There's something eerily captivating about exploring an old railway line, where the track is still in situ, and nobody conveys that sense more than morthren....
Watching this video put a lump in my throat and knotted up my stomach. Its so sad to see it like that. I used to drive trains up and down there in the 70s & 80s.
The governments plan is to continue the down sizing of the rail network. Eventual plan is to have main lines only to the north and to the ports in south. Everything else is too costly to maintain
@@lupus67remus7 The name Eric is familiar, however I don't recall the surname. Sorry about that. It's possible he was there while I spent a couple of years at Slade Green. It's also possible that my brain is getting rusty and I simply don't remember (a lot of things!)
The site of what was one of Britain's most important Naval yards, now 'Wanker Flats™', and a big Asda? What a surprise. 🤔😡😠 12:08 - Note the pallet against the fence, where someone has climbed over. Fascinating video, as always. Thank you. I love the content you create. Nice one.
The tracks were refurbished to remove thousands of tons of contaminated soil by train from the dockyard site before the houses on StMary's island were built.
Wouldn't be surprised if it was below normal background tbh. Whatever radiation is there would almost certainly be immeasurable. You don't want kids digging it up but it's perfectly safe as it is else somebody would have had the government in court and won by now..
Yeah, it's even pointed out in the video that it's just low level waste (aka things that were used around nuclear material, not nuclear material itself) so the paranoia is stupid.
@@streaky81 Hell probably being exposed to more ionising radiation from direct exposure to the Sun, once you start getting paranoid about anything that emits ionising radiation at any level pretty much everything fits in that category lol.
I bet my late father-in-law would have remembered that line well as he served in the Royal Navy for over 30 years & spent many happy times at Chatham Docks. Cheers for another interesting video M.
You should bring a geigercounter to see how radioactive the area is. I can't believe how close the waste is to the apartments and where people travel near.
Old clothing, rags, gloves, cloths etc. that'll be low level waste, buried on site like that you will not detect any radiation off it, levels will be very very low. These days anything like that has to go to the low level waste repository at Drigg, that sort of waste burial is very illegal these days. To get any sort of reading you would have to dig up some of the waste (Do not!) and use a contamination probe on it. Alpha and beta probes are very sensitive and will pick up tiny amounts of material, for the sort of radioactive contamination from a reactor you would have to use a beta probe.
There's a lot of misunderstanding about reactor waste and other nuclear waste artefacts. It's nowhere near as dangerous as we're led to believe. The rationale behind this being that there's a huge amount of money to be made from the 'management' and disposal of the stuff. The other thing that's misunderstood is just how little waste a commercial power reactor creates.
Just waving a Geiger counter around does not tell you anything unless you have the knowledge to interpret the results. Items dumped here were disposed of in an abundance of caution. It is likely that most would have no radioactive contamination at all. While the disposal techniques used would not meet today’s standards it is very unlikely that there would be raised levels on the site. Adjoining properties would be at no risk whatsoever.
I photographed the contaminated spoil trains working along the Chatham Dockyard branch back in the 1990s. They were worked by class 33s and 56s. and the trains were tripped to Hoo Junction before onward movement to Forders for disposal. Sad to see the branch in this state.
I served on two ships based in Chatham. You wouldn't have guest there was an historic dockyard there now. Your filming of the old line gave a sense of loss that shows how as a seafaring nation we have declined. Well done for recording a little slice of history.
So much has changed since I moved from the area in 1979, it's unrecognisable to me now. The dockyard held annual, public open days when it was operational and one abiding memory is of my father and I watching the carrier HMS Ark Royal (with angled flight deck) being manouvered into the main Basin for one of these events, it was quite a sight. By the way, I remember a magnificent, multi-masted sailing ship named Arethusa which was moored at the end of Strood pier back then, have you any idea what happened to her? I believe she was a Navy cadet training ship.
Fascinating exploration. Have you considered talking this same walk with a Geiger Counter in hand? It’s not that I am skeptical of the Ministry of Defence’s Policies to provide timely announcements of radiological dangers to the British public, but it might be instructive to take that walk. Best wishes from Buffalo, NY! RL
What you see in this video is most of the former commercial docks. The Royal Navy Docks a mile up the road or so is now Chatham Historic Dockyard and a great day out.
I used to work at the old council depot in pier approach road and I remember them putting that new bridge up. I don’t ever recall seeing more than 10 trains using it in the years I was there. Nice video mate, how things have changed
Thanks! It is, there are two under bridges and two over bridges along the cutting. When it ran into the docks, it was road level with a level crossing at the dock entrance. I've found a couple of videos on YT from 2010 with trains running on line ua-cam.com/video/3ZEKLbI-lp0/v-deo.html
Very enjoyable. Have to take my hat off to you, You are braver than I. Risk of getting your collar felt, Risk of someone throwing something over and landing on you and worst of all, the risk of standing on a needle or being confronted by some undesirables! I went down there yesterday but took photos and video clips from the other side of the fence. Doesn't look as good as your vid but I didn't want to take any risks here. Particularly by the archway bit, its like a massive crack den! A lot of the line has benefited a lot of wildlife, its just a shame that people have made much of it so filthy. Interesting video. Thanks for sharing.
That low level nuclear waste is now burried at Stewartby in Bedfordshire. It was taken by train to a place called Forders Sidings which was a landfill site at Stewartby, filling in the pits dug to get clay for brick making. They ran for a few years in the early 1990s.
very Eerie stuff but very interesting, morthren. i remember when I lived back in Woodhouse, in Sheffield. There was a sewage treatment works on the side of the hill there back in the 70's. dont know if it is still there but I remember as a kid exploring it, got the same feeling watching this. cheers!
Very atmospheric and really interesting, thank you very much for sharing this. Your video brought back a lot of memories to me as somebody who once lived in Gillingham. It has changed so much but you picked out a couple of things which remain from days gone by, most noticeably the bridges at Burnt Oak Terrace and Pier Road. Great stuff, thanks again.
Peel Ports used to own this line, wether they still do I'm not sure. Peel Ports are now in the process of selling Chatham Docks for redevelopment and if this happens many businesses will have to go. This line was built to help build the Victorian extension of Chatham royal Dockyard and was heavily used during the first and second world wars. This was a missed opportunity, if the line had been retained, it could have been a direct link between the huge development on St Marys island and Gillingham railway station. But the powers to be decided it wasn't needed. So another piece of Medway history slowly being destroyed and no one in authority gives a damn. A brilliant video and brings back memories of my childhood as I only lived a couple of streets away from the branch line.
I live a 2 minute walk from this line and often venture down to have a look, it always confuses me why they have just left the rails in place. I would make an excellent walk way, or maybe a shuttle tram between the station and the new housing in the old Docks. Great video!
Hi, Thanks for your time Nice video of the passed,, What has this country come to ,Devistation or what, It's people like you that shows the rest of us what's going on ,well done
Oh what a mess they have made :( I have fond memories of the RN Dockyard from when my uncle was cook on Warspite which was based there for a while and I remember them cutting up HMS Triumph prior to her sailing off to be scrapped and the last surviving battleship converted to an aircraft carrier ended an era for the RN. If my dad was at Rochester signal box or Gillingham, my uncle if he was on base would walk up the lines to go mump some free tea off me dad as always a brew on the go. A lot of life seemed to revolve around tea in my family, my other uncle a 33 driver at Hoo knew many many places to scrounge a fillup of his flask and if there was a Travellers Fare on a station he was going through would cheekily stop and get a free fillup usually to berating by station staff and he knew he was immune of the threats as ASLEF would walk out for a rainy day, shouting at one of their drivers was a serious call if the station bods had tried to make it official hehe.
I do love to read your stories. I think my favourite is when you peed on the farmer one time when you were riding in the cab! It's also interesting to hear how it used to be. It must have been a great time when you were a kid. Thanks for sharing your memories 🙂
We lived beside the railway line and during the late 80s to early 90s they cleared all contaminated earth etc by rail . There shouldn't be anything there any more
I remember when I worked for B.R. at Charing Cross in the 80's that there were several specials down to and around Chatham Docks utilising Hastings Diesels stock. It doesn't seem that long ago. I wonder if anyone out there actually traveled upon one of these?
I am surprised the track hasn't been lifted. It would be good if some of this branch could be used to service a freight terminal even if for bulk traffic like stone sand and cement
One wonders why former lines like this with surrounding areas that have been redeveloped can't or wont be financed for reuse like in Stourbridge and the branch line that uses Class 139s or a low level light rail system.....surely such developments could help spur on new projects in the area. Much like it has done in Manchester and East London with the DLR.
The chatam Dock line had curves that would defeat most modern rolling stock when it was active.... And you do know most low level nuclear waste is barely above normal background, end therefore safe levels....its largely just normal trash.
Thanks for walking this one Daz - brings back memories - I lived in Maidstone for 26 years & got over to Medway quite often - it was really good to be able to follow your walk on Google Maps too. I'll get this one out @4RailTrail as soon as I can.
'Probably more radiation from the cell tower.' Different sort of radiation from radioactive material -- alpha and beta particles. And gamma radiation, also from radioactive material, is much higher frequency than what you get from a mobile phone mast. You might as well say you get more radiation from the sun, even on a cloudy day.
With all the shots of the "Keep Out" signs-so wanted to see what they are hiding-Well----with a little bushogging and forestry mulching--maybe we can see something in there.Neat exploration of the unused rail line-Just normal,natural sounds and no goofy music to spoil it!Need more videos like this!
Steve Cooper Too much effort / aggro. Even a short section weighs a lot and you’d have to carry it at least a short distance, not to mention cutting gear and tools to lift the track and cut it to manageable bits would have to be lugged to the track.
As someone who is a trackman Scrap rail is moved from various sites but you need a licence from network rail to remove it and network rail don't move it all due to cost
The track was last used on a regular basis to remove the top 2 metres or so of the surface of St. Mary’s Island which was part of the newer dockyard which used to be used for dumping waste and was contaminated with heavy metals and some low level radioactive waste. The spoil was removed by train to Bedford where they have a number of clay lined quarries for this type of waste. The tracks in the existing Historic Dockyard - now a ‘museum’ connected to this, and are still used by a steam train and wagon. A sidings area is now the main car park. I can remember a special excursion off the main line went into the ‘car park’ before it was severed. St. Mary’s Island is now a large ‘up market’ housing estate developed over a number of years
If youre ever in northamptonshire, then the Higham Ferrers Branch would make an interesting video, it used to start off at irchester junction near wellingborough and irchester and had two stations: Rushden and Higham Ferrers. Its mostly all demolished apart from the (very) small heritage line (The Rushden Historical Transport Society). Theres a few bits of railway architecture, Passenger services stopped in the 1960's but frieght continued up until closure due to the two towns being very involved in the shoe industry. Its worth looking into and going to see whats there, i live in higham so it would be interesting to see what you could find out about it.
The tracks could still be used to run a driverless shuttle train between Gillingham station and the ever expanding housing area around the Asda. As in London's Docklands light railway.
I never understood why they went to the trouble and expense of replacing the railway bridge over the Lower Rainham Road, when the line was already no longer in use. Crazy waste of money.
@@phasma1 and also have the line connected up by the signal box the line was decommissioned in 2010 I remember freight trains going past roseberry Road when I lived near the sweet shop
It's a sin what has happened since this closed down to build Houses, And trains rolling by are no more due to Greedy Developers and Progress which stinks.
The waste was buried on st Mary's island not by Asda,s, it was removed before the development of houses on the island, although you are not allowed to grow your own vegetables in the ground or in containers on the island
Is that where some contractors , either working on , or dismantling those submarines , contacted radiation poising and all their records got lost , whilst the dock yard was being shut down .
12:45 Sure, cell phone emit radiation, but so does the LED light on your bicycle. Neither of those are ionising radiation. In fact, ionising radiation has a shorter wave length = higher frequency than visible light, while micro waves and radio waves have a longer wavelength = lower frequency.
All radiation can cause greater or lesser damage to human physiology, whether or not it is ionising. Infra red and microwaves can burn flesh, ultraviolet (although, to be fair this can result in ionisation) causes sunburn, and even visible light can cause burning if strong enough (think laser surgery). As for cell towers, my mobility scooter either stops or goes berserk near one, so what is it doing to me? I am glad that I used to live near (and work in) a nuclear power station, rather than have a cell tower next door. Don't forget that if the government says that something is safe, it would be prudent to check for yourself.
I live in Rosebery Road which runs along the side of the line, (after the bridge) moved there in April 1993. Only ever heard 1 train go by and that was in the first week we were there...….
There's something eerily captivating about exploring an old railway line, where the track is still in situ, and nobody conveys that sense more than morthren....
Really like the style of these. Makes you feel like you are there. Hate the vids similar to this with endless talk talk talk... well done sir
Thanks
Watching this video put a lump in my throat and knotted up my stomach. Its so sad to see it like that. I used to drive trains up and down there in the 70s & 80s.
You probably knew my uncle then! He ran trains up and down for a couple of years!
@@lupus67remus7
My name is Glenn Ives. Would be interesting to know your Unc's name!
@@glenntheoldft4210 Eric Gater
The governments plan is to continue the down sizing of the rail network. Eventual plan is to have main lines only to the north and to the ports in south. Everything else is too costly to maintain
@@lupus67remus7 The name Eric is familiar, however I don't recall the surname. Sorry about that. It's possible he was there while I spent a couple of years at Slade Green. It's also possible that my brain is getting rusty and I simply don't remember (a lot of things!)
Radiation has had a terrable effect on the locals. Blank stares only able to tolerate nylon next to their skin
Well atleast the have the furry coats now to help stop the radiation getting in
What do you mean?
You can hear the cry of the affected locals, foaming at the mouth, screaming, "Where's me Giro!!!???"
They say it was the radiation that turned Billy the quid into the Billy the quid
Bet you glow in the dark like Peckham spring mineral water now ,great video with no talking very atmospheric it’s like actually being there.
The site of what was one of Britain's most important Naval yards, now 'Wanker Flats™', and a big Asda? What a surprise. 🤔😡😠
12:08 - Note the pallet against the fence, where someone has climbed over. Fascinating video, as always. Thank you. I love the content you create. Nice one.
The UK's industrial past is slowly being erased sadly. I didn't notice the pallet at first but see the hole cut in the fence at 10:12!
and thank you
This area was the commercial docks only. The Royal Naval Docks are a mile up the road and a great place to visit
Amazing to see all tracks left in place, unlike the mad rush to rip them up in the 60’s
I'm surprised nobody's nicked em for scrap, in Sunderland someone stole a mile of abandoned track l.
The tracks were refurbished to remove thousands of tons of contaminated soil by train from the dockyard site before the houses on StMary's island were built.
I doubt the radiation level is much above background. You'd get more from a bowl of Brazil nuts or a lump of Aberdeen granite.
Wouldn't be surprised if it was below normal background tbh. Whatever radiation is there would almost certainly be immeasurable. You don't want kids digging it up but it's perfectly safe as it is else somebody would have had the government in court and won by now..
Yeah, it's even pointed out in the video that it's just low level waste (aka things that were used around nuclear material, not nuclear material itself) so the paranoia is stupid.
@@streaky81 Hell probably being exposed to more ionising radiation from direct exposure to the Sun, once you start getting paranoid about anything that emits ionising radiation at any level pretty much everything fits in that category lol.
Or a smoke alarm
I bet my late father-in-law would have remembered that line well as he served in the Royal Navy for over 30 years & spent many happy times at Chatham Docks. Cheers for another interesting video M.
Stephen Pegum My uncle was at Chatham too for the last few years of his service too before the docks closed. Wonder if they knew each other!?
You should bring a geigercounter to see how radioactive the area is. I can't believe how close the waste is to the apartments and where people travel near.
Old clothing, rags, gloves, cloths etc. that'll be low level waste, buried on site like that you will not detect any radiation off it, levels will be very very low. These days anything like that has to go to the low level waste repository at Drigg, that sort of waste burial is very illegal these days. To get any sort of reading you would have to dig up some of the waste (Do not!) and use a contamination probe on it. Alpha and beta probes are very sensitive and will pick up tiny amounts of material, for the sort of radioactive contamination from a reactor you would have to use a beta probe.
There's a lot of misunderstanding about reactor waste and other nuclear waste artefacts. It's nowhere near as dangerous as we're led to believe. The rationale behind this being that there's a huge amount of money to be made from the 'management' and disposal of the stuff. The other thing that's misunderstood is just how little waste a commercial power reactor creates.
Just waving a Geiger counter around does not tell you anything unless you have the knowledge to interpret the results. Items dumped here were disposed of in an abundance of caution. It is likely that most would have no radioactive contamination at all. While the disposal techniques used would not meet today’s standards it is very unlikely that there would be raised levels on the site. Adjoining properties would be at no risk whatsoever.
@@bigbadjohn10 exactly correct. I am in complete agreement.
You are more at risk from radon coming from the ground (granite) in Cornwall.
I photographed the contaminated spoil trains working along the Chatham Dockyard branch back in the 1990s. They were worked by class 33s and 56s. and the trains were tripped to Hoo Junction before onward movement to Forders for disposal. Sad to see the branch in this state.
I served on two ships based in Chatham. You wouldn't have guest there was an historic dockyard there now. Your filming of the old line gave a sense of loss that shows how as a seafaring nation we have declined. Well done for recording a little slice of history.
The video shows the former commercial docks only. The Navy historic docks are still there and a great day out.
So much has changed since I moved from the area in 1979, it's unrecognisable to me now.
The dockyard held annual, public open days when it was operational and one abiding memory is of my father and I watching the carrier HMS Ark Royal (with angled flight deck) being manouvered into the main Basin for one of these events, it was quite a sight. By the way, I remember a magnificent, multi-masted sailing ship named Arethusa which was moored at the end of Strood pier back then, have you any idea what happened to her? I believe she was a Navy cadet training ship.
It looks like the Arethusa is being refitted in Germany: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peking_(ship)
Fascinating exploration.
Have you considered talking this same walk with a Geiger Counter in hand?
It’s not that I am skeptical of the Ministry of Defence’s Policies to provide timely announcements of radiological dangers to the British public, but it might be instructive to take that walk.
Best wishes from Buffalo, NY!
RL
Nice! I love old abandoned dock railways
Was based in Chatham 1970/73 on HMS Brighton, so sad to see what has become of this once great naval dockyard.
What you see in this video is most of the former commercial docks. The Royal Navy Docks a mile up the road or so is now Chatham Historic Dockyard and a great day out.
I used to work at the old council depot in pier approach road and I remember them putting that new bridge up.
I don’t ever recall seeing more than 10 trains using it in the years I was there.
Nice video mate, how things have changed
Great video! Guessing this branch line was entirely grade-separated between the mainline and the docks.
Thanks! It is, there are two under bridges and two over bridges along the cutting. When it ran into the docks, it was road level with a level crossing at the dock entrance. I've found a couple of videos on YT from 2010 with trains running on line ua-cam.com/video/3ZEKLbI-lp0/v-deo.html
In the time it took you to walk that line, petrol went up by 5p per litre! See 0:28 and 9:04 !
Cant put a price on that kind of observance. Well done.
Similar to the disused Admiralty Line here in Portsmouth.
This is something I've never heard of, are there still remnants in Portsmouth then?
Alex Dean: No traces of it as far as I’m aware of apart from the tracks that remain in situ at the dockyard.
There’s several sections of track you can still see (and walk down) in the northern park of Gosport. Just beyond where the new bus lane ends.
Paul Harris: Shame they made the old Gosport Branch into that guided bus route, would love to have seen that line reinstated.
I couldn't help imagining the LSO playing "Jerusalem" as you walked down the tracks and under that bridge.
I got a laugh out of Seattle's Best Coffee, since I live near Seattle.
I enjoyed this, thanks. It's been a long time!
Your're a brave man. That's where drug needles go to die.
So true
Used to be glue sniffing bags years ago.
They should turn it into a heritage line while they still can
It took less than fifteen minutes to walk, not much of a ride.
Plus the amount of idiots who throw there junk on the line is disgraceful
To a nuclear maintenance and waste disposal site? Maybe when humans evolve to become radiation resistant.
John Hill well, the telford steam railway exists, and it’s literally a mile long for 15 minutes soooo.
West Midlands Trainspotting : Telford and Beyond! Now it goes to an Asda superstore lol.
Very enjoyable. Have to take my hat off to you, You are braver than I. Risk of getting your collar felt, Risk of someone throwing something over and landing on you and worst of all, the risk of standing on a needle or being confronted by some undesirables! I went down there yesterday but took photos and video clips from the other side of the fence. Doesn't look as good as your vid but I didn't want to take any risks here. Particularly by the archway bit, its like a massive crack den! A lot of the line has benefited a lot of wildlife, its just a shame that people have made much of it so filthy. Interesting video. Thanks for sharing.
That low level nuclear waste is now burried at Stewartby in Bedfordshire. It was taken by train to a place called Forders Sidings which was a landfill site at Stewartby, filling in the pits dug to get clay for brick making. They ran for a few years in the early 1990s.
very Eerie stuff but very interesting, morthren. i remember when I lived back in Woodhouse, in Sheffield. There was a sewage treatment works on the side of the hill there back in the 70's. dont know if it is still there but I remember as a kid exploring it, got the same feeling watching this. cheers!
I drove trains down (and up)it in 1991 !
How..?? I used to live on Gillingham Road untill 1988 and it was abandoned and overgrown all from when I can remember before that...
As always a great video :-) love the chilled walkabout.
Amazing that the rails are left in there. Great vid thank you. I have been the historic dockyard.
Very atmospheric and really interesting, thank you very much for sharing this. Your video brought back a lot of memories to me as somebody who once lived in Gillingham. It has changed so much but you picked out a couple of things which remain from days gone by, most noticeably the bridges at Burnt Oak Terrace and Pier Road. Great stuff, thanks again.
Peel Ports used to own this line, wether they still do I'm not sure. Peel Ports are now in the process of selling Chatham Docks for redevelopment and if this happens many businesses will have to go. This line was built to help build the Victorian extension of Chatham royal Dockyard and was heavily used during the first and second world wars.
This was a missed opportunity, if the line had been retained, it could have been a direct link between the huge development on St Marys island and Gillingham railway station. But the powers to be decided it wasn't needed. So another piece of Medway history slowly being destroyed and no one in authority gives a damn.
A brilliant video and brings back memories of my childhood as I only lived a couple of streets away from the branch line.
Very interesting (as always). Thanks
Another great vid thank you for taking the time to post.
I live a 2 minute walk from this line and often venture down to have a look, it always confuses me why they have just left the rails in place. I would make an excellent walk way, or maybe a shuttle tram between the station and the new housing in the old Docks. Great video!
Are ya' no longer cofused there? They did not wa t to take it out foor, it could be that it was enveloped in radio iso topes...?
Hi, Thanks for your time Nice video of the passed,, What has this country come to ,Devistation or what, It's people like you that shows the rest of us what's going on ,well done
3:45 What a lovely tree "cathedral"
Oh what a mess they have made :( I have fond memories of the RN Dockyard from when my uncle was cook on Warspite which was based there for a while and I remember them cutting up HMS Triumph prior to her sailing off to be scrapped and the last surviving battleship converted to an aircraft carrier ended an era for the RN. If my dad was at Rochester signal box or Gillingham, my uncle if he was on base would walk up the lines to go mump some free tea off me dad as always a brew on the go. A lot of life seemed to revolve around tea in my family, my other uncle a 33 driver at Hoo knew many many places to scrounge a fillup of his flask and if there was a Travellers Fare on a station he was going through would cheekily stop and get a free fillup usually to berating by station staff and he knew he was immune of the threats as ASLEF would walk out for a rainy day, shouting at one of their drivers was a serious call if the station bods had tried to make it official hehe.
I do love to read your stories. I think my favourite is when you peed on the farmer one time when you were riding in the cab! It's also interesting to hear how it used to be. It must have been a great time when you were a kid. Thanks for sharing your memories 🙂
We lived beside the railway line and during the late 80s to early 90s they cleared all contaminated earth etc by rail . There shouldn't be anything there any more
I remember when I worked for B.R. at Charing Cross in the 80's that there were several specials down to and around Chatham Docks utilising Hastings Diesels stock. It doesn't seem that long ago. I wonder if anyone out there actually traveled upon one of these?
The way I had to get in their is meet this homeless man who is pretty nice and he showed me a gap in the fence which I could get through
They should have a regular passenger train service on the line. Good commuter potential.
Haha I always wondered what that empty bridge was for
Great, and fascinating. I have driven under the bridge many times but hadn't realised it was abandoned.
One thing. FORMALLY? No. Formerly, please.
I am surprised the track hasn't been lifted. It would be good if some of this branch could be used to service a freight terminal even if for bulk traffic like stone sand and cement
I must say you do a great first person with the filming, thanks
Another good video. I really got the sensation of walking.
"KEEP OUT."
...Gate not padlocked 🤔
One wonders why former lines like this with surrounding areas that have been redeveloped can't or wont be financed for reuse like in Stourbridge and the branch line that uses Class 139s or a low level light rail system.....surely such developments could help spur on new projects in the area. Much like it has done in Manchester and East London with the DLR.
The chatam Dock line had curves that would defeat most modern rolling stock when it was active.... And you do know most low level nuclear waste is barely above normal background, end therefore safe levels....its largely just normal trash.
Always worth the wait - thanks again - your films are legend :)
Thanks for walking this one Daz - brings back memories - I lived in Maidstone for 26 years & got over to Medway quite often - it was really good to be able to follow your walk on Google Maps too. I'll get this one out @4RailTrail as soon as I can.
'Probably more radiation from the cell tower.' Different sort of radiation from radioactive material -- alpha and beta particles. And gamma radiation, also from radioactive material, is much higher frequency than what you get from a mobile phone mast. You might as well say you get more radiation from the sun, even on a cloudy day.
I enjoyed my walk down the line a couple of years ago shame they could not turn it into a steam railway for tourist as a demo line
With all the shots of the "Keep Out" signs-so wanted to see what they are hiding-Well----with a little bushogging and forestry mulching--maybe we can see something in there.Neat exploration of the unused rail line-Just normal,natural sounds and no goofy music to spoil it!Need more videos like this!
When you see all these old tracks I wonder why they're not recovered by scrap metal dealers - there must be tonnes of steel in that short walk there!
Steve Cooper Too much effort / aggro. Even a short section weighs a lot and you’d have to carry it at least a short distance, not to mention cutting gear and tools to lift the track and cut it to manageable bits would have to be lugged to the track.
SpeedbirdConcorde Getting the Transit van to the rail looks to be near impossible in this case.
As someone who is a trackman
Scrap rail is moved from various sites but you need a licence from network rail to remove it and network rail don't move it all due to cost
Erik Morrison Fair enough. I think I might have assumed the question was “Why has no-one nicked it?”
I'm sat here thinking "why does it sound like he/she has a horse with them," then realised I had it on 2x speed. thank you for sharing.
Great stuff. I'm surprised they haven't ripped up the old line - very unlikely to be reconnected - RHTT would spend a week cleaning that
Excellent and informative video. Good work!
The track was last used on a regular basis to remove the top 2 metres or so of the surface of St. Mary’s Island which was part of the newer dockyard which used to be used for dumping waste and was contaminated with heavy metals and some low level radioactive waste. The spoil was removed by train to Bedford where they have a number of clay lined quarries for this type of waste. The tracks in the existing Historic Dockyard - now a ‘museum’ connected to this, and are still used by a steam train and wagon. A sidings area is now the main car park. I can remember a special excursion off the main line went into the ‘car park’ before it was severed.
St. Mary’s Island is now a large ‘up market’ housing estate developed over a number of years
Bloody good video well done,
Its changed a bit since I was there 56 years ago. I dont recognise much at all.
Not former Chatham Docks, but former Chatham RN Dockyard. Big difference. Chatham docks is now the commercial eastern basin of the former RN Dockyard.
Amazing to see how Nature takes over again
If youre ever in northamptonshire, then the Higham Ferrers Branch would make an interesting video, it used to start off at irchester junction near wellingborough and irchester and had two stations: Rushden and Higham Ferrers. Its mostly all demolished apart from the (very) small heritage line (The Rushden Historical Transport Society). Theres a few bits of railway architecture, Passenger services stopped in the 1960's but frieght continued up until closure due to the two towns being very involved in the shoe industry. Its worth looking into and going to see whats there, i live in higham so it would be interesting to see what you could find out about it.
only 1 way to find out is get a Gieger Counter & find out exactly
Will remember that ASDA is Walmart!
Come to ASDA for your Radiation Burgers lol...they cook themselves...
1.18 for fuel? When was this taken? 2003? It then jumps up by 7p by the time you've walked around!
The tracks could still be used to run a driverless shuttle train between Gillingham station and the ever expanding housing area around the Asda. As in London's Docklands light railway.
I never understood why they went to the trouble and expense of replacing the railway bridge over the Lower Rainham Road, when the line was already no longer in use. Crazy waste of money.
Another quality video mate
I remember frieght trains going down that line in the 90s I lived 2 minutes away from it
@@phasma1 what's that then I can see the railway line from my flat
@@phasma1 network rail own the line my dad told me my dad drove freight trains past the level crossing for 30 years
@@phasma1 and also have the line connected up by the signal box the line was decommissioned in 2010 I remember freight trains going past roseberry Road when I lived near the sweet shop
@@phasma1 never been down on the line myself don't know where the gate is
@@phasma1 would love to go down there myself soon
Call this Railnobyl, UK
(Name taken from words Chernobyl and railway)
As the Dockyard finally closed in 1986, what used the railway line after that date?
Glow in the dark express
Proper I'm going to visit with a can of skul and couple bottles of guisness 👍🏿💯😎
I live here
KEEP
OUT
Thx Morthren; the pov is just like being there. Subscribed to yr fine work 👍
It's a sin what has happened since this closed down to build Houses, And trains rolling by are no more due to Greedy Developers and Progress which stinks.
The waste was buried on st Mary's island not by Asda,s, it was removed before the development of houses on the island, although you are not allowed to grow your own vegetables in the ground or in containers on the island
Nice skew arch at 3:50. Thanks for showing the helical brickwork.
Is that where some contractors , either working on , or dismantling those submarines , contacted radiation poising and all their records got lost , whilst the dock yard was being shut down .
Not sure how I got here, but this is very interesting.
I was stationed in Chatham barracks in 1960.
They took away 3" inches of top soil away from all of that area before they started building houses.
Very interesting especially seeming the bridges etc
Loved the video thanks for sharing
Hello.... Converting it into a 15 inch gauge and turning it into a tourist attraction!!!!!
Petrol only £121.7! Today 134.
very good
12:45 Sure, cell phone emit radiation, but so does the LED light on your bicycle. Neither of those are ionising radiation. In fact, ionising radiation has a shorter wave length = higher frequency than visible light, while micro waves and radio waves have a longer wavelength = lower frequency.
All radiation can cause greater or lesser damage to human physiology, whether or not it is ionising. Infra red and microwaves can burn flesh, ultraviolet (although, to be fair this can result in ionisation) causes sunburn, and even visible light can cause burning if strong enough (think laser surgery). As for cell towers, my mobility scooter either stops or goes berserk near one, so what is it doing to me? I am glad that I used to live near (and work in) a nuclear power station, rather than have a cell tower next door. Don't forget that if the government says that something is safe, it would be prudent to check for yourself.
I'm pretty hyped for this new STALKER mod
I would be tempted to go at weekends and clear the tracks that still exist, sad I know
I live in Rosebery Road which runs along the side of the line, (after the bridge) moved there in April 1993. Only ever heard 1 train go by and that was in the first week we were there...….
That was my second home, I think we moved out around 94 when my sister was born.
Another good vid , long time no see 👌👍👍
I see the locals don't believe in visits to the loacl dump/re-cycling centre......
any 3-eyed fish though?
Nice post Thank you,