The Tiny Tube of Tower Hill (Tales from the Tube Episode 4)

Here’s a Tube line you’ve never ridden. I guarantee.

[SynchroScore]

There's a similar situation in Chicago. A local telephone company got a charter to build a number of tunnels beneath the downtown area of the city, ostensibly for the running of telephone cables, but the charter was vague enough to allow them to construct a network of narrow-gauge freight railroads. Powered by overhead wire, it was used for parcels, mail, merchandise, but most importantly delivering coal and carrying away ashes, garbage, and excavation spoils. It even connected with some of the main line stations via elevators. Eventually trucks took the package delivery business, and buildings switched from their own coal furnaces to gas, making the system obsolete. All the tunnels are still down there, used for their original stated purpose, communications cables, but nobody paid it much attention until a pile-driver accidentally cracked the tunnel at the Kinzie Street Bridge under the Chicago River. Since the old tunnel connections weren't watertight, a number of downtown buildings flooded.

[si_vis_amari_ama]

Hello, a video on the London Hydraulic system would be interesting please.

[derekstuart]

I have been down the tunnel. There's not much to see down there and you've got to be pretty agile as it's full of dusty, dirty pipes, conduits etc. I would say that the air down there is just about at the limit of what you can cope without breathing apparatus. Written from a visit around 1996. Sorry, no photos- at the time it was A) unexpected and B) just another dirty hole in the ground that I had to visit. I didn't even know its significance until years later, which makes me think it must have been the South shaft we went down.

[johncartwright]

When i lived in London I took the tube for granted. Now a rural-dwelling exile I appreciate it's intriguing history, quirks and oddities now thanks to channels such as this and others. An interesting tale Ii can regale a daughter with when visiting her there and being stuck in traffic on the Tower Bridge Road again!

[TheByard]

It was good to see the tunnel miners using the PPE of the time, YORK'S used to hitch the trouser bottoms up. This saved them dragging in the muck and trousers didn't need adjusting to kneel down.

[walale]

I'm amazed this channel doesn't have more subscribers considering how informative and well presented it is

[joc]

Another excellent episode. I never knew of this train, although oddly enough, I knew of the tunnel. Always wonderful to learn something new, especially when as interesting as this

[Lurker]

At least the tunnel is still being used for something and not sitting empty.

[dickiedollop]

Great history short thanks for posting, it’s so important we keep this information in the public domain 👍🏻

[MrGreatplum]

I’d love to have a peek down there today. A great piece of obscure London history!

[dodgydruid]

Has to be said, the hydraulic system that existed in London was never matched elsewhere for sheer size and scope, running lifts, machinery, dock cranes and machines it was a true industrial giant only overtaken by water and electricity and was still in some use up til the 70's too.

[brandonchan]

This might be the most British person I have even seen, even the Tim traveller can't beat the Britishness of this marvelous guy

[Outfrost]

This is what, in various branches of engineering in various fields, is called a 'proof of concept'. Even if not intended as such, the Tower Subway seems to have been an excellent proof of concept for deep level underground railways all over the world :)

[julie]

Definitely innovative. Just because of the fact it paved the way for the underground and kept reinventing its purpose and is still used today. Plus it was the first of its kind. Very interesting thanks 🙏

[Soonjai]

Paying to skip the queue? So this is where Theme Parks got that idea from. Curse you, old timey London!

[Degenerate]

The water mains through the subway were actually abandoned around 20 years ago. Last I heard it was in use by Mercury Communications. Presumably it passed on through mergers & acquisitions to whichever company now has Mercury's former London assets.

[Dekko-chan]

What i love about the tube, is that the trains just fit in the tunnels, so every train causes a crazy amount of wind.

[jamietrev]

Well done mr Jags, another superb video

[mumblbeebee]

Thanks for this video Jago, great collection of footage and nice background! I recently read the “Mycroft Holmes” books by Abdul Kareem Jabbar (not bad at all, I thought) ad at some point young Sherlock is spirited away by some urchins in a disused tunnel train. Nice to see that there was some fact inspiring that bit of fiction :)

[HipHopShowRoom]

Just stumbled onto this randomly, was half asleep and heard it n perked up!
This is awesome! New sub:)