When the Bakerloo Line ran to Watford Junction

Up the Junction… Watford Junction, that is.
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[@mikkoistanbul1322]

Everybody compliments Jago on his videos. And I wholeheartedly agree. They are masterpieces. But. I think he should also be complimented on his diction. It is quite superb and enhances the overall quality of the videos.

[@robertwilloughby8050]

Pretty darned good for someone who is half the Potteries and half Sarth Lunnon! (Actually, it's brilliant, I'm only joking)😅

[@Eurobrasil550]

Very understandable and clear for those of us who do not have English as a first language, Much appreciated.

[@makkari1]

How much to do the next video in a Cockney accent, Jago?

[@telemachus53]

Should also point out, apart from his excellent diction, that he uses a very good sound system, including a top range mic. One of the few you tubers that I don't need to turn on the subtitles for. It has no echo whatsoever. Is thee a way Jago could get other you tubers to do the same?

[@mw...]

Yes and genuinely nice chap as well

[@msg5507]

5:00 here it comes! Yer-kes! Yer-kes! 5:15 And there he is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Drink!

[@lassepeterson2740]

Yer-kes is the Underground hero .

[@daveyoder9231]

Hooray for Charles and his mustache!!

[@KevinTheCaravanner]

I wonder what the man himself would make of this sudden interest in him over 100 years after he has died. Hey, he might never have even existed and is merely an imaginary villain created by the Jago to add spice to his plots.

[@rogerwells6807]

The sign couldn’t have found its way into better hands.

[@Azeria]

YER-KES! YER-KES! YER-KES!

[@sodadrinker89]

Apparently if you translate this to English, it becomes THE EARTH! THE EARTH! THE EARTH!

[@Azeria]

@@sodadrinker89 this may explain a lot

[@tonys1636]

@@sodadrinker89 I wonder what language 'Goggle' translated it from?

[@jaapsch2]

@@tonys1636 I put it into Google translate, and apparently it is Kurdish (Kurmanji).

[@CyclingSteve]

@@tonys1636 I got Google translate to 'detect' the language. Kurdish (Kurmanji) - Detected

[@drewzero1]

"You are the lowered platform to my compromised rolling stock"... So, a step up? 😂

[@CharlesTysonYerkesOfficial]

I did love it when we got the District Line to Southend.

[@CCA2020]

Of course you did, Charles

[@CoolTransport]

The legend returns to the comment section 😂

[@neilmcdonald9164]

Well,only sorta...🎩🤔

[@cefnonn]

Keep quiet Yerkes, you're just a ghost!

[@mirzaahmed6589]

I thought you died in 1905.

[@Whothem]

If they were to just build the Croxley rail link then we would have metropolitan line trains at Watford Junction 😭😭😭😭😭

[@eddisstreet]

If the Mayor of London, or indeed the Mayor of Watford, would organise the funding, the Croxley rail link could be completed and we'd all be happy.

[@ianmcclavin]

Yes, but "just building it" became a political and financial hot potato, before being virtually abandoned altogether. (I'm surprised they actually got as far as posting closure notices on Watford Met. Station, before taking them all down again!!)

[@tomburnham5119]

I believe TfL were reluctant to put up the majority of the funding as the link is in Hertfordshire and it would be of less advantage to Greater London residents. It would have been really useful when most long distance trains out of Euston made a Watford Jn stop, but that doesn't happen so much in recent years.

[@hairyairey]

​@@tomburnham5119It had the potential to reduce traffic levels in Watford but obviously that doesn't benefit London

[@Rob-md6ml]

No you wouldn't there's no space. The overground would service it. Like they used to when it was silver link and open

[@camberweller]

I’m early, but since I’m Canadian that doesn’t matter: our trains are always late.

[@simontrill540]

The Metropolitan Cammel/Metropolitan Camel joke made me laugh out loud. Quality Dad joke! :o)

[@raakone]

Also reminds me of the camel spotting sketch from Monty Python!

[@GX2903]

Metro-Cammell built robust trains that still serves today. The 1972 and 1973 Tube stock, as well as the Glasgow Metro trains and Hong Kong MTR's M-Trains, are still going strong despite their age.

[@charlotteistance4386]

Immediately pauses the video to look at Jago’s book collection and try to work out how they are organised 🤭🤭

[@loddude5706]

"Good man - off to fetch my drinking fez & pipe after the very first 'Yerkes' . . . this means Malt!" : )

[@Railfan608]

Soonest I've watched a Jago video, time zones usually mean I don't watch until the following morning

[@neilchisholm797]

Watford junction to Lewisham or Hayes would be such a good expansion of the Bakerloo line. It was a line I caught regularly from Wembley to work and often caught the old thirties type trains. It was very nostalgic. I miss those days in the very early 90s but my London adventures continued for years before I moved to Australia. I still miss the Underground, it truly is something very special and the best transit system I’ve come across in my travels overseas.

[@johnmurray8428]

My Sunday morning is never complete with Jago and the mention of the American villain of the underground. Thank you.

[@highpath4776]

Not really Villian. More a Shady Arthur Daley of the Train World

[@gerardtohill9597]

I remember as a student in the 70s travelling on the Bakerloo to Watford Junction a few times. It was a long journey!

[@chriswade7470]

Yes I did as well

[@andrewhotston983]

The tea towel that we bought when we visited the London Transport Museum just after it first opened shows the Bakerloo Line running all the way to Watford.

[@raakone]

Also of interest, this line had two branches*, that were ALSO electrified to Yerkes standards. The two branches connected to Croxley Green in the middle of Watford (yes, the Croxley Green line that was going to be linked to the Metropolitan, but withheld funds and then a pandemic effectively ended this plan for now), and to Rickmansworth Church Street (which itself branched from the Croxley Green branch). While the junctions were designed so that trains from both branches could continue onto the main (DC) line in either direction (and they used Watford Joint Stock, which lasted longer on the branches than the main line), all Rickmansworth Church Street trains went to Watford Junction, and Croxley Green trains that went south ALL went to Euston (even though there were provisions allowing for some of them to go to Elephant and Castle). The two branches also connected to the Croxley Depot, which was shared with the Underground for stabling Bakerloo Line trains as well until 1982 (and it closed in 1984). The line's electrification north of Queen's Park was originally provided by a power station around Stonebridge Park, but it was closed in the 1960s. In the 1970s the shared section, as well as the rest of the DC line and North London Line, were converted from 4 rail to 3 rail to allow use with third rail stock designed for the ex-Southern lines. But sections shared with the Tube have the 4th rail bonded to the running rails, so both trains are kind of "correctly powered." In some other areas some 4th rail remains, but directly on the track bed (some "ancient" 4th rail can also be seen on the Northern City Line in some stations) All trains running on the shared section must be fitted with LU compatible tripcock gear, has been the rule since forever so that Bakerloo line trains didn't need a second person required in area without trainstops. *there was a third branch, from Harrow and Wealdstone to Stanmore Village, but it was awkwardly arranged, never electrified, and effectively done in by the Metropolitan branch (now Jubilee Line) to Stanmore, so it was truncated to Belmont in 1952, and then Beechinged in 1964.

[@mikeuk4130]

Your new sign is a very handsome artefact and I love that it holds, for you at least, all that historical, technical and human geographical information imparted to the rest of us by your fascinating video. It’s also a sobering thought that, due to continual improvement, innovation, progress, call it what you will, there will never be standardisation on the railways. Long live variety! You are the spice of life to my pepper-grinder.

[@roderickmain9697]

THAT explains it. Always wondered why the Bakerloo had its end chopped off (I was youngish). Yes, it probably should go to Watford. But I guess it depends on demand. Nice to see CTY get a mention.

[@robertwilloughby8050]

Yes, I always wondered who had got the Bakerloo's end away.....

[@raakone]

They determined most traffic from north of Harrow and Wealdstone was going to Euston anyways, so they only reinstated it up to there.

[@johnjephcote7636]

Watford Junction was my local station (before the LNW station and engine shed were demolished for the present 'thing'). I worked there as a porter in holidays. I was surprised when the red tubes just 'disappeared'. When I worked there, the slow electric lines of 1916 were commonly known as 'The New Line'. I never heard it called 'the d.c.', or anything else. PS.in the High Street there was a furniture shop called 'Grange'. It had an iron canopy extending out over the entrance and I was told that this was to be the station for the proposed Metroplian extension.

[@peterforden5917]

I worked at the junction in the mid 70's , I enjoyed it a lot , except working with those 'British Rail Universal Trolley Equipment' horrors or Brutes as they were usually called when not nursing a badly bruised finger (most days!) at which point in time they were called a lot of names not suitable for sensitive ears ! among my favourite memories are a heavily delayed commuter train from Rugby (due to frozen points) arriving looking for all the world like a moving icicle ,so badly was it frozen it had taken them in Rugby all day to unfreeze not only the points, but also to de-ice the wheels from the rails as they were frozen solid to each other as though welded, hearing the use of old (!) slang like...-there's a weasel if you want it on the main platform a weasel being not only the monetary tip , but also the wealthy looking cove struggling with luggage. I wonder how much of what I would recognise if I were to visit it today? I became a Guard and worked to Broad Street which sadly on exists in fond memory :)

[@WolfmanWoody]

I remember in the 1950s going on holidays and we had to get from Manchester London Road (oh yes!) to Euston. Often the train was crowded and we sat on the suitcases in the corridor. How nice it was when we got to see the underground from Watford and knowing that it wouldn't be long before we got to Euston.

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

I rode the last Bakerloo train to Watford (LMR) as it had become on the destination plates (only a vinyl by then), a 1938 Stock. The crew let us stay on and we had a ride round and into Croxley Green Depot! The Stonebridge journeys started out as ECS moves once the Jubilee opened and Bakerloo trains used the new depot there (Neasden had been the main depot before the split), it was decided to makes these journeys public, and add more in the peaks only. The GLC were very pro public transport, and the Harrow & Wealdstone (or Harrow Wealdstone as the reverse of your plate shows, i have one also!) extension was funded by them, again peaks only. All day running came in May 1988 after the mixed Bakerloo & Jubilee lines crew interworking ended with the Jubilee's conversion to OPO. The reason that had continued after May 1979 was to stop the Bakerloo depots crews having all tunnel work (QP-E&C), so Harrow was a bit of fresh air work.... Not much though, back then only one train in five went through, and Stonebridge was still peaks only.... happy days, sort of, i was a Bakerloo guard back then......

[@alexandraclement1456]

It's always a pleasure when Yerkies, our antihero, gets a mention.

[@nilo70]

There is a drinking game for the Fiend’s name 😊

[@malcolmpym507]

The last Bakerllo's ran on Peak hours . 4 trains were stabled at Croxley Shed in 11-12 roads, The crews were based at Croxley and came under the duristiction of Queens Park. One of the drivers was given the honour of driving HM the Queen from Stanmore when the Jubilee Line was opened. There were no other Bakerloo line trains in the 70;s other than these until Stonebridge Park was opened . As a driver at Watford those days I trained on how to assist a failed Bakerloo Line train with a Class 501.

[@melvynbuckton6881]

Croxley shed was on wiggenhall rd watford. Some track still exists over the colne river.

[@HuggyBob62]

One of the things that surprised me when I was in the Covent Garden London Transport Museum was the time lapse of lines being extended - and then shrinking again. I obviously hadn't seen many of Jago's videos at that time.

[@davidconnor2458]

Fascinating to hear the early history of the DC Lines. But some of the later history was missed: It's worth adding that by the mid 1960s, the all-day Bakerloo service had ceased, with the traffic left to BR. There were just a handful of Mon-Fri peak hour Bakerloo trains north of Queens Park, running SB in the morning peak and NB in the evening peak. In 1979, the Bakerloo started running regularly again as far as Stonebridge Park (to serve the new depot there, built to replace a previous depot the Bakerloo lost access to when the Jubilee Line took over the Stanmore branch). But there were still only four Bakerloo trains each peak north of Stonebridge Park. This skeleton service was withdrawn in 1982 not because of pressure from BR, but because LT couldn't afford to keep running it after the Fares Fair scheme ended. And it was the dramatic ridership increases on the network following the introduction of Travelcards that persuaded LT to resume an all-day Bakerloo service to Harrow & Wealdstone two years later, not because BR somehow "relented". This service was far superior to that which had been withdrawn in 1982. The BR service to Broad Street (and latterly Liverpool Street) became just a single journey each peak, abandoned entirely in the 1990s. And the service to Euston came under TfL control (as part of the Overground) in 2007.

[@surreygoldprospector576]

And I remember in the rush hours trains to Broad Street went via two different routes - via Hampstead and via Queens Park. So there were 4 options going south.

[@PerCPH2200]

Yes.... I have a working timetable from OCT 1965, and it lists 4 morning peak SB trains between 0734 and 0822 and another 4 trains running Queens Park to 'Harrow' and return (6 similarly in the evening peak), while the 4 Watford services returning NB arriving between 1815-1843. By the MAY 1971 timetable, which is the next I have, the additional trains to/from Harrow have ended, leaving only the 4 departures/arrivals north of Queens Park.

[@DavidShepheard]

14:12 What I think should happen to the Bakerloo Line is this: 1) Send two Crossrail-sized TBMs along the entire Bakerloo Line route, 2) Build Crossrail-length platforms next to most of the existing Bakerloo Line stations, 3) Rebuild Willesden Junction 4) Convert most of the existing Bakerloo Line platforms, in Central London to circulation areas in larger stations, 5) Close the existing Edgware Road station and build escalators from the platform area to the other Edgware Road station to unify them both, 6) Convert the existing Edgware Road station into a step free access station (this would involve getting rid of some listed structures that are in the way), 7) Replace the existing Marylebone and Baker Street platforms with new Crossrail sized platforms that have escalators to both Marylebone and Baker Street stations, 8) Replace Regents Park station and Great Portland Street Station (on the Circle Line) with a single interchange station, 9) Give the new Regent's Park station one entrance near Park Crescent and a second one near the junction of Waymouth Street and Portland Place, 10) Use the rebuild at Oxford Circus as an excuse for a second entrance at Hanover Street (so Jago can make a reference to the Harrison Ford movie), 11) Build the new Crossrail-length platforms for Piccadilly Circus under Haymarket, with a second entrance in Haymarket to ease passenger flow, 12) Replace Charring Cross station and Embankment with a single station (that keeps both names, so it can be as annoying as Bank and Monument), 13) Temporarily close part of Trafalgar Square and the Strand, to put in cut and cover pedestrian tunnels that link the "Charring Cross" station entrances in Trafalgar Square to Charring Cross Station, 14) Modernise Lambeth North and Elephant & Castle, 15) Build the Bakerloo Line Extension to Lewisham as a Crossrail-sized project, 16) Build a new underground Bakerloo Line at Lewisham with escallators up to the existing mainline, DLR, bus station and also to Lewisham Shopping Centre, 17) Surface the tunnels at the Lewisham Council depot and take over the line to Hayes and 18) Trains should also run to Beckenaham Junction for additional connection opportunities. The Deep Level Tube lines are not really fit for purpose and we kind of need to bite the bullet and start to get rid of them. A high capacity Watford to Waterloo railway that also serves a lot of people in the South East of London is the way to improve the Bakerloo.

[@Tonydjjokerit]

Strongly disagree with the last comment. Your plans are insanely expensive. I have ideas of my own but admittedly they are as controversial as yours if not more!

[@lipkinasl]

Ahhh!! The age-old chestnut of how to correctly serve this line. I used to live in Carpenders Park, so was a regular commuter on it. My impression was that the current Overground service to Watford Jcn, and the current Bakerloo service to Harrow & Wealdstone is more than adequate for the off-peak. The problem is the peak service! I always used to think the Overground alone at 4tph between Harrow and Watford was woefully inadequate in the peak. I don't know if that is still the case. And I don't have a genius answer to fix the issue. A huge expense would now have to be justified to re-instate the 4th rail DC setup that tube trains would require to reach Watford, and it would be to cover peak services only. Cost justification therefore not going to be met. Let alone the Bakerloo needing extra trains to provide that service. So increase the Overground in the peak, and you likely get a capacity issue at Euston, or its approaches. Maybe some Overground peak-only services from Stratford could run through the abandoned Primrose Hill station to South Hampstead and on upto Watford Junction?

[@bishwatntl]

Yes, the capacity is an issue, but it was worse in the days when 3-coach class 313s ran the DC service every 20 minutes. Imagine the reaction when a 7-coach Bakerloo cast off its peak-hour passengers at Stonebridge Park and the next northbound train in was a 313!

[@user-sd3ik9rt6d]

Ignoring the Euston connection because of costs.... Sounds familiar.

[@TheDoctor342]

Me, an American: gosh, imagine if we had this enthusiasm to build and assist commuter traffic instead of demolishing a neighborhood to build an underutilized 8 lane highway

[@DavidShepheard]

You can do it. Go find your local urbanist movement and see what local initiatives you can support. Paris has been making a lot of changes (more than London). Other European countries have some cities that are getting better too. Look for RM Transit, for general stuff. But try to hook up with local experts to campaign for specific stuff.

[@mittfh]

Or even demolishing a bunch of property to add one more lane to an existing overcrowded highway... ... Only to repeat the process a few years later... ... And a few years after that... ... And a few years after that... ... Somehow never either learning from history or understanding the concept of induced demand.

[@princecharon]

@@mittfh They understand the concept just fine, but the politicians get more money by pretending they don't, so they will keep on pretending unless electoral pressures force them to do otherwise.

[@kevinnicholson7722]

@@mittfh blame the auto manufacturers

[@jimmeade2976]

Another interesting video, Thank You! To answer your question, your sign only has the word WATFORD and not JCT or JN because there's no space to put it. WATFORD (LMS) fills up the entire sign. Showing the map and its changes is a welcome addition to the videos. As someone who lives on the other side of the pond (although I have been to London many times), I am not that familiar with locations by name. The map helps me understand the information in Jago's excellent voiceover.

[@crossleydd42]

I can well remember visiting a cousin and his wife, with an aunt, on the Tube to Carpenders Park, in the 1950s. Living at Morden, it was the first time I'd travelled on a Tube train in the open air. And I recall the high platforms, when alighting.

[@andrewmcgee382]

I love thc careful attention to detail in all Jago's videos. Exactly what we need.

[@alanclarke4646]

The 38 stock are the classic underground trains i remember from trips to London with my parents. 😁

[@driver288]

Intresting video as always. Soon I will once again visit London and Bournemouth and enjoy some time on the British rail network. Since my time driving the Stockholm underground trains mid 90s I’ve been a simulator geek. Both planes trains trams and buses. One sim actually contains the entire Bakerloo line. So I immediately recognized Stonebridge Park and depot. So the sim is pretty realistic. I will be sure to visit the London transport museum with my 6yo son although I guess my wife need some convincing 😂. Even though I’ve never been on the overground on previous visits to London I’ve been up and down the Suffragette line several times virtually by now.

[@stalbanstransport]

Jago you must visit the old Hatfield and St Albans railway now the Alban way if you go I suggest bringing a bike with you it’s a lovely ride

[@isashax]

I was in London this week and used the Bakerloo and Jubilee to Kilburn. I wondered about the step up, so here I have the explanation! Thanks Jago!

[@stephenpegum9776]

I can remember coming up to London when I was a young lad & occasionally travelling on the Bakerloo line. I seem to recall it had a distinctive smell but I can't describe what it was all these years later.

[@ianthomson9363]

It still has it- I think it's electricity and soot. All Tube trains should smell like this.

[@peteryoung4957]

Thank you Jago. I found this video very educational. As a child I remember riding the red train to Watford Jct, with my parents.

[@Slycockney]

As a teenager I travelled Warwick Avenue to Carpenders Park on the Bakerloo to visit friends frequently, great journey.

[@julianaylor4351]

Memories of Art College at Watford College now West Herts, the art school in an old school, down the St Albans Road, between 1979 and 1981, taking trains to Watford Junction, either to or from on Watford/Euston slow service or Bakerloo Line trains. Occasionally, because I had a BR season ticket from Wembley Central, rather than a tube season ticket like some of my college friends, I used the semi fast train from Wembley Cental to Watford Junction, if I was late or there was a serious delay, like engineering work and once a crash at Bushey. Once got a tube train back from Watford, because I had been at the Christmas party and was told that the next slow train, was cancelled; so last train at 11:30 pm or so in December 1979. The platform and track bed are still there, abandon and overgrown, I've seen them on Street View. ❤ The previous Bakerloo Line trains before 1938, were 1928 trains, so I'm not surprised they were scraped. I have vague memories of them as a very young child, they were slow, dirty, shabby and noisy. Terminating the Bakerloo trains at Harrow and Wealdstone, was more sensible, because all there is at Stonebridge Park is a bus stand, whereas at Harrow and Wealdstone, you can get the slow service to Watford Junction or the semi fast service to change to the mainline services at Watford's other platforms. So LT were being credibly stupid. Sidenote a local rather unreliable bus route the 79 from Edgware, now goes to Stonebridge Park station instead of Alperton.

[@sockstarnik]

Shockingly I remember this (just). I recall seeing the platforms in around 1981 as 7 year old > this was the Victorian Watford Junction before the oh so pleasant building we see today. For whatever reason we were getting the new funky intercity train to manchester to visit my uncle > this was when the man from Jim'll Fix It was telling us that British Rail ‘was getting there’ and frankly every 7 year old watched Jim'll Fix It! I seem to recall the LU roundels and disused platforms remained for some years, possibly into the 90’s

[@ronalddevine9587]

Do I understand that you are into toy (model) trains? I am as well. I live just outside of New Haven, Connecticut. The New Haven Railroad was electrified from New Haven to Grand Central Terminal in New York City in the early 20th century. Two or three different electrical systems had to be dealt with. AC & DC, overhead catenary, outside third rail. It's still in use today, and is one of the most heavily traveled commuter lines in the USA. As always, great video.

[@AndreiTupolev]

9:00I think the LMS only referred to Watford Junct as Watford, at least it seems to be in the 1934 timetable I've just skimmed through. (In brackets, Junction for St Albans, but 'Junction' is inside the brackets)

[@johnjephcote7636]

Watford LMS was used to distinguish it from Watford Met.and LNE joint station. Until I left in 1969, the huge viaduct at the bottom of the High Street and also the branchline station at Watford West (Croxley road) still had 'LMS station in large white letters on black. Watford Met's goods shed still proclaimed 'Metropolitan and LNE Railway'.

[@howardkey1639]

I love Watford Junction, it's my favourite station. I miss seeing the old tube stock sitting there waiting to depart for London.

[@stevesaul7975]

It will always be the DC line to me.

[@SeverityOne]

Judging by the other comments, I wasn't the only one who became unaccountably excited when the Underground Electric Railways Company of London got mentioned. And I wasn't disappointed either.

[@stevenr2463]

Thank you for this. Bakerloo, Watford - all part of my (Watford - my father´s) history.

[@UK.RoadsCyclingandTransport]

I love a bit of history, who doesn't, its interesting that you are always digging new information up its awesome Nice one Jago

[@brettpalfrey4665]

I have never travelled to Watford by train, only passed through, on the main line ..Now I know why the Underground service was somewhat limited! your explanation of timetable conflicts was very clear, and I think that Bakerloo trains would just get in the way...oh by the way, nice to see Mr Yerkes back again, its been a while...Keep em coming Jago!

[@user-xh3lz9xt4l]

I remember going to Watford Junction on the tube many years ago.

[@kevanhubbard9673]

Watford Junction is usual in that it's in the actual town it's a junction for.Most junction stations are outside of the town they are named after and a place where people change off the mainline to get to the place.

[@MartieD]

Joolz and Jago are out for a London walk again in my feed👍

[@LucasTubeMapperGuy]

I just saw an old tube map before this video came out we do know that it went to watford junction

[@sardonicus1966]

You are the lowered platform to my compromised rolling stock 😂😂

[@andyhinds542]

I used to drive class 313 units on the "DC" between Watford and Euston, and Richmond and North Woolwich. It was soul crushing tedium.

[@davidholt7883]

In 1980/81 I was going to the College of Lsw in Lancaster Gate every afternoon. I made a point of getting on a Bakerloo train at Watford High Street and cosying up with a book in a seat behind the drivers cab on the 38 stock until Paddington.

[@paleonard1979]

Amazing video and I have serious book envy! Good job Jago.

[@sheltie777]

I recall years ago that someone posted an interesting video whereby the Watford Metropolitan Line was to be re-routed to Watford Junction, and also serve Vicarage Road football ground on the way (useful on match days). This would have solved that last problem of not going into the centre. However, I think this idea has been cancelled (or maybe just delayed) because of money. I have heard that a few times.

[@scythal]

I believe that may be our good old friend Geoff Marshall! And I believe the line was cancelled due to funding issues and disagreements between the Mayor of London and the local Mayor of Watford...

[@mrrolandlawrence]

14:25 looks like watford high street station there. Wow this one takes me back.

[@formula1facebookfan]

It is indeed!

[@bishwatntl]

Yes, it is.

[@telemachus53]

The old proposed extension of the Northern Line from Edgware to Bushey Heath could've just been extended 2 miles more to Watford junction. Another reason to revive this old plan.

[@Gregdotgreg]

You say it'll be a while before the name Watford DC fades from memory, but that will carry on as the official infrastructure name of the line. Like the East London and West London lines. The Mildmay et al are just a PR exercise for the service provided by TfL. That won't change the official designation of the lines

[@nigelcole1936]

Always wondered what was on the other side but happy stick with this side thanks Jago

[@euanduthie2333]

Thanks for this, Jago. I had always wondered why the Bakerloo line seemed like it couldn't quite decide where it ended over the years.

[@neilscotter5191]

I've got an old A to Z from the mid 70s whose underground map on the back cover shows the Bakerloo line going to Watford.

[@edmundcostelloe6261]

As a child in the fifties and sixties I used to travel regularly from Hatch End ( for Pinner) to Watford Junction on either tube stock or LMS and later BR stock. You did not mention that at Hatch End there was a small signal cabin on the northbound platform used to reverse some Bakerloo services at peak times via a crossover.

[@maestromanification]

Interesting video Jago. The DC line has an interesting history, until the 1980s it had a non standard signalling system which was kind of a simplified version of the Mirfield speed signalling system A few years ago I read an article in backtrack that LMS looked at building a similar line to the Watford DC line to Luton alongside the Midland mainline Cheers Russ

[@Russell_G]

One of my 1st signalling major works projects was the Watford -Euston DC lines, commissioned in 1989 as I recall.

[@gingertom2355]

@@Russell_G 12th December 1988 @8am to be precise. I remember it only too well for what happened elsewhere in London that fateful morning having left site, got home and switched on the TV before bedtime. Never forgotten.

[@maestromanification]

@@gingertom2355 I was nearing the end of my BR MP12 drivers course

[@MrSmith1984]

Personally, it would make more sense to cut back the Bakerloo Line to Queens Park and to upgrade the frequency of the Lioness Line Service to 15tph. Mainly because the London Overground Trains are more suited to this line (& have more capacity) than their Underground Counterparts.

[@barrymarsden9626]

I believe there was a somewhat hairbrained plan in the 1930's to extend the Bakerloo to Tring. not surprisingly it never happened, but the Bakerloo trains used to arrive at an island platform alongside the Down Fast, so points could have been put in there, but it would have been an operational nightmare getting trains across the fast lines to the slow lines. There was also a Bakerloo depot in the triangle where the Croxley Green branch left the DC lines.

[@1258-Eckhart]

The most sensible underground link to Watford Junction is from Croxley on the Metropolitan Line via Watford High Street and a new Croxley Green station, but despite the link line being as cheap as a night on a park bench, the authorities blocked it for years on end. Given the added operational difficulties of a Bakerloo extension, I can't see it happening. And anyway, the Bakerloo needs to get to Lewisham first.

[@HarrowwInk]

funnily enough you released this right when the overground is currently running from stratford to watford junction lol

[@realmikegarner]

I’m old enough to have taken those trains

[@Russell_G]

Yup I fondly remember travelling on '38 stock as a kid

[@bishwatntl]

My local line. The difference in train heights and the compromised platform heights are a nuisance - especially when half my journeys are on the Metropolitan Line that has level boarding. The only saving grace for me is that having Bakerloo to Harrow increases the potential frequency of trains to and from Queens Park and Willesden. For me the lack of a Met Line service into the centre of Watford (either the proposed line that would have terminated in what is now a Wetherspoons pub, or the cancelled Croxley Link into Watford High St and WFJ) is a missed opportunity and a transit link that could have been very useful.

[@borderlands6606]

Your sign may well have been in place at the Harrow and Wealdstone crash of 1952. Although it says LMS, it took BR quite a while to rid itself of all grouping signage, especially smaller plates like the one in the video. Although I lived on the line in the late 70s and early 80s, I never got round to taking the tube to Watford. It seemed a very specialist requirement given the speed of alternative services.

[@pfield39]

Why am I not surprised that you seem to have a huge collection of transportation books? Good man!

[@cjf97]

Yerkes makes an appearance. Yippee. I possibly should have given a spoiler alert first though. 😂 Thanks as ever J.

[@stuartparks8094]

Great video... I haven't been that way for a few years but there used to be the 4th rail still in place for a lot of the route north of H&W

[@TheEmbeddedHobbyist]

i can remember using the underground trans between watford high street and Carpenders Park back in the 70's.

[@template16]

An incredibly detailed and informative video. Add in the reference to Charles Tyson Yerkes and my evening is complete. I shall now ponder on the reason for naming 1938 stock. Thanks Jago.

[@timhubbard8895]

It's about time that Yerkes put in another appearance, Jago! 👍

[@MrStevetmq]

I used to change at Watford Junction when traveling from Northampton to Hammersmith. It sometimes was quicker. And when I when to Queens Park

[@SteveChambers]

Great video! My recollection is that the 1980s cut backs to the Bakerloo were at least in part caused by budget cuts at the GLC who controlled London Transport at the time.

[@jadeboswell-rz2ly]

Hi Jago, love the video. Love the way you convey the history in jolly manner.I remember the Bakerloo trains at Watford junk alongside the class 301's. A little bit off point. But there was to have be a cross link between Watford and Croxley. This was started with the old track being cleared but finical problems arouse and that put a stop that. Well thanks again.

[@mjt8199]

Charles Tyson Yerkes? DRINK!

[@mickeydodds1]

A bulging bookshelf of train and railway books inadvertently revealed!

[@prof.hectorholbrook4692]

Indeed! 1. Business Case for immediate reinstatement of Bakerloo Harrow to Watford Junction (WJ) would surely be positive. 2. One step further: Pre-feasibility Study to be commissioned for Bakerloo to diverge from DC Lines circa 30 Chains south of WJ into new underpass (under WCML) then for Bakerloo to converge with single line at Platform 11/12 at WJ and serve the 6.5 mile line to St.Albans Abbey. Thus affording direct link from that Herts City to North London, West End, Waterloo, Elephant & eventuality Old Kent Rd., New Cross & Lewisham.

[@LOLE_Editz]

I love the fact that the Lioness line is basically useless if you are trying to go from Euston to Watford Junction.

[@DeathInTheSnow]

About as useless as the new names too. It's still the Goblin, Lea Valley lines etc..

[@TrainLifeGB]

What does it matter about the goddamn names?!

[@Rohan-iq6zb]

Surprisingly a lot of people don't even know that you can get fast trains to and from WJ, Bushey and H&W.

[@butteredwaffles4180]

Even hen it's useless lol, I just use my tap and get on a normal train from plat. 9😂

[@kevinrayner5812]

@@TrainLifeGB The fact that you keep having to learn new names. God knows what the shopping centre in Watford is now. I lost track at Intu. A friend still refers to it as the Halequin. Train line names are the same.

[@southron_d1349]

I think the 1938 stock was meant to be the 1937 stock but it was running late.

[@CCA2020]

Maybe if the Bakerloo line gets upgraded, new trains etc we could see an extension back to Watford to generate growth

[@seanbonella]

Brilliant again for Sunday 😊

[@borassictime918]

What happen to Maida Vale on the line diagramme at 6:42? Is it a signal of distress, like flying your flag upside down? 🤔 😂

[@stephensaines7100]

Impressive library there @14:00 Jago!

[@MrGreatplum]

That’s quite a collection of books there, Jago. As for the line itself, I expect the overground does a sufficient job for the burghers of Watford these days…

[@kevinrayner5812]

Exactly. I suppose the Elizabeth line is a bit different. It started with a name. But giving an existing line a name that bears no relavance to its geography is bonkers.

[@tantaf123]

Watford Junction? The bakerloo line?! very interesting!

[@jimmyedwards1639]

There used to be a housing estate near Carpender’s Park for US military personnel and their families stationed in the London area.

[@PokhrajRoy.]

If Jago made a video series on his inventory, he’d be able to run the channel for 2 years atleast.

[@Anonymoususer_2023]

I’m still hoping that the Croxley Rail Link on the Metropolitan Line would get the approval to be built and to have 2 new Metropolitan Line stations-Cassiobridge and Vicarage Road. And Watford Metropolitan Line station to close and to be turned into a depot/siding.

[@zork999]

I got excited about "Five Go On a Summer Adventure" (at 6:44) only to find out that was a GWR ad campaign from 2016 (in which it seems only Timmy got an adventure).