OpenTube

Why do some British trains still rely on old levers?

Tom Scott

1,287,101 views

At Network Rail's Manchester classroom, I learn why it's very rare for trains to collide... and try out signalling for real. | ▶️ The next episode is on Nebula right now: https://nebula.tv/videos/tomscott-can... | 🗺️ England series map: https://www.tomscott.com/england/

🟥 MORE FROM TOM: https://www.tomscott.com/
(you can find contact details and social links there too)
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👥 THE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES: techdif

Written and presented by
Tom Scott

Producers
for Penny4 https://penny4.co.uk/
Cambria Bailey-Jones
Guy Larsen

Studio Associate Producer
Heloise Lowenthal

Studio Director of Photography
Jamie MacLeod

Studio Gaffer
Frank Hammond

Head of Post
for Breadbox Studios https://www.breadboxstudios.co.uk/
Mandy Celine

Associate Post Producer
Isla McTear

Senior Editor
Jamie MacLeod

Assistant Editor
Alex “J’Rassic” Bate

Sound Supervisor
Dan Pugsley

Sound Assistant
Maggy Apodaca

Subtitles by So Speedy https://www.sospeedy.co.uk/

With thanks to the Historic County Borders Project https://www.county-borders.co.uk/

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors https://osm.org/copyright

Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images

Executive Producer
Tom Scott

© Pad 26 Limited MMXXVI

20 Comments

@TomScottGo Creator 3 months ago Pinned

Update, 19th June 2026: Given the news of the crash near Bedford today, I've paused comments on this video. My thoughts go out to everyone involved, and to the emergency services personnel who are on the scene.

@youtubeadmin3158 3 months ago

Im actually in a third group where I think trains are cool but don't care enough to be obsessed

@timmccarthy9917 3 months ago (edited)

Kept waiting for the guide to say "pull the lever, Tom!" only to have a trapdoor open under him, shouting "wrong lever!" as he falls into a pit.

@timofey-sak 3 months ago

"I'm not much of a train nerd"
proceeds to make a 25 minute video on signal levers

@statelyelms 3 months ago

He said 'ten years of signalling school' and my eyes nearly shot out of my skull

@CordeVene 3 months ago

"Unless you can see the train, you can't be certain" schrodinger's train

@jonminton1878 3 months ago

Trainer: you must use two hands to move the signals.

Signalman: uses one finger

@UzairW 3 months ago

I would have been disappointed if a Tom Scott doing a tour of the UK did not feature an episode on trains!

Thank you Tom!

@crisrose9707 3 months ago

As someone who has JUST finished signalling school, this was awesome to watch! The training is so long and important, not just because there's a lot to know, but because you need to be 100% competent before you even start the job proper. We learn multiple topics every day for weeks till we can almost recite those rulebooks word for word and perform the actions and comms that go with them!

@belle7644 3 months ago

You want to be with Tom when the Apocalypse hits because he's received basic training in bloody everything.

@mastertrams 3 months ago

As someone who works in the railways (albeit safely in HQ, you won't see me messing with signals any time soon!) I've always loved Tom's deep respect for each task he does. A lesser man would've taken it for granted that he'd be allowed to change the signals on the live railway, and not been anywhere near as thankful afterwards.

@Lolcatterie 3 months ago

Absolutely here for Tom Scott’s “health and safety is brilliant” arc.

@galladite4924 3 months ago

It's good for old equipment to still be in use. The goal should be to build infrastructure that is reliable enough to last a hundred years, rather than replace it every ten.

@IAmDoovid 3 months ago

I saw trains and my neurons activated

@joeknight6151 3 months ago

I'm a mainline driver and one of my routes passes through the control of 7 signal boxes in around 40 minutes. We visited a signal box during my driver training and it was fascinating to see how much goes in just to keep us moving. I'll remind myself of this video next time I get annoyed when a signaller doesn't clear the road quick enough for my liking 😅

@kajraske2002 3 months ago

Those two hour nonstop shifts with actions taking place every thirty seconds actually sound like some kind of hell.

@undefinedfunction 3 months ago

As a heritage signaller, I enjoyed this video. Thanks for highlighting possibly one of the most underrated engineering developments this country has ever produced. It was a career opportunity missed for me, but I am fortunate to be able to do it at a heritage railway.

@TimP103 3 months ago

I love how Tom was instructed to always use two hands when moving the levers and then when they went to watch an actual operator in action that operator was just casually flinging the levers with 2-3 fingers 😂