UK question: the smell of the Underground

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I wasn't sure whether this belonged in Random or GAD but with the thread being inspired from an aspie video about senses I chose the latter.

From a very early age I always enjoyed (correct term?) the distinct smell experienced on a deep level platform in a London Underground station. It may well be a combination of dust and cast iron etc from 50+ years but nonetheless I love it. I equally like the sound and gust of wind that precedes an approaching train, but that's another can of worms.

Now I've been on other subways (Newcastle, Glasgow) and it is not the same. Is there anyone here that's into the Underground and if so do they know what I mean?

I know the smell you mean, although it doesn't have the same effect on me , the Underground scares me. Too many people in a small space and constant fear of trains breaking down. I wish I liked it though coz you need it to get around London (as I found out last weekend after trying and failing to get from Edgware to Croydon without getting the tube!). I'm OK if I'm with someone, but panic on my own. Strangely I'm OK on the Glasgow metro :s I think it's coz it's more open and less people.

I hate that smell myself.

there was nothing nicer to calm down my nerves after a hectic day at the office than standing on the lower ground plat form, preferably on a hot summer evening, and waiting for the tube trains ( they call it s-bahn, where i come from ) to pull up.
i often stepped forward to make sure to get the full benefit of the "gust" ( warm turbulent air smelling of i don't know what, metal, engine oil, warm tarmac? ), and i also loved the "singing" noise the grinding wheels made on the track. my station had to be approached in a curve, so you could hear the trains pulling in from far away.

Absolutely LOVE the smell of the underground, the older stations are better. I live about three hours from London, but whenever I go, I always give myself time to just ride around on the underground and 'smell' the different stations. My dad thinks I am VERY weird. Can't believe that someone else likes this too!

Ive always loved the smell of the "T" in Boston, Bostons subway system. I can only assume that the underground smells similar, both are very old and historic systems. I dont know if the underground has a third rail for power, but boston does, and that contributes a hint of ozone to the smell.

I know what you mean about the rush of wind when the train is approaching, i love that.

I know what you mean but I HATE the London Underground, the smell, the sounds, it makes me feel sick. I have memories as a child of being dragged around the tube stations and I just remember it as a blur of faces and dark colours and terrifying loud noises and the constant fear of falling on to the tracks. Being on the tube itself is the worst thing in the world, I would quite literally rather be anywhere on earth that inside a tube carriage. Even thinking about it is making me anxious.

Yeah I love the whoosh of warm air, archaic smell of whatever it is that brushes past me (it smells world war 1ish to me lol I have no idea why or how I made that association) & the untuned rumble, on the other hand I hate standing on a crowded tube in a twister type position just waiting for some more people to exit at the next stop & give me a few more pounds of "oxygen" to breath. Only been to London a few times, I know I couldn't stand being there for more than a few days. Walking on the wrong side of the escalator is quite amusing as some impatient business men with their briefcase try to push past you with an air of "I'm more important than you, get out my damn way now!" lol.

Ooh I love it!
A lovely warm and friendly mechanical smell, with that whiff of ozone to it.
I'd get as close to the tunnel entrance as I could to catch that early hint of an arriving train and tune into it as it arrived, listening to that unique pinging noise on top of the rumble. Then the huge noise getting louder and louder and the increasing air flow as it blasted through the tunnel into the station.
Leicester Square was my favourite. It just seemed to have exactly the right combination of things.
Last time I used the Victoria Line there was some huge problem with the rails between Stockwell and Brixton, and the wheels made an ear-splitting screeching noise that was actually painful. So that bit wasn't so good.
I liked the old Northern Line trains with the wooden slat flooring and the leather hanging straps. They always smelled very nice and homely.

It's just one more of the things that I like about the City I love