The Thames Tunnel: Can You Dig It?

The series of accidents that was Brunel’s Thames Tunnel.
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[@andyjay729]

If that minister thought a tunnel across the Thames was the modern equivalent of the Tower of Babel, the dude would've had a heart attack if he could've been told about the Chunnel.

[@channelsixtysix066]

Religion rots the brain.

[@1973Washu]

@@channelsixtysix066 Any kind of philosophy that relies on uncritical acceptance of a dogma has that effect. And yes, this can include the type of atheists that mindlessly parrots off talking points from the internet verbatim with zero evidence that any kind of dialectic processing of these ideas has happened and they have not fully taken ownership of the ideas and integrated them into their personal philosophy.

[@channelsixtysix066]

@@1973Washu Mine is of personal observation. 😉

[@JimInRoses]

I was on an Overground train and just about to enter the tunnel when the driver made an announcement advising us all to hold our breath as we were about to go under the river

[@daimlerfan9498]

The Tunnel was open to walk through In March 2010 (pre start of Overground service) I joined one of these walks and walked from Wapping to Rotherhithe. There is are remarkable amount of the original features and brickwork still there. A thoroughly enjoyable and educational evening.

[@malthuswasright]

I walked it too - it was fantastic. Great that they allowed the public in to do that a few weeks before it was given over to train traffic.

[@bryan3550]

Are there photos from the event anywhere? Would love to see the interior!

[@malthuswasright]

@@bryan3550 Try here for starters but I'm sure others are available. www.urban75.org/railway/brunel-thames-tunnel.html

[@daimlerfan9498]

@@bryan3550 As another comment said there are quite a few articles and pics published online, if you do a search. I have many pics but no way to publish them online!

[@peterstean2138]

@@bryan3550 I'll see if I can find mine and post a link. It was *very* dark down there...

[@topmark99]

Isambard would have been 215 on Friday. I know the day well. A genius that gave us so much.

[@BibtheBoulder]

Brunel: The buggers were in to everything. Genius.

[@highpath4776]

Marc, Isambard, and the Sister no one remembers

[@mattscudder1975]

Yeah, but as with anyone that comes up with a with something great but also spreads their projects out too far they had their failures. Isambard’s idea for a train station evolved a lay out that looked like a figure of eight with one platform in the middle.

[@mattscudder1975]

@@highpath4776 I didn’t know there was a sister, do you know what her first name was?

[@bryan3550]

@@mattscudder1975 Not one, but two! Emma, who became Mrs Harrison and Sophia Jnr, who became Mrs Hawes!

[@highpath4776]

@@mattscudder1975 Two , Sophia and Emma Jane (who married a Clergyman in Bristol). Emma Jane may have been responsible for the alighnment of the Box Tunnel to the sunrise, Sophia was good at maths.

[@Tundra-ec3ii]

Wait, you mean to tell me that Brunel’s solution was a giant iron machine! I would never guess that that would be his solution to any problem.

[@clickrick]

How many stairs were there at the Wapping station? I assume it's 15 storeys.

[@mfaizsyahmi]

It's the law!

[@GilesWendes]

Where is Geoff?!

[@raverdeath100]

Richard Trevithick - a man ingrained into my memory from school. Inventor of the "Puffing Devil" and arguably the man who started the modern world.

[@ruadhagainagaidheal9398]

We sing a song here in Cornwall about Cap’n Dick and his puffing devil - “ Goin’ up Camborne hill, comin’ down”

[@KravKernow]

@@ruadhagainagaidheal9398 White stockings white stocking she wore!

[@stephenjcuk7562]

The narration is a joy to listen to. The living and past engineering history is one thing that makes me proud of this country.

[@adonaiyah2196]

This is too much

[@adonaiyah2196]

Ive been through the tunnel it was incredible

[@alocalgamer3464]

The past engineering,is much better than the modern engineering.

[@JagoHazzard]

I thank you!

[@geoffreycoan]

its an impressive piece of engineering. The Brunel museum is worth a look and they do periodic ‘behind the scenes’ tours of the tunnel that are worth attending

[@clickrick]

Just as long as the public who paid 1d to cross the river using the tunnel didn't then decide to spend a penny in there. Incidentally, 1d then would approximate to 42p today.

[@JagoHazzard]

I suspect some of them did. Apparently those alcoves were very secluded. Certainly there were entrepreneurial women who got up to certain business dealings I can’t talk about in detail without getting demonetised.

[@witzendoz]

I visited the tunnel when i was in London in 2019, rode the train through 2 or 3 times, and went to the museum, I'm a Brunel fan

[@Beechhill]

Jago: Can you dig it? Me: SHAFT! (Which, according to the video, are not so easily dug at all)

[@t.bfisher5855]

I cant wait for the part 2 to this the cliff hanger was great

[@Grisu1805]

I really dig it!

[@effyleven]

No, no. The Cliff Hanger was another of Brunel's iconic engineering projects that ran into trouble... ... for being just a bit too far ahead of its time. 😉

[@jslonisch]

I would have thought that Beamish would have been too busy running his museum to finish off the tunnel, but evidently not. 😉

[@biggie1692007]

Nice bit of history there, this being the worlds first underwater tunnel. I did the tour many years ago when I worked for a construction company that was involved in the East London line. You could still see the old brickwork via the platforms. We then ended up at the Mayflower pub, which has a secret door and leads you into the museum.

[@EElgar1857]

It's a wonderful story, and this Yank somehow knew about the Brunel Tunnel even before his first visit to London! The first time I rode a train through it, I was jumping around in the carriage, trying to see something of it through the windows, and everyone thought I was insane. I always enjoy your videos!

[@GrahamTriggsUK]

I've been to the Brunel museum and entered the shaft - must have been about 7 or 8 years ago now. Didn't know about the overground on the Wapping side, so I'll have to check that out when I can get back into London again.

[@BlaiddLlwyd]

I made an otherwise unnecessary trip on the old East London Line just to go through Brunel's tunnel. It's the sort of thing I did for fun when I was a student. It was an absolutely amazing achievement to get through that horrible soil in the 19th century.

[@bluemayim]

my ISP has been out for the past 8 days...thought i was going to go nuts without Tales From The Tube! Who needs air or water? Give me Jago!!!

[@Rhubba]

Nice to see you got a shot of the Prospect of Whitby pub...lovely place.

[@AcornElectron]

Wednesday just got off to a cracking start with this! Keep up the good work fella and stay safe.

[@kaitlyn__L]

Wow, I never knew the Acorn Electron had a KZbin account! How’s retirement treating you? Do you go to the bowls club with the BBC B and the Acorn Atom? How are they holding up?

[@AcornElectron]

@@kaitlyn__L 10 print “Micro (and Model B and Archimedes for that matter since you’re asking) is fine, Atom..... not so well. He’s slowly degrading. We don’t usually play bowls as that requires hands, feet, eyes and no lockdown restrictions but we do sometimes get together for a Twin Kingdom Valley night or a Snapper afternoon!” 20 GOTO 10 >run

[@JagoHazzard]

Thanks!

[@dylvasey]

Pronouncing Vasey correctly ..... Colour me impressed!

[@joohop]

Great Work Earthling

[@skoodledoo]

As a train driver, I've been blessed to be able to drive through this multiple times a day over the last decade. It still baffles me the engineering behind it as I drive through, trying to picture the horrible conditions and the breaches whilst constructing, whilst also keeping in back of my mind what I would do if the Thames started peeking through whilst I went through it.

[@n.d.miller1543]

Whilst, eh?

[@BarryAllenMagic]

Brilliant video Jago; can't wait for Part 2, as it may very well cover my beloved East London Line! 😍

[@mastertrams]

And I think I might be right in saying that the Metropolitan Railway will feature heavily in the next episode. After all, the East London Line had to wait quite the while to become its own independent thing!

[@JagoHazzard]

I cannot possibly comment, other than to say keep an eye on the channel tomorrow...

[@peterstean2138]

I love that museum, and actually got to go on a guided walk of the tunnel below in 2010 when it was opened to pedestrians for a short time. I have traversed the tunnel by other means many, many times of course but I don't want to spoil the surprise...

[@whiskeytuesday]

there was to be a tunnel in London but Isambard had not the fundin' ended up a pedestrian street and even under the fleet a place that a drunk might get stunned in

[@hartstukken]

Daaaaaamn right! (Shaft, 1971)

[@JrgPt96]

With the double shafts, it's almost surprising they didn't think of its current function sooner.

[@kanedaku]

Are you thinking of double tunnels? Anyway before London Overground it was part of the East London line so it has had trains for years before it was coloured orange.

[@katrinabryce]

@@kanedaku It was coloured orange 🟠 as the East London Line 🚇

[@JrgPt96]

@@kanedaku It's more that they decided to rent out space to vendors before thinking of putting rails in the tunnel. Maybe a crazy scheme with a cable-driven train or something would have attracted investors

[@user-xh3lz9xt4l]

I've remember going through that tunnel many times on the East London Line to New Cross and New Cross Gate

[@damascus6478]

I took a Brunel walking tour and we stopped at the tunnel entrance at the Overground station. I remember just gawking at what in reality was a hole in the wall. Once you know the story behind the tunnel, though, it becomes an incredible story of perseverance and ingenuity. The Brunel museum is also a nice place to visit.

[@mrb.5610]

The top of the vertical shaft at Rotherhithe was open a few years ago on one of those London Open House days. There's a little door you squeeze through, then down some modern steps to a big concrete plug you can walk on with the trains running beneath. I think there were plans afoot to do 'something' with the space - but the problem was that no one was quite sure what that 'something' was .....

[@MrLilac]

Always love your London and railway and London railway videos. I'm an historian and my pa was a railway engineer and was on the team who designed the DLR.

[@JagoHazzard]

Excellent!

[@jacko101]

I used to live on the top floor of Thames Tunnel Mills, nice place.

[@richardpentelow655]

I read somewhere, possibly in the Brunel Museum, that the cost of bringing goods from south of river to the north was similar to that of shipping the stuff to London in the first place. The stevedores were a law to themselves and landed what they wanted where they chose to. The tunnel should have been a good idea if it had vehicular access. Probably a great idea.

[@PlanetoftheDeaf]

I like Mark Brunel's jacket 2:14, very 12th Doctor.

[@vespadavidson2315]

Brilliant! A story about a tunnel that ends in a cliffhanger! Sterling work, Mr Hazard. Thank you.

[@garygriffiths2911]

I love this channel and the wry sense of humour it so often provides - and I'm not even a londoner.

[@spiralfirst6488]

As always, fascinating and well presented. Spot on.

[@jimmyviaductophilelawley5587]

Great stuff mate always nice to get a quick refresher course and a couple of new facts..thankyou!

[@jlewis997]

I used to work for overground and the tunnel is opened to the public once every 10 years

[@stretch9952]

That staircase in a cylinder looks quite cool and I shall have a look at it my next trip to London.. Thanks for this presentation.

[@nmarks]

Learnt a few new things there. Marc Brunel got the idea for the tunneling shield by watching a molusc.

[@no_one_of_that_name_here]

Great video! Reminds me a bit of the Elbe tunnel in Hamburg

[@denisoleary5302]

Yes been there done that. A very interesting walk in a very quiet parrt of town soaled in History and a very nice pub. Well done again Jago.

[@SynchroScore]

A beautiful example of a Scherzer rolling lift bridge there. Wouldn't mind hearing the story behind that.

[@ruadhagainagaidheal9398]

Thanks Jago. Every one of your vids is a stonker.

[@JagoHazzard]

Cheers!

[@robbicu]

Can't wait for part two!

[@Aengus42]

Did you do a huge theatrical wink at the end of that last sentence? ;o)

[@illyasvielemiya9059]

that end in cliffhanger Wish the continuation come soon

[@teecefamilykent]

Another brilliant video sir!

[@JagoHazzard]

Thanks!

[@GeorgiaOverdrive]

I’m digging this!

[@RussellChapman99]

The iron road bridge over the Shadwell Basin is always cool to look at.

[@2H80vids]

"Caaan yoou diig iiit?" Cyrus would be 𝒔𝒐 proud!!

[@Streetlamps90]

?

[@Dropthebeatonit]

I LOVE THESE BIGGUP JAGO

[@tobys_transport_videos]

I've been to the Brunel museum at Rotherhithe, which was quite interesting, although it only concentrated on the works involved for the Thames Tunnel which, when you look at it as part of the London Overground today, is nothing like that shown in the sketches from 175+ years ago! Interestingly of the men killed in the flooding of the tunnel, of which young Isambard was nearly number 7 and therefore changing future history. Had they known about CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation then, most, if not all of the men caught in the flood and washed to the surface, would have survived.

[@hartstukken]

Also Brunel's b day is on april the 9th, don't miss it! I'd say. Thats is if you are watching on the date this video is uploaded

[@asheland_numismatics]

Awesome video! 👍

[@highpath4776]

Worth taking a look at places off the normal tourist trail - Tilbury Fort and Coalhouse Fort in Essex

[@craigfishcake2543]

London Under London a very good source material for study.

[@mikeholdaway2412]

Great stuff thanks

[@floratubbs5142]

Can't wait for part 2😊

[@raedwulf61]

Fascinating!

[@luisstransport]

Great video

[@shaunwest3612]

Great video jago, very interesting, I was wondering what it's used for now, looking forward to seeing what it is👌👍😀

[@neilthehermit4655]

Nice one ! More on tunnels please. Comment for the algorithm.

[@roberthuron9160]

Another New York addendum; seems that what is now the PATH tubes have a similar history to the Thames Tunnel! Basically,it started back in the early 1800's,as the Hudson was a prodigious barrier to commerce! So,a proposed tunnel,was partially completed,and left to languish! Later,it became part of the Hudson& Manhattan tubes,and the PRR,had a part interest in it. There were 4 terminals,i.e.,33rd Street(Manhattan),Hudson Terminal,(Downtown Manhattan),Hoboken,and Manhattan Transfer(later Newark[New Jersey]),and the line,is still very much alive! By the bye,New Jersey boasts of two interstate subway line ,the H&M,and the interstate out of Philadelphia! Thanks for another interesting 📹 video!! Sorry,for the lack of full information,I'm working from memory and it's a trifle faulty! Thanks again 😊!!

[@paultidd9332]

I have the greatest admiration for Brunel or Brunels. I have visited the Brunel Museum but they never mentioned Wapping (or at that point I wasn’t listen to the tour guide!!🤔) and the staircase - I must go and pay homage to it. In someways it would be fitting to remove the railway lines and return it to its former glory, as when it opened, as a tribute and proper museum (and multipurpose space) to the Brunels. I have learnt more about this tunnel in this video than I did in the recent documentary on television. I can’t wait for the sequel, you left quite a cliffhanger there!!

[@stevesalvage1089]

Well I didn't no about the many failed attempts before Brunel's tunnel , but I do now ! Many thanks jago !

[@nightlurker]

Dedication above and beyond by Jago, for taking the stairs at Wapping Station.

[@elizabethspedding1975]

Thanks, that was very interesting.

[@kaymish6178]

Richard Trevithick was such a cool guy.

[@neilmcfarlane5644]

Particularly enjoyed this one - I worked at the Mayflower in 2017/18 - and my boss from there had her wedding at the Brunel Museum, so I've danced very drunkenly in the Rotherhithe-side shaft.

[@robertfletcher3421]

This was so interesting.

[@chris-rfs]

Love this history as it is also local to me. But next time can you please mention that the other half of the tunnel is in south east London! People like me that are born here find it a bit annoying when people describe Rotherhithe as east London because it definitely is not. Thanks for the interesting video.

[@captaincodpiece3263]

I visited the museum in the days before Covid there were also musical events staged in the shaft at the time

[@AZ-74]

I think I saw an exhibit for the construction method in the london transport museum

[@daveherbert6215]

Brilliant, I knew a lot of this. But you told things I did not know. I repeat Brilliant. Ps there are also some nice pubs around the area, including the Mayflower.

[@JagoHazzard]

Thanks! I shall have to look into the pubs. For research. Yeah, that’s it, research.

[@chazzyb8660]

They have regular open days in normal times, when engineering work is being carried out on the 'Overground' line. You can take a guided walk, from the Deptford end to Wapping, under the river and back again, starting from the Brunel Museum. Well worth the few quid it costs, even if a bit gloomthy! Luckily the Brunels thought big so that the original structure of the arches remains intact despite the full size conventional overground trains using it every day, to go underground, indeed underwater. The Brunels' tunnels, side by side and connected every few yards by the cross tunnels/arches, do not feel claustrophobic, unlike the Greenwich foot tunnel which despite the much better lighting does feel very small. Great work Jago.

[@1963TOMB]

and to think they used to pay me to walk through this tunnel at night!

[@rodjones117]

There is a Trevithick Street off Watergate Street in Deptford, near the excellent Dog and Bell. I have passed it hundreds of times, on my way to said pub, and wondered why a street in Deptford has such a very Cornish name. Now I know. Oh to be in the Dog and Bell now...

[@JagoHazzard]

Trevithick actually lived around there for a while - the tunnel wasn’t his only London venture. Hmm, that gives me an idea for a video...

[@KevSmith235]

Awesome video! :D

[@adamcrofts58]

wow that was fascinating. Firstly because ,well they kept on having a go at it and secondly you mentioned Thomas Hood, the poet, the original works of which I had the pleasure of reading whilst at Uni. Ah, the Bridge of sighs. no not the Millennium Bridge.

[@1258-Eckhart]

Gosh Jago, a cliffhanger-ending, better than the Archers. I'm holding my breath.

[@joelharris1335]

Before this, the Mersey Railway built a tunnel under the River Mersey. This connected the Liverpool (South Lancashire) side to the Wirral (Cheshire).

[@joelharris1335]

Sorry, my bad! James Street & Hamilton Square stations are the oldest deep level underground stations in the world!

[@Eddyspeeder]

Red and blue soul with a snow white smile Can you dig it, can you dig it, can you dig it I had the best laid plans this side of America Started out in church and finished with Angelica And now I dig it in the dirt And I'm down here for a while

[@rainyfeathers9148]

It's funny to talk about these videos with people, they're always like '18 when and what now???'.

[@barneypaws4883]

Earth moving stuff

[@tomboulton8847]

Hi Jago do you have any plans to do a video on the construction of the new Silvertown Tunnel, its cost and environmental impacts? Cheers

[@rontanser9369]

Yes very good That was interesting

[@markellis6413]

Are you going to make a video on the Post Office Underground railway? Didn't know this was inspired by Chicago's former underground freight only rail network.

[@JagoHazzard]

It’s on my list...

[@wildswan60021]

Whadda ya know about Jago? Magic...Whoole lota Magic!

[@johnhehir508]

Funds dried up ,but the tunnel became wet 😂😂😂😂😂

[@ArtReviews]

Interesting video, I was a bit worried it was going to be boring.

[@stemartin6671]

Somewhere like that today would be one scary place lol 😆

[@cesariojpn]

Comment for the algorithms.

[@RossMaynardProcessExcellence]

"Captain Dick". So deadpan. Brilliant!

[@BritishRacingGreen]

I might make a visit. Bring out the Jago in me.

[@iankemp1131]

Hadn't struck me until the start that we now use the Overground here to go underground (or underwater), In fact one might say that 150 years after its completion, the Thames Tunnel has finally come to fruition as a really useful and well-used transport link. Never realised that Marc Brunel got the idea for his boring machine from boring sea worms!

[@fortissimo6210]

Do like the hint with the orange hand rails