End of the Line No.11 - Heathrow
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- We're back out on the Piccadilly Line, and having ticked off Cockfosters and Uxbridge, it's time to go to its other End of the Line down at that small plot of land in West London called 'Heath Row' where they land the occasional magical flying machine or two.
We've got cool artwork, secrets shafts, money saving tips and free rides! Let's go, Heathrow!
St. George's Chapel has a website, here: www.heathrowch...
The Londonist video from 2014 on the Heathrow Pods: • A Ride on the Heathrow...
Download the Bingo Sheet here to play along : geofftech.co.u...
“you can catch planes here too” whilst talking about the worlds 7th busiest airport. Good old casual Geoff and his allegiance to trains
You can catch planes here too, but that's not important right now.
I do say you will need a very big butterfly net if you want to catch a aircraft.
I was involved with some work at Sydney International Airport. At a planning session, the client acknowledged that, from a commercial perspective, the airport is actually a shopping centre where you can park planes.
and THE busiest in Heathrow
Heathrow is a city on its own. It’s even got its own airport.
The hack to save £1.2 is a fine example of what makes this channel 110% British
Love the series!
£2.10
As a matter of interest Speedbird is still the call sign for current day BA aircraft
Beat me to the Speedbird thing 😁
BOAC disappeared in March 1974 with BA using the logo on aircraft noses until 1984 when a new ‘Speedwing’ livery was adopted. BA was privatised in 1987.
The Speedbird logo was actually designed for Imperial Airways in 1932 and BA continues to use the Speedbird callsign, even though it is today headquartered in Madrid.
BAA funded the T5 station for LU and mainline rail. BAA was turned into Heathrow Airport Holdings and only owns Heathrow now (or rather its creditors do since Heathrow has £19billion of debt on its balance sheet) 😚
Yes it is
@@justinepaula-robilliard BA is owned by IAG a Anglo Spanish Company based in London.
@@EricMBlog and me - deleted the comment I'd written before reading others!
Business idea: "I will run upstairs and beep your card for £1" service at Hatton Cross, for people with luggage
The first person to get paid for riding an escalator since Bumper Harris...
I thought of a similar thing if you're not traveling alone.
Money spinner!
Thinking the same! lol for the sake of £1 happy to absorb the cost 😅😅😅
Not a Londonite, but seems like an easy way to lose your Oyster Card, for sure.
I see the title card is now a pre-circle line tube map, complete with Northern City Line and Middle Circle services via Addison Rd/Olympia. Keep them easter eggs coming!
With East London Line! I also found it, but you woke earlier than me! Good job though!
*That means that you watched the video earlier.
can't wait to see whether there's a car park at this one
He said there was but ran out of time before showing it at the end of the pod journey! ;-)
It's only a small one, quite easy to miss.
a last minute one, probably an accidental one
But no allotments...
Also, are there bin bags waiving in the air?
Used to work at Heathrow for hex can confirm Heathrow Terminal 5 is run by Heathrow Airport, all the staff (on both sides of the platforms) are Heathrow employees. Obviously there's also the west extension voids that will (hopefully) become platforms someday!
When I was at school in the late 1990s we invited the Heathrow Chaplain to come and do a sermon. He was outstanding! Afraid I can’t remember his name but of the hundreds of guests we had do sermons I remember his the most vividly!
Hi Geoff. Love your videos. My mum actually worked as part of the Heathrow Chaplaincy team for a number of years, mostly out of Terminal 2. In case folks don't know, Chaplains are a key part of airport staff - they form part of emergency and evacuations plans at Heathrow and on a daily basis are supporting those who find themselves in difficult situations (perhaps being forced to travel away from family or facing travel restrictions). My mum would often spend time with airport cleaning staff and those working tills on long shifts for some moral support on graveyard shifts. They are often not known about but they do good work :-)
I never knew about the Heathrow pod, now it's on my list of things to do! Thanks!
You will find a chapel at basically any big airport, sometimes even with regular mass service and depending on location, even various spaces for various religions. Once you know, you’ll see them everywhere, even in very large train stations!
Well, if you're religious and stuck in an airport waiting for your transfer, I suspect that they can literally feel like a godsend.
Either that or they might just create a quiet place. Samen function but more open for any and all religion and or other reasons you might want a space for self reflection.
My dad and I come to London every year for about 2 weeks. Several years ago we randomly decided to take the tube to what we thought was the furthest it would go. Chesham then became a place we returned to every year. We walked the high street. Had a coffee. Ate breakfast at a local cafe. We’re from the States…so we’re a little thick. It never occurred to us to try a different End Of The Line. We have both really enjoyed this series. My dad really likes windmills, so we are planning to go to Upminster. My dad is 83. Thank you for giving us something we can do together. Watch your videos and travel ❤️. We will be back in London this summer for our annual “holiday”
Upminster native here! If you would like some more recommendations for things to do, feel free to message me. I would also suggest riding the push-and-pull whilst you’re here (which Geoff has done a video on)
@@lanaw6233 I’ll take all the suggestions I can get.
I can't see the phrase "Heathrow Terminals 1,2,3" without imagining Jay Foreman singing it in my head
So true!!
I have a couple of friends who were part of the Chaplaincy Team at Heathrow before they retired. They said it was always interesting to meet folk from around the world, who used to visit the chapel and other multi faith rooms around the airport.
The true definition of a pod cast.
5:10 - I'm glad that you walked around to see the chapel past the bus station! Many's the time when I have also walked there to get away from the bustle of the waiting room whilst I was getting ready to catch my coach back home after a holiday!
Great to see Heathrow! My Mother used to work at Heathrow Airport doing the flight announcements. When I was little she gave me a postcard of the chapel. As soon as I was old enough to start exploring London I went to Heathrow to do the Piccadilly Line and I visited the Chapel. I was also delighted when I discovered the Ultra Pods in Terminal 5, if I'm at the airport and have spare time I always have a ride on them.
Geoff! Perfect timing to remind me to add "ride Heathrow Terminal 5 pods while jet lagged and killing time before hotel check-in" to my list of things to do in London. They had crossed my mind, but this was a perfect opportunity to have the details easily available.
My Dad and I visited the Chapel in 1995 on our way to Greece. It was this cute little Modernist building, which had Aeroplanes embroidered into the crosses on the Altar Cloth. Somewhere I still have a souvenir pen from there which had flags of the world printed on it.
Hatton Cross may seem to be a strange place in the middle of nowhere, but it you worked for BOAC, BEA, or BA in its pre-Waterside era then it was really crucial. It still must be for the Engineering staff still working there, but the Admin people have moved away and the old BEA base has pretty much been leveled.
When you take that ride on the Pod you can see the junctions where they planned to take the tracks along the side of the A4, have bays by or even in the hotels, then dive through one of the side tunnels and into the Centra area. That would have been really neat! There was talk of an extension to Waterside (the BA HQ in the NW corner) too, but there just isn't going to be money to do that now.
A memory of T2: having to convince a Customs Officer that I don't need any paperwork to import a datascope becasue I haven't actually flown in from anywhere. I'd been using to analyse signals in a small computer room in the basement of T2, but becasue it was airside I had a pass which let me roam almost anywhere in the terminals, even the baggage halls. (Well someone had to reboot the computers in the days before you could just give a PC 3-fingers.)
For plane spotters, if you get out at Hatton Cross, cross the dual carriageway and then turn right and keep walking down, you will end up at a field which is a popular spotting point for watching planes landing at the airport's 27L runway (Myrtle Avenue).
Also, if you exit Hatton Cross and then take either the 423, 285, 90, or 555 buses (555 is not a TFL bus) to Cranford Lane Hatton Cross, then walk towards the roundabout, turning right to follow the main road, you will be right underneath the approach path for runway 27R at the airport.
If you take the 482 or 490 buses from Hatton Cross station getting out at Stirling Road, walk back onto that dual carriageway staying on the North side of it, and continue walking towards the west following the road. After it curves to the left a little bit, you will find a spot after 200 yards that is good for watching planes land on runway 09R or taking off from 27L.
There are more spotting points dotted around the airport, Spotter Guide (it's a web page, Google it) has guides on spots at basically every major airport on Earth, as well as some of the more minor airports.
Hatton Cross without Myrtle Avenue causes me pain!
And from across the dual carriageway (A30), near the petrol station, you can see Concorde.
Or don't bother getting a bus and walk. A full lap of Heathrow is 9 miles.
mmm . . . fashinating . . .
Absolutely loved the pods at T-5 - saved the day with entertaining my kids a few years ago after a long delay! Worth travelling down the Piccadilly just for going on them :)
Piccally-diccally line.
I knew the pods were there but didn't think to go for a freebie during an enforced overnight hotel stay at T5 due to aircraft unavailability for my flight.
I own a limited edition print of the Tom Eckersley mural at Heathrow Central (as was). I love British graphic design and it is my favourite piece of art in my extremely small collection.
I also love the T5 pods! They remind me so much of the transportation system around the villain’s lair in the film ‘The Incredibles’.
British Airways still use the radio callsign Speedbird when talking to Air Traffic Control
Who remembers the queen's building, where you could go on the roof and watch the planes land and takeoff? My gran used to take me there in the 80's on the underground. I wanted to go again but didn't realise it is no longer there. Shame. Happy days😟
When I was about 8 or 9, very occasionally my parents would wake me up at night and my Dad would drive us to Heathrow for a cup of coffee and then we'd come home again.
A few years later when I was old enough, a friend and I would get the 140 bus from Harrow to Heathrow to spend a few hours watching the aeroplanes.
How things have changed.
Closed shortly after 9/11, I believe. Now all sadly demolished. I was lucky to visit it once in 1998, cracking view of the Runway 27L threshold.
@@ianhenderson4560 I used to love going there
Terminal 2 is known as the Queen’s Terminal as a nod to the original building.
My late father flew for BA and brought me to the Crewroom in the Queens Building on a couple of occasions when I was a kid. I remember it being a real rabbit warren of a place, lots of corridors and not very many windows.
What's with the filthy hands Mr. Marshall! Just back from Heathrow and loving your end of the line episodes 😍
I was just wondering how many of these there would be! Omg 20!? That's awesome! Excited to watch them and all look forward to the rest!
To help drivers locate Sanctuary Road and Wessex emergency shafts, if you look carefully there are thick white bands around the tunnel walls and roof either side of each shafts location. There is a third shaft called Cromer Road on the approach to the junction outside Heathrow 2,3 from T4, but it doesn't have the same mini platforms the other two have.
This brought back memories of the day my dad and I went to Heathrow on the Tube, just after the Heathrow extension opened, just for the fun of it! It was between Christmas and New Year 1977. Living in Battersea, we even started our journey at South Ken Tube station too. 😊
So nice to see a new episode of ‘End of the Line’. I feel like I’ve been missing the notifications but I’m on time lol
What could be more British than Geoff Marshall enthusiastically discussing the Tube whilst riding on a pod towards the parking at Heathrow? : D Great video as always!
As far as I can see, there are 28 ends of the line on the Underground:
Aldgate, Amersham, Bank, Barking, Batersea Power Station Station, Brixton, Chesham, 🍆fosters, Ealing Broadway, Edgware, Edgware Road, Elephant & Castle, Epping, Hammersmith, Harrow & Wealdstone, Heathrow T4, Heathrow T5, High Barnet, Morden, Richmond, Stanmore, Stratford, Upminster, Uxbridge, Walthamstow Central, Waterloo, Watford, and West Ruislip. Maybe also Hainault via Newbury Park and Woodford on the same criteria as Heathrow T4.
Aubergine Fosters. I like it!
Mill hill east
You've missed some: as well as Mill Hill East, you've also missed Kensington Olympia and Wimbledon.
Ealing Broadway twice. Is that unique?
@@kevinjones4559 - Nope: Edgware Road (Circle and District), Hammersmith (Circle - the other end - and Hammersmith and City) and Uxbridge (Metropolitan and Piccadilly) are all double terminals as well.
Half expecting Geoff to emerge from the end door of that pod! Thanks for this video, as always entertaining and fact-filled!
Last time I came to Heathrow early in the morning, waited for the chapel to open (7am it says on the sign). After waiting in the freezing cold for 10 minutes more I gave up and went back into the main building to warm up! Come on guys, stick to your timetable please!
5:59 - It's a shame a garden for solitude and reflection is right next to noisy roads...where the drivers drive backwards Geoff?! 😂
Well spotted but also did you notice the plane going backwards in the same clip :O (at approx 6:03 )
One year went to Heathrow with a few friends and we raced each other with the pods to see who gets back to the Airport first, it was awesome, haven't been on those pods for ages. Great Video Geoff
“Now that’s pod racing!”
Great series! Thanks for the heads-up on the planes! 😉😂
Just wanted to say thanks Geoff for continuing to make these interesting videos for us.
This video is like my plane nerd self meeting my train nerd self! I never noticed the speedbirds at Hatton Cross before. Fun fact, speedbird is still British Airways radio callsign to this day. Concorde had the coolest callsign ever being SpeedBird 1. Awesome video!
I remember BOAC from when I was a kid - forever immortalized in the Beatles song "Back in the USSR" - "Flew in from Miami Beach BOAC, couldn't get to bed last night!"
Sterling, VA USA has some street names named after tube stations like Regents Park, Paddington, Victoria, Tottenham Court, Holborn, Ruislip Manor, Turnham Green, Willesden Junction, Brondesbury Park, Wembley Central, Tottenham Hale, Ladbroke Grove, Brixton, and Poplar all in one town.
That's a rather nice link to the name of the place too.
Geoff, you might be interested to know that I am one of the Chaplains at the Heathrow Multifaith Chaplaincy. There are 23 of us but we are usually all working out in the terminals hence a closed Chapel!
Robert, hello! Ah, so kind of you to comment - I honestly never found it 30+ years ago when i was a teenager so I am glad to finally know where it is. I will pop back again one day and hope to find it open. Thank you!
Most airports have chapels, presumably because people get nervous and need reassurance before flying?
I love the Speed-bird/BOAC mosaic, thanks for showing it. I used to have a miniature pale blue bag with the Speed-bird image in white on it, I was given during a flight with them. The Concorde enamel is pretty neat too.
They also provide solace in those rare darker moments when there is a tragedy in the air and people find themselves waiting for loved ones who may never arrive.
Also as a workplace it is bigger than most villages and some towns
The chapel, and the other multi-faith prayer rooms around Heathrow, are a Godsend - for those of us who pray five times a day - not just for those who are scared of flying...
I would assume as well, where people typically spend a lot of time at the airport if waiting for a long connection, might wish to pray and/or worship at the chapel
Somehow I am lucky enough to still have the BOAC lightweight cabin bag sized suitcase given to me when I was a frequent flyer.
It's too precious to put through security now and has magically shrunk over the years from being half as big as me aged five, in my memories.
Excellent tip on how to save on that fare 👍
This is my end of the line. I live in the U.S. and fly to or through Heathrow several times a year. If I need to transfer between terminals and I have the time, I purposely take the Piccadilly Line, just so I get the chance to ride on the Tube.
I love the pods! They were part of our induction when I worked at LHR, we did an exercise pretending to be passengers and one of my group's directions was a round trip on the pods. It was so lovely to see them trundling back and forth again last year as they weren't operating for the longest time over Covid.
Really enjoying these videos, I've visited a couple of the end of the lines but many more to go!
Geoff, I've been watching your videos for almost a year, I love your enthusiasm and the facts that you've provided in your vids over the years! I've always wanted to visit London and the underground.. Cheers from Singapore!!
Fun Heathrow fact, although not technically railway related, is that the roads are all named according to where they are, with NESW compass directions, as well as C for the centre, being the first letter of all road names. E.g. Stratford Road at T4 (S for South), and Walrus Road at T5 (W for West).
Speedbird was used as a brand name for the holidays arm of BA. Back in the 1980s I remember playing in a 6-a-side cricket tournament sponsored by Speedbird Holidays.
Absolutely love this part of the Piccadilly line ❤
Goodnight from London, England 🇬🇧 ❤️
After seeing the Chapel and the carpark transport, I almost wish Geoff had finished this with “Good night and may your pod go with you.”
Never seen Geoff so happy bout riding the pods
Once again you've told me something as a Londoner I never knew about - viz those adorable pods. Understandable, I suppose, as my chauffeur used to manage my drop-offs and collections. Cheers Geoff
Given that it's on a single track, one direction loop, I used to struggle to think Terminal 4 as the technical "end" of the Heathrow branch, as the train continues in service without the driver changing ends, but I suppose as the destination changes after calling there, I guess it's technically an "end" as such
There are a number of lines on the Paris Metro that employ this technique I believe, only in their case there is no dwell time - the idea to keep a continuous service more efficient to avoid the changing of ends. The difference between this and the Kennington Loop is that the train doesn't go out of service, like at Terminal 4.
@Christopher Beaumont Line 6, I believe, is one of them. At the Arc de Triumphe end of the line, it features a single track with arrival and departure platforms on different sides of the train (at least it was when I last visited Paris in February 2004)
Those pods are adorable, like little robot bugs🤗🤗
About the Heathrow Pods, Luton is getting a cable hauled mini-train thing to transit between the Airport and Luton Airport Parkway station opening this year! Would be cool if you did a video on that when it opens
Can't wait for the "Start of the Line" prequel
Brilliant Idea!
Well, that’s a terminus as well. Uxbridge, DONE. Heathrow, DONE. Cockfosters, DONE.
Thanks Geoff. Another gem. I'll have my antennae on alter next time I pass though Heathrow
alter? alert.... Don't be alert, be aloof!
I literally fly out of Heathrow tommorrow for Oz.... deffo gonna take a spin on the Pods, have been meaning to for years but keep forgetting! 😆
Don't miss the Flight (Funny excuse though)
The Elizabeth Line platforms at Bond Street station look so much more "airportish" than the ones actually at Heathrow
I remember Heathrow T1-2-3 station still having a sign pointing the way to "Spectator Terraces"! The actual terraces closed post-9/11, but the sign was still in situ around 2012 or so (it has since disappeared).
I love this series! Quite excited for the bigger end of the line stations as well - do you think end of the line Waterloo could be a follow up to least used station Waterloo? 😂
Waterloo is end of the line for the Waterloo & City, so if he’s doing this properly, he’ll do Waterloo & Bank
Really enjoying these. Been to quite a few stations at the end of the line as they tend to be launching off points for the London LOOP. You mentioned it for Cockfosters but Uxbridge and Upminster are also very close to the LOOP.
Terminal 4 is the first tube station I ever set foot in, after a flight to Heathrow from JFK. It began my fascination with the tube and London.
I remember visiting the Chapel back in the 70s when you had to walk overground from the bus station to T3. Good to see its still there even though the old control tower has gone.
I first went to the Terminal 4 station before it opened..... on a 1938 tube stock of all things! A railtour that ran back in early 1986, stopped there for around 10 minutes or so......
Genuinely fascinating vid Geoff. Loved the stories behind all the artwork too, such a fun series of videos 👊
That's amazing about the garden..thank you
I’ll be at SK in a few weeks! It’s been years.
BA should totally bring the BOAC Speedbird back, it looks so much better than the ribbon they use now. :(
Another great video Geoff! Enjoyed it from start to finish. 👍🏻😀
You’re very welcome ☺️ @@geofftech2
They should have stuck with "Heathrow Central" to futureproof against changes to the airport terminal naming.
Great video George. I grew up and live in Harmondsworth. Heathrow has always been my local station, even walking back home after a night out from T5, when the buses stop running. Never knew the pods were free and there was a chapel.
Really love this series. Good tip re the Oyster tap out and in at Hatton Cross.
These videos chill me out so much. Thanks Geoff
Worked at T5 for five and a half months and never actually got around to riding in the pods; although we often talked about it. You have unlocked that memory for me, I will have to do someday.
Lovely heathrow and picadilly line
Recently had my long layover in London Heathrow ❤ Travelled to Terminal 4 to visit the Liminal Hotel then took the Piccadilly Line to Central London ❤ Can't wait to explore London and England more in the future woohoo❤
Finally, a station I can say that I’ve been to the most 😂
Hatton Cross is my local
'Speedbird' lives on. It's the radio callsign of all BA flights.
Hello Geoff
Loving your videos. Was nice to see South Kensington station and Bens Cookies. Congratulations on over 300,000 subscribers. Take Care Chris and Sandra of Canada.
Did the Paddington route via Reading to Heathrow last year on Elizabeth line (3 days after queen’s funeral). The trains were so quiet, clean and quick.
I love the pods though. They are awesome. Stayed at the thistle hotel before flying on holiday last September and still never paid for it, even though they said you had to. National Express coach back as trains and underground were on strike the day I got back.
I discovered your videos while looking for how the Luton DART worked as my dad worked on it on the engineering side and I sent him your video and he loved the video, as in his words, was a brilliant review. I’ve now started going back and binge watching loads now because they are awesomely presented and very informative. Very addictive. Thank you for all you do. 😊😊
I would love to see end of the Lines for the Elizabeth Line including Reading, Shenfield and Abbey Wood
I like the idea of those pods! That idea could be extended I think!
Your face is a picture of delight on that pod, Geoff! I never knew they existed, myself!
I knew they existed, but didn't know anyone could use them. I must go and play on them now!
@@norbitonflyer5625the ridership is going to increase quite a lot
Nice surprise with my afternoon break. Looking to fly from there soon so thanks for the tip on the pods.
As a visitor to London I was shocked at having to pay £20 for a taxi from terminal 5 to a hotel near terminal 2 as the "shuttle" bus stopped running at 10 pm.
In my business days I would land at Heathrow, jump on the Piccadilly line and get out at Hatton Cross. pick up a hire car there at 60% the cost of the airport rental outlets.
Talking of "incorrect" signage, I think it's at Terminals (1,) 2 & 3 that you'll find a route map showing "Barons court" with a lower-case C. Definitely one of the Heathrow stations, anyway. It's on the wall opposite the platform.
Love those pods, kept me entertained for hours waiting for my delayed wife and her flight
Speedbird is still how BA pilots identify themselves in communication with ATC.
It's because they originally flew seaplanes e.g Poole harbour, so it makes some sense
Facts!
I was wondering about that after watching Captain Joe's stuff.
Another lovely video Geoff, love the nod to both BOAC at Hatton Cross and the Concorde artwork at Heathrow Central, tommorrow (21st January) marks 46 years since Concorde's first commercial flight with British Airways. I wonder sometimes if Tom Eckersley artwork from 1977 was inspired by David Gentleman's 1969 Postage Stamp of almost the same design?
The heathrow express barriers at Paddington are also all double as well as the Gatwick express ones at Victoria as well i think
That Heathrow Pod looks like a useful way to get from T5 to the pubs in Longford ... must explore.
Those Heathrow pods are definitely Tim Traveller material.
Great video Geoff, love this series. Used to use the T5 Pods a lot when I was traveling for business a few years back, great start and end of the airport “experience”.
I went to T4 last week and found that the Elizabeth Line is much more convenient now when moving around terminals. Going from 2&3 to 4 used to involved going out to Hatton Cross on the Piccadilly, but now you can do it direct on the Lizzie Line.
Its also a much better location in the terminal, especially if you have to get to the sky bridge.
As an American who LOVES the underground, Heathrow is the only end of the line station I've been to. I've frequently stayed at Hatton Cross so figured out that dodge about getting off there for a cheaper fare. I've never ridden the pods, but hope to do so the next time I'm through the UK. Thanks again for this series.
If you want a reason to use the pods, stay at the thistle hotel at heathrow. It's a nice hotel with a pretty good viewing deck and pods!
Yes,. You certainly don't want to use the Pods for their original intention ~ quick access to the car parks and car hire concessions. Far too expensive unless your business is paying.
Been watching this series and very enjoyable it is too...out for a drink with my friend who is a tube driver..and low and behold he met and gave geoff some info on this episode..got to rewatch it now to see if i can spot him.
I do enjoy the VMWare ads on the Pods, I worked with it a while back and think it's fun to see it elsewhere, just so you can be smug and think, I know what that is :p
I've actually came to Heathrow on my own by tube and had a ride on the pods, it was amazing!