London's Only Railway Foot Crossing
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- Опубліковано 21 лют 2019
- Out between Westcombe Park and Charlton is something most unusual ... a foot crossing in London across a regularly used railway line. It's freight only - not a passenger branch, but is it London's only railway foot crossing?
Welcome to the line to Angerstein Wharf ... There's rumour that the foot crossing may be replaced with a pedestrian subway that goes underneath instead at somepoint in the future.
Roger's video: • What lies behind this ...
CORRECTION
Where I say 'A2' it is of course, the A102.
*waits 45 minutes for train*
*train arrives*
"This will hopefully pass in 30 seconds"
and the other London foot crossing...which smells a bit like country air (And trains every 6-8 mins)
ua-cam.com/video/8ouAB47btvA/v-deo.html
lol that is exactly what i thought, and then immediately came down to the comments to see if anyone had already said it. first comment - win
170,000 people came here to watch a cement train pass by a pedestrian road crossing lol. We are truly special indeed.
the number has now doubled
It's 255'000 now.
Hey, I'd rather be interested in this than shoes or whatever normies are interested in. At least trains are interesting.
@@badusername9903 Quick maffs.
262,795 Views now
"It's London's only foot crossing. Apart from the other one" - Marshall 2019
Milleau Limey, and the one in Romford
@nigel cuthbertson theres also a foot crossin on overground but you maybe included that
@@brandonjennings8594 Emmerson Park i think..
@@johnmasters504 theres one at Enfield too between bush hill park and enfield town
@@jimismith6648 oh ok, am interested in things like that, I once explored every piece of track in Suffolk, except for the Leiston branch, not done that yet...plus I have done Norfolk and Cambridgeshire and starting on Lincolnshire
RE your comment about the "mann in orange hi-vis" walking up to meet the train:
I occasionally am that man. As there are 3 parts to Angerstein (Cemex covered by DB and Aggregate and Norris Skips covered by GBRF) we have to walk up the run round loop to ensure the line is set for where we want to go, then meet the train at the stop board to give the driver a radio (If required) and give them authority to pass the stop board. :)
@@geofftech2 probably shunter preference. If they have contact with driver, some will call them down to save walking up.
@@callumfromekr Shunter noticed Geoff and didn't want to pass by foot ;-)
you're a shapeshifter ?
“It does smell like wee a bit”
-Geoff 2019
But was he talking about the area, or the tea he bought nearby ?
Hmmmm...
@@oliverp7 i was literally scrolling through and saw this comment because it was the last few seconds of the video and as soon as i read it Geoff said it. Perfect 👌
“I smell wee... this one smells of wee” Favourite Quote of mine from “Father Ted”
ua-cam.com/video/VopZcJ0w7Lk/v-deo.html
@@snowy2018 I love Father Ted. My favourite part has got to be when he's trying to explain to Dougle that the plastic cow is small and the ones outside are far away. ua-cam.com/video/MMiKyfd6hA0/v-deo.html
This may qualify as The Video Most Difficult To Explain Why You're Watching It To A Sane Person prizewinner for 2019. Also, surely we must now have All The Footcrossings.
You win the Internet!
Especially as an American
I'm an American railfan, and I've staked out branch lines all day just to catch a single train. More than once. LOL
I live very near a foot crossing in Surrey.
"It does smell of wee, though" - cue huge belly-laugh from my seven year-old who was watching over my shoulder. A video for all ages.
A belly laugh from a seven-year-old is a thing to treasure.
Used to play on it as kids. You walk from Fairfield road onto the track, turn right and walk up the track. In the old days it went to a huge area of railway waste ground and an old WWII pillbox. Nowadays that area is Ikea, back then it was miles of derelict docks and warehouses, the largest adventure playground for kids in the world.
There is an Ikea in Charlton?
@@prixchampion7588 Yes, it opened last month.
I suspect my brothers played there too, but as the youngest child I wasn't allowed to accompany them even in the carefree late 60s/early 70s.
Still live in greenwich near this area, and in the 80’,s and 90,s used to explore the area around the gas works and the wharf area that is now the o2. Was a great time to be a teenager.
I find recollections like this fascinating. I've always been interested in the history of London especially the unreclaimed areas after WWII.
Stumbled across one recently. Lincoln Road, Enfield, en1 1js is a road crossing that can also be crossed by foot
I guess technically it's not London since it doesn't have a London postcode.
@@Kie-7077 it is in the London borough of Enfield though
@@djaikniffsta ps, I've cross there several times recently so I know the foot crossing part is still open.
The road crossing is closed so technically it a foot crossing
@@Kie-7077 Well the silly thing about postcodes is that most London addresses don't have a London postcode
Geoff, you might be interested to know that Network Rail renewed Angersten Junction only a few months ago. We did look at an option to move the signal back to avoid the train stopping on the foot crossing. Also the option to remove the foot crossing altogether was suggested but there were objections.
I normally like to comment a pun but it looks like everyone else is a step ahead of me.
15 storeys ahead
He must got lot of honeycombs at start of the video
OOh . . that's crossing the line a bit . !!
@@pmf598 XD
This is, basically my favourite video of yours Geoff. As much as I love stations, and hidden quirks etc. I LOVE hidden alleyways and secret enterances. A tiny almost neglected footbridge & rail crossing, that's just there, is amazing to me. It's obviously not used enough to warrant health and safety barriers, or else it would be blocked off or limited access. It's just the coolest little thing. To be able to get so close to rail rolling stock without much hassle and fanfare, is just, crazy and amazing.
Does make you think of all the industrial lines/branches which have now gone. Let alone the military/munitions "iron roads" we once had. I just think Geoff is wonderful. He has surely thrown out the old pictures of "platform veg" or "train spotters", & shown how intelligent, how knowledgeable, and safe people who do care about our railway are.
there’s a railway foot crossing near me in north london! in between enfield town and bush hill park overground stations. not sure if it counts or not as it used to be a manned crossing for cars to cross too, but they blocked it all off for cars and now for the past few years it’s just a foot crossing. love your videos so much! :)
Before the A102M Blackwall Tunnel approach was built I used to live close to this crossing and would use it as a shortcut to Fairthorne Road and hence to Woolwich Road and the local Fish and Chip shop.
Of course, at the time there was no fancy walkway or connection to Westcombe Park station, just a wooden staircase up from Westcombe Hill, the crossing and the tunnel out into Fairthorne Road
Love how much effort and enthusiasm he puts in each video, love it mate!
Re Geoff's comments about Ikea and Sainsbury's...........everywhere looks like everywhere else these days....... :(
Exactly I am in central scotland and that looked like it could have been anywhere near here lol. Everything is so same-y.
@@sadface so
@@bizzarebanana3041 and?
This is my daily commute! Didn't realise it was one of the few crossing like this..
Fascinating! One of your best, Geoff.
One of his best that he copied!
Excellent Geoff! Your vids are so solid , they're concrete!!
Judging by the comments... you need a New 'LONDON FOOTCROSSINGS' series ;p
'All the Footcrossings'.
The Footcrossing
Hi geoff im a network rail railway engineer that is on my patch angersteins wharf of an old army/feight line glad you liked it keep it up your man walking the line is a shunter mate the train is off to pick up sand
Geoff - unbelievable. Watching in Australia (train buff) and have actually been on the crossing. My brother lives right there and saw you filming the clip. Small world.
Thank you once again Geoff for another great video.
Before the motorway was built my aunt’s house on Westcombe Hill looked out on to the line to Angerstein Wharf.Yourvideo brought back memories of 50 odd years ago.
Visiting London in April and very happy to know that I can get my Ikea, gas station coffee, and a foot crossing all in one stop. 😉
Thanks Geoff, I really enjoy these videos
I love the way you made a 8 minute video out of a train crossing 😁 Love your work, really fun 😎
@Geoff Marshall
Dont forget the Emerson Park halt (Romford-Upminster) has one on the east side of Emerson Park station.
And its within M25 and in a London borough of Havering.
😜
Yes, I'm sure I've seen a video of this before too....
I love this so much. It's the alleyways and little used/known things that really spark my interest. When I visit London I just want to see all this obscure stuff.
It amazes me how tracks can be so wobbly and still be fine to use.
I've seen this ginnel before on youtube somewhere. I recognised it from the moment you started filming. Nice one.
He is obviously baiting people to angrily post: "How dare you sir! There is another foot crossing at ."
;-)
I live near another foot crossing. It used to be road but they closed it off to cars years ago, so ~technically~ it's a foot crossing, but it does have gates which become locked when a train passes, so I guess it doesn't count for this! It's located between Enfield Town and Bush Hill Park on the overground
Is this Lincoln Road? That's a rather neat one!
Omg you stole my thought
Visited the crossing in June 2018 GBRf 66 768 was waiting near the crossing. it was a video like yours that prompted me to visit the crossing. John from Oz
The coolest part of this whole thing is that someone lives over that little alleyway arch
There is one in Kenley on the Purley to Caterham branch connecting Bourne View to the 434 bus stop
And very close to the other in London near Upper Warlingham.
www.google.com/maps/@51.3215479,-0.0933524,3a,60y,223.24h,88.38t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sUmm_GIrBnx7lIKoC_3Qzhg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 yep that's a foot crossing over a railway.
Been across that one while geocaching
Morthren turned me onto this
Great video, thanks Geoff. Good to see the crossing is well used, looks like there were two others waiting on the other side whilst the freight train went through...
A pleasure as always. I’m becoming obsessed with trains!
Geoff, There's a Foot Crossing Off Osbourne Road in Romford on the Romford-Upminster Branch Line
E321 3 of them to be exact
I'm clearly a day late, I knew there was at least one on that line.
E321 came here to say that dammit
Just checked it on Streetview. Enter on footpath opposite 112 Osborne Road, for one of them.
Depends where you think London stops:)
I remember this crossing , morthren did a video on it
Love your videos
All the way from Florida... 😀
Looks like a nice spot to take a picture of this train. Another nice video!
There is one to the east of Upminster and has two trains in each direction per hour, but perhaps you don't count that as part of London.
What about the footpath between trumper's way and the long wood in Hanwell? The line runs between Southall station and a concrete plant in Brentford, under the three bridges. Pretty sure I've seen a video by you where you cross it :)
Edit: About 30 seconds after I commented this he was stood on Trumpers. Shouldn't have doubted you Geoff!
... and there's a second one a few hundred metres away on the footpath to Warren Farm.
@@pauljohnrobinson I was only aware of the one at trumpers that you'd take if you were walking from Hanwell to Osterley Park, where is the warren farm crossing? Nearer the fox or on the other side of trumpers towards boston manor?
@Ruairi O'Boyle It's opposite the Fox. Cross the canal at the lock and bear left up the slope. The path on the other side of the railway takes you through the derelict sports centre and on to Syon Lane near Three Bridges.
Yes there are two foot crossings on the Brentford branch....I’ll be driving my aggregates train over it tomorrow night and a sand train on Friday night.
When I first moved from Czech republic to London I have found the lack of foot crossings very strange. We have them almost everywhere even very close to a city centre on a very busy rails.
Thanks! That was educational. I didn't know any of that; and it never crossed my mind to wonder if there were any foot crossings in London.
05:05 You got creeped out when all of a sudden man just walked behind you out of silence
That is an interesting little crossing.
i actually came across it last month randomly and i was amazed..im a train geek and i checked all your videos for lost rail lines as i thought this was one of them but i was surprised not to see any video about it untill i found this one
super great video - like always - looking forward to it every week.....😃
Geoff, you're the only man who looks at an alleyway and thinks "fun"
I like alleyways!
I like alleyways!
@@_Shadbolt_ ditto love em!
There's a lot of fun been had in alleyways!
@@digitig As long as people don't take that into the wrong context!
Not sure if it counts as it's just outside the M25, but there's a foot crossing out by Heathrow between Wraysbury and Staines, on a proper passenger line.
51.454468, -0.537018
And it doesn't smell of wee.
nastropc outside of London by that point.
I find concrete footpaths, footbridges and small backstreet alleyways incredibly satisfying
Good. That makes me feel less weird.
Thank you for the video really good. As a kid I used to walk all over London.
There's one between Riddlesdown and Upper Warlingham stations. Greater London
Hey Geoff, there is a foot crossing at the London/Surrey border line on the East Grinstead branch just north of Upper Warlingham.
It's in one of Geoff's Canals videos.
@@PinkThorn242 3:25
@@PinkThorn242 That would be rather impressive, given that there's no canal in Upper Warlingham...
And (according to OpenStreetMap) another one within walking disctance on the Caterham Line.
PinkThornVlogs this is a different one
Yes! Thanks Geoff - I had to do some gardening job (labouring work) in a house just nearby and yes, the only place I had to buy a coffee was the shopping centre you found and the only place I could have a pee was that crossing.
Keep up the good work Geoff
There is one in rainham on the c2c
I was expecting a super fast passenger train like whoooossssshhhhh
A delightful video skilfully made. The track has seen better days. Geoff is a latter-day Betjeman, fashioning an intriguing story out of the inconsequential and humdrum . . .
3:51 Woop Brentford! I lived there for a month with my auntie and uncle on a house boat on the River Brent. Loved every bit of London i went to! Can't wait to go again.
Morthren did a video of this crossing not that long ago.
jfreelan1964 who?
@@henryhowarth2783 this one ua-cam.com/video/Q9mDv-QR0eo/v-deo.html
There's a foot crossing between Kenley and Whytleafe on the Caterham line
That might not count because depending on which side of the border it's on, it might actually be in Surrey, not Greater London
MisterCoulthurst Is it by Bourne view? Probably in London then
I'm always entertained by videos like these, here in Boston people don't even blink an eye at foot crossings, I've crossed rapid transit lines by foot, commuter rail, etc
Nice video thanks very much.
What about on the upminster to romford line. Or is that not a foot crossing?
Yes there is a foot crossing on the Romford Emerson Park section of the Upminster branch. That's passenger too.
@@AlanEvans789 ahh ok, I was wondering if it counted. Saw it in some UA-cam video.
I believe the line isn't signalled. Also.
3 on there
There’s definitely a foot crossing between Osborne Road and Cranham Road, I use it regularly. And I think there’s another near St Andrews Park. Cue another Emerson Park video for Geoff.
And 4 trains an hour! No need to speculate if a freight train is going to turn up.
The freight trains on the branch convey sea-dredged aggregates and not cement.
The packed A2 and the constant drone of the traffic remind of why I emigrated from SE London to New Zealand's South Island.
I have absolutely no idea why I’ve been recommended these videos, but I keep watching them anyway
There's one between Gordon Hill and Crews Hill in Enfield.
@MrPorgie999 there is public access last time i used it, say 2 years back. Path takes you a golf course
Im sure ive seen this crossing before on one of your videos Geoff, is this a repeat?
Maybe you're thinking of this one by someone else: ua-cam.com/video/Q9mDv-QR0eo/v-deo.html
Maybe but it’s normally Geoff’s vids i watch but thanks
I passed this crossing earlier today. I was thinking 'where have I seen this before?' Came straight to UA-cam to rediscover!
Foot crossing across a double main line about half way between Crews Hill and Gordon Hill stations at Enfield. Footpath connects Crews Hill Golf Course and beyond with Strayfield Road, St John's Church and Hilly Fields. Once known as Tingey Tops It would have been a major cart track/footway pre railway days linking the farms towards the Enfield Ridgeway in more agricultural times. Took my 94 year old dad with thick mud for a little off road wheelchairing adventure at the foot of the embankment last year. The steep path down is now little more than the exposed rubble and rocks forming the embankment. We waited safely inside the gate at the side of the track for a train to pass. The driver was surprised to see us and put his hands over his eyes.
Went to IKEA Greenwich last Sunday and walked over this crossing, thinking "oh wow an interesting railway thing Geoff hasn't talked about yet!". Am not disappointed.
Also at the end did you say that it smells of wee or weed? Because both seem to be believable given the area :)
8:16 those rails look like they're getting rough.
In America, for freight trains on main lines they can be incredibly long and take significant amounts of time to pass, but that is not necessarily the case when freightcars are being delivered to sidings for specific customers. Granted, there are less and less of those kinds of sidings as intermodal transportation has meant that trains are more commonly offloaded at depots directly onto trucks and those trucks do final delivery, but for those businesses still receiving bulk material as cargo, short trains to deliver that cargo are not unheard of.
My guess is that since concrete is a mixture of Portland cement, fine aggregate (sand) and coarse aggregate (gravel or other suitable small rocks), that this train is delivering one or more of those ingredients, most likely the aggregates. If they're manufacturing Portland cement on-site, then the train could be delivering limestone, clay, and/or gypsum as Portland cement's base ingredients.
I'd also expect that this is delivery to the factory, not shipping from the factory, as care needs to be taken with the transport of Portland cement and products using it to prevent moisture from curing the cement prior to its final application. If a hopper car with Portland cement were to be rained upon that cement could cure and harden in the car, ruining the load and probably the car as well.
Shouldn't you be THX1138?
I don't live in London I don't use public transport I don't really find trains that interesting but I love this channel and seeing all the quirks and historical weirdness that can be found
I have been racking my brain since watching the video trying to remember if there any further foot crossings in London. So far I have come up with the following all of which are in a London Borough. On the West Anglia line via Tottenham Hale there is a foot crossing between Angel Road and Ponders End stations. The entrance is at the end of Pegamoid Road off the B137 Montagu Road. Not been down that way for a while so not 100% sure if is still in use. There also two foot crossing on the Dagenham/Grays branch of the former London Tilbury and Southend Line (now C2C). One is at Rainham, a former level crossing that has been converted into a foot crossing with automatic barriers. The other is at Wennington (although I am not sure if this is within the Borough boundary or not) and is accessed via a tunnel under the HS1 line. The foot crossings on the Romford to Upminster branch have already been mentioned.
Fairly certain there’s a foot crossing at Beckenham Junction tram station
You dare challenge Geoff?
There're plenty of foot crossings all over the Tramlink network.
That is a tram though
There is a crossing at Neasden depot for staff to get from the car park to the depot itself though not for public use
I'm on my way, Geoff. Thanks for that insight. Hope to see you on the Imberbus run this year 👍
Great video, as usual. In the last shot of the back the goods train, the track looks like it's had better days. High speed that is not!
"Londons only foot crossing (except for the other one) " 😂
7:45 I bet you were tempted to jump on that train
Great video. Took me back in time as I lived in this locality for 12 years and remember using this foot crossing. Always looked both ways carefully and hurried across! Must say the locality has certainly developed a lot since as it really was something of a backwater. The coming of the DLR at Greenwich and Woolwich must have acted as a bit of a kick starter.
ghost trains mk2 ? how much stuff is transferred by train these days?
Freight Trains Around The London Area - 12th September 2018 ua-cam.com/video/xbeStEUM3q0/v-deo.html
uk freight trains 2018 ua-cam.com/users/results?search_query=uk+freight+trains+2018
Known by the staff working there as Angry Stain.
Not joking, check in on Facebook and see what it says.
Between Gordon Hill and Crews Hill there is (or was) a foot crossing. Rural.
I was going to comment on this one too! it is still there near the golf course 👍
It’s still there, according to Network Rail’s level crossing map.
It’s located on the footpath continuation of Strayfield Road across toward the golf course and crosses the Hertford loop line. It’s still open. There used to be another across the Lea Valley line at Pegamoid Road, a short distance north of Angel Road but it close 10+ years ago after a two boys were tragically killed there.
Great video as per! There's a foot crossing near Emerson Park on the Romford to Upminster line.
Foot crossings seem to be dying out everywhere. In Peterborough, up until very recently, there was a foot crossing across the two tracks used by East Midlands Trains on the line between Lincoln and Peterborough (on Foxcovert Road) - I used to walk across it regularly. Funny thing is that although Google maps now shows the new bridge, if you have a look at Google streetview it still shows the old foot crossing.
In more "things that are similar but not really" news, there's a foot crossing on LUL infrastructure at Mantles Wood just beyond Amersham station way out there in Zone 9. It's just after the sidings where the London Underground ends and is only used by Chiltern/Freight trains on a stretch of line which feels more like no-man's-land than the Underground as it's basically on the boundary where they hand the track back to network rail.
Also: best views of the Thames Barrier are by where you were Geoff. You have to negotiate an industrial estate which stinks of piss, but it means you end up on the side of the river where you can see the barrier with Canary Wharf in the background. It's much nicer than looking at Woolwich. ;)
It's a smidge more than 'just' beyond the sidings - it's more than 300m past the buffers. "Mantles Wood' 'Junction' (neither at Mantles Wood (which is where the HS2 tunnel change from bored to cut-and-cover will be), nor a junction) is over kilometre further west, though yes it feels rather weird and no-mans-land-y as it's clearly of not London Underground, but they somehow own it and thus have roundelled signs (see www.metroland.org.uk/mantleswoodcrossing/index.htm for some pictures).
If you come and see this in the next year or so, you can see them building the new signal box between the station and it.
Amersham isn't in London.
@@silenthunteruk No, but it is on the London Underground. As RandomNameHere says "things that are similar, but not really".
@@silenthunteruk I never claimed that it was. It is, however, London Underground infrastructure.
3:31 - Insert Ali-A theme tune.
Lol insert Morgz intro.
Hi Geoff. We love your videos, you should make a vlog about the East Coast Main Line and fill us up with information about when it was built.
lovely scenery
I don't suppose the paths across Tramlink routes count...?
no becausue thats not a railway
It looks a bit rail-y, though...
@@yeahnoway111 The section between Wimbledon and Croydon is built on a railway line. So those crossings were originally railway crossings.
@@DavidShepheard yeah but I think that officially its not a railway anymore because its a tram now.
It is a railway. It's not a heavy rail line though owned by Network Rail infrastructure. What it is a form of light rail which we know as the Tramway, and that by definition proves it IS a railway!
Hi Geoff. There is another railway foot crossing in London. It’s on the Oxted Line between Riddlesdown & Upper Warlingham.
Known of this place for years, nice one Geoff!
I've never seen the orange man though 😱
There’s also foot crossings on the London Overground near Emerson Park Station!