Hey DiD, thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of this video, I have been a fan for the past year and it has been a joy to finally be able to do this.
My father was a driver on the LMS out of Saltley Depo Birmingham during WW2. He told me some scary stories. Just imagine driving through the dark not knowing if the track or a bridge ahead were still intact Railway staff of the war get very little recognition for their dedication and bravery.
How extremely brave of Nighthall, Gimbert, & Bridges. They knew what the consequences were and did the only thing they saw fit. Props to Clark for making what was most likely the longest walk he ever took. Thanks DiD for sharing another Darkness. Learn something new everyday right. Well done again gentlemen. R.I.P. FYI; straw + fire + munitions = problems
Ian Huntley? what a piece of work! see the dark rigs around his eyes. he can’t hide the evil in him. rest in peace those two poor beautiful little girls.
@@None-zc5vg. Well yeah, that’s true, but to be fair he brought the guy’s name up, I was appalled! I guess I should have made my comment on the video he said he made about it. sorry!
They were some of the true heroes of the war, a group of people who did the right thing at the right time and only thinking of those that could've been injured or killed besides themselves if they did nothing
@DiD86 I was particularly interested in the origins of the fire in the first wagon. I had read that it was powdered sulphur, which the wagon had previously contained.
As you said in your Donald Neilson/Black Panther video, those railway workers earned their "Man Cards" that night. What true heroes they were, even if it wasn't in wartime, thank you for commemorating their names and their legacy, DiD. Stand down, gentleman. You have done your part.
@@DiD86 Hard not to forget anything you say in your soothing voice. Ever considered volunteering your voice for narrations on Audible? You make most "Professional" works seem like they can't be bothered in the slightest.
I would love to do stuff like that, particularly if it boosts the old bank account of course. Lord knows YT make you struggle for your bread and butter. 😔 It would be fun though. I’d prefer to do shorter ones though as doing like a full novel would probably bore me in all honesty. Plus, there’d be that many edits to go through as I tend to think faster than I speak, so often when I record the voiceover for these videos I have to chop out all the bits where I stumble over myself, so to speak.
These were extraordinarily brave men, who must have known from the moment that the burning wagon was spotted, that whatever course of action they took, their chances of living to see the dawn were infinitesimally small. They did indeed aquit themselves like men, and so saved a community from extinction. Your use of models for illustration was excellent, and that's the first time I'd heard about the presence of straw, which accounts for a lot. God, they were dangerous times.
Sometimes models are a better representation of what you’re trying to visualise as you can get the exact shot you want, whereas trawling through real photos hardly ever gets you exactly what you’re after.
Completely agree with that idea but it most likely wouldn't have been a viable option at the time as wagons were being used constantly and with the train needing to be taken as soon as possible, they probably never thought about putting a line of wagons as a barrier.
Thirty years ago I owned a vintage car which survived this incident. It was recovered from the wreckage of a barn that was being demolished in the 1960s.
Superb film and story with wonderful commentary. I can well imagine the fear those involved faced but still did what they could to save further lives, with result. Thank you.
Since you did that video on HMS Victoria a few years ago, I was wondering something. Would it be possible to do a video of either Leonardo da Vinci or Giulio Cesare? Both are Conte di Cavour class battleships. The former suffered a magazine explosion in Taranto harbor in 1916. Meanwhile, the latter survived both WWI & WWII but was given over to the Soviet Union after WWII as war reparations. But after some partial modernizations with Soviet equipment through the late 40s and into the early 50s, she then sank in 1955 after accidentally hitting a leftover WWII era German naval mine while at anchor in Sevastopol harbor.
I think it was 1949 when there was a terriffic downpour over the Scottish border. The bridge at Grantshouse on the former LNER main line to Edinburgh was carried away and the station completely flooded. Other vital rail bridges went as well. Owing to herculean efforts by (at the time) many railway workers and Royal Engineers, temporary structures were put in plce to get rail services once again running and also restrictions were waived for heavier trains to use nearby alternative lines (now gone). I have never seen any video devoted to this .
I never forget who put me here and how hard it can be to grow. I admire anyone who has the stones to just simply ask for help. I have approached a few creators in the past only to receive no reply at all. Highly disappointing. I don't want to be like that, I want to be someone that is happy to help other creators wherever I can.
Hope Nightall and Bridges families were taken care of. Guess when you get blown out of a locomotive, short of heaven, the entrance to a pub ain't a bad second. Someday, you're gonna get an award for bringing us the best worst stories of history. 👍🍻
My dad was working on the railways for the last 2 years of steam but he was only in the parcel office at Grimsby Town station. He did finally get to move on up to driving later on though but it was diesels and freight for him.
Moving. A story I was unaware of. My grandfather was a driver during the war. We still have his ID card, which is unusual in that it includes a photograph (presumably as he would have access to sensitive locations.) We also have his ASLEF card and the letter from BR confirming his retirement after 46 years and 10 months service.
Lucky for the town Gimbert managed to get the blazing wagon away from several hundred more tons of tnt just before it blew. Can you imagine such a bigger non nuke blast? Most of Cambridge all of Ely bits of Thetford Swaffham wiped out..hundreds dead.
I understand that during the First World War there was a huge explosion at Great Chesterford - also ammunition, also I think railway related. Could you look into that and see if you can do a video about it?
I thought this was about the air crash a few years back. Had never heard of this before, yet as always enjoyed your video. Is there a chance of you doing the air crash. As not seen much on that to be honest
This one reminds me of new london school and the liberty ships in texas city (my hometown) really needed a new upload from E-Diddy. Sorry, lol been a rough week.
No, I took it down because I noticed a glaring error that I hadn’t spotted before. It was up for only around 2 mins before I noticed. So I removed it, went back, corrected the error, re-rendered it and uploaded the corrected version. 😇 Better to have spotted it so quickly than to have loads of comments saying about it and then losing those views by taking it down.
![[GRAPHIC] From Lostprophet to Monster: The Ian Watkins Story](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ClxE7JUz_zQ/mqdefault.jpg)
![[GRAPHIC] From Lostprophet to Monster: The Ian Watkins Story](/img/tr.png)
Hey DiD, thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of this video, I have been a fan for the past year and it has been a joy to finally be able to do this.
Any time, my man! Many thanks for your contribution!
Subbed. :)
I have a bisected piece of the cross-country union pacific track, when pacific v Atlantic tracks met, favored family heirloom
My father was a driver on the LMS out of Saltley Depo Birmingham during WW2. He told me some scary stories. Just imagine driving through the dark not knowing if the track or a bridge ahead were still intact
Railway staff of the war get very little recognition for their dedication and bravery.
Very true. A scary thought.
How extremely brave of Nighthall, Gimbert, & Bridges. They knew what the consequences were and did the only thing they saw fit. Props to Clark for making what was most likely the longest walk he ever took. Thanks DiD for sharing another Darkness. Learn something new everyday right. Well done again gentlemen. R.I.P.
FYI; straw + fire + munitions = problems
Nightall
Ian Huntley? what a piece of work! see the dark rigs around his eyes. he can’t hide the evil in him. rest in peace those two poor beautiful little girls.
He wasn't relevant to this 1944 disaster piece
@@None-zc5vg. Well yeah, that’s true, but to be fair he brought the guy’s name up, I was appalled! I guess I should have made my comment on the video he said he made about it. sorry!
@@clinthowe7629 That's all right: it's understandable that 'Soham' should bring to mind what Huntley did:
Stunning courage, as my dad described it, "walking towards danger to save lives."
Absolute balls of steel those men had.
They were some of the true heroes of the war, a group of people who did the right thing at the right time and only thinking of those that could've been injured or killed besides themselves if they did nothing
The most accurate, comprehensive, and detailed account I have ever seen of this disaster. Many thanks to all concerned.
Thank you for saying so. 👍🏻😊
@DiD86 I was particularly interested in the origins of the fire in the first wagon. I had read that it was powdered sulphur, which the wagon had previously contained.
As you said in your Donald Neilson/Black Panther video, those railway workers earned their "Man Cards" that night. What true heroes they were, even if it wasn't in wartime, thank you for commemorating their names and their legacy, DiD.
Stand down, gentleman. You have done your part.
Well remembered! 👍🏻 Aye, man cards well and truly earned, indeed!
🫡
@@DiD86 Hard not to forget anything you say in your soothing voice. Ever considered volunteering your voice for narrations on Audible? You make most "Professional" works seem like they can't be bothered in the slightest.
I would love to do stuff like that, particularly if it boosts the old bank account of course. Lord knows YT make you struggle for your bread and butter. 😔
It would be fun though. I’d prefer to do shorter ones though as doing like a full novel would probably bore me in all honesty. Plus, there’d be that many edits to go through as I tend to think faster than I speak, so often when I record the voiceover for these videos I have to chop out all the bits where I stumble over myself, so to speak.
These were extraordinarily brave men, who must have known from the moment that the burning wagon was spotted, that whatever course of action they took, their chances of living to see the dawn were infinitesimally small. They did indeed aquit themselves like men, and so saved a community from extinction.
Your use of models for illustration was excellent, and that's the first time I'd heard about the presence of straw, which accounts for a lot. God, they were dangerous times.
Sometimes models are a better representation of what you’re trying to visualise as you can get the exact shot you want, whereas trawling through real photos hardly ever gets you exactly what you’re after.
The Greatest Generation; we stand on the shoulders of giants.
Another great video, thanks. I think this heroic tale is included in the audiobook Steaming To Victory.
There were two locomotives named after the two George Cross recipients.
Class 47 diesels.
I can't remember there numbers, but they were part of the fleet of class 47s at Stratford RMD
Thanks for the upload, DiD. I hadn't heard of this one, and thanks for the detail TSR. Take care, keep safe.
Always, my guy! And the same to you and yours.
Glad I could be of help telling the technicals of these warhorses
Rail stories always a winner,IMO👍
They should have had at least 5 empty buffer wagons to separate the locomotive from the dangerous goods.
Completely agree with that idea but it most likely wouldn't have been a viable option at the time as wagons were being used constantly and with the train needing to be taken as soon as possible, they probably never thought about putting a line of wagons as a barrier.
I was always under the impression that operating rules mandated some kind of
inert vehicle be marshalled between the loco and hazardous goods ?
@@pjeaton58 - wartime necessities supercede peacetime niceties.
@@ajkleipass And the result - see video !
Another great topic, more railway stories would be great thanks again
Thank you DiD for another interesting video
Glad you enjoyed it
Extraordinary courage and bravery shown by these men. That generation was a generation of real men with their brains and heart in the right place
Many others would have chosen the easier route, and you can’t really blame them for doing so, but cometh the hour, cometh the man!
Thanks!
Ahhh yes!!!! Another dive into darkness to kickstart my weekend!! Thank you, Dark Master. Love to you and Mrs DiD ❤😊
🏆⭐🎖️🙏❤️🩹
Thank you for sharing this
Wow, your presentation was awesome! Thanks a lot for sharing it with us. You're really good at what you do. Keep it up!
Thank you! Will do!
Thirty years ago I owned a vintage car which survived this incident. It was recovered from the wreckage of a barn that was being demolished in the 1960s.
That’s awesome! What make was it?
@@DiD86 1922 Star 11.9hp
@@DiD86 1922 Star 11.9hp. If you google that you will see several pics of the car.
More railway history videos please.
Will do! 👍🏻
Amazing history. Well done on the collab. ❤
It was a great video to be a part of
Superb film and story with wonderful commentary. I can well imagine the fear those involved faced but still did what they could to save further lives, with result. Thank you.
Since you did that video on HMS Victoria a few years ago, I was wondering something. Would it be possible to do a video of either Leonardo da Vinci or Giulio Cesare?
Both are Conte di Cavour class battleships. The former suffered a magazine explosion in Taranto harbor in 1916. Meanwhile, the latter survived both WWI & WWII but was given over to the Soviet Union after WWII as war reparations. But after some partial modernizations with Soviet equipment through the late 40s and into the early 50s, she then sank in 1955 after accidentally hitting a leftover WWII era German naval mine while at anchor in Sevastopol harbor.
Excellent video! Train videos are always great. 😉 👍🏻
Yes they are!
I think it was 1949 when there was a terriffic downpour over the Scottish border. The bridge at Grantshouse on the former LNER main line to Edinburgh was carried away and the station completely flooded. Other vital rail bridges went as well. Owing to herculean efforts by (at the time) many railway workers and Royal Engineers, temporary structures were put in plce to get rail services once again running and also restrictions were waived for heavier trains to use nearby alternative lines (now gone). I have never seen any video devoted to this .
Great Video. They gave there all .
Absolutely
They sure did. 🫡
Great story, and good man for helping out a newer creator. Class act all around.
I never forget who put me here and how hard it can be to grow. I admire anyone who has the stones to just simply ask for help. I have approached a few creators in the past only to receive no reply at all. Highly disappointing. I don't want to be like that, I want to be someone that is happy to help other creators wherever I can.
Very brave men, very quick thinking. Four days before d day as well,
Very well presented documentary.
Thank you very much. New one coming later on today! 😊
I guarantee, all railway enthusiasts the world over burst into tears at 1:37.
Indeed!
The UK couldn't afford to upgrade their rail network but they had plenty of money to spend on roads.
That’s thanks to Conservative Transport Minister Ernst Marples who just so happened to have shares in a road building company….
I never knew about this, and i live only just around the corner. Thank you
Hope Nightall and Bridges families were taken care of.
Guess when you get blown out of a locomotive, short of heaven, the entrance to a pub ain't a bad second.
Someday, you're gonna get an award for bringing us the best worst stories of history. 👍🍻
Nightall
@@captaintorch983 G'night.😎
My dad would have found this interesting as he worked on steam trains
My dad was working on the railways for the last 2 years of steam but he was only in the parcel office at Grimsby Town station. He did finally get to move on up to driving later on though but it was diesels and freight for him.
What a story. I can't even imagine the devastation if the whole train had gone up.
I know, right?! It would have been catastrophic to say the least.
Those are fine ironhorses.
Excellent content as usual :)
Thank you very much. I really appreciate it. 😇👍🏻
Thanks you very much I needed reminding of this.
Glad it was helpful!
Moving. A story I was unaware of. My grandfather was a driver during the war. We still have his ID card, which is unusual in that it includes a photograph (presumably as he would have access to sensitive locations.) We also have his ASLEF card and the letter from BR confirming his retirement after 46 years and 10 months service.
Very interesting topic and well researched. Thanks
Glad you enjoyed it!
Love trains,
Excellent, that means we are now friends! 😂👌🏻
Just to add, in the 80's/90's, Network South East named two class 47/4s in honour of Ben Gimbert & James Knighthall.
Yes, I’d forgotten about those, admittedly. 😔
Lucky for the town Gimbert managed to get the blazing wagon away from several hundred more tons of tnt just before it blew. Can you imagine such a bigger non nuke blast? Most of Cambridge all of Ely bits of Thetford Swaffham wiped out..hundreds dead.
Thank you for clear and respectful account.
You’re most welcome.
I understand that during the First World War there was a huge explosion at Great Chesterford - also ammunition, also I think railway related. Could you look into that and see if you can do a video about it?
I thought this was about the air crash a few years back. Had never heard of this before, yet as always enjoyed your video. Is there a chance of you doing the air crash. As not seen much on that to be honest
I’ll admit, it’s not something I’m familiar with but I can certainly look into it.
O7 to Nighthall, Gimbert and Bridges. And thanks for another great vid. Munitions misbehaving in 1944, RAF Fauld?
James Nightall to be pedantic.
Godspeed gentlemen
🫡🫡
I was aware of the event but a great tribute to brave men
wow!
This one reminds me of new london school and the liberty ships in texas city (my hometown) really needed a new upload from E-Diddy. Sorry, lol been a rough week.
❤❤
Fancy doing a video about the Catterick Bridge railway explosion of 4 February 1944 in which some 12 people died and some 102 were injured?
I can certainly look into it. 😇
Soham is bloomin unlucky town
You’re not wrong there!
Does anybody know what happened to the driver? Did he go back to driving or was the horror of the accident enough for him to quit the railway?
Got as far as "Don't you know, old chap, what?"
FFS...
😂😂😂😂
Why was your previous video removed? Was it too gruesome for some pansie?
No, I took it down because I noticed a glaring error that I hadn’t spotted before. It was up for only around 2 mins before I noticed.
So I removed it, went back, corrected the error, re-rendered it and uploaded the corrected version. 😇
Better to have spotted it so quickly than to have loads of comments saying about it and then losing those views by taking it down.
@DiD86 what was the name of it again? I went to watch it and saw it had been removed by uploader.
👍👍
The Huntley snippet had nothing at all to do with this video ... shame on you for adding that Horror
Small snippet of no interest. If l had past my 11 plus in 1959 l would have gone to Soham Grammar School! I think I'll alert the media!!
It pains me to point this out but “if i had passed”.
Typical British incompetency. They never would have won the war without aid from the US.
The Russians won the war…
Choochooo
*Confusion and delay intensifies*
😂😂😂 I see what you did there!
Thanks!