Great video of a rare stretch of line. I still cant believe Chiltern haven't taken over the Greenford line, seems such an obvious way to reduce congestion at Marylebone and provide a cross platform interchange with crossrail.
As a kid I got left on the platform at South Greenford. The Class 121 pissed off before my Mum could haul my sister's buggy out the door! Supposedly I was fine though, as I got to see the Bubble Car from a different angle. Railway Mania affects us from birth, it seems. Fascinating to see this view, even since the early nineties things have changed a lot - no cement terminal at the old Greenford station, which I remember Class 33s and 47s chugging their way out of. Ealing has changed a lot too, as someone else said in the comments. Eclectic route and interesting video, many thanks.
Fascinating video, I have lived at various points along this track over the years, but never realised that it was all connected from Ruislip to the push-you-pull-me track after Greenford.
enjoyed that route! and all the routes I've watched on your videos altho I grew up in Northolt and used to spot Kings and the brand new Westerns at that bridge before Northolt Central line. Love the tangle of lines around west London esp the North London line thanks!
What an interesting tour through some of the byways of West London. That seems an awkward arrangement at West Ruislip, having to run wrong line for that distance.
Thank you. Yes, it does seem odd to effectively block the Down Main for all that time & distance. If you watch the late-1980s Video125 “Chiltern Take 2” you can see how different the layout of Northolt Junction was - the route towards Marylebone looks like “the branch” while (initially) 4 tracks head towards Greenford.
Thanks for another great video - the comments during the video are always so informative. I enjoy following the route with Google Maps (Satellite view) alongside the video, & occasionally lose where we are - until your comment comes up (eg 'Crossing the Grand Union Canal') & I'm back on track!
Thanks David - as you'll gather, I'm doing the same detective-work to put the captions there in the first place. Sometimes getting a positive ID on a feature (particularly in a relatively featureless area like Romney Marsh or Lincolnshire) relies on having multiple estimates coincide, e.g. estimating mileage since a known feature based on speed or mileposts, then looking at aerial photos, current mapping, 1890s mapping, Sectional Appendix... until the conundrum resolves. You may safely assume I enjoy puzzles like that. :)
Thank for the interesting video, sad to learn the old GWR route to Paddington is now closed. I am glad that I made the effort to travel on it earlier this year, courtesy of Chiltern Railways once a day train, my last trip was in 1966!
Great video and fantastic sounds. I remember this going through Northolt. I was on the track at the time (Central line side) carrying out a track familiarisation with colleagues and sure enough, there we are!
Thanks, glad I captured this moment for you! I began my railway career as a CSA on that group, and remember being in the ticket hall at Northolt when a Class-37-hauled railtour came through on the New North... with the rail joints and the triple-axle bogies, how the building shook - "Bam-bam-bam, bam-bam-bam"!
Another superb educational video. I'm not a London lad or rather OAP but never realised that even these days there are so many backwaters which can be explored in these videos!! Well done. Only one comment and that is that an indication of speed for these old girls would be interesting without the calculator, stopwatch and mile markers!!! Great stuff though. Thank you all.
Hi David, thank you and glad you've enjoyed this one. It does contain a few hidden (rough) gems, doesn't it! Indication of speed... hmm, the camera I've more recently been using does allegedly capture a GPS speed trace but to be honest I've never seen its output nor worked out how I might incorporate it. Will give it some thought in due course I hope.
I used the Greenford to Ealing branch in my schooldays 1957 to 1962. Much has changed. The remnants of the milk depot at West Ealing are still visible. Spent many a happy hour there in steam days and on Jacobs ladder. Wonderful videos
Greenford South Junction was a godsend after the West Ealing derailment involving a Class 50 in August 1989. That junction allowed a separate route to Paddington via the now closed Old Oak junction. Also, in the 1980's the London platform at West Ealing was after the road bridge.
Great video, what I got out of it is the amount of track that could be used for passenger trains taking hundreds of cars of the roads, loads of areas for New platforms etc shame the railways aren't doing more.
Really enjoyed watching all three parts. Love the editing and the descriptions as we approached different areas. Thanks for sharing would love to see more of these type. Safe travels ahead for you. God bless.
I have been on the route few times on steam tours in the mid 90s and early 2000s one was to Paddingdon via the now closed line via Greenford from Banbury (which had less weeds and trees along the line) also on the North London Line to Willesden sidings for loco changes. Great video and sad that the line is now closed (to Paddington).
Greenford East Signal Box is the last mechanical box in the (G)WR London area. Castle Bar Park Halt (as it was) was originally timber construction. In its last years, a GWR 57xx with a short goods train passing through would cause it to shake. Until being rebuilt with a prefabricated concrete structure in the 1960s the Up end of the platforms ended at the footbridge. Drayton Green Tunnel was originally a cutting until covered in the 1970s to provide road access to new housing. On the Up side between Drayton Green Halt and the road entrance to Plasser's Yard was a coal yard. What is now Plasser's yard in the triangle at West Ealing was originally the area P/Way and S&T depots. Adjacent to the present platform 5 at West Ealing there was originally a milk dock where rail milk tankers from the west country were emptied into road tankers. It was the first place I went on the footplate of a steam loco. Because of the milk dock, West Ealing platform 4 was on the Up side of Drayton Green Road bridge. The last surviving stone built Broad Gauge goods shed was on the down side behind platform 1 where Waitrose now stands. There was an Iron Mink body standing outside until demolition. The goods yard stretched down to the footbridge, Jacob's Ladder. Before running to/from Paddington, the Greenford Car terminated at Ealing Broadway. At the up end of the island platforms (2 & 3) between the Main and Relief lines there was a reversing siding known as "The Car Park". When it ran as a class 121 double ended power car (Bubble Car) with a trailer in the peak, the trailer was left in the car park during the mid-day off peak.
The last time I did this line was on a Virgin Voyager "Express" from Coventry to London Euston which went that way during engineering works, to get to Euston
very enjoyable. that was very good quality, useful info, lots of history and interesting. Would be great to meet you. I'm sure I could listen to you all day. Thx
Great video thank you.you definitely need to know what's what in this occupation. I always wonder at how trains stay on the rails on bends in icy weather !
I think I read that there's plans afoot to run a full passenger service once more over the New North Main line to allow Chiltern services to reach Old Oak Common when that opens, and relieve Marylebone. I'm from Wycombe and would certainly use such a service if it led to quick interchanges with Crossrail. I hope this happens!
I really enjoy watching your videos - particularly over routes I knew when a lot younger. How the buildings have changed! But one minor point - at 24.19 you say falling gradient is 1 in 1204 about 2 feet per mile. I reckon its 4 feet per mile - a mile being 5,280 feet. 4 x 1204 = 4816, so just over 4 feet per mile!
I am surprised that line still exists with the central line offering a faster and more frequent route into central London from Ruislip - I wonder if Chiltern line trains even bother stopping there?. Ditto to the Greenfield branch where again the tube is faster and more frequent - can't get many people riding those trains out of West Ealing - just a matter of time before that closes too.
Another excellent video. Many thanks for putting videos of the travels of the Thumper unit. They are very interesting and being a guard on the Mid Hants I spent a fair amount of time on your units little brother!
BUT WHERE WAS THE PUBLICITY, NOT IN ANY OBVIOUS PLACE, HENCE I DID NOT KNOW ABOUT IT TILL SEEING IT ON YOU TUBE TUES 28 APR 2020. SO WHEN WILL IT RUN AGAIN, BUT THIS TIME PROPEWRLY PUBLICISED !!!! ????.
@@hastingsdiesels Some are already live streaming from mobile devices from moving cars using 4G. With the arrival of 5G, it will be the difference between night and day. A totally different way of presenting visual and audio as it happens has arrived on UA-cam. With 5G, live VR becomes a reality also.
@@D0csavage1 Hmm. Thank you for your info. I don't have unlimited data nor perfect connectivity (especially not in tunnels!). More importantly, feedback leads me to conclude that most viewers would find this material borderline un-watchably boring if it didn't have the captioned commentary to provide context, metadata and interest. I can't produce that in real time, it takes me a day or two per hour of output! As we cannot interfere with the operation of our train in capturing this footage, I'd have to be able to use back-cab audio at all times (seeing as I couldn't edit out any unpublishable audio from the leading cab if it's live). Transmission latency for two different uplinks would vary which is no good, so video and audio would have to be mixed on-board (120 metres of shielded cable taped to the floor? No thanks!). Who would monitor the live feed constantly (seeing as I'm already on the train and often busy in another capacity), to fix faults and cut it instantly in case of incident? I can see how a professional OB crew could make this work, but not without placing several unworkable requirements upon both the traincrew and our passengers... and all just so that viewers get a worse video slightly sooner than currently?! Thanks but I'll let someone else do this.
@@hastingsdiesels I fully understand the work involved in producing video's, taking considerable time and effort. Live streaming would in this case be an impossible burden to achieve even if there were as you say a dedicated film crew. Without being demanding and inconveniencing everyone. Sorry for putting the thought forward.
Thank you. Some of my more recent videos do in fact have a map, but for this one I can recommend the Ordnance Survey Landranger maps - you can see them by going to maps.bing.com and pressing the S key, so long as you are zoomed in appropriately.
I needed to know why they couldn’t dig a tunnel and do an extension for most of the mainline Trains so that they could extend the unused abandoned underground train stations. Why couldn’t they use the part D78 Stock train doors on the sides and also restructure the front face of the A60 and A62 stock which will include the class 507, class 508, class 313, class 314 and class 315 remix and make them all together and also redesign all of them into an overhead wire line trains and also make most of them into Five carriages per units and also having three Disabled Toilets on those Five cars per units A60 and A62 stock trains and also convert the A60 and A62 stock trains into a Scania N112, Leyland 510, Gardner 6LXC, Cummins M11, Volvo B10M, Gardner 6LXB, Gardner LG1200 and Gardner 8LXB Diesel Engines and also put the Loud 7 Speed Voith Gearboxes even Loud 10 Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Gearboxes in the A60 and A62 stock, class 507, class 508, class 313, class 314, and class 315 and also modernise the A60 and A62 stock and make it into 11 carriages per unit so it could have fewer doors, more tables, computers and mobile phone chargers? A Stock Train and 8 Disabled Toilets on those A stock trains. why couldn’t we refurbish and modernise the waterloo and city line Triple-Track train tunnel and make it even much more Larger and extend it to the bank station, making it into a Triple-Track Railway Line so those Five countries such as Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland And Sweden to convert the waterloo and city line Triple-Track Railway tunnel into a High-Speed Railway lines? The Third Euro tunnel Triple-Track Railway line to make it 11 times better for passengers so they could go from A to B. Then put the modernised 11 carriages per unit A Stock and put them on a bigger modernised Waterloo and city line Triple-Track train tunnel so it could go to bank station to those Five countries such as Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland And Sweden. The modernised refurbished 11 carriages per unit A stock could be a High Speed The Third Triple-Track Euro Tunnel Train So it is promising and 47 times a lot more possible to do this kind of project if that will be OK for London Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland And Sweden. oh by the way, could they also tunnel the Triple-Track Railway Line so it will stop from Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex so that the Passengers will go to Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland and Sweden and also extend the Triple-Track Railway Line from the Bank to Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex Stations so that more people from there could go to Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland And Sweden more Easily. Why couldn't they extend the Piccadilly Line and also build brand-new underground train stations so it could go even further right up to Clapton, Wood Street can they also make another brand new underground train station in Chingford and could they extend the Piccadilly Line and the DLR right up to Chingford? All of the classes 150, 155, 154, 117, 114, 105, and 106, will be replaced by all of the Scania N112, Leyland 510, Gardner 6LXC, Cummins M11, Volvo B10M, Gardner 6LXB, Gardner LG1200 and Gardner 8LXB Diesel Five carriages three disabled toilets are air conditioning trains including Highams Park for extended roots which is the Piccadilly line and the DLR trains. Could you also convert all of the 1973 stock trains into an air-conditioned maximum speed 78 km/hours (48 MPH) re-refurbished and make it into a 8 cars per unit if that will be alright, and also extend all of the Piccadilly train stations to make more space for all of the extended 8 car per unit 1973 stock air condition trains and can you also build another Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive Companies and can they order Every 87 Octagon and Every 48 Hexagon shape LNER diagram unique small no.13 and unique small no.11 Boilers from those Countries such as Greece, Italy, Poland, and Sweden, can they make Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive speeds by up to 147MPH so you can try and test it on the Original Mainline so it will be much more safer for the Passengers to enjoy the 147MPH speed Limit only for HS2 and Channel Tunnel mainline services, if they needed 16 Carriages Per units, can they use those class 55’s, class 44’s, class 40’s and class 43HST Diesel Locomotive’s right at the Back of those 18 Carriages Per Units so they can take over at the Back to let those Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive’s have a rest for those interesting Journeys Please!!!!, oh can you make all of those 18 Tonne Boxes of Coal for all of those 147MPH Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive’s so the Companies will Understand us PASSENGER’S!!!! So please make sure that the Builders can do as they are told!!!!!!!! And PLEASE do something about these very very important Professional ideas Please? Prime Minister of England, Prime Minister of Australia, Prime Minister of Sweden, Prime Minister of Germany, Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister of Poland and that Includes the Mayor of London.
I do love watching these videos, thank you! Two questions, the inner twin rails by the Plasser aocl - can you tell me what they might be for and also all of the white painted rails - particularly in that section but across the network... Can't wait for the next videos :-)
Hi bananaman100, thanks for this. 1) The inner twin rails look to me (and I may be wrong) as if they're there to help constrain a derailed vehicle; such twin rails are more commonly seen on viaducts. A sharp curve, particularly negotiated at very low speed as with this one because of the AOCL too, represents a greater risk of *flange climb derailment* (witness the repeated carbon-copy incidents departing Angerstein Wharf). 2) White painted rails, generally in the vicinity of pointwork but particularly found at diamond and switch-diamond crossings, are so painted to reflect sunlight and avoid getting as hot; reducing the range of temperatures a rail is exposed to will reduce the range of its thermal expansion. Points mechanisms tend to fail through becoming de-adjusted if their components expand or contract too much. With reference to your first question again, it is possible that the inner twin rails on the curve are present for this purpose too - to counteract expansion and buckling forces, particular relevant as this is a curved section of track between two sets of points.
@Aussie Pom Most days last summer in southern England were nearing 30 degrees. All railways suffer from expansion and contraction of the rails as temperatures change.
I’m a GWR driver and I’ve turned the Sleepers and occasional HSTs round the Greenford Loop many times, but never seen the line and route beyond the Greenford Box from the other direction, so for me it was double interesting. I also used to regularly drive a Hastings Thumper on the privately owned Okehampton Branch, which was a real labour of love. Will there be anymore of these trips?
Thanks - glad it was of interest. Was that a Hastings unit on the Okehampton branch, or a Hampshire / Oxted thumper? I don't know much about it, but see that a public service is being reintroduced on the Okehampton branch soon.
Nice ride. How come the GWR route to Paddington has been closed from this month itself? In several areas I have also noticed that there are disused tracks on the side and in many places the speed restriction of the train is thirty miles per hour and twenty miles per hour.
The New North is closed at the Paddington end, as is Old Oak Common HST depot, because of construction work for HS2. Yes, the New North has multiple disused tracks and many abandoned sidings along its length which once served the many industrial areas in Greenford, Perivale, Park Royal et cetera. Lower speed restrictions mean less maintenance which reduces cost.
@@hastingsdiesels Glad I took one of the final 'ghost trains' along the entire NNML. Indeed the amount of decaying infrastructure is evidence that this was once a very busy section of railway. Up until around 1990 there was a once a day locomotive hauled 'fast' service from Banbury to Paddington and back that used to use the NNML. Remember seeing it thundering along at around 70mph through Hangar Lane a few times in my youth. Was still very much a main line back then, even if it was lightly used. Most of the line had a blanket 20mph limit East of Greenford Junction towards the end. Clearly wasn't worth the effort maintaining track that had no future. I do wonder if anyone had any timings for that loco hauled service??? Originally this service started at Wolves, then was started from Birmingham, possibly then Leamington Spa and eventually Banbury.
Adam W yes I remember the evening loco hauled service out of Paddington along the NNML. I grew up in South Ruislip and used to cycle down to the trackside between about April and October when you could see it easily. The 17:42 Paddington- Wolverhampton as it was then. Still got a record of the locos I saw on it....about 70 different 47’s, most 50’s, and the odd Peak. 47546 from IS (Inverness) was my all time best ‘cop’ on the service. Did I ever bring a camera with me....did I ever get around to going up to Paddington and travelling on it just for the hell of it?🙉🙉🙉🙉😫😫😫
Sorry, no. I couldn't 'change ends' with the camera when the driver changed ends, as it would take longer to retrieve the camera after the driver had alighted, walk through the train past passengers, trolleys etc, and install the camera at the other end, than it took the driver to walk along the ballast from one end to the other.
The fleet was mostly withdrawn in 1986 but a few cars & reformed units lingered on until around 1990 off the top of my head. If it comes to that, ‘Caroline’ an ex buffet car is still in use by BR’s successors.
Can someone explain why on this video, and many of the others by Hastings Diesels, there is so much disused track lying about. Not just plain rail, but crossovers as well. Surely this has a vale, and in some cases allow surplus land to be sold.
Because the network has evolved in a way which typically has meant a smaller amount of infrastructure in use but being worked harder and with less financial resource. Maintaining fewer tracks saves money, and in many cases the scrap value of rail is probably exceeded by the cost of cutting it up into tiny pieces and then removing it (it is incredibly heavy).
It allows Up trains to run whilst goods trains enter/leave the busy Acton Yard. With Crossrail it’ll be more important. See www.ianvisits.co.uk/blog/2015/12/06/a-look-at-crossrails-critical-acton-dive-under/amp/
I wouldn't say it's hidden, or for hiding the movement of freight; it's just a line whose importance has diminished because of the course of history. As such, it's mostly only used by freight or diverted passenger trains.
Railway directions on the national rail network in the UK are generally described within the industry as "Up" (decreasing mileage, usually towards the major town/city) and "Down".
Even here in the States, the directional terms can be a bit odd. For instance, on the old Milwaukee Road, one heads "west" from Chicago to Milwaukee, even though you're traveling almost due north by compass, while on the Southern Pacific "east" meant "any direction away from San Francisco".
It's great watching these videos and I find the railways fascinating, but to the point in comments below about usage and reducing cars, it won't happen. The trains are unreliable and expensive. The network isn't good enough, and the unions hold the fare paying passengers to ransom. For me to use a train to travel 40 miles to work, it's a 2hr journey. On the road, and assuming traffic is OK, it's a journey of between 40 - 60 minutes. When I do go on the train, they are often crowded, full of people talking loudly on phones or with music blaring and feet on seats. Why would you want to use trains unless you had to? Thanks for the video, it's great to see a different perspective.
Great video of a rare stretch of line. I still cant believe Chiltern haven't taken over the Greenford line, seems such an obvious way to reduce congestion at Marylebone and provide a cross platform interchange with crossrail.
I love these railway videos, like a peaceful walk in the country, or driving your own train.
Thank you Mike, glad that you enjoy them.
Superb video. The annotations are the icing on the cake!
Thank you - glad you appreciate them!
As a kid I got left on the platform at South Greenford. The Class 121 pissed off before my Mum could haul my sister's buggy out the door! Supposedly I was fine though, as I got to see the Bubble Car from a different angle. Railway Mania affects us from birth, it seems. Fascinating to see this view, even since the early nineties things have changed a lot - no cement terminal at the old Greenford station, which I remember Class 33s and 47s chugging their way out of. Ealing has changed a lot too, as someone else said in the comments. Eclectic route and interesting video, many thanks.
Just so interesting. I'm always looking out for old railway infrastructure, and those semaphores are wonderful!
Another interesting video, as a retired driver amazed at the number of semaphore signals and old boxes still around, keep them coming!!
Well just found what I will be doing for my evening viewings for the next week, watching all your videos. Wow
Fascinating knowledge and a super video thank you. ....... Its also nice to be able to read the captions in good time.well done.
Fascinating video, I have lived at various points along this track over the years, but never realised that it was all connected from Ruislip to the push-you-pull-me track after Greenford.
Outstanding video......thanks for sharing 👍
20:50 onward....... the sound in that tunnel !!! 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
enjoyed that route! and all the routes I've watched on your videos altho I grew up in Northolt and used to spot Kings and the brand new Westerns at that bridge before Northolt Central line. Love the tangle of lines around west London esp the North London line thanks!
Another great video. Very informative. Look forward to next one.
What an interesting tour through some of the byways of West London.
That seems an awkward arrangement at West Ruislip, having to run wrong line for that distance.
Thank you. Yes, it does seem odd to effectively block the Down Main for all that time & distance. If you watch the late-1980s Video125 “Chiltern Take 2” you can see how different the layout of Northolt Junction was - the route towards Marylebone looks like “the branch” while (initially) 4 tracks head towards Greenford.
Excellent video (as ever) with the added bonus of some unwelded track and splendid semaphore signals. Thank you!
Thanks for another great video - the comments during the video are always so informative. I enjoy following the route with Google Maps (Satellite view) alongside the video, & occasionally lose where we are - until your comment comes up (eg 'Crossing the Grand Union Canal') & I'm back on track!
Thanks David - as you'll gather, I'm doing the same detective-work to put the captions there in the first place. Sometimes getting a positive ID on a feature (particularly in a relatively featureless area like Romney Marsh or Lincolnshire) relies on having multiple estimates coincide, e.g. estimating mileage since a known feature based on speed or mileposts, then looking at aerial photos, current mapping, 1890s mapping, Sectional Appendix... until the conundrum resolves. You may safely assume I enjoy puzzles like that. :)
great and interesting presentation. thank you
Thank for the interesting video, sad to learn the old GWR route to Paddington is now closed. I am glad that I made the effort to travel on it earlier this year, courtesy of Chiltern Railways once a day train, my last trip was in 1966!
Great video and fantastic sounds. I remember this going through Northolt. I was on the track at the time (Central line side) carrying out a track familiarisation with colleagues and sure enough, there we are!
Thanks, glad I captured this moment for you! I began my railway career as a CSA on that group, and remember being in the ticket hall at Northolt when a Class-37-hauled railtour came through on the New North... with the rail joints and the triple-axle bogies, how the building shook - "Bam-bam-bam, bam-bam-bam"!
Thank you@@squarewheelsorguk . It was a nice surprise seeing this coming down the line whilst on the track.
Another superb educational video. I'm not a London lad or rather OAP but never realised that even these days there are so many backwaters which can be explored in these videos!! Well done. Only one comment and that is that an indication of speed for these old girls would be interesting without the calculator, stopwatch and mile markers!!! Great stuff though. Thank you all.
Hi David, thank you and glad you've enjoyed this one. It does contain a few hidden (rough) gems, doesn't it! Indication of speed... hmm, the camera I've more recently been using does allegedly capture a GPS speed trace but to be honest I've never seen its output nor worked out how I might incorporate it. Will give it some thought in due course I hope.
I used the Greenford to Ealing branch in my schooldays 1957 to 1962. Much has changed. The remnants of the milk depot at West Ealing are still visible. Spent many a happy hour there in steam days and on Jacobs ladder. Wonderful videos
Greenford South Junction was a godsend after the West Ealing derailment involving a Class 50 in August 1989. That junction allowed a separate route to Paddington via the now closed Old Oak junction. Also, in the 1980's the London platform at West Ealing was after the road bridge.
Great video, what I got out of it is the amount of track that could be used for passenger trains taking hundreds of cars of the roads, loads of areas for New platforms etc shame the railways aren't doing more.
Unfortunately public services are unreliable . Snow , wrong type of leaves a lot of excuses not to run. Sorry but I prefer my trustworthy car .
Excellent the added information makes the video so much more interesting. Thank you.
great video and thanks for the written commentary , it makes all the difference and is informative :-)
Really enjoyed watching all three parts. Love the editing and the descriptions as we approached different areas. Thanks for sharing would love to see more of these type. Safe travels ahead for you. God bless.
Great video and thanks for sharing.
I have been on the route few times on steam tours in the mid 90s and early 2000s one was to Paddingdon via the now closed line via Greenford from Banbury (which had less weeds and trees along the line) also on the North London Line to Willesden sidings for loco changes. Great video and sad that the line is now closed (to Paddington).
Superb video and most informative captions re locations, signalling etc! Will watch this many times.
Always look forward to your Videos. So informative and interesting. .
Very interesting and varied bit of footage there! Great job!
Greenford East Signal Box is the last mechanical box in the (G)WR London area.
Castle Bar Park Halt (as it was) was originally timber construction. In its last years, a GWR 57xx with a short goods train passing through would cause it to shake. Until being rebuilt with a prefabricated concrete structure in the 1960s the Up end of the platforms ended at the footbridge.
Drayton Green Tunnel was originally a cutting until covered in the 1970s to provide road access to new housing.
On the Up side between Drayton Green Halt and the road entrance to Plasser's Yard was a coal yard.
What is now Plasser's yard in the triangle at West Ealing was originally the area P/Way and S&T depots.
Adjacent to the present platform 5 at West Ealing there was originally a milk dock where rail milk tankers from the west country were emptied into road tankers. It was the first place I went on the footplate of a steam loco.
Because of the milk dock, West Ealing platform 4 was on the Up side of Drayton Green Road bridge.
The last surviving stone built Broad Gauge goods shed was on the down side behind platform 1 where Waitrose now stands. There was an Iron Mink body standing outside until demolition. The goods yard stretched down to the footbridge, Jacob's Ladder.
Before running to/from Paddington, the Greenford Car terminated at Ealing Broadway. At the up end of the island platforms (2 & 3) between the Main and Relief lines there was a reversing siding known as "The Car Park". When it ran as a class 121 double ended power car (Bubble Car) with a trailer in the peak, the trailer was left in the car park during the mid-day off peak.
The last time I did this line was on a Virgin Voyager "Express" from Coventry to London Euston which went that way during engineering works, to get to Euston
Nice to hear the wheels over the rail joints no butt welding here
Brilliant Video. Wish I could run opewn train times at the same time time so both screens are visible at once
Fantastic video loved the thrash out of West Ealing. Loads of great information, many thanks again.
very enjoyable. that was very good quality, useful info, lots of history and interesting. Would be great to meet you. I'm sure I could listen to you all day. Thx
I remember riding to Reading in one they were noisy for passengers too. They were fast though.
Excellent video(as always). I'm ready to sign the road now!Mister B(ex Ripple Lane Pathfinder).
Great video thank you.you definitely need to know what's what in this occupation. I always wonder at how trains stay on the rails on bends in icy weather !
I think I read that there's plans afoot to run a full passenger service once more over the New North Main line to allow Chiltern services to reach Old Oak Common when that opens, and relieve Marylebone. I'm from Wycombe and would certainly use such a service if it led to quick interchanges with Crossrail. I hope this happens!
I really enjoy watching your videos - particularly over routes I knew when a lot younger. How the buildings have changed! But one minor point - at 24.19 you say falling gradient is 1 in 1204 about 2 feet per mile. I reckon its 4 feet per mile - a mile being 5,280 feet. 4 x 1204 = 4816, so just over 4 feet per mile!
DrivermanO Yes you're absolutely right, I was dividing into instead of by there. I'll add an Erratum.
Great to see my neck of the woods from a different perspective.
Another cracking video - waiting for the sequel!
Brilliant video thank you
Another great video for us train lovers to enjoy.
Top cab ride - Thank you : )
Thanks, great video with useful information in the captions - subscribed :)
Thank you and welcome :)
I am surprised that line still exists with the central line offering a faster and more frequent route into central London from Ruislip - I wonder if Chiltern line trains even bother stopping there?. Ditto to the Greenfield branch where again the tube is faster and more frequent - can't get many people riding those trains out of West Ealing - just a matter of time before that closes too.
Another excellent video. Many thanks for putting videos of the travels of the Thumper unit. They are very interesting and being a guard on the Mid Hants I spent a fair amount of time on your units little brother!
When I started on the Mid Hants young man it only ran from Alresford to Ropley.
Thank you. Mid-Hants? You’ll enjoy the next series then... ;)
19:20 Bask in the 'olde world' charm of the modern train station. And we let how many beautiful railway stations fall into ruin?
BUT WHERE WAS THE PUBLICITY, NOT IN ANY OBVIOUS PLACE, HENCE I DID NOT KNOW ABOUT IT TILL SEEING IT ON YOU TUBE TUES 28 APR 2020. SO WHEN WILL IT RUN AGAIN, BUT THIS TIME PROPEWRLY PUBLICISED !!!! ????.
very nice cabride!!
Great video thank you.
Wait what? Ratings are enabled? Nice.
Superb; love your stuff!
I could quite happily watch a live stream if it were at all possible. Perhaps in the future.
I have no idea how we could achieve that - live 1080p coverage from the train?
@@hastingsdiesels Some are already live streaming from mobile devices from moving cars using 4G. With the arrival of 5G, it will be the difference between night and day. A totally different way of presenting visual and audio as it happens has arrived on UA-cam. With 5G, live VR becomes a reality also.
@@D0csavage1 Hmm. Thank you for your info. I don't have unlimited data nor perfect connectivity (especially not in tunnels!). More importantly, feedback leads me to conclude that most viewers would find this material borderline un-watchably boring if it didn't have the captioned commentary to provide context, metadata and interest. I can't produce that in real time, it takes me a day or two per hour of output! As we cannot interfere with the operation of our train in capturing this footage, I'd have to be able to use back-cab audio at all times (seeing as I couldn't edit out any unpublishable audio from the leading cab if it's live). Transmission latency for two different uplinks would vary which is no good, so video and audio would have to be mixed on-board (120 metres of shielded cable taped to the floor? No thanks!). Who would monitor the live feed constantly (seeing as I'm already on the train and often busy in another capacity), to fix faults and cut it instantly in case of incident? I can see how a professional OB crew could make this work, but not without placing several unworkable requirements upon both the traincrew and our passengers... and all just so that viewers get a worse video slightly sooner than currently?! Thanks but I'll let someone else do this.
D0csavage1 ii
@@hastingsdiesels I fully understand the work involved in producing video's, taking considerable time and effort. Live streaming would in this case be an impossible burden to achieve even if there were as you say a dedicated film crew. Without being demanding and inconveniencing everyone. Sorry for putting the thought forward.
at 14 min in Semaphore signals still in use 2018 amazing
the signal in 33:35 is the same you can find in lines in argentina
Good ride, it would help with a map of this journey :)
Thank you. Some of my more recent videos do in fact have a map, but for this one I can recommend the Ordnance Survey Landranger maps - you can see them by going to maps.bing.com and pressing the S key, so long as you are zoomed in appropriately.
I needed to know why they couldn’t dig a tunnel and do an extension for most of the mainline Trains so that they could extend the unused abandoned underground train stations. Why couldn’t they use the part D78 Stock train doors on the sides and also restructure the front face of the A60 and A62 stock which will include the class 507, class 508, class 313, class 314 and class 315 remix and make them all together and also redesign all of them into an overhead wire line trains and also make most of them into Five carriages per units and also having three Disabled Toilets on those Five cars per units A60 and A62 stock trains and also convert the A60 and A62 stock trains into a Scania N112, Leyland 510, Gardner 6LXC, Cummins M11, Volvo B10M, Gardner 6LXB, Gardner LG1200 and Gardner 8LXB Diesel Engines and also put the Loud 7 Speed Voith Gearboxes even Loud 10 Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Gearboxes in the A60 and A62 stock, class 507, class 508, class 313, class 314, and class 315 and also modernise the A60 and A62 stock and make it into 11 carriages per unit so it could have fewer doors, more tables, computers and mobile phone chargers? A Stock Train and 8 Disabled Toilets on those A stock trains. why couldn’t we refurbish and modernise the waterloo and city line Triple-Track train tunnel and make it even much more Larger and extend it to the bank station, making it into a Triple-Track Railway Line so those Five countries such as Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland And Sweden to convert the waterloo and city line Triple-Track Railway tunnel into a High-Speed Railway lines? The Third Euro tunnel Triple-Track Railway line to make it 11 times better for passengers so they could go from A to B. Then put the modernised 11 carriages per unit A Stock and put them on a bigger modernised Waterloo and city line Triple-Track train tunnel so it could go to bank station to those Five countries such as Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland And Sweden. The modernised refurbished 11 carriages per unit A stock could be a High Speed The Third Triple-Track Euro Tunnel Train So it is promising and 47 times a lot more possible to do this kind of project if that will be OK for London Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland And Sweden. oh by the way, could they also tunnel the Triple-Track Railway Line so it will stop from Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex so that the Passengers will go to Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland and Sweden and also extend the Triple-Track Railway Line from the Bank to Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex Stations so that more people from there could go to Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland And Sweden more Easily. Why couldn't they extend the Piccadilly Line and also build brand-new underground train stations so it could go even further right up to Clapton, Wood Street can they also make another brand new underground train station in Chingford and could they extend the Piccadilly Line and the DLR right up to Chingford? All of the classes 150, 155, 154, 117, 114, 105, and 106, will be replaced by all of the Scania N112, Leyland 510, Gardner 6LXC, Cummins M11, Volvo B10M, Gardner 6LXB, Gardner LG1200 and Gardner 8LXB Diesel Five carriages three disabled toilets are air conditioning trains including Highams Park for extended roots which is the Piccadilly line and the DLR trains. Could you also convert all of the 1973 stock trains into an air-conditioned maximum speed 78 km/hours (48 MPH) re-refurbished and make it into a 8 cars per unit if that will be alright, and also extend all of the Piccadilly train stations to make more space for all of the extended 8 car per unit 1973 stock air condition trains and can you also build another Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive Companies and can they order Every 87 Octagon and Every 48 Hexagon shape LNER diagram unique small no.13 and unique small no.11 Boilers from those Countries such as Greece, Italy, Poland, and Sweden, can they make Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive speeds by up to 147MPH so you can try and test it on the Original Mainline so it will be much more safer for the Passengers to enjoy the 147MPH speed Limit only for HS2 and Channel Tunnel mainline services, if they needed 16 Carriages Per units, can they use those class 55’s, class 44’s, class 40’s and class 43HST Diesel Locomotive’s right at the Back of those 18 Carriages Per Units so they can take over at the Back to let those Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive’s have a rest for those interesting Journeys Please!!!!, oh can you make all of those 18 Tonne Boxes of Coal for all of those 147MPH Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive’s so the Companies will Understand us PASSENGER’S!!!! So please make sure that the Builders can do as they are told!!!!!!!! And PLEASE do something about these very very important Professional ideas Please? Prime Minister of England, Prime Minister of Australia, Prime Minister of Sweden, Prime Minister of Germany, Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister of Poland and that Includes the Mayor of London.
Very interesting thank you
I think you’ll find the GWML is rather annoyingly littered with splitting distant signals, I struggle to understand them
I do love watching these videos, thank you!
Two questions, the inner twin rails by the Plasser aocl - can you tell me what they might be for and also all of the white painted rails - particularly in that section but across the network...
Can't wait for the next videos :-)
Hi bananaman100, thanks for this. 1) The inner twin rails look to me (and I may be wrong) as if they're there to help constrain a derailed vehicle; such twin rails are more commonly seen on viaducts. A sharp curve, particularly negotiated at very low speed as with this one because of the AOCL too, represents a greater risk of *flange climb derailment* (witness the repeated carbon-copy incidents departing Angerstein Wharf). 2) White painted rails, generally in the vicinity of pointwork but particularly found at diamond and switch-diamond crossings, are so painted to reflect sunlight and avoid getting as hot; reducing the range of temperatures a rail is exposed to will reduce the range of its thermal expansion. Points mechanisms tend to fail through becoming de-adjusted if their components expand or contract too much. With reference to your first question again, it is possible that the inner twin rails on the curve are present for this purpose too - to counteract expansion and buckling forces, particular relevant as this is a curved section of track between two sets of points.
@Aussie Pom Most days last summer in southern England were nearing 30 degrees. All railways suffer from expansion and contraction of the rails as temperatures change.
Passed my old School by Castle Bar Park
I wonder if there are any other semaphore signals in London, or if you happened to run by the only set.
I’m a GWR driver and I’ve turned the Sleepers and occasional HSTs round the Greenford Loop many times, but never seen the line and route beyond the Greenford Box from the other direction, so for me it was double interesting. I also used to regularly drive a Hastings Thumper on the privately owned Okehampton Branch, which was a real labour of love. Will there be anymore of these trips?
Thanks - glad it was of interest. Was that a Hastings unit on the Okehampton branch, or a Hampshire / Oxted thumper? I don't know much about it, but see that a public service is being reintroduced on the Okehampton branch soon.
Nice ride. How come the GWR route to Paddington has been closed from this month itself? In several areas I have also noticed that there are disused tracks on the side and in many places the speed restriction of the train is thirty miles per hour and twenty miles per hour.
The New North is closed at the Paddington end, as is Old Oak Common HST depot, because of construction work for HS2. Yes, the New North has multiple disused tracks and many abandoned sidings along its length which once served the many industrial areas in Greenford, Perivale, Park Royal et cetera. Lower speed restrictions mean less maintenance which reduces cost.
@@hastingsdiesels Glad I took one of the final 'ghost trains' along the entire NNML. Indeed the amount of decaying infrastructure is evidence that this was once a very busy section of railway. Up until around 1990 there was a once a day locomotive hauled 'fast' service from Banbury to Paddington and back that used to use the NNML. Remember seeing it thundering along at around 70mph through Hangar Lane a few times in my youth. Was still very much a main line back then, even if it was lightly used. Most of the line had a blanket 20mph limit East of Greenford Junction towards the end. Clearly wasn't worth the effort maintaining track that had no future. I do wonder if anyone had any timings for that loco hauled service??? Originally this service started at Wolves, then was started from Birmingham, possibly then Leamington Spa and eventually Banbury.
Adam W yes I remember the evening loco hauled service out of Paddington along the NNML. I grew up in South Ruislip and used to cycle down to the trackside between about April and October when you could see it easily. The 17:42 Paddington- Wolverhampton as it was then. Still got a record of the locos I saw on it....about 70 different 47’s, most 50’s, and the odd Peak. 47546 from IS (Inverness) was my all time best ‘cop’ on the service. Did I ever bring a camera with me....did I ever get around to going up to Paddington and travelling on it just for the hell of it?🙉🙉🙉🙉😫😫😫
Surprised to see all of the line left in place and not used ,is it too expensive to remove and recycle all of the steel ??
@ 16:51 you can see my mate Connor on the platform! :D
whoop, I am indeed there :P
Is there another in this series that follows the rest of journey to Hastings please?
Sorry, no. I couldn't 'change ends' with the camera when the driver changed ends, as it would take longer to retrieve the camera after the driver had alighted, walk through the train past passengers, trolleys etc, and install the camera at the other end, than it took the driver to walk along the ballast from one end to the other.
Ever since I subbed my neighbours have complained that my house sounds like Kings Cross. I'll have to turn down the volume.
The reason was explained, but how often does a green signal turn to red in front of a train?
In theory, never. In practice, occasionally either through taking a release on a wrong route or (more exceptionally still) through emergency.
never seen feathers positioned like the ones on that first gantry
You have now. ;)
Another great adventure thanks richard,When were your dmu's last in service with br,Looking forward to your next series cheer's bob.
The fleet was mostly withdrawn in 1986 but a few cars & reformed units lingered on until around 1990 off the top of my head. If it comes to that, ‘Caroline’ an ex buffet car is still in use by BR’s successors.
Can someone explain why on this video, and many of the others by Hastings Diesels, there is so much disused track lying about. Not just plain rail, but crossovers as well. Surely this has a vale, and in some cases allow surplus land to be sold.
Because the network has evolved in a way which typically has meant a smaller amount of infrastructure in use but being worked harder and with less financial resource. Maintaining fewer tracks saves money, and in many cases the scrap value of rail is probably exceeded by the cost of cutting it up into tiny pieces and then removing it (it is incredibly heavy).
The Acton dive under line seems to be pointless, is it for some future upgrade?
It allows Up trains to run whilst goods trains enter/leave the busy Acton Yard. With Crossrail it’ll be more important. See www.ianvisits.co.uk/blog/2015/12/06/a-look-at-crossrails-critical-acton-dive-under/amp/
Is this 'hidden' route of tracks now only used industrially for the moving of freight -- away out-of-sight of citizens?
I wouldn't say it's hidden, or for hiding the movement of freight; it's just a line whose importance has diminished because of the course of history. As such, it's mostly only used by freight or diverted passenger trains.
So trains do not use North South East West there in the UK?
Railway directions on the national rail network in the UK are generally described within the industry as "Up" (decreasing mileage, usually towards the major town/city) and "Down".
Even here in the States, the directional terms can be a bit odd. For instance, on the old Milwaukee Road, one heads "west" from Chicago to Milwaukee, even though you're traveling almost due north by compass, while on the Southern Pacific "east" meant "any direction away from San Francisco".
Is this a diesel hydraulic or diesel electric train?
Diesel-electric
Why do I sometimes think I am seeing this on train simulator
Boeiend !
🚂👍
It's great watching these videos and I find the railways fascinating, but to the point in comments below about usage and reducing cars, it won't happen.
The trains are unreliable and expensive. The network isn't good enough, and the unions hold the fare paying passengers to ransom.
For me to use a train to travel 40 miles to work, it's a 2hr journey. On the road, and assuming traffic is OK, it's a journey of between 40 - 60 minutes.
When I do go on the train, they are often crowded, full of people talking loudly on phones or with music blaring and feet on seats.
Why would you want to use trains unless you had to?
Thanks for the video, it's great to see a different perspective.