The Tube BBC2

101sean

Anyone see this tonight? Very good insight into the workings of London Underground, bought me out in a cold sweat watching track work in a possession having been involved in a few!

Thankfully I now sit in my study here doing drawings for them, someone else gets to do the dirty work

Used be funny turning up to work a busy station at midnight seeing the drunks wandering around lost, I wouldn't want to be a station supervisor!

MrJoeSoap

Sounds good, must check it out.

flyingsnail

I came across this the other day, well worth a watch.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/confessions-from-the-underground/4od

Maverick88

Just watched it again on the Iplayer. Excellent programme. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the series.

Strange to see the P/Way lads and not hear any Irish accents. My Dad only recently retired from 41 years with London Underground on the P/Way (ending up as a track manager on the Picc) he and 90% of the 40 odd lads on his gang were Irish.

Have to say I didn't think much of the Channel 4 programme.

Maverick88

Read elsewhere that the production company spent a year making the programme. The producer was alleged to have said their favourite part was filmed with the fluffers.

For those that dont know fluffers were usually women employed to go into the tunnels and pick out by hand the rubbish and human fair that gets stuck in the ballast and tunnels, this fluff (hence the name) had the potential to smolder and cause fires

101sean

You're more likely to hear eastern european, african and in the case of our company, South African (one of our subbies is almost entirely white SA ) Rarely came across any Irish except one of our foreman, we are a drainage maintenance and civils contractor.

I loved working on the Tube surveying station and track drainage but 7 years of it had me wrecked, now I just do CAD and database stuff from home with occasional trip over. Working in possessions could be very stressful!

You certainly come across some unusual sights down there with disused sub stations, passageways etc

I didn't go much on the C4 programme either, it was actors playing the part of employees moaning about safety. It has to be one of the most safety concious places I've worked and a little OTT at times, our plumbers had a 147 page method statement for repairing water leaks :rolleyes:

CaptainSkidmark

i was at a platform this morning and i noticed the train coming out of the small tunnell tube and into the station tube and there was about 7 inches clearance between the train and the tube walls!

highlydebased

Well worth a watch, great programme.

LXFlyer

Repeated tonight on BBC2 at 00:20.

Jehuty42

Is this the same program that was on Sky a few years back?

101sean

No, new series.

roundymac

Was watching it last night. It was dealing mainly with people getting trapped/killed under the trains. All it takes is a bump and your gone. I always walk by the wall. The ammount of Irish staff on last nights programme was amazzing, especially the woman driver, O'Grady was her name, confused the camera crew when she blessed herself passing the graveyard. She was brillent,

who the fug

roundymac wrote: »

. The ammount of Irish staff on last nights programme was amazzing, especially the woman driver, O'Grady was her name, confused the camera crew when she blessed herself passing the graveyard. She was brillent,

In Victoria about the 10 years ago the person doing the announcements had the same accent as Éamon de Buitléar

fox_1973

i thought she was great also, id travel on her train every morning if i could!! shocking to hear they have 40 deaths a year though from people falling under the trains

101sean

There's some great characters down there although they aren't going to show some of the miserable ones, I've come across some very uncooperative staff as a contractor.

Suicide/falls is the main reason why the Jubilee Line extension has platform edge doors.