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1 x 45:00 min "The History of the London Underground" is the definitive story of the tube', the world's first underground railway system, an extraordinary and vast network that serves nearly a billion people each year.From its humble beginnings in 1863 when a steam engine made the first run of a new era as the very first subway train to commute beneath London's streets to one of the most extensive subway systems in the world, this fascinating documentary tells the complete story of the 243 mile long subterranean network that keeps London moving. With classic archive footage and interviews with London Underground' historians who trace the developments that transformed the first subway line into the modern marvel that we know today, "The History of the London Underground" is a must have for all Londoners and railway enthusiasts alike.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
At only 45 minutes, this single episode of Modern Marvels is dissapointingly short, particularly as I was anticipating something more in-depth. However, it is well produced and the facts and stats come fairly thick and fast, so if you're looking for an overview, this is a good place to begin - especially if you don't know London that well. Londoners, on the other hand, might be a little dissapointed. For something more substantial, the final episode of Mark Williams' "On the Rails" is both more informative about the underground in a wider conext, and orders of magnitude better in terms of entertainment. That said, this documentary is a reasonable stand-alone piece of informative television that will also complement other such material. Overall, I give this 6.5 out of 10; a reasoanble jumping off point for discovering the history of the world's first metro system.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
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Produced by the History Channel, this forty-five minute film gives quite a detailed overview of the history of the Tube. Narrated by Michael Praed, it features pertinent contributions from, amongst others, rail historians, engineers, and members of the London Transport Museum.
The world's first underground railway, the film covers its development from the first `cut-and-cover' of the Metropolitan line in 1863, through electrification, to the overground and Metroland of the 1930s. We learn that the Tube was only a sight of safety and horror for inhabitants during the Blitz, but was also where munitions factories operated. The coming of automation and the construction of the Jubilee Line extension are also featured, as well as the future. Throughout the film, references are also made to the engineering involved, the locomotion and the sources of power employed, station architecture, and of course map-design. Old photographs and archive film play useful parts.
Strangely, the DVD does not come with a production date either on-screen or on the disc and packaging, but I would hazard a guess that it is no later than 2007. Nevertheless, this is an excellent introduction, illuminating much of the darkness of the Tube's history and development. I like it: four stars.
The world's first underground railway, the film covers its development from the first `cut-and-cover' of the Metropolitan line in 1863, through electrification, to the overground and Metroland of the 1930s. We learn that the Tube was only a sight of safety and horror for inhabitants during the Blitz, but was also where munitions factories operated. The coming of automation and the construction of the Jubilee Line extension are also featured, as well as the future. Throughout the film, references are also made to the engineering involved, the locomotion and the sources of power employed, station architecture, and of course map-design. Old photographs and archive film play useful parts.
Strangely, the DVD does not come with a production date either on-screen or on the disc and packaging, but I would hazard a guess that it is no later than 2007. Nevertheless, this is an excellent introduction, illuminating much of the darkness of the Tube's history and development. I like it: four stars.
47 of 49 people found the following review helpful
If I had had the chance of viewing this DVD prior to purchase, I would have given it a miss! My suspicions were aroused at an early stage in viewing, when constant references were made to 'railroads'. Was this DVD produced for the American tourist? The term is 'railways' in this country. Why do we always have to Americanise everything?
My main criticism of this presentation is that it seems to suffer from the increasingly common fault among documentaries - that is a careless matching of narrative and visuals. For example, footage of mainline LMS steam locomotives is shown, whilst explaining early steam traction on the London Underground sub-surface lines (which used a specialised design of steam locomotive - not sufficiently covered, in my opinion). Also the haphazard jumping from line to line becomes very tiresome, as well as being completely unrelated to what is being explained at the time. If viewed by the casual student, factual details such as these might be overlooked, but having been a 'tube' enthusiast for many years, errors such as these stand out like the proverbial sore thumb, and can be most misleading to the uninformed. One classic piece of narrative is heard when the Victoria line is quoted as being "busiest between Victoria and Buckingham Palace!" (The Victoria line goes right past the Palace on it's way to Green Park. There is no station at Buckingham Palace! Another misleading statement!).
This DVD seems very hurried in it's content, and to be fair, to cover this wide subject on a 45 minute DVD is a challenge. All the more reason for careful sampling and continuity of the various aspects. There was a much better account of London's Underground history shown on TV some years ago. I wish it was available, as I would gladly have purchased it instead of this version!
My main criticism of this presentation is that it seems to suffer from the increasingly common fault among documentaries - that is a careless matching of narrative and visuals. For example, footage of mainline LMS steam locomotives is shown, whilst explaining early steam traction on the London Underground sub-surface lines (which used a specialised design of steam locomotive - not sufficiently covered, in my opinion). Also the haphazard jumping from line to line becomes very tiresome, as well as being completely unrelated to what is being explained at the time. If viewed by the casual student, factual details such as these might be overlooked, but having been a 'tube' enthusiast for many years, errors such as these stand out like the proverbial sore thumb, and can be most misleading to the uninformed. One classic piece of narrative is heard when the Victoria line is quoted as being "busiest between Victoria and Buckingham Palace!" (The Victoria line goes right past the Palace on it's way to Green Park. There is no station at Buckingham Palace! Another misleading statement!).
This DVD seems very hurried in it's content, and to be fair, to cover this wide subject on a 45 minute DVD is a challenge. All the more reason for careful sampling and continuity of the various aspects. There was a much better account of London's Underground history shown on TV some years ago. I wish it was available, as I would gladly have purchased it instead of this version!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A great introduction to the history of the Underground
OK, maybe this is not a documentary for the purists, but to those such as myself who are intrigued by the London Underground and want to know more, this DVD fits the bill very... Read more
Published 20 months ago by printmonkey
Good documented DVD
The story of London underground is one of the best DVD we could see !
Published 23 months ago by Serge Algoet
Very interesting
Exaustive but not boring documentary.
In only 45 minutes you can see the history of London underground system. Read more
In only 45 minutes you can see the history of London underground system. Read more
Published on 26 Jun 2009 by Marco Maria Lucchetti
history of london underground
this a must for any body interested in london s transport system it is brilliant again i have only seen this for sale on AMAZON,
Published on 4 Feb 2009 by Mr. M. Parry
An outing underground
Probably the best asset of London that enabled London to get the 2012 Olympic games against Paris whose public transportation system is archaic and totally pervaded with... Read more
Published on 28 Oct 2008 by Jacques COULARDEAU
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