Hello. I'm very excited to be outside Bank Station.
I did once say a while back, if ever I found out
some new things to tell you about on the Tube,
I would come back and make another episode.
That's why we've got a quick five minute episode
to squeeze in as many things as we can
as we do new Secrets of the Underground.
(car engine revving)
I made 15 original secrets videos over
on the Londonist channel, covering every line and mode
starting way back in 2013,
and then did two more extra episodes called Bonus Secrets
and then More Secrets of the Underground.
Since then I've made five more secrets videos
on my own channel here and now this new one too.
And they're all in one playlist again.
So do look at that
if you want to watch the whole series.
But let's crack on with this episode.
And we'll start with the many exits and entrances
of Bank station.
There's loads of them.
Now they're all numbered.
Behind me is the lesser used number nine.
But weirdly just back down there in the corridor
it actually splits into two,
and there's another corridor leading up to some escalators
which is another unnumbered entrance exit at Bank Station.
It's actually just labelled number one Poultry Street.
Unfortunately on the day that we're filming today
it's closed today for maintenance.
But trust me, when I tell you
that there is an unsigned, unnumbered, unnamed way
in and out of Bank Station here at Bank.
If you think Bank has a lot of entrances, though,
then don't forget about the station
that was once previously two separate stations
thus having its own history and abandoned entrances.
Yes, it's Charing Cross.
Which may just be the only station to challenge Bank,
as we saw this morning,
for the number of surface exits Charing Cross has plenty.
And here's one that you didn't know about.
It was an amalgamation of the Bakerloo and Northern Lines
but they weren't called that back then
when the railways came through here,
but one of the original entrances is now here,
this news agents money exchange shop.
If you look above you can see the intricate stone work
that represented that this was once an original entrance
to the London Underground.
Next up, we go to Leicester Square where we've got
a classic example of something
which you may have walked past every day
but have never seen.
This building here TFL offices nowadays
is 20 Cranbourn Street.
But if you look up there you can see originally
the office space used above was hired out
and used by the Wisden Cricketing Almanack Company
which is why their image is displayed up there
to this very day.
Onto the train and onto the Victoria line
where we bet that you've probably only ever seen
a Victoria line train underground and not out in the open.
But come to North London,
a short walk from Northumberland Park station,
and there's this alleyway that leads you
to this set of steps.
Ascend, and you'll get to, and that brings you
to one of those hidden foot bridges of London, which I love.
Which if you peer through the grill here
you can see a Victoria line train out
in the open down in Northumberland Park Depot.
(train whistle)
(train clacking)
Back onto the train and onto the Bakerloo,
and our next stop is Lambeth North
where a short walk takes you
to where the Bakerloo line trains rest up for the night.
Because yes, after looking at Victoria line trains out
in the open that makes me want to do the same
for Bakerloo line trains.
Come to Lambeth North tube station, walk down,
and come to London Road.
This is the entrance to London Road Depot,
but around the corner to Lambeth Road, come to this corner.
If you peer through the green fence up there
you get a fabulous view down
onto the Bakerloo London Road Depot.
(train beeps)
And next we took the tube, not to the sponsor of the map,
but to the city of London instead.
(train squeals)
And there's a westbound District line train
departing the platform here at Tower Hill.
We're actually at Tower Hill, with a secret that's so good
that inexplicably, I didn't put it in the earlier videos
from years ago, and I don't know why.
Did you know here, there is a piece
of original Roman wall.
As the sign says, if you look across the tracks
from this point you'll see a gap
in the tiling at the top of the wall.
The stones here are remnants from a Roman wall
that originally circled the sediment of Londinium.
Love that word.
They are a continuation of the wall
which can be seen directly outside of this station.
And there it is, a little bit
of Londinium inside Tower Hill.
Here's a couple of quickies
that you may have never spotted before.
Earlier when we were at Leicester Square,
did you see the film reels patterns
on both the Northern and Piccadilly line platforms
in their respective colours?
That gives a nod to all of Leicester Square's cinemas.
A nice touch.
And then, here's a reference to an old tube line
that's now long gone.
At Canada Water, the London overground replaced
the East London line back in 2007.
And although the audio announcements are up to date.
London overground platform.
In 15 years, no one's ever replaced the labels
on the buttons of this lift.
And they still refer to the old East London Line.
And for our final stop to Cannon Street.
Little bit cheeky, this one, because we've come
out of the Tube station into the National Rail station
on the concourse and the pub that's here.
But you see that sign behind it, it says food all day.
Well, if you nip inside the pub,
on the other side of that sign is a Tube map built
out of copper piping and little sign saying Cannon Street
just to remind you where you are.
I just really, really like it.
So there ya go, that is a new Secrets of the Underground.
If you like this kind of stuff there's loads
of it on the channel, press subscribe.
Thanks for watching.
See you in the next video.
(train station announcer talking)