Peter Clapham So true, in your country as well as the states craftsman took pride in work and made simple things interesting and beautiful. 19thc British engineering was second to none. Hail Isombard Kingdom Brunell!!
That brought back memories. I used to live close to the A102 side of the crossing before the road was built and the crossing was a short cut to the fish and chip shop in Woolwich Road. Up some steps, across the crossing, down the steps, through the alleyway, turn left down to Woolwich Road, turn right and the fish and chip stop was just along on the right.
Wow, this is a blast from the past for me. I used to take this shortcut to get to Asda each Saturday with my Dad (we lived on Foyle Road1986 -1999). Thanks for sharing.
It is absolutely amazing how a little opening leads to so much! Love this video! Years ago, my two cousins and I went exploring over the rail lines on a footbridge in Faversham, Kent. It felt like we were doing something illegal, but in fact, it was a public footbridge over all the rail lines. This little alleyway almost makes it feel like we, the viewers, are doing something illegal by trespassing when in fact, it is a public right-of-way, as well!
Found this randomly and thought 'WHAT, nearly 8 minutes of filming featuring an alley - and its got 400,000 views? Is any nudity involved??!!' Was going to pass it by until I scanned the comments - and glad I did. Surprisingly, a brilliant video. Thank you.
What a brilliant video, unless you live in this area you would never know about this pathway to Westcombe Park Station. As a retired Southeastern driver I was stopped a few times over the years for the freight to Angersteins Wharf to cross over at the Junction, but of course with the track non-electrified never went there myself, very interesting, thanks for the upload.
When my husband was a kid he had a freight train pass close to the end of his back yard. He used to wave at the engineers and they used to throw huge thick pieces of chalk to him. They used it for marking train numbers on the yard chalk board. He loved it.
Yay the ally from Westcombe to Charlton, we used to tell the kids it was a magic ally when they were small, we use it all the time to go to the shops :) thank you for sharing a little piece of our hometown.
Hi. Sadly this is not in service for long. This only foot crossing is also going to be disappear, as Network Rail is permanently closing it and demolish it in April ! Sad!
An Amazing difference in the sound level from Fairthorn Road to the tracks! Some people complain of the noise from trains which don't run continuously, but the noise from the constant traffic on highways is actually very annoying.
I often see this branch line behind the big ASDA in North Greenwich. It goes across a nice bridge on Bugsbys Way and you get a very clear view of the Class 66s and their aggregates hoppers near there. You also get a decent view of the planes landing at LCY.
Thank you for taking me on a walk through the backstreets of my home town - looking mighty pretty from this far away on the Indian Subcontinent. Great camera work.
What a gem at the end of the alleyway. I always wanted to live somewhere right next to a railway line. Used to fancy an old station or stationmasters house but I’m at an age now whereby I’m not fussy. I just want to be able to hear trains and see them from my house. It is just in my dreams now, im never likely to move which is a pity.
Interesting that, I live in the centre of Dunblane and I have a perfect view of the station and therefore the HML, best of all, there's a signal right outside (they replaced the semaphore one this month :C) so you get to see HSTs, sheds, the odd Network Rail train and plenty of DMUs from my bedroom window
Very common - almost all Victorian terraced housing uses alleys, ginells back lanes or pads (likely lots more local names too). My grandma's house was an end of terrace. The rear access was in the middle of the block, so a long walk round to get stuff into the yard. In those days all deliveries and collections - like the bin men (garbage collection) was to the back. House entrance was direct off the pavement (sidewalk) straight into the front room, or parlour, which was only used for extremely formal visits, like the vicar. Never by the family. Only two small rooms plus kitchen downstairs, three rooms upstairs (bath was a tin bath kept in the shed used every week!) Family was 11 kids.
This popped up on my UA-cam recommendations today. No idea why, as I'm not into this sort of thing. Crikey though, I was hooked immediately once I started watching it. Brilliant camera work and such a beautiful hidden part of London. I was transfixed! Thanks for making this.
I kept seeing this video show up in the suggested list at the right. I said, "This better be good". And it was. Thank you for a very pleasant surprise. I enjoyed every minute of it. You did a wonderful job of it.
Outstanding video - Amazing how you timed your arrival at the line in time to photograph the train. I wouldn't feel safe walking that path after dark. You kept your camera very steady to produce a smooth video so very well done.
Over 15% of the sand and gravel currently used in England and Wales is won from the sea-bed and has been used in a wide range of reinforced concrete structures. The main difference between the majority of land-based aggregates and marine aggregate lies in the presence in the latter of sea salts, which usually have to be washed out to meet British Standard maximum limits for chloride and latest guidelines for limited alkali content to prevent alkali silica reaction (ASR). In this paper the basic facts about marine aggregates are considered in relation to the requirements of BS 8110 Structural use of concrete, of the latest guidelines to prevent ASR, and of BS 882 which all aggregates from natural sources must pass to be acceptable for structural reinforced concrete. If these requirements are fulfilled then marine aggregates can be safely used.@@benlee2765
Thoroughly enjoyed your wee tour and info...felt like I was there...was based in London back in '83 and lead singer in a band...lived in a street similar to this and instant memories...been a few years since my last visit and your vid has put me in the mood for another one fairly soon... Cheers!
Fascinating - thank you for the film and the history / views of south east London :) It is very rare to have a foot crossing like this. Network Rail are busy shutting them as fast as they can. I've subbed :)
Just goes to show that you don’t need fancy graphics and earsplitting music to make an enjoyable video. I watched beginning to end and that’s a rarity. Nice job!
I've often wondered where that footbridge over the A102 goes, I never realised that you can continue on it over the Angerstein Wharf line, so this video was very interesting, thanks!
Very interesting to watch. Love the fact the entry looks like any other terraced house back entry. You never expect it to actually lead somewhere. There is another unusual terraced house somewhere in London I saw on a documentary once but can't recall where it actually is, but it is a frontage of a three storey Georgian terraced house which is not a house at all but a railway bridge complete with false doors and windows, you'd find that interesting.
Really interesting. London really is a city of amazing contrasts. The whole video feels surreal, almost like something from a game. Could quite happily spend a day there wandering.
I was on at least three of the ships that used to run up to Angersteins Wharf back in the late 1990's and early 2000's before I retired in 2005. Never knew about the rail link - interesting...
There is a foot crossing between Trumpers Way, Hanwell and Windmill Lane, Southall that also crosses a freight line. There is a second crossing about 100m up the line taking the footpath from Windmill Lane into the Brent Riverside park.
there is a crossing like this to the west of alesford road crossing on the main line between Strood and Maidstone on the Tonbridge line,like this it has a wharf and a gavel depot
I used to live a stones throw away in Calvert Road (in between Maze Hill and Westcombe Park) for 3 years, 20 years ago and didn't know this crossing existed, which is a shame, I would have liked to have checked it out!
There used to be "Treacle Cock Alley" in Bingley, West Yorkshire that went under the railway line to the canal three rise locks. It was filled in when they built the bypass in the 2000's unfortunately. Progress kills the history and unique parts of the UK all the time!
Andrew Haines Evidence of this is they demolished Washwood Heath depot for High speed 1. HS1 or whatever it's called isn't really progress, I mean we have Eurostar, do we need much more?
If you ever travel on the district line between East Putney and Wimbledon. you can see some amazing sights. It is the only route for British rail trains into their maintenance depot at Wimbledon park, so you see some real oddities. On one occasion a steam train passed through after it had been on display at an exhibition.
Talking of steam trains. If you look out of the window as your tube train passes through Acton depot on it's way to Heathrow, you will often see a working steam train on the sidings. It is in regular use to shunt trains into the maintenance sheds where their are no conductor rails. It is also used to pull trains out of the tunnel when they suffer a major electrical fault. It is the only steam train that fits through the tube tunnels and it is quite an odd sight.
The old 66069 I know it well. A friend of mine is a spotter so I often hear what is that number while he looks to see if he has it ticked off. Admittedly not down an alleyway but used to live in an area which was built around a farm so you would walk around the corner and straight across a railway line which would lead into the town and because people were crossing with such regularity there were a number of casualties when I was younger as unlike this one it was on a mainline so very easy to become blasé about it. I have always lived very close to railway lines completely unintentionally.
Had no idea this existed, don't live too far. I'll visit it eventually! That's the great thing about freight lines, got quite a few little gems and unique stuff.
I live in Windsor, on the outskirts of Sydney, and there is a pedestrian only level crossing at Cox St, adjacent to the Windsor railway station. There used to be a car crossing, but this has been closed down with locked gates, so only pedestrians can cross. The crossing has warning lights and automatically closing gates.
It appears not many people know about this alley that goes across a single track, infrequently used railway line and and a busy main road, and there are no signposts indicating the short cut.
I agree with most the comments here. Great smooth filming of really nothing, but I liked it a lot, but then in all honesty I'm a bit of a nosey bastard. Keep up the good work. 10 out of 10.
This is sensational! A ginnel between two houses that leads ti a freight line bizarre, the sort of thing you could dream about? You have to be congratulated for this super footage, and bringing it to our attention.And to finish off with an EWS 66, what could be better? Do tbe 59's pass by, and when was this video shot? Thankyou once again highly enjoyable cheers Nick.
Finn P what I meant was ti walk between two joined houses then find a rqilway track, the two just dont seem to go together! Surreal is what I was looking for.
Great video of a beautiful neighborhood in London. I looked it up on google maps satellite view and its a really nice area... just as you videoed it. I did not know why you did not video the gates on either side of the walkway... but then I discovered that those gates are the alley access for the folks living there to their garages behind the houses. It keeps the pedestrians from running amuck behind the houses.
I wonder how that alleyway going through the house affects the layout of the house? Fascinating video - and close to me, too, so I will have to give it a visit. The trick will be working out when trains run. Looking at real time trains, it seems that most of the working time table trips don't run, and it's the occasional STP and VAR that does.
You can see on google maps that the house on the south side of the passage has extra width (at 1st floor level). The fenestration (window layout) suggests larger bedroom(s) rather than an extra bedroom. www.google.com/maps/place/Fairthorn+Rd,+London+SE7+7RL/@51.4856526,0.0204263,18z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x47d8a839aa94c6cf:0xa1784070a20813cd?gl=uk (zoom in and go to "satellite")
BTW: A property like that will be the subject of a "freehold" (regarding the land on which it stands) and a "flying freehold" (regarding the land which it overhangs) - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_freehold.
Related: Here's a terrace of four houses : www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.2755386,-0.751425,3a,75y,261.78h,90.77t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1stiFYXBGdBS5OBm6eicUxxQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DtiFYXBGdBS5OBm6eicUxxQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D157.74884%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656 The centre two are particularly interesting. I know the people who own the house with the blue stripe and for many years assumed they owned the whole of the flying section. Then, one day I got to see the back of the terrace from an office window in the next street. The half-adjoined house has an identically-sized pink stripe and my friends were able to confirm, the front half of the bridge section is theirs - the back half belonging to the neighbours. The two properties interlock like a couple of 3-D Tetris pieces.
The alley must be a public right of way, but the owner of the house on the left most likely has a room or two rooms (front and back) above it. I wonder how responsibility for maintenance works out. Great to have a back gate from one of those gardens into the alley if you had to make a quick getaway!
Great piece of information for Londoners and for people like me, *who have spent some time in London*. This video also make me reminiscent of the time of the time I spend in Woolwich, how I often used to take train from Plumstead Station for London Bridge or 422 / 472 bus for North Greenwich.
Really fun video. I love the beautiful old bricks. Incredibly sad that taggers don't respect the old or the fact that it is someone else's property and still do their ugly spray paint. I strongly dislike the damage they do!!! Thank you for the upload.
Fran Looving Was are you from the US? In the UK, graffiti is not really ‘tagging’ (there really arent that many gangs around), more of a subculture....
Really very interesting. Loved this video and its simplicity. Little nooks and crannies like this are rare in the States and from what I gather in the UK as well. Nice job.
fascinating that it still exists. what is the road[?] at the bottom of the stairs, behind the homes blocked from the path by the fences? is it alley access for the homes? 5:10 that 'normal' low railing on that highway overpass was startling to see. no jumping? no falling? no sign waving, no one throwing shit over at the cars?
Very nice indeed, like the alley seems like an old river passed through there and under the railway many decades ago by the shape and it was cleared away for the houses but the developers left it there and once the railway was built they turned it into a foot crossing. Someday I'd love to visit that. Seems very intriguing indeed. Wonder how those people feel about having freight trains pass by their houses all the time. Great Video also :) !
Fucking love alleyways. Only thing I love more than an alleyway is a freight only branch line. You can only imagine what it was like for me to watch this, just let me die now, nothing can surpass this.
Fascinating. Very enjoyable walk, viewed from New Zealand... I have just looked at Rail Map Online, and it is amazing how many railways and tramways were in and around the banks of the Thames.
This is like something odd and random that your subconscious would create in a dream. and thus strangely atmospheric and enjoyable. Great video, thanks ;)
I tend to go for "That was riveting!" when I'm being sarcastic because it's not unusual to thoroughly enjoy something, as the Tom Jones song goes. But then again I'm often fascinated by something but can't say "That is fascinating!" because that line is textbook sarcasm, so it seems there's a very fine line between genuine sarcasm and just wanting to express that you've gone all giddy all of a sudden - y'know?
I was on the sureguard storage build project last year, just around the corner in Horn Lane. Got a mate walks his dog along the route you took. Cool vid.
Hi, Morthren, what a great little video! Very much enjoyed watching it. That's a sweet little twichell leading to the crossing; it was good fortune you didn't meet someone coming the other way - might have got a little tight in there! You may like to visit the twichell in Wimbledon that leads between Graham Road and Hartfield Crescent, just a few yards shy of the Dundonald Road stop on the Wimbledon-Croydon tramlink line. This passageway is a little out of the ordinary in that it has a small 'kink' about half-way through, where the back gardens of the houses on the two roads are not perfectly aligned! I can't think off-hand of any pedestrian-only crossings (at ground level) in my neck of the woods; as for pedestrian-only BRIDGES in London that are not directly associated with stations, there's the Alt Grove footbridge just outside Wimbledon station, the Elm Grove-Merton Hall Road bridge a little further southwest, and the two West Barnes Lane footbridges in Raynes Park. In addition, the Alric Avenue-Dukes Avenue bridge in New Malden.
Hi, Hertog. Both are correct, but I'll admit that ''twitchel'' is the more commonly found spelling, especially in the Midlands. Anyway, glad you liked it, and hope that you will find ample opportunity to impress your friends in the future! :)
I'm from Woking and we pass huge heaps of aggregate just a little way from the main train station there and I never knew where it comes from until now.
This is my second time to watch this video. It is really interesting! I showed this to my son also since he went to London a couple years ago. I hope you have more videos like this because I subscribed to ya!
No, don't feel sorry for him, he had a great time! My sister, mother, brother in law also went to London and had a great time. They told me about the trains
I clicked 'send' too soon! I've just remembered there's a pedestrian foot crossing on the Wimbledon-Croydon tramlink line just south of Merton Park station. It can be reached by the twichell from Dorset Road, and leads across the tracks to a patch of rough ground, from which one can gain access to either the station or the western end of Melbourne Road. In your video, I noticed that several of the aggregate wagons had a thick 'L'-shaped patch on the side; presumably this was where a previous owner's logo had been removed. Would you happen to know whose logo it was, please?
Used to play on that railway line as a kid, if you walked up the line to the right it went to the river, but before getting to the river was overgrown waste ground, disused warehouses and a WWII pill box, it was one giant adventure playground. Nowadays its ASDA.
Nice little vid, you wouldn't even know that access tunnel was there if you weren't looking for it, that looked a pretty long freight train too. Just subscribed you, looks some interesting stuff on here. 👍
Some years ago I went down there on a 'spotters' trip. When we got to the crossing my husband had got all our friends and neighbours to come along and wave, and there was a big crowd waiting there when we stopped.
I think graffiti looks nice sometimes. Not on everything but there are times I see it and enjoy it being there. It's a bit of variety in what you see. It ruins some areas, but is a great sight to see in others, like industrial areas like Digbeth in Birmingham, love seeing it there. For me it depends on what is being done, on a nice old building I hate it, ruins a nice piece of architecture. But one of those horrible gray square slabs from the 60's that they call a building? Anything to give those eyesore's colour, those buildings are vandalism in of themselves. Although you have to be careful with graffiti, not all of it is vandals, often it can be done by the owners for their art. Although you can usually tell.
@@Xegethra If the owners of those gray square slabs approve of their buildings being graffitied, that's fine, but otherwise graffiti is criminal activity. Often graffiti itself is covered with other graffiti - what do you think about that? Look, you wouldn't tolerate graffiti covering your own house and car. It should be stamped out.
@@mikeyaureliush9017 I'm aware of the criminality of it. As for graffiti covering other graffiti, it's a changing scene, keeps it fresh. I don't actively encourage graffiti as you rightly say it goes against the wishes of the owners. Nobody should have to put up with their property the way they don't want it, but I still think it looks good. I don't agree with it everywhere of course not, like people's homes. The suburbs look nice without it. Also on old buildings, with really nice architecture. We all think differently about our city. I know I'm in the minority, and it's a criminal act and so understand why they wipe it away, fair enough. And I think it's nice when businesses do up their buildings with it so at least as far as willing owners, it won't go away and there will be some colour and shape to look at in the city. I'm not saying it should be done, just that when it is I think it can look quite good, like an industrial area or one of those trendy areas. Like you say, if the owners approve of it or don't mind then great. But if they don't, yeah I understand why they get rid of it.
Something so simple as an alleyway but built so beautifully, bricklaying at its best.
Horrendous attempt at a garden wall though
Yeah they really made things to last in the Victorian era.
Everybody dance!
And litter!
Peter Clapham So true, in your country as well as the states craftsman took pride in work and made simple things interesting and beautiful. 19thc British engineering was second to none. Hail Isombard Kingdom Brunell!!
I'm in my fifties now and these little alleyways were everywhere near rail-lines when I was a kid in the 70's, nowadays they really are quite rare.
That brought back memories. I used to live close to the A102 side of the crossing before the road was built and the crossing was a short cut to the fish and chip shop in Woolwich Road.
Up some steps, across the crossing, down the steps, through the alleyway, turn left down to Woolwich Road, turn right and the fish and chip stop was just along on the right.
Wow, this is a blast from the past for me. I used to take this shortcut to get to Asda each Saturday with my Dad (we lived on Foyle Road1986 -1999). Thanks for sharing.
I never used to get these kind of videos in my UA-cam recommendations. Geoff and Vicki have got a lot to answer for...
beetooex haha! Yes!!
They certainly have!! 😅
Erm ... who are Geoff and Vicki? Please pardon my ignorance.
All the stations
All of them
All the stations
All of them
All the stations
All the stations
All the stations...
Except the Isle of Wight
There was such a quiet beauty about how you shot your video. Don’t know why it was in my recommended’s but glad it was!
It is absolutely amazing how a little opening leads to so much! Love this video! Years ago, my two cousins and I went exploring over the rail lines on a footbridge in Faversham, Kent. It felt like we were doing something illegal, but in fact, it was a public footbridge over all the rail lines. This little alleyway almost makes it feel like we, the viewers, are doing something illegal by trespassing when in fact, it is a public right-of-way, as well!
A video of absolutely nothing and I LOVED IT!!! Quite relaxing in a funny sort of way.
It may be nothing to you but I recognised the sound of my fav loco - the Class 66 - as soon as he got to the stairs! Could listen to them for ages!
Exactly mate ;-)
rs parker How is it nothing?
You have over a 100 likes, we all feel relaxed watching this. Brilliant
rs parker My kind of nothing. I can watch this kind of nothing for days.
Found this randomly and thought 'WHAT, nearly 8 minutes of filming featuring an alley - and its got 400,000 views? Is any nudity involved??!!' Was going to pass it by until I scanned the comments - and glad I did. Surprisingly, a brilliant video. Thank you.
An architectural gem. I doubt if such a thing would be even planned these days let alone built so beautifully. Thanks for sharing.
What a brilliant video, unless you live in this area you would never know about this pathway to Westcombe Park Station. As a retired Southeastern driver I was stopped a few times over the years for the freight to Angersteins Wharf to cross over at the Junction, but of course with the track non-electrified never went there myself, very interesting, thanks for the upload.
Glad there were no dementors in the alleyway. It’s kind of hard to conjure up patronus when filming a video..
ЭлектромонтажUSA 😂😂😂😂 im dead
ЭлектромонтажUSA fuck off rusian
What?
@@the486kgman2 GOOD answer !! :-)
@Uncle Rico racist
When my husband was a kid he had a freight train pass close to the end of his back yard. He used to wave at the engineers and they used to throw huge thick pieces of chalk to him. They used it for marking train numbers on the yard chalk board. He loved it.
Yay the ally from Westcombe to Charlton, we used to tell the kids it was a magic ally when they were small, we use it all the time to go to the shops :) thank you for sharing a little piece of our hometown.
Awesome alleyway. Great piece of history still in service. Thanks for sharing.
RODALCO2007 fancy seeing you here from Shango066 (Dan c) videos.
Hi. Sadly this is not in service for long. This only foot crossing is also going to be disappear, as Network Rail is permanently closing it and demolish it in April ! Sad!
An Amazing difference in the sound level from Fairthorn Road to the tracks! Some people complain of the noise from trains which don't run continuously, but the noise from the constant traffic on highways is actually very annoying.
Smooth camera work
Free Saxon feels like it was from video game
Free Saxon go pro?
post processing!
I reckon it's a gimble
I thought that as he bounced along in the alley way, where's the Steadicam lol
Fascinating. Thousands of people must walk by there every day, without a clue as to what lies down that path. Thanks for sharing!
I often see this branch line behind the big ASDA in North Greenwich. It goes across a nice bridge on Bugsbys Way and you get a very clear view of the Class 66s and their aggregates hoppers near there. You also get a decent view of the planes landing at LCY.
Thank you for taking me on a walk through the backstreets of my home town - looking mighty pretty from this far away on the Indian Subcontinent. Great camera work.
What a gem at the end of the alleyway. I always wanted to live somewhere right next to a railway line. Used to fancy an old station or stationmasters house but I’m at an age now whereby I’m not fussy. I just want to be able to hear trains and see them from my house. It is just in my dreams now, im never likely to move which is a pity.
Frog Pr.: I too long for the mournful sound of the distant train whistle at night.
Interesting that, I live in the centre of Dunblane and I have a perfect view of the station and therefore the HML, best of all, there's a signal right outside (they replaced the semaphore one this month :C) so you get to see HSTs, sheds, the odd Network Rail train and plenty of DMUs from my bedroom window
Naniteri
@@catcook3324 Trains don't whistle anymore I live right next to a train track and its not better than a normal house lol.
I have train tracks right behind my house and it is really annoying when you are trying to get to sleep
Just checked the terrace house prices on this clip - flat £330,000 - house £550,000, I knew London was expensive, but this is crazy money !!
Very common - almost all Victorian terraced housing uses alleys, ginells back lanes or pads (likely lots more local names too). My grandma's house was an end of terrace. The rear access was in the middle of the block, so a long walk round to get stuff into the yard. In those days all deliveries and collections - like the bin men (garbage collection) was to the back.
House entrance was direct off the pavement (sidewalk) straight into the front room, or parlour, which was only used for extremely formal visits, like the vicar. Never by the family.
Only two small rooms plus kitchen downstairs, three rooms upstairs (bath was a tin bath kept in the shed used every week!) Family was 11 kids.
It's not the alleyway that''s rare but the foot crossing. Interesting post, however!
I was half expecting to see Del boy and Rodney appear ! Well done for showing this little gem, best wishes .
What a gem of a location. Many thanks for the video.
What a gem of a find on the Internet and in real life. The alley is so "simple" and beautiful. Well filmed too. Thanks for sharing.
This popped up on my UA-cam recommendations today. No idea why, as I'm not into this sort of thing. Crikey though, I was hooked immediately once I started watching it. Brilliant camera work and such a beautiful hidden part of London. I was transfixed! Thanks for making this.
Nicely shot, nicely edited, nicely captioned. Good Job.
Well that was perfectly timed:)
Or planned :-)
Well planned ... and well edited. Note the natty cross-fade at 0:57
I kept seeing this video show up in the suggested list at the right. I said, "This better be good". And it was. Thank you for a very pleasant surprise. I enjoyed every minute of it. You did a wonderful job of it.
I suppose I am a sad person, but little alleys and railways and foot bridges adds colour to life. Thanks for posting. Oscar on the way.
Outstanding video - Amazing how you timed your arrival at the line in time to photograph the train. I wouldn't feel safe walking that path after dark. You kept your camera very steady to produce a smooth video so very well done.
Where would we all be without sea-dredged aggregate?
Is that sand?
Over 15% of the sand and gravel currently used in England and Wales is won from the sea-bed and has been used in a wide range of reinforced concrete structures. The main difference between the majority of land-based aggregates and marine aggregate lies in the presence in the latter of sea salts, which usually have to be washed out to meet British Standard maximum limits for chloride and latest guidelines for limited alkali content to prevent alkali silica reaction (ASR). In this paper the basic facts about marine aggregates are considered in relation to the requirements of BS 8110 Structural use of concrete, of the latest guidelines to prevent ASR, and of BS 882 which all aggregates from natural sources must pass to be acceptable for structural reinforced concrete. If these requirements are fulfilled then marine aggregates can be safely used.@@benlee2765
My family of dredged the sea aggregate mines for decades. Good to finally have some gratitude.
I'm not sure. We'd be fucked right?
U ruin the sea/ocean when u dredge!!!
Thoroughly enjoyed your wee tour and info...felt like I was there...was based in London back in '83 and lead singer in a band...lived in a street similar to this and instant memories...been a few years since my last visit and your vid has put me in the mood for another one fairly soon...
Cheers!
Their are numerous such crossings in London, many of them around Wimbledon.
They are mostly so concealed that only local people know that they exist.
So mostly in South London
Fascinating - thank you for the film and the history / views of south east London :) It is very rare to have a foot crossing like this. Network Rail are busy shutting them as fast as they can. I've subbed :)
That's wonderful. Just imagine having that treasure in your back garden !.
Just goes to show that you don’t need fancy graphics and earsplitting music to make an enjoyable video. I watched beginning to end and that’s a rarity. Nice job!
I've often wondered where that footbridge over the A102 goes, I never realised that you can continue on it over the Angerstein Wharf line, so this video was very interesting, thanks!
Very interesting to watch. Love the fact the entry looks like any other terraced house back entry. You never expect it to actually lead somewhere.
There is another unusual terraced house somewhere in London I saw on a documentary once but can't recall where it actually is, but it is a frontage of a three storey Georgian terraced house which is not a house at all but a railway bridge complete with false doors and windows, you'd find that interesting.
Guy walks like a 90's computer game character.
Really interesting. London really is a city of amazing contrasts. The whole video feels surreal, almost like something from a game. Could quite happily spend a day there wandering.
I was on at least three of the ships that used to run up to Angersteins Wharf back in the late 1990's and early 2000's before I retired in 2005. Never knew about the rail link - interesting...
There is a foot crossing between Trumpers Way, Hanwell and Windmill Lane, Southall that also crosses a freight line. There is a second crossing about 100m up the line taking the footpath from Windmill Lane into the Brent Riverside park.
You should apply to Mastermind. Immediatley.
Fascinating! I have driven up and down the A102 many times, but never realised that there was a parallel Branch line running so close by!
Ron leitch Something to look out for on your many trips, help to keep things interesting while driving. Helps keep the brain sharp.
Super video. How 160 people have taken the time to watch the video, and then dislike it, is completely beyond me!
the top flat on the right of the alleyway was sold in Aug 2017 for an attractive £255,000. It had a short lease and in need of refurbishment
There's a public foot only crossing in Kenley at the end of Bourne View, goes over the Caterham to London line.
there is a crossing like this to the west of alesford road crossing on the main line between Strood and Maidstone on the Tonbridge line,like this it has a wharf and a gavel depot
I used to live a stones throw away in Calvert Road (in between Maze Hill and Westcombe Park) for 3 years, 20 years ago and didn't know this crossing existed, which is a shame, I would have liked to have checked it out!
There used to be "Treacle Cock Alley" in Bingley, West Yorkshire that went under the railway line to the canal three rise locks. It was filled in when they built the bypass in the 2000's unfortunately. Progress kills the history and unique parts of the UK all the time!
Andrew Haines Evidence of this is they demolished Washwood Heath depot for High speed 1. HS1 or whatever it's called isn't really progress, I mean we have Eurostar, do we need much more?
Wall built in 1951. None of it Victorian. Re-built again in 1960 due to a derailment. Crayfaire Peach (Builders) Job No.23453.
Brilliant! Now I’m going to get my A to Z, track it down and visit on my next holiday to the UK!
A nice qwerky visit to London with a bonus freight train hauling aggregate rock for concrete.
In all the years of crossing this line, I have never seen a freight train, thanks for posting!
If you ever travel on the district line between East Putney and Wimbledon. you can see some amazing sights.
It is the only route for British rail trains into their maintenance depot at Wimbledon park, so you see some real oddities. On one occasion a steam train passed through after it had been on display at an exhibition.
Talking of steam trains.
If you look out of the window as your tube train passes through Acton depot on it's way to Heathrow, you will often see a working steam train on the sidings.
It is in regular use to shunt trains into the maintenance sheds where their are no conductor rails. It is also used to pull trains out of the tunnel when they suffer a major electrical fault.
It is the only steam train that fits through the tube tunnels and it is quite an odd sight.
Love the Dalek-steady camera views. I could sit and watch your perambulations all day. Well done *morthren!*
The old 66069 I know it well. A friend of mine is a spotter so I often hear what is that number while he looks to see if he has it ticked off. Admittedly not down an alleyway but used to live in an area which was built around a farm so you would walk around the corner and straight across a railway line which would lead into the town and because people were crossing with such regularity there were a number of casualties when I was younger as unlike this one it was on a mainline so very easy to become blasé about it. I have always lived very close to railway lines completely unintentionally.
Amazing, I've lived in the area all my life and only discovered this the other day and here you are putting it up on YT!
Had no idea this existed, don't live too far. I'll visit it eventually! That's the great thing about freight lines, got quite a few little gems and unique stuff.
I live in Windsor, on the outskirts of Sydney, and there is a pedestrian only level crossing at Cox St, adjacent to the Windsor railway station. There used to be a car crossing, but this has been closed down with locked gates, so only pedestrians can cross. The crossing has warning lights and automatically closing gates.
Graffiti ruins everything. You don't see that in Japan or Singapore and everything looks so clean.
Those graffiti were nice ... :-)
Of course there is graffiti in those countries.
Claire 01 have you recently returned from Japan and Singapore?
Humbug sourpuss
Because people know they'll be caned for it!
It appears not many people know about this alley that goes across a single track, infrequently used railway line and and a busy main road, and there are no signposts indicating the short cut.
I agree with most the comments here. Great smooth filming of really nothing, but I liked it a lot, but then in all honesty I'm a bit of a nosey bastard. Keep up the good work. 10 out of 10.
So sorry to read from Alastair Austin that footpath now closed. Thsi is such a great video, I love seeing these little known paths and footbridges.
This is sensational! A ginnel between two houses that leads ti a freight line bizarre, the sort of thing you could dream about? You have to be congratulated for this super footage, and bringing it to our attention.And to finish off with an EWS 66, what could be better? Do tbe 59's pass by, and when was this video shot? Thankyou once again highly enjoyable cheers Nick.
Red Shed 66077 Dream about? U joking?
Finn P what I meant was ti walk between two joined houses then find a rqilway track, the two just dont seem to go together! Surreal is what I was looking for.
Houses and railway lines are very often close together. Come on, man.
Red Shed 66077 Surreal? Boring you mean. Trains aren’t really interesting but paths over train tracks are completely uninteresting.
@@finnpeters7867 - Why are you here? Lot of time to kill?
Great video of a beautiful neighborhood in London. I looked it up on google maps satellite view and its a really nice area... just as you videoed it. I did not know why you did not video the gates on either side of the walkway... but then I discovered that those gates are the alley access for the folks living there to their garages behind the houses. It keeps the pedestrians from running amuck behind the houses.
I wonder how that alleyway going through the house affects the layout of the house?
Fascinating video - and close to me, too, so I will have to give it a visit. The trick will be working out when trains run. Looking at real time trains, it seems that most of the working time table trips don't run, and it's the occasional STP and VAR that does.
You can see on google maps that the house on the south side of the passage has extra width (at 1st floor level). The fenestration (window layout) suggests larger bedroom(s) rather than an extra bedroom.
www.google.com/maps/place/Fairthorn+Rd,+London+SE7+7RL/@51.4856526,0.0204263,18z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x47d8a839aa94c6cf:0xa1784070a20813cd?gl=uk (zoom in and go to "satellite")
BTW: A property like that will be the subject of a "freehold" (regarding the land on which it stands) and a "flying freehold" (regarding the land which it overhangs) - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_freehold.
Related: Here's a terrace of four houses : www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.2755386,-0.751425,3a,75y,261.78h,90.77t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1stiFYXBGdBS5OBm6eicUxxQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DtiFYXBGdBS5OBm6eicUxxQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D157.74884%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656
The centre two are particularly interesting. I know the people who own the house with the blue stripe and for many years assumed they owned the whole of the flying section. Then, one day I got to see the back of the terrace from an office window in the next street. The half-adjoined house has an identically-sized pink stripe and my friends were able to confirm, the front half of the bridge section is theirs - the back half belonging to the neighbours. The two properties interlock like a couple of 3-D Tetris pieces.
I never expected my comment to reveal so much fascinating detail. Thank you.
An old friend used to be Borough Surveyor. Over the years he has told me lots of stuff I wouldn't otherwise know.
I dont know why but i loved that video. I find old london so interesting. Imagine back in the day? Thank you!
The alley must be a public right of way, but the owner of the house on the left most likely has a room or two rooms (front and back) above it. I wonder how responsibility for maintenance works out. Great to have a back gate from one of those gardens into the alley if you had to make a quick getaway!
Routeman .. "I wonder how responsibility for maintenance works out" ... that is a blinkin' good point!
Great piece of information for Londoners and for people like me, *who have spent some time in London*.
This video also make me reminiscent of the time of the time I spend in Woolwich, how I often used to take train from Plumstead Station for London Bridge or 422 / 472 bus for North Greenwich.
Really fun video. I love the beautiful old bricks. Incredibly sad that taggers don't respect the old or the fact that it is someone else's property and still do their ugly spray paint. I strongly dislike the damage they do!!! Thank you for the upload.
Fran Looving Was are you from the US? In the UK, graffiti is not really ‘tagging’ (there really arent that many gangs around), more of a subculture....
@@MikayeYakovlev personally I think graffiti where not asked for is just annoying but I don't mind it either
Used to use this crossing all the time to get my fish and chips
@@sabersz one mans 'graffiti' is another mans 'art '....
@@therightreverendrawhide7587 if art is an ugly eyesore so be it
Really very interesting. Loved this video and its simplicity. Little nooks and crannies like this are rare in the States and from what I gather in the UK as well. Nice job.
I’ve cycled past the wharf many times and see dredgers unloading the aggregate via a series of belts over the Thames path.
fascinating that it still exists. what is the road[?] at the bottom of the stairs, behind the homes blocked from the path by the fences? is it alley access for the homes?
5:10 that 'normal' low railing on that highway overpass was startling to see. no jumping? no falling? no sign waving, no one throwing shit over at the cars?
Interesting bit of footage, thank you for sharing it with everyone!
Very nice indeed, like the alley seems like an old river passed through there and under the railway many decades ago by the shape and it was cleared away for the houses but the developers left it there and once the railway was built they turned it into a foot crossing. Someday I'd love to visit that. Seems very intriguing indeed. Wonder how those people feel about having freight trains pass by their houses all the time. Great Video also :) !
Good video. What stabiliser are you using?
Fucking love alleyways. Only thing I love more than an alleyway is a freight only branch line. You can only imagine what it was like for me to watch this, just let me die now, nothing can surpass this.
Fascinating. Very enjoyable walk, viewed from New Zealand... I have just looked at Rail Map Online, and it is amazing how many railways and tramways were in and around the banks of the Thames.
This is like something odd and random that your subconscious would create in a dream. and thus strangely atmospheric and enjoyable.
Great video, thanks ;)
This was thoroughly enjoyable
Toasted Fan Art I sense sarcasm
Finn P not at all I genuinely enjoyed it, reminds me of the town I grew up in :)
I tend to go for "That was riveting!" when I'm being sarcastic because it's not unusual to thoroughly enjoy something, as the Tom Jones song goes. But then again I'm often fascinated by something but can't say "That is fascinating!" because that line is textbook sarcasm, so it seems there's a very fine line between genuine sarcasm and just wanting to express that you've gone all giddy all of a sudden - y'know?
I was on the sureguard storage build project last year, just around the corner in Horn Lane. Got a mate walks his dog along the route you took. Cool vid.
Hi, Morthren, what a great little video! Very much enjoyed watching it. That's a sweet little twichell leading to the crossing; it was good fortune you didn't meet someone coming the other way - might have got a little tight in there!
You may like to visit the twichell in Wimbledon that leads between Graham Road and Hartfield Crescent, just a few yards shy of the Dundonald Road stop on the Wimbledon-Croydon tramlink line. This passageway is a little out of the ordinary in that it has a small 'kink' about half-way through, where the back gardens of the houses on the two roads are not perfectly aligned!
I can't think off-hand of any pedestrian-only crossings (at ground level) in my neck of the woods; as for pedestrian-only BRIDGES in London that are not directly associated with stations, there's the Alt Grove footbridge just outside Wimbledon station, the Elm Grove-Merton Hall Road bridge a little further southwest, and the two West Barnes Lane footbridges in Raynes Park. In addition, the Alric Avenue-Dukes Avenue bridge in New Malden.
drcurv Twichell. What a lovely word.
drcurv I have learned a new word, though the web is telling me it's "twitchel".
Glad you like it, TRiG. Comes from English Midlands vocabulary. Can also be spelled 'twitchel'.
Hi, Hertog. Both are correct, but I'll admit that ''twitchel'' is the more commonly found spelling, especially in the Midlands. Anyway, glad you liked it, and hope that you will find ample opportunity to impress your friends in the future! :)
"Twichel" is that southern for Ginnell or Jinnell? :-)
I'm from Woking and we pass huge heaps of aggregate just a little way from the main train station there and I never knew where it comes from until now.
Where do the downward steps go to next to the footbridge? Seems like this one needs a tad more exploring.
They're just a shortcut to the path instead of taking the spiral.
morthren Gotcha. Thanks for the quick reply!
morthren This has actually been there for ages I always take it as a shortcut to get to the Plaza in Greenwich
I think they are saving this plot for the sequel....
I absolutely love this fantastic, quirky video! Now I want to trace your steps through this alley in person.
Best video I've watched all day. Don't know why, it's just nice.
It's like jumping from a quaint South-Eastern village straight into a bustling metropolis.
This is my second time to watch this video. It is really interesting! I showed this to my son also since he went to London a couple years ago. I hope you have more videos like this because I subscribed to ya!
Jaw Tooth Feel sorry for your son
No, don't feel sorry for him, he had a great time! My sister, mother, brother in law also went to London and had a great time. They told me about the trains
I see the train on my travels. Thanks to you I know know what it carries and where it comes from. Thank you
I clicked 'send' too soon! I've just remembered there's a pedestrian foot crossing on the Wimbledon-Croydon tramlink line just south of Merton Park station. It can be reached by the twichell from Dorset Road, and leads across the tracks to a patch of rough ground, from which one can gain access to either the station or the western end of Melbourne Road.
In your video, I noticed that several of the aggregate wagons had a thick 'L'-shaped patch on the side; presumably this was where a previous owner's logo had been removed. Would you happen to know whose logo it was, please?
drcurv might well be Hanson
More likely to be Lafarge
Cemex
drcurv Why does it matter to you what company use to own the train?
@finn, might as well ask why does it matter that a train goes a long a track to a goods yard
Used to play on that railway line as a kid, if you walked up the line to the right it went to the river, but before getting to the river was overgrown waste ground, disused warehouses and a WWII pill box, it was one giant adventure playground. Nowadays its ASDA.
Nice little vid, you wouldn't even know that access tunnel was there if you weren't looking for it, that looked a pretty long freight train too.
Just subscribed you, looks some interesting stuff on here. 👍
My wife walked past while I was watching this and tutted.
Walked through that tunnel to the station loads of times when we lived in Gurdon Road.
Wow amazing how tucked away this is! Great vid 👍
Some years ago I went down there on a 'spotters' trip. When we got to the crossing my husband had got all our friends and neighbours to come along and wave, and there was a big crowd waiting there when we stopped.
Surely that can’t be right? It’s active even today? That’s awesome, I love it.
Do those homes have rooms above the neat little tunnel?
Why do people feel the need to paint on buildings and trains. "Great, you have a talent", do something useful with it.
they are adding colours and art to our day. that's useful for society in many ways.
@@CS-zj8ex If I went to your house and took a shit on your porch, it would add some color and be useful to society as fertilizer.
I think graffiti looks nice sometimes. Not on everything but there are times I see it and enjoy it being there. It's a bit of variety in what you see. It ruins some areas, but is a great sight to see in others, like industrial areas like Digbeth in Birmingham, love seeing it there. For me it depends on what is being done, on a nice old building I hate it, ruins a nice piece of architecture. But one of those horrible gray square slabs from the 60's that they call a building? Anything to give those eyesore's colour, those buildings are vandalism in of themselves.
Although you have to be careful with graffiti, not all of it is vandals, often it can be done by the owners for their art. Although you can usually tell.
@@Xegethra If the owners of those gray square slabs approve of their buildings being graffitied, that's fine, but otherwise graffiti is criminal activity. Often graffiti itself is covered with other graffiti - what do you think about that? Look, you wouldn't tolerate graffiti covering your own house and car. It should be stamped out.
@@mikeyaureliush9017 I'm aware of the criminality of it. As for graffiti covering other graffiti, it's a changing scene, keeps it fresh. I don't actively encourage graffiti as you rightly say it goes against the wishes of the owners. Nobody should have to put up with their property the way they don't want it, but I still think it looks good. I don't agree with it everywhere of course not, like people's homes. The suburbs look nice without it. Also on old buildings, with really nice architecture.
We all think differently about our city. I know I'm in the minority, and it's a criminal act and so understand why they wipe it away, fair enough. And I think it's nice when businesses do up their buildings with it so at least as far as willing owners, it won't go away and there will be some colour and shape to look at in the city.
I'm not saying it should be done, just that when it is I think it can look quite good, like an industrial area or one of those trendy areas. Like you say, if the owners approve of it or don't mind then great. But if they don't, yeah I understand why they get rid of it.