It's truly remarkable that, despite having the headlights on, the tunnels continue to envelop the surroundings in almost complete darkness. One can only imagine how fatiguing it must be for an engineer or driver to navigate the repetitive transition from these extremely dark tunnels to the brightly lit stations or outdoor areas, potentially straining their eyes in the process.

It's great to see the driver's eye view (even when it is dark) interspersed with the station shots. Great editing and well done to all who took part..

Last night I just couldn't sleep and almost accidentally came across to this video and watched it all. Amazing job indeed and exactly what I needed. Sweet memories about London which I miss so much. Thanks for sharing.

Those are the darkest subway tunnels I have ever seen.

The Northern Line holds a special place in my heart. It was the first Tube line I took on my first trip to England.

What a sterling effort editing and filming all the individual stations. Fantastic production!

From wikipedia: In the 1850s, Burnt Oak referred to no more than a field on the eastern side of the Edgware Road (Watling Street). By the 1860s plans were in place to build three residential streets: North Street, East Street, and South Street. The area was generally known as Red Hill until the opening of Burnt Oak tube station on the Northern line of the London Underground on 27 October 1924. It was on farmland to the south-east of the community in Edgware Road, that London Transport constructed a new road, Watling Avenue, and London County Council built the Watling Estate housing estate. In September 1931 Jack Cohen opened his first Tesco store at 54 Watling Avenue, Burnt Oak.

I grew up in Golders Green in the 70s and this was my local line. I now live in California but this video brings back many happy memories. Thanks and great job.

Great video and very well put together, many thanks. I well remember the island platforms on the city branch in the 1960s. At least the remaining two Clapham stations are well lit nowadays, but I recall Angel in particular was a horrible dingy place. The lighting was grimy 40W bulbs (or so they seemed) in those glass hexagonal shades at the apex of the tunnel, and without any safety lines painted at the edges where platform ended and track began seemed a bit of a mystery. In the rush hour you got the feeling that if just one or two more people arrived on the platform you'd all fall on to the track.

wow 77 years and I finally get to see what it is really like to exit the tunnel Highgate to East Finchley....Born 1946 and raised in East Finchley I even as kid frequently travelled on the tube into London...be it a visit to the sights with parents or to see a film or show....remember being told way back in the 50s that the tunnel from East Finchley to |Morden in Surrey was the longest in the world...so always felt special travelling on that line...remember playing in the cherry Tree wood next to the line and watching with facination the train dissapearing into the tunnel from East Finchley station....left home in 1965 to join the RAF and weekends at home I still remember travelling exiting through that tunnel to East Finchley and leaving to go back to camp......and after 14 months coming home on leave from a overseas posting and seeing the light as we left the tunnel..and knowing back home again......when younger used to get into the front carridge just to peep through the small glass window on the cab door to see what it was like to come into the climb to Finchley station....last travelled on that line in 1969 when last left home for good to get married by which time could drive so never used the East Finchley route again......but to see it on you tube and as I said in the beginning to see what it really looks like to come out the tunnel is amazing....sad I know.....but still amazing....or as they say ..everything comes to those who wait...even if it has taken 77 years!!

De London Underground. Het materieel met het herkenbare speciale profiel. Vierrailsysteem bijzonder.

A great video. Too bad the tunnel wasn't lit better. I would have liked to have seen the track ahead and the diverge and merge points. Still, a great video. Thanks for posting.

This video is INCREDIBLE. It’s a real immersive experience, so thanks for sharing it with us. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I grew up in NYC riding the Subway. The tunnels (compared to London) are VERY BRIGHTLY lit. We moved to the UK for three years when I was 10-13 years old. When I first rode the London Underground in the Summer of 1984, I remember VERY CLEARLY asking my Father: "Dad, why are the tunnels SO DARK here, is it because of the Blitz?" 😂 Funny thing is: I was only partially right. The London Underground's running tunnels in between stations are not lit (except by the headlights of each individual train), BUT, in the event of an emergency or a power failure within the system, tunnel lights are turned on via their own circuit on an emergency generator.

Thank you for this brilliant video, and well done. I have enjoyed two long holiday trips to the UK ( London) and based myself and family at Russell Square and Bloomsbury Square, we used the London Under ground rail network almost every day, it is a wonderful transport system. No matter where we wanted to go this rail network took us there and almost to the door where we wanted to visit. I was amazed how deep under ground Russell square station was. Thank you again. 👍 Au

Well done Ben, and thanks for posting it. A fascinating video; I often fancied being a Tube Driver, but I stayed in Signalling on BR.

Thankyou ..for remembering our short experience in UK.We went from Burnt Oak to Greenwhich by train,seated in front seat...enjoying like this vedio.Thankyou my daughter & son-in-law ...for giving us that opportunity.(Sri Lanka)

Great video for us underground nerds! Growing up in New York, I would cut school just to ride the trains. They were so full of mystery. Each new station was a small, subterranean world, ready to be discovered. The only system in the world that can compare to the MTA is the London Underground. It's just as old, just as big and, frankly, much better maintained. I was staying at an Air BnB just a few weeks ago in Golders Green and my station was the lovely Brent Cross. I was only there for a week but it was home base and I have a strange sense of homesickness for it. Good job. I'm still chanting: "See it! Say it! Sorted!"

This is among the best carbides I’ve ever seen. Outstanding work.

The 'Watling' mentioned on the Burnt Oak sign refers to the Watling Estate which was built in the mid-1920s. It provided council housing for people who'd been living in poor-quality accommodation in London and was part of David Lloyd George's promise to provide "homes fit for heroes to live in". My dad and his family moved there from Belsize Park in 1926.

Very interesting video - the trip into Golders Green reminded me of my childhood when I lived there for a bit. You can see the high street as the tube crosses the bridge over the Golders Green road and then snakes around the back of the shops before ending up at the beginning of the high street where the bus station is. Angel Islington used to have an island platform, like Clapham North & Common, until they built a nice wide platform. It got extremely crowded and dangerous in rush hour!

I was a student in London from 1988 to 1992. I sometimes took trains from Edgware to the city if I wanted a leisurely ride (rather than the faster Jubilee line). I believe at that time the Northern Line trains were not this color. Anyway thanks for such a nostalgic video

This is pure gold in so many ways! Thanks 😊

Nicely shot, and well put together. You can see the ti.e and effort you have put into this video. Awesome! Watching from afar in NZ.

I remember going on the tube at Colindale in the 1950s when the ticket hall was virtually a shed. The entrance was originally rather palatial and identical to Hendon and Brent but it was destroyed by bombing when the Germans attacked the adjacent Hendon airfield.

I've ridden this line so many times, nice to see it from my living room, thanks :)

I once had to walk through one of the tunnels because our train broke down between Kennington & Waterloo. It was an interesting experience.

I never knew that the London underground had elevated tracks like here in NYC.

Excellent video, mate. High Barnet is my local station since I can remember as a young lad in the 90s. I was seeing if I was in this video as I use the Northern Line everyday to get to and from work.

Absolutely awesome. Great respect for these train drivers!👍🏼👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻❤️

I love the subways and the underground as you call them in England. I'd like to know why are the tunnels so dark and not lit up? And why don't the train drivers use headlights? Thank you for the videos.

as a young boy in the early 60s the london underground fascinated me the way it was all planned out is truly an amazing fete of engineering and design

Reliivng my past. Used to live in Mill Hill and used Edgware Station to get around. Now I live in Florida. :)

After watching this I had to look at a map of London and the Underground, as it reminded me of the great times we have spent in London.

Absolutely wonderful. Thank you you, sir.

Hello from Clare Michigan. Thanks for posting.

As an Irishman in Manchester 21 years, I’m amazed to discover that several sections of the London Underground are actually overground and the last time I was on the Tube was on the 25th of June 2002 from Heathrow, Piccadilly Circus (for Soho) and Circle Line (for London Euston)

1:22 How did you deal with the Go Pro on the window not over heating? It seems to be in the "Mod Case" as well which keeps the heat in a little more.

Great video Ben! Thoroughly enjoyable.

I was reeling off the station names in order as you set off 😀

The station opened in 1924 as Burnt Oak (Watling) and was designed by Stanley Heaps. The name Burnt Oak was inspired by a tradition that the Romans had a site in the local area in which they lit fires to signify a boundary mark - hence burnt oak. Watling was dropped from the station name around 1950.

I've seen several of these driver view videos that were shot with GoPro cameras and all of them seem to have poor low-light capabilities. I can see that the train's headlights are on via the reflectors inside the tunnels but, that is pretty much all that is visible.

Great video, so many memories as a kid riding this line, I was lucky enough to see from the drivers cab one day as we asked a driver what's it like, and the driver broke every rule in the book and let us ride with him on the understanding we stayed out of view coming into the stations, what a great guy as he risked his job in doing so. So much respect to him. This was about 1983 so I guess he's retired by now by a long way. Just one question for you, what did you do with mornington cres station that was always closed on weekends?

Can’t believe the change between Edgware & Colindale , I’m glade we moved to the east coast

Thank you for the video, I hope we will see other lines as well ( if not done yet Picadilly)

nice and claustrophobic

Very good video really enjoyed watching this so thanks for sharing

Very Kool, i love the editing at the stations!

I find it very unusual to have no lights in the tunnel. I’m wondering how the underground operator can see. Perhaps this is a version of London on a parallel world in a parallel universe where no lights are used in the tunnel

First couple of years of University, my halls were near Angel and my girlfriend lived in Hendon, so would be riding that stretch of the line almost daily. Good times...

I don't think i'd turn my water ways into underground train networks

Interesting video. It must be over 20 years since I've been on that line, I used to have family that lived at Mill Hill.. with the darkness and all the train noises it almost seems like the line is haunted.. Only suggestion I would give is try using a night vision camera for the tunnels 🤔🤔

i used to work on the northern line in the late 80's as a guard based at Morden - i did my training at white city opposite the BBC

Very good video, nice scenery.

The Burnt Oak for Watling sign is there because Burnt Oak tube stn. is on Watling Avenue.

Interesting. I hadn't realised so much of the northern section of the Northern Line was above surface. I grew up in Morden at the southern end, but never ventured as far as Edgware! To get to the tube station from my house I had to walk over the long footbridge above the entrance to the Morden depot.

Thanks for sharing this. Really enjoyed this and like I was driving the train :)

Re: Burnt Oak (Watling) - Watling is a neighborhood just north of Burnt Oak on the map

Interesting,it’s a pity the Northern Line wasn’t extended.

I was a graffiti artist in the 80s, this film brings back amazing memories suddenly. I have mixed feeling now about that era but it still feels special to see so many secrets pass by throughout the journey. So many misspent nights in Golders Green!! And Edgeware!! It was a unique time never to be repeated. Thanks for posting this, I wish we had good cameras back then.

I think Watling is referring to Watling St, which is the name of the A5 close to Burnt Oak

Great video. Thank you ❤

Is it actually that dark in the tunnels, or was it the camera being set back not able to catch any light? I thought there were lights on the front, having said that, I’ve never looked.

Greetings from Berlin. Great Video :-)

Marvellous video-incredible detail Ben! Congratulations from Thailand!

Hi Ben. I know why the sign at Burnt Oak still mentions "Watling". The real reason for that is because the station first opened "Burnt Oak for Watling" on 27 October 1924. That's according to Wikipedia by the way.

Burnt Oak for Watling is Watling Avenue outside the station.

Been to London many a times and the most fun part for me is always just simply riding on the tube. You Londoners are completely used to it of course.

Lived in Belsize Park in the late 70s. Worst line in London, although, on a recent return to London, I felt a slight flutter when I saw directions to Northern Line. Remembrance of things past 😞

It’s really cool how you go from rough looking old style stations to much newer modern looking stations. Good stuff. I really do find that the fans on these when at a stand are so eerie sounding. Does anyone know why they make this sound?

Cracking video, do the trains not have headlights or anything to see in front? 😬

Excellent video, likes from me .

Fantastic Vídeo. Good Job.

Fabulous footage!

You need to place a very powerful multi-LED lamp flush on the glass of the door to see those tunnels.

Burnt Oak for Watling? Could that be Watling Street? A famous roman road which runs through St Albans and on northwards

Hi. I am not absolutely sure but I think that Burnt Oak ( for Watling ) maybe something to do with Watling Street which is the Roman road that heads north out of London.

Hope the point controller douse not make a mistake ,as the driver can only go ware the rails take him , must be an experience to drive in day light , to breath some healthy air after the tunnels

I drove a rig for a living, you talk about monotony, at least I could turn the wheel, these drivers, you can have it, you can have my job too

Having watched video 125s production of the northern line its weird to see it without signalling now compared to how it used to be

Do the trains not use headlights? What if there’s something on the tracks?

For those who criticize the London Underground, do not forget that this is the oldest subway in the world, however, it is in good condition than, for example, the New York subway. Although. of course, there is not enough space at the stations for modern London, there is not enough space and lighting! But. In general, I like the subway! And this is what the metro looks like in my country: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/mNR4ms6ns7SaYWw.html

I used Central Line and Piccaddily durign my years in London as I lived Sherpherds Bush, Acton and Chiswick

Nice

Great video! Very interesting and entertaining. It's just a pity you couldn't clean the glass of the train in front of the camera. The picture would have been better. But thanks anyway.

When you see the train exiting the tunnel it looks like it's close to hitting the walls there.

Edgware, ended up there many a time as fell asleep on the tube home from work, not to bad as lived in Burnt Oak. Live in New Zealand now, no high air pollution or sweaty fellow commuters.

Burnt Oak station is situated on Watling Avenue... Other than that, I don't know the significance of "for Watling"... I do know the next station, Colindale, sits on Colindale Avenue..

Great video. Thanks. Native NYC guy here. Is the center rail a grounding rail for the outer third rail?

good one

Quite interesting actually. Nice video.

Really thought passing tubes would flash lights at each other 😀

Actually Brent Cross is not the best station for Brent Cross Shopping Centre, it is wrong side of the multi lane North Circular Road, Hendon Central is easier access.

I remember that tube trains had headlights. Why is it completely dark when going through the tunnels?

Like driving a Cadillac, leaned back.

Watling is a park near Burnt Oak Station. P.S. Does the driver navigate in the dark, that don't seem like a good idea, I thought they would have headlights on the train?

Hard to believe the trains don't have proper lighting. I guess at least if any graffiti exists it's impossible to see it which is a positive.

You folks appear to be much more advanced in implementing CBTC and ATO than NYC subway. Only 2 lines have it end to end.

You lucky cove Ben, something we have all wanted to do but you could have placed a little more excitement into your commentary. Well done.

I like london