Smoke Gets In Your Beard (Tales from the Tube Episode 6)

[@geoffreyhobbs1548]

When I was very much younger than I am now my grandfather told me tales about catching Met line trains at Baker St with the smoke so thick that it was not possible to see the opposite platform!

[@rofromoz1361]

I remember almost suffocating on my first plane trip in 1970..

[@TranceCyberian]

"Pretty frontages with nothing behind it!" -and the models' photo XD

[@mrfrog8502]

Love island tv show contestants 😂

[@bostonrailfan2427]

and one of the best lines to setup that segment too: “the first instance of minding the gap”

[@johnledingham852]

I remember getting soot in my eyes that really hurt. (65 years ago) But I loved the smell of burning fossil fuel. On long trips, as the train entered a tunnel. adults would spring up and close the windows. I thought they were spoil sports. I loved a trip from Brisbane north to Rockhampton, riding on really old carriages that had verandahs externally at each end. Being kids we sat on the floor out there, enjoying every tunnel. No vitiation, thankfully.

[@admiralversio]

I now have an overwhelming desire to boil an empty kettle

[@leeroberts7049]

I am finding your videos fasinating stuff! Makes me want to visit London again just to explore the tube network and its history.

[@rayfisher3921]

For the ultimate in vitiated air the Mersey Railway took the prize. Powerful 0-6-4 tanks like the one briefly shown in the video choked the passengers climbing the 1 in 27 gradient up to the terminus in Liverpool. The line almost closed as no-one travelled twice, but instead it became the first to convert from steam to electric, in 1903 - just ahead of the Metropolitan conversion. A subject for a video?

[@MarkMcCluney]

'Vitiated' just means spoiled or ruined. I'm amazed to learn that steam was ever used in the underground railways, I'd assumed they'd been electric from the start. Thank you for your videos; I'm enjoying them immensely.

[@Desmaad]

Well, when Glasgow opened it's Subway, the trains were hauled by cable driven by static engines, a bit like San Francisco's cable cars.

[@GWJUK]

Probably because they wanted a through system connected with the network

[@russellgxy2905]

As was the case with many early railways, just wanting to do things that just weren't possible at the time.

[@rayfisher3921]

@@GWJUK The Glasgow underground doesn't connect with anything. It's a complete circle with 4ft gauge.

[@rayfisher3921]

Deep level tubes were electric from the start, apart from Glasgow, which was originally cable-hauled.

[@ukuleletyke]

The really silly thing about Fowler’s firebrick locomotive was that water actually has greater heat retention properties than the bricks would have done. I believe the problem of not being able to dispose of the hot bricks arose due to water feed problems, rather than the whole sorry ensemble working too well, as it most certainly didn’t. The most information I’ve ever found regarding the ‘ghost’ and it’s vital statistics was in Alfred Rosling Bennett’s ‘Chronicles of Boulton’s Sidings’, although one does have to be a little guarded with one or two of his assertions.

[@scopex2749]

I always did wonder about the 'houses with painted windows' near Farringdon? Another brilliant video from Jago! BTW 3:26 Paddinton is pronounced PADD - ING - TON...LOL

[@kanedaku]

Is there another fake house facade near Farringdon? Leinster Gardens is more Bayswater-ry / Paddington-ny. Please post the street, Ive always been fascinated at Leinster Gardens, I took pictures over the years of the facade and from the back looking down on the track.

[@JagoHazzard]

There is an unusually narrow house overlooking the line, but I believe it’s actually real. Can’t think what you’d do with a room that narrow.

[@kanedaku]

@@JagoHazzard I looked on Google Maps along the stretch leading to Wicklow St but couldnt notice anything, but Im guessing its probably there www.citymetric.com/transport/leinster-gardens-and-fake-posh-townhouses-reveal-how-london-underground-used-work-3448

[@rebellion2054]

@@JagoHazzard the conga?

[@rayfisher3921]

@@JagoHazzard Diet.

[@ShowRyuKen]

I've only just stumbled across your channel and I'm bingeing my way through the whole lot. Just wanted to say bravo and thanks for making these videos - perfect lockdown viewing for London dwelling history-curious types like myself.

[@davidyoung5114]

This reminds me of that entrepreneur who wanted to open the first restaurant on the moon; it was supposed to have great food...but no atmosphere!

[@dancedecker]

Excellent video as usual Jago Saw the new "Blue Pullman" yesterday and was only thinking about how superb it looked and how glad I was to have witnessed it. I then thought, was there anything better I'd seen rail wise and whilst the Pullman was excellent, so far nothing and I do mean ABSOLUTELY nothing, comes close to when I saw Steam on the underground the other year with Sarah Siddons and No. 1 chuffing through Baker Street station. Wow!! Absolutely unequalled and probably never will be. I am eternally grateful that I made the effort to witness that.

[@mrfrog8502]

Oh I love your humour. Keep it up 😂👍

[@paulgoodman8476]

"like that one guy at your office -- it didn't really work!" I laughed for five minutes. Brilliant.

[@sapphireseptember]

Baker Street station still smells like coal smoke, I always wondered why, now I know. 😁 I love the smell of coal smoke on a chilly winter's morning, someone near where I live burns it sometimes and it makes me feel warmer.

[@nickakers7985]

I used to work at a theme park that had a real steam engine (two actually but they’d only run one at a time) and that sweet coal smell still sticks with me.

[@sapphireseptember]

@@nickakers7985 It's lovely isn't it? 😊 Where I live the houses have fireplaces, and some people still use them. I walk past one house that burns coal and on a cold, frosty winter's morn it just makes me feel warmer, I love it!

[@Δημήτρης-θ7θ]

Makes you wonder why they don't power-wash the entire Metropolitan line.

[@GWJUK]

"LEN-STER" as per the Irish county I believe.

[@steveharvey2001]

Irish province not county

[@GWJUK]

Steve Harvey yes indeed as Strathclyde is to East Renfrewshire

[@luxford60]

Yes, Lenster is how I would pronounce it too, for the same reason.

[@jp-gl9fm]

Its LINE -STER, at least it was when I lived there

[@GWJUK]

@@jp-gl9fm in Leinster or the Street?

[@MrGreatplum]

Excellent stuff as ever - I’ve been on the met coaches a number of times on the bluebell - fortunately the air was much less vitiated!

[@trevorelliston1]

I am just backfilling on older productions. Great commentary, as usual.

[@ktipuss]

The locomotive at 2:27 is almost identical to the New South Wales 13 Class and it's tender variant the express 12 class. The difference with London Transport's is the existence of cabs on the NSW versions and no condensing equipment. Three 12 class and three 13 class still exist, and one 13 class was one of the last steam engines to be withdrawn from the NSWGR in 1973 (built in 1878) and is one of the survivors as 1307.

[@ajaxengineco]

I see what you mean, I've driven both in Open Rails Train Simulator, and besides the fact that I believe the 13 Class were 4-4-2s (I think) they do look very similar. Good looking things too, the Australians certainly had taste when it came to locomotives.

[@edepillim]

Yes lve seen those facades in Leinster Gardens. Was part of a coach tour of old London inns, ie The Flask and the Spaniards, Hampsted and the one in Southwark that has the gallery, forgots its name

[@chrisstephens6673]

Hmmm can't beat that vitiated air, lovely!

[@barrymccurdy8765]

But I think it's really pronounced "vishyated".

[@davidsirett5560]

cheeky picture of Dilbert. love it.

[@PtolemyJones]

Delightful, top notch.

[@TheClockwise770]

Love the fake house frontage in Notting Hill. BTW You pronouced Paddington perfectly

[@JakePQ]

Comedy is on point 😂

[@hugoboyce9648]

Great video as always!

[@jasonmaccoul9424]

Pure gold.

[@Castlebank_Sidings]

I'm slowly catching up. Another brilliant video

[@catinarage5538]

Have to say, your pronunciation of Paddington was spot-on.

[@TfL1901]

I have seen many videos about Leinster Gardens, but NONE have explained why it exists as it is in such detail !! Others explain about the architecture, never the trains. The tail wagging the dog ...

[@Gill12283]

Love your videos

[@richardmcgowan6383]

London Underground continued to use steam locomotives until 1971 (3 years after Btritish Rail had gotten rid of theirs). No doubt JH knows all about this. So 2021 is the 50th anniversary of the end of steam on the Underground. Could this be a topic for a future video?

[@JagoHazzard]

Sure could!

[@richardmcgowan6383]

@@JagoHazzard Good stuff! And a happy new year to you and yours.

[@I967]

Jago, I have a video suggestion for you. Make a video about all the open-air sections on the old lines built by the cut-and-cover method. I read an article about it about a year ago, they had nice captures from google maps there. I remembered it today and searched for it, but the article is apparently gone. So I looked the sections up on the map by myself. If you could find somebody who could film the open-air sections with a drone, that would be fantastic. Some are accessible to film yourself, but some are inside of blocks of houses. Also there are some interesting sections, where you can see how the line went because the houses ended there or followed the line, but later it was built over. There is also an open-air section south of Notting Hill Gate that was partially covered over and turned into parking lots. This could well be even a 15-minute video.

[@msamour]

Vitiated atmosphere is from French "air vicié" which essential means stale air. It's air that is low in oxygen that has been sitting stil like in a void space.

[@rogerdines6244]

And is usually pronounced vishiated, or, if you decide to follow the French vissiated, not vittiated. Keep up the good work meanwhile.

[@msamour]

@@rogerdines6244 ah thanks, I didn't know how it was spelled in English. I am French Canadian.

[@qaphqa]

The Metropolitan had to contend with numerous challenges but one of the most consistent was beards

[@highpath4776]

May I suggest the wearing of a mask on public transport to reduce the incidence of respiratory illnesses that might arise.

[@YetAnotherGeorgeth]

But that would violate ones rights and besides I heard that the smoke is actually NOT dangerous and those that are dying are either faking it or are part of a sinister plot to control us! Personally I blame the Chinese for... Whatever it was people were blaming the Chinese for back in the 19th century. Not producing enough opioids?

[@bobblue_west]

@@YetAnotherGeorgeth I'll take it you're being sarcastic.

[@YetAnotherGeorgeth]

mill101 yes

[@mjrussell414]

@@bobblue_west Oof!

[@bostonrailfan2427]

I’m fine, I bought a tonic from a chemist nearby that should help me

[@Zenas521]

That twist at the end! xD

[@clockwork9827]

watching this nearly post-pandemic

[@malcolmmarshall4371]

Paris has similar set up in fact facades

[@bryan3550]

Am I right in thinking Fowler's Ghost was Brunel's Broad Gauge? The photograph you used appears to have an inner third rail... Vitiated, I believe, is pronounced vish-ee-ated... 👁️

[@JagoHazzard]

That’s right, it was BG. The inner rail was to enable standard gauge trains from other companies to use the track.

[@HonestMan112]

They fully bought 2 houses to ventilate their underground line and it still failed lol

[@bobblue_west]

I wonder if they could build over the tunnel area put actual houses there today -- now it's electric. W2 address would sell well and help fund deep in debt TfL.

[@steved8193]

@@bobblue_west I thought that. Two houses at a few million a pop - would pay for some senior managers for a few weeks.

[@bobblue_west]

@@steved8193 (would pay for some senior managers for a few weeks.) LOL! Yes. Or Khan's renaming committee for another month.

[@SynchroScore]

Not the last time a paid-off doctor claimed that smoke was good for you.

[@mats7492]

A company paying a doctor to tell the opposite of what is the truth... classic

[@crossleydd42]

It's pronounced Lenster, like one of the provinces in Ireland. Ulster, Munster, Leinster, Connaught.

[@neilbain8736]

Steam isn't so much the problem as the generation of it. Steamships have all sorts of wonderful closed systems whereby the steam is constantly recirculated, being energised with heat, used, condensed, and returned to the boiler as water. But there's a lot more room in a ship for the equipment. One of a certain engineer's other jobs, when not tending a large preserved steam engine is to tend another much larger working steam engine: a certain nuclear power station. A nuclear power station is really a large turbine steam engine. And watching him deftly knock a set of Andrews and Cameron's Low Pressure valve gear into place with only the choicest of swear words and a 2 lb lump hammer certainly hints at a warm sense of professional well being.

[@iankemp1131]

And also a lot more need to be economical with fresh water in steamships - unlike steam engines which just topped up with water every 50-100 miles or so. Power stations based on steam turbines likewise recirculate nearly all their water, hence the cooling towers.

[@andreww2098]

they ran one of the old steam trains as part of the 150 years of the Metropolitan

[@AtheistOrphan]

As featured in the photo right at the beginning of the video.

[@bostonrailfan2427]

0:23 in, that same publicity train

[@dukeofaaghisle7324]

3:29 you pronounced ‘Paddington’ correctly 🙂

[@SFKelvin]

I gotta love me a video about trains and men's beards ... woof (does that mean I'm defective? or weird?)

[@gerardlinehan3547]

Leinster is pronounced Lenster..... as in the largest province in Ireland (and the best rugby team).

[@simonabbott7323]

Vitiated means impair the quality of. So basically he was breathing poor air.

[@jordansmith7182]

If you're going to call this an atmospheric episode, do an episode on the atmospheric railway, there's your real atmospheric episode!

[@Pauldjreadman]

I always thought the underground train were built with electric already installed from scratch. Obviously not.

[@kaitlyn__L]

Is the title a Mad Men reference? :) I wonder why they didn’t wear cloth masks, weren’t they already a thing by the late 1700s? People wear them recently (pre pandemic even) to deal with smog. Growing a beard instead sounds a little strange of a decision to me. Perhaps it was cost-based.

[@arthurvasey]

Leinster is pronounced Lenster!

[@mattscudder1975]

So the Metropolitan didn’t like people smoking on their trains? I wonder how annoyed they’d be if someone had spontaneously combusted while on one of their trains or at one of their stations? Or was it just the smoking that bothered them? 😂😂😂😂

[@davidjames2910]

Possibly the wrong 'coke' shown. Blink and you miss it silliness in an informative video - great!