I'm 170 miles from London,
I'm on the island of Alderney in the Channel islands,
where they have the Alderney Railway,
where you really can ride, a 1959 London underground train.
Yes, on the island of Alderney,
in the Channel islands, that's this one here,
there's a small railway, just two miles long
on an island that's only three miles in length itself.
And it runs between the two stops
of Braye road and Mannez Quarry.
The quarry was the reason
that the railway was built in the first place.
It opened in 1847 to carry stone
from the Eastern end of the island,
down to the port to help build the breakwater.
And nowadays,
there are two preserved London underground carriages
you can ride on, most summer weekends when it's open.
(passengers chatting)
(bell rings)
(doors rolling)
About to depart.
The train is scheduled
to make two round trips,
this one at two o'clock and then again at 3:30,
with a short journey time, each way,
of just over 10 minutes.
All right, so what we've got here
are two ex Northern line trains, 1959 stock.
Introduced to London underground in 1959,
actually you may remember them as well,
on the Piccadilly line, they also had brief stints
on the Bakerloo and on the Central line,
but predominantly, they were in use on the Northern line.
The last one actually ran on the tube in 2000.
Here you got two carriages, being pulled by a locomotive.
So they're not powered, it's not electric,
there's no electrification,
there's a little locomotive upfront,
which we'll see in a bit.
The fun thing about Alderney
is that no matter which direction you're looking,
you can almost always see water.
And the train neatly runs close to the channel
for great views.
But I'll be honest,
I was lapping up all the original features
that are still on the train.
Whoa!
Okay, so there are carriage diagrams from the Northern line
that look kind of old, that one over there's a bit faded,
but best of all and they've got strap hangers.
So you can just like, pretend you're commuting.
I haven't held a strap hanger for ages.
(Geoff chuckling)
The volunteers
also leave the cab door open,
which gives you a great view out of the back,
which is liked by kids and adults alike.
As it's a popular trend for families
to come and take a trip on.
We've come from Guernsey this morning
to have a long weekend in Alderney.
And we brought the children on the train today,
they absolutely love it.
How did you first know about it, or hear about it?
I came probably years ago
when I was probably the same age as my daughter.
And I think I've got a picture of me
sitting next to the train.
It's just one of those things to do,
it's one of those tick list things
to come on the train and have the experience.
Because in Guernsey of course, we don't have any trains
so for my children it's a real novelty experience.
The train remember
is heading for the quarry,
that's the whole reason that the line was opened,
in the first place, as it mined hard sandstone.
And after the quarry was finished,
the railway fell out of use for many years,
until the Alderney Railway Society and Company
were formed in 1978
and they ran their first public passenger train,
on the line, on the 5th of April in 1980.
I can see the lighthouse
so I think we're approaching the quarry.
Can anybody help me?
I'm still not good on the pronunciations.
Is it not Mannet or Minnet quarry? Anyone?
Money?
Money!
Money Quarry
We're approaching the quarry.
It's about an 11, 12 minute ride,
it'll sit here for about 20 minutes.
Go do a quick look around the carriage ride,
I think, coming up,
then the train will do it's second trip of the day.
Okay, Ken's telling people things they can go and see.
Brian's up in the engine.
I'm hoping we're gonna get into the carriage shed
in a sec, I just wanna get a shot of the engine
and then we'll get Brian or Ken
to give us some locomotive details.
It's got an 18 litre diesel engine made by Gardner
it's a marine engine, six cylinder.
How long have you been volunteering
on the railway?
About 12, 14 years.
I was a teacher, retired over here
and it's one of the things I became involved in.
And before there was the 1959 tube stock,
they had some old 1938 tube stock, is that correct?
That's right they had 1938 tube stock,
but it was only over here for about 18 months,
because the '38 tube stock is steel bodied
and it started to rust.
(Geoff chuckling)
So we swapped it in for the '59 stock,
which is aluminium bodied and therefore doesn't rust.
Are you ladies form Alderney or the Channel islands?
No. No, we're incomers.
You're in...
So you have been on the actual London underground
in London? Yes.
Okay, all right.
Long time ago.
Are you old enough to remember these trains?
Yes.
Old enough, about old enough to remember them,
I do remember actually being on it.
I do remember the flooring like that, yes,
Cause they were in use into the nineties, remember?
I think it was 2000,
was the lot, the last one ran in 2000.
That's when it came here, that's when they came here.
Yeah.
The last ever 1959 stock
on the London underground, ran in January 2000,
with a trip, out of the depot at Mordon
via the Bank branch, up to Edgeware and back,
in the evening peak.
It was also momentous,
in that it was the last time that a guard
ever worked a passenger train, on the tube.
(shoes scraping gravel)
I mean, I think you can see how excited I am.
It's just, I just need to,
I need to say it out loud, to reiterate to myself.
I'm in Alderney, on the Channel islands,
riding a 1959 tube train, that is brilliant.
(Geoff chuckling)
Ken then takes me round
their depo maintenance shed,
where they have another locomotive called Molly,
note the life belt on the back,
yes this train used to run out on the break water,
by the sea, as well as some other old carriages,
which sometimes get a run out.
And the volunteer team
also have to do their own track maintenance too.
Hang on, you don't just maintain the trains?
You have to, presumably,
there's no sort of Alderney network rail here,
you have to, you maintain the tracks as well?
Oh yes.
You have things like these lifting rails,
which obviously fit over a rail and you lift.
You can put four people on a length of rail, each end
and lift the rail.
Now, it's an amazing discovery,
I thought there were just two stops.
One at Braye and one here at Mannez Quarry.
No, no, no, I've been chatting here to lovely Brian,
who tells me that there was, there's a third station
or halt on the line, is that right?
That's correct, so there's a third station
called the Eclipse Halt,
that was put in specifically for the eclipse
that took place, to bring people up from Braye station
up to the best location on the island,
to be able to see the eclipse.
It's just really surreal to be walking along
and suddenly it's like, boom,
a 1959 Northern line tube stock train,
here on Alderney in the channel islands,
you should absolutely come.
Come to the Channel islands, come to Alderney,
come and visit, come ride the tube train.
I've employed a random stranger called Mary,
thanks for holding my camera Mary, to hold the camera
because I just noted that the guard's bar is still here.
Which I don't want to get that stuck.
The guard would stand here and then operate the controls,
the buttons for the doors, either side
and the bar is still in place,
I thought that might have remove that, that's pretty cool.
All right,
do you want to go stand by the big tree,
then I'll take a picture of you and Daddy?
And also at Mannez Quarry,
on certain days of the year,
there's a bonus train, that you can ride on as well
in the form of this miniature railway.
I consider myself a little too big for that though
and so just headed back for the big size train.
(train shunting)
We're making the trip back,
I've got this section of the train to myself.
These aren't original moquettes,
but I'm pretty sure the pattern might be an original.
Is that a Northern line moquette?
I don't know, but it's been done, it's been done very well.
It's very nice, very nice.
Heading back towards Braye road,
I spotted another in carriage map.
It is a map of the line, but instead,
it shows where all the crossing points are
and the names that they have.
(train horn hooting)
The warning horn is of course,
a modern day addition,
which the volunteers control, everything else is disabled.
Well, except the air brake, that still works,
which you can see is an operation,
from this active pressure gauge.
I also took a moment to read the guide that you can buy
and read up on the railway's history
and wonderfully discovered that royalty
has once ridden this line.
In 1854, when Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
took a trip, in a rail car here,
during a visit to the island.
(bell clanging)
And then we got to the point
where we're passing Eclipse Halt.
And although the railway here on Alderney
doesn't have any official annual statistics released,
I feel very confident in stating.
that this is their most least used station on the line.
Have you ever stopped there or got off?
No.
How's your trip on the Northern line, sir?
Fantastic.
You've not done it before?
Is this your first time?
First time on this Northern line train in Alderney.
But you're from Guernsey, right?
I am from Guernsey.
So have you been on the actual London underground?
I have. Okay
Not on the Northern line though,
first time on the Northern line.
Oh, this is in effect the Northern line,
this is exactly what it's like in 2021.
(guys chuckling)
Hey, a man called Matt, Matt what was that?
I'm just saying,
it's not often that you get to see France
from the Northern line is it?
(guys chuckling)
What would you rather,
the actual Northern line in London
or the Northern line in France?
Ah, I think this is a beautiful.
Absolutely beautiful, isn't it yeah?
Thanks mate.
Nice to meet you.
(motorbike revving)
I've asked about the doors,
because I wanted to know, what operated the doors
and there's this handle down here on the side.
So you saying if I turn this,
Yeah.
that door should, behind me there, that's your close?
Turned it.
(door rolling)
I love that noise, that's a classic, it's a classic noise.
Teeny historical note, as you can see, it's standard gauge.
Hasn't always been standard gauge,
the Channel islands,
even though in history,
was occupied during the Second World War
and when that happened, the Germans,
they reduced the standard gauge down.
They took it away to a metre wide track
and then, after the war, when everybody came back,
they put the standard gauge back in place.
And there's a bonus video too,
about the line going further at this point
and extending out onto the kaye side and the breakwater.
Link in the description.
I spent four days on the island of Alderney
and it's fair to say I was utterly charmed by its beauty.
And then you throw in the fact
that there's a tube train, as well
and it's simply wonderful.
You can also pay to have a footplate experience,
which they kindly let me do as well.
Where you go up into the engine and drive the train
for the complete experience.
My thanks to all the volunteers there
and to everyone that I met, it was just perfect.
And that is how to ride
the two London underground carriages,
the ex '59 Northern London stock here
on the island of Alderney, right by the English channel.
so the wind is now blowing in,
the weather's turned slightly, but it's amazing,
incredible views and an incredible railway,
to come and ride.
Do come and visit Alderney, if you can.
(train running on tracks)