obvious and mundane or the quiet and forgotten :)

[@marsgal42]

To me "Upminster" sounds like something a drill sergeant would shout "UP! MIN! STAH!"

[@DianeOfori]

Fun facts! Thank you

[@allan5919]

Some amazing facts and sights from the District Line. A very enjoyable video.

[@MrDebSoc]

Also at Stepney Green station, if you're going Eastbound, you can see one of the old signs (the ones that don't show estimated time arrival) that is still in use to this very day.

[@NobinAhmed]

My local stations r Stepney Green and Bethnal Green.

[@frostycreeper1055]

+Nobin Ahmed Is your favourite colour Green also?

[@pia91]

that was my main line for five glorious weeks! *sobs with nostalgia*

[@WilliamHBaird-eq2hp]

The District Line is tops for cool trackwork layout IMHO. Got a cab ride through there many moons ago!

[@ReneRecordsOfficial]

I live in the UK so secrets of some lines come on my recommended.

[@WORLD8NSH5KNIGHT1]

These little videos are very interesting. Im not a Londoner- im from Sunderland, but next time im in the capital i'll be sure to check out some of this. Cheers!

[@TheAngryPheonix]

I just realised I'm staying right next to the fake house on Leinster gardens!

[@AwesomeX04ThePro]

now I know where you live

[@rueldeguzman4594]

TheAngryPhioneEggs

[@alexapeagyei7865]

TheAngryPhioneEggs

[@bobblue_west]

Great address as a convenience mail drop. Put a box a the door, "Postman: Leave letters here."

[@ejoy81300]

Feeding rabbit

[@chrishall62]

These videos are fascinating - need to be longer than 5 minutes!

[@judem8192]

The fake house was also used on the BBC series of Sherlock, I immediately remembered it. Very cool

[@distanttouch]

When The Overground was the Silverlink they also used to run from what is now a DLR platform at Stratford underneath the Central line.

[@Zedguy-e]

All of u new people who watch this vid like 2 weeks ago this vid is from 2014 that is why it is D78

[@jamespotter3334]

I see a good one today that isn't on you list at Putney Bridge station on the westbound platform there's an old ww2 pill box

[@eastlancsesteem]

I would extend it to Greenford (via West Ealing, Drayton Green, Castle Bar Park, South Greenford and Greenford). The national rail services will be scrapped.

[@AndrzejLondyn]

Thank you for information about access from platform at Sloane Square, for me is very important. I like your films, very interesting and lively.

[@Spooms1961]

Lovely tour of the minute of the tube for me, in Melbourne, Australia!

[@Baylescreen]

Brilliant! Thank you, Geoff.

[@WagDemTails]

1:06 Due to the new extension to Barking on the London Overground, unfortunately the trains do not open doors on both sides anymore as the old Overground platform had permanently closed and now overground trains share tracks with national rail.

[@OFFICIALDJFLASHBACK]

I'm not from or live in London, but always travelled on the District Line when I visited. Never made it to Upminster tho. Hoping to be back in London soon. I would catch the District trains from Aldgate East if was up for a walk or from Tower Hill via the DLR.

[@mrslinkydragon9910]

Kew gardens is the only station with a pub connected to it. It use to be the water stop for the steam trains

[@TheGeoJG]

Nice video. Visited The Tardis at Earl's Court in 2013.

[@PatricioGarcia1973]

I hope all these videos help me when i travel to the uk next year. Big difference from NYC subways to the London ones, stations look more upkept.

[@monoonyx]

It's nice to see the old Dstocks again

[@julianaylor4351]

I once used a very smelly ladies loo at Upminster on the way to somewhere else. When they play classical music that from a ballet I think a flash mob of ballet dancers should turn up. St James's Park is very windy in windy weather. That fake house was used in a Sherlock episode. I once watched a bee get on the train at Earl's Court after pollinating hanging baskets and it danced around the ceiling lights then got of at West Kensington to get more nectar from the flower beds there.

[@froggymanmc2362]

I loved this channel!!😀 And it really helps when I get stuck ecpeciaily when I get stuck at Kings Cross!

[@betty12227]

Each time I see it, I love it!!!!

[@AyeshaRahman29]

I LOVE the DL (District Line). It takes me home and it’s cool

[@stuart2010ification]

Underground is a 1928 British sound drama film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Brian Aherne, Elissa Landi, Cyril McLaglen, and Norah Baring. While the film has no audible dialogue, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects, using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process. The film examines the lives of ordinary Londoners and the romance between them, set on and around the London Underground. The film starts and ends with an Underground train coming into a station. It shows humorous scenes of people coping with the crowds on the underground train. It also has interesting shoots of London, from a bus, of the Thames from the top of a power station which appears to be Lots Road Power Station, a pub, and a shop. The film has strong roles for the two leading women, while the men are more clichéd, one a villain and the other a blue-eyed, blond angel.

[@jamesc9954]

These videos are awesome. Hope you're going to do other lines soon.

[@oludotunjohnshowemimo434]

The S7 stock has since replaced the D78 tube stock.

[@adamwalkervfx]

4:48 The top transport of choice.

[@Sean-D78]

Tardis

[@adamwalkervfx]

Sean Lecca Yep :D

[@aaronthefunnyboi5656]

He takes the tardis home.

[@gemaholic]

I’ve visited 24 Leinster Gardens, it’s very strange.A local or tourist just wouldn’t notice that it is in fact fake! Great video, I’ve watched it about ten times.

[@brucegoatly]

On the topic of apostrophes (on the Northern Line rather than the District), at Colliers Wood platform level there are Colliers Wood signs but others that read Collier's Wood.

[@steamfan1991]

1:10, The other station where the doors open on both sides is Stratford on the central line

[@trudo1651]

Very interesting. Good video, thanks.

[@hiray89]

There are two other places where the overground passes under the underground, both on the Metropolitan and Watford DC lines. One just north of South Kenton and the other between Baker Street and Finchley Road.

[@creepergreen1162]

This remind my every day after school me and my school friends go back home from the train talking about homies for life

[@baedenwilliams8291]

It is nice to note that this video was made when the D78 stock trains were still in service. Ah, well, the S7 stock is better… 😉

[@briejubridgianah6308]

For the Barking secret, it's on the central line at Stratford Station.

[@antelopefx41]

I have been past there when I went from Wimbledon to Southend!

[@michaelhaywood8262]

I seem to remember a windmill at Upminster, or was it Upminster Bridge. Can anyone confirm this? I'm remembering from when I was a child in the 60s, so memory could be confused.

[@iLiKeTrAiNs5695]

Swastikas used to be a good luck symbol

[@hairyairey]

Yes the floor of Amiens Cathedral has even more. Nowadays people associate it with Germany's "National Socialist" Party.

[@paris293]

Isn’t a swastika titled? The one here looks like the Buddhist sign for peace

[@MrBannystar]

@@paris293 Yeah you're right. I saw a lot of them on temples when I lived in South Korea.

[@ZRHTrainspotter]

The D-Stock trains are awesome!

[@vonHintenHorst]

Brilliant video(s) !! Can't wait to come to London at the end of the month and check out some of these interesting facts and secrets with my own eyes. :)

[@Westlondontransportguy7045]

The doors opening on both sides Is used at Stratford westbound Morden and Canary wharf dlr

[@annettebrighton405]

Great show geoff.

[@Toffeeabi81]

Westbourne river is also part of the the London sewer network. London's lost river series on KZbin will tell you more

[@MattCamelly]

I love the district line now it has S7 stock. I love these videos too!

[@matthewleon7300]

At whitechapel the overground platform is the old East London Line platform

[@trainfanatic4083]

I love the D Stock traction motor sounds.

[@michaeljames8531]

The Bourne river pipe running above Sloane Square station has a purpose... it feeds the Serpentine lake in Hyde Park!

[@Mr-dm5et]

Exact same at Canning Town (Jubilee on top, DLR bottom)

[@crashfan9997]

Love the Doctor Who reference! I think around that time they were probably filming series 8 in London.

[@HammaneggsAirborne]

Few things are more annoying when you want to go up the circle line past Aldgate from Tower Hill, but accidentally got on the District line instead, so you watch the turn you were going to take go right past. I was over there this summer, and I missed the announcement that the circle line had a signal failure in the area, so I had to double back.

[@CharlieND]

4:47 Dr. Who reference

[@zaydal-hakim4901]

stratford on the cental line also has doors that open on both sides

[@themonohub5455]

Was Slone Square the only Underground only station to have a pub at platform level. Maybe even the only London pub below river level too. That could be quite a claim to fame. I used to see a woman in Chelsea in the early '80s and never realised that green bridge thing was a river. You live and learn. Thank you!

[@Londonistvids]

TheMonohub No, Liverpool Street (subsurface lines) used to have one as well!