Boy I remember driving my lorry under the bridge at 4.38 in 1973 which was my first trip tpo Weymouth. My vehicle was 12.6 high so I remember sticking my head out of the window to hear any sounds of scraping the bridge,as that was the only route from my delivery. Heaven knows where I would have gone if I couldn't have got under it. Lovely memories.
I stayed overnight in Weymouth earlier this year for work, it was raining cataclysmically and was thoroughly miserable - lovely to see it in the sunshine!
@@melvynbuckton6881 my mother had a very good friend that lived on Guernsey married to a tomato grower. I was so pleased i got a chance to visit her once on the island before she died.
Another fine video, Johnny! There is another “lost” railway in the Weymouth area….that of the line built between Weymouth and and the Isle of Portand, which crossed the River Wey adjacent to to the current road bridge near the station on King Street, on route to the causeway to Portland
@@RoddyJenkins Yes, i did see that on the map, but did not have time to investigate more. Pleased to brought it up though, as i really should have mentioned it 👍
I very much enjoyed this clip. As a child I spent many holidays in Weymouth. On one occasion we boarded in a guest house on the quay. Below the lounge window, the trains would run up and down the qyay to the ferries as you have described. In those days, they were pulled by a small outside cylinder pannier tank with a bell on it. I remember it like it was yesterday. It is good to see that some of the tracks remain, but I would love to have seen those vans loaded with tomatoes. I believe that the engine is now preserved on one of the South Devon Heritage, Railways. As I write this, I also remembered seeing the Duke of Edinburgh’s yacht, Bloodhound moored on the quayside. All this happened 65 years ago. Sadly, just a memory.
@@martinbradshaw7877 gosh you predate me remembering the pannier tank service! I only remember the diesels! I'm pleased the video brought back those memories and that you shared them with us all. Thank you 👍
Sad to see it all but gone. First went to Guernsey via rail/sea in 1975 and loved the place so much, I moved out there for a while. The tramway was amazing in parts as you physically touch the sides of buildings as the train made it's way down to the harbour #happydays
Might have been the Herts Railtours trip I was on! Some years later, when it was largely disused, my Ford Escort had a mud flap ripped off by some points near the pier end.
Great video especially with all the signage showing the route of the old track not to mention the remnants of the track. Good to see what is left as we tend to rely on really old video footage and divided opinions.
Never been to Weymouth but I did go through a stage a few years ago of obsessively watching those videos you mentioned in utter disbelief! ("stage" = prob 2 days or so). Cheers for the memories that weren't even mine 🤣
@@horsehollerer Yes those videos are nuts. The bouncing of the cars out of the way always comes to mind! Not an efficient way of getting people to the quayside! Thanks for coming along virtually 👍
Thanks Johnny for a reminder of my past. In 1980 travelling through the town was a most odd feeling on the train. Down the street slowly with my then wife and eldest son (babe in arms) on a, family rail card, Rail and Ferry combine ticket heading to Guernsey and of course the return journey. No idea what class we were on. Keep up the great vlogs.
@@matts-occvids24 thanks, such great memories! Nice to hear from someone who actually rode the train to catch the ferry! Very cool! Thanks for sharing your story 👍
Thanks for the update. I travelled the line in the 1970s. I believe that the quayside passenger service stopped when the Weymouth line became 3rd rail from Bournemouth to Weymouth. The Channel Islands boat express was, in steam days, an express passenger service from Waterloo to Weymouth, where they then they took off the big loco and replaced it with a couple of little tank locos, one at each end. As far as I know, the cross channel service to Cherbourg never had a connecting train service.
A Class 33 push-pull diesel locomotive was attached to quay bound trains at Bournemouth to carry the train over the non electrified section to Weymouth. Electrification was completed through to Weymouth in 1988. The last service train to the quay ran over the route in 1987.
Yet another very interesting video. I am amazed, Johnny, how much both very diverse and absolutely fascinating scenes you showed us in just six-and-a-half minutes! It (perhaps) would have been an even better video if the map you showed at two mins had been shown a little bit earlier.
Yes, i know what you mean wrt the map. A bit of context for where the line to the quay branched off from the station. However, that wasn't when i talked about the route. Between you and me, this was a trial, recording the vocal voiceover at the same time as i was shooting the video. There was no voiceover added at all during the edit process. Just an experiment 🤷♂️ Best wishes to you 👍 Btw when are you back in Switzerland?
In Weymouth at the moment, on holiday. Vague recollections of a train in the streets. Thanks for the upload. Will investigate during our stay. Caught a boat trip from the quayside shown the other day, and did notice the rails in bedded in the road.
Local to Exmouth, recently visited Weymouth to do some random travel vid for personal use and saw that platform by the river and wondered where the rail went. I had visited as a child and remembered the rails going down the streets and knew they covered them over, didnt realise so much of them still existed.
@@Citylinespotter-n6v haha! As it turned out, if i rushed up the front, i worked out i could get there earlier train and get home an hour earlier... so i missed out on the pint this time! Thanks for watching 👍
Good to see what is left. I didn’t know this piece of history. It’s a little bit like Folkstone? The railway went all the way to the pier where the ferry moored.
The reason for remaining railway signals and the track still in situ is because they’ll still be a part of operational safety-critical railway signalling system. The signal bulbs typically have two filaments and as soon as the primary filament fails will light the secondary and trigger an alarm for bulb replacement. Track circuits by the signals will detect when a train is approaching or passes a signal and will, for example, switch the signal from green back to red as a train passes. All this is part of a complex interlocking signalling safety system and removing the signals and track will require redesign, rewiring, retesting and recertification of the altered signalling. The cost-effective alternate is leave everything in place, replacing a blown bulb every couple of years, until the wiring and infrastructure can be removed as part of some future major resignalling work.
Although not a Tramway, I am happy that Harwich still has local stations between Harwich International (formerly Parkeston Quay), Dovercourt, and Harwich Town. They cover a similar distance to the Weymouth Tramway, so it's sad to see a local transport network in disuse. When services to Esbjerg, Cuxhaven, Rotterdam, Zeebrugge, and others were curtailed, I expected the stations would go with it.
@@htt232101 Yes, it's good that they are still there. Another odd one is Newhaven Harbour station. Given that you now get off at Newhaven Town for the ferries. I suppose it still has enough local custom to stay open 🤷♂️ Thanks for watching the video 👍
I remember as a child seeing the line in use in the mid 80's. I believe it was last used by a special charter in 1999. I was a regular visitor to Weymouth up until the mid 90's. I seem to remember it was the Class 73 latterly that had the job of hauling the trains.
@JohnnyHooverTravels 33's would have defintely worked them as well in the early 80's but in my era of travelling to Weymouth they were largely usurped by the 73's normally hauling 2 or 3 EMU's coupled together. I distinctly remember catching them in both directions from Woking to Weymouth and vice versa.
Thanks for an interesting reminder of days of yore. Scout camp on Jersey in 1963 (plus or minus a year) - joined the Waterloo - Weymouth Boat Train, steam hauled of course, at Woking. Then stopping outside Weymouth station for the switch to a shunter for the rest of the journey to the quay. As I recall, the ferries were not Ro-Ro so cars were 'craned' on and off. On the return trip, the train had a banker to get out of Weymouth. We were in the last carriage and, on a very sunny day, we could see the shadow of the banker as we 'left it behind.'
The ships used in 1963 were the St Julian and the St Patrick, cars were craned onto the ships. My parents would take me to Jersey for our summer holidays, I enjoyed the voyage far better than the holiday! These trips inspired me to join the Merchant Navy in 1969, I retired from the MN in 1999.
@@oilburner225 i have an old picture of my parents' motorbike being craned into a ferry. Seems that we have had RO-RO ferries for so long, that you can forget it wasn't that long ago when this happened everywhere! Is there anywhere in the UK's waters that still cranes cars on except maybe the Scillionian going to the Scillies?
I remember in the late 1960's when a Mini was parked too close to the tracks blocking the train's path. A young police constable with a large bunch of car keys approached and tried to open the car. It took about 10 minutes but he eventually succeeded and drive off accompanied by cheers from the gathered crowd.
Really interesting video, thank you for posting. I went on holiday to Weymouth a couple of times in the early 2000s and the whole line was still there but disused. It's a shame they haven't kept more of it as a memento. And we accidentally pulled the guest house curtains down after returning drunk, but that's not relevant!!
@@pacerchaser9434 maybe there were more tracks left, but someone pulled them up when they came home drunk... 😉 Thanks for watching and sharing your memories 👍
I remember riding the line in the late 1980s. While it was great fun the trip took so long that I think it would have been quicker to walk! It’s funny though as in the states the train going down the Main Street is quite a common sight. No guys walking in front of it, instead you can see huge mile long freight trains going through at line speed.
@@nigelfarley814 yes, i think the "quicker to walk" was a part of the ending of the service! And once there's no quayside freight being loaded and all you have left is the passenger train, well, it just isn't worth it. Thanks so much for watching 👍
I'm sure the station building at Weymouth Quay Station was unsafe which is one of the reasons why it was knocked down, I remember being in Weymouth back in 2019 and did see the station with building still intact and have seen TH-cam videos on this and even people shoving parked cars out the way as well. It's a shame I never experienced the line but I was only a kid back then, great bonus video
Hi, interesting video, I was in Dorset for a stag do in 2007, whilst I was there, I called in at Weymouth to see the Tramway while it was still in situ, I think it's a shame that it was lifted, But no doubt the council probably used "Health & safety" as an excuse to get rid of a piece of history, I have seen a lot of interesting photo's over the years of Trains using the line.
@@TechnoJonny Yes, essentially i was doing just the same as you . It was nice that what is left had been preserved for us to track the old route. And the heritage information boards are very helpful indeed. Thanks for watching 👍
I have watched previous videos of this route, and things seem to have been tidied up. When you see footage of the train moving down road in the old days its quite an experience. its somehow like an Easter procession in Sicily. I expect to see a priest and acolyte coming into picture; or is it me being fanciful?
@@colinriley123 well yes, you are being fanciful for sure... but i do like the comparison 😀 I think there was enough left to give the history to people. Things do move on. Thanks for coming along 👍
I used to see the train quite a lot in the late nineteen sixties. It never seemed very practical then, probably the growth of private cars in the time making the trip difficult and as you say glacially slow. Fascinating but it surprised me how long it lasted. The number of railway men involved hardly made it a cheap exercise either. Wonder what other work they did at Weymouth Station when they weren’t bumping cars out of the way? Modern cars, now so much heavier would need an army of people if it existed today.
@@truebrit3578 Yes, I'm surprised it last so long. It is literally quicker to walk from Weymouth station to the quay than to take the train... but i suppose people did not have wheelie suitcases back in those days. Basically, everybody ended up driving to the ferries and so boat trains became a thing of the past 🤷♂️ Thanks for watching 👍
@@telemachus53 my research says that the last rail tour to go down the line was in 1999. I suppose the tracks are lifted (or covered) when the road gets resurfaced . Thanks for watching 👍
@@JohnnyHooverTravels My understanding is that the local council wanted the tramway gone for whatever reason (maintenance costs perhaps), and that all the rails were removed at once.
In fairness,the line’s demise could possibly be traced back to the 1970s and early 1980’s when BR was forced to make massive savings across the railway network. Boat trains had become uneconomic with the rise in popularity of road transportation, when travelling to ferry ports
@@custardo Yes no surprise. As others have said, it was really the drop in train/foot passengers that made the boat train concept uneconomic. 🤷♂️ Thanks for watching 👍
We were able to have a holiday in Dorset in October 2020 and briefly visited Weymouth so I could take some photos of the "tram way" near the Harbour Station. Those new gates weren't there then!
@@jsimmo52 Yes. They were a surprise to me as Google Street view wasn't showing them there when i did my research before i got there! Thanks for watching 👍
@@raystewart3648 Yes. You can't expect Google to pop out every morning to get fresh pictures! I think the frequency is pretty good considering! Thanks for the note 👍
@@alastairhoffmann9079 Yes, there was a lot less than some videos i watched in my research before i went. Still I'm pleased they now have preserved what there is and have put in the heritage information boards. Thanks for watching 👍
@@WillHaynesbackpacker not exactly sure. They just removed the old quay station and have poured some fresh concrete 🤷♂️ Anyway, thanks so much for watching 👍
it was not a tram it was a steam train called the Boat train cus it ran to the harbour they later tried to run a tram and did a test but it got struck cus the did not clear the track
@@tonyhughes2686 it is called a tramway because it shares the route with the roadway. In this case the trains are, well, trains, but the line becomes a tramway. Either way, thanks so much for watching 👍
3:09 you say 'as you expect' but the track was only removed in 2020 (Google the video) following securing a £1m fund. I still don't know why they went to the bother, they could have just tarmaced it over instead of removing it. Trains could have run down pre 2020, the only thing stopping it would have been a traffic light post which was installed for the Olympics.
Memories. Watched trains on this in 1968 when living in Weymouth.
@@melvynbuckton6881 nice memory to have! 👍
Boy I remember driving my lorry under the bridge at 4.38 in 1973 which was my first trip tpo Weymouth. My vehicle was 12.6 high so I remember sticking my head out of the window to hear any sounds of scraping the bridge,as that was the only route from my delivery. Heaven knows where I would have gone if I couldn't have got under it.
Lovely memories.
@@ernestbailey9194 magic story!
It is an unusual place!
There's a lot less line than there was just about 7 years ago when I walked the route! Thanks for posting.
@@ianhalsall-fox you are very welcome. Thanks for watching 👍
Thanks for tracing the route. Alas I passed on a rail tour to explore the line when it was still open.
@@PaulGodfrey pleased you got to ride it before it ended!
Thanks for coming along on my short trip 👍
Cool video, thanks mate!
@@jnlloyd86 cheers! You are very welcome. Thanks too for watching 👍
I stayed overnight in Weymouth earlier this year for work, it was raining cataclysmically and was thoroughly miserable - lovely to see it in the sunshine!
@@stevecooksley Yes it definitely is designed to be viewed on a sunny day!
Thanks for watching 👍
Yet another top video. A lovely look at yesteryear.
@@Timstravels01 cheers Tim 👍
Loved that. Fabulous views all along the walk of water and the buildings opposite. Memories of six months there. Guernsey toms yes remember!
@@melvynbuckton6881 my mother had a very good friend that lived on Guernsey married to a tomato grower. I was so pleased i got a chance to visit her once on the island before she died.
Another fine video, Johnny! There is another “lost” railway in the Weymouth area….that of the line built between Weymouth and and the Isle of Portand, which crossed the River Wey adjacent to to the current road bridge near the station on King Street, on route to the causeway to Portland
@@RoddyJenkins Yes, i did see that on the map, but did not have time to investigate more. Pleased to brought it up though, as i really should have mentioned it 👍
10K subs, hurrah! Time for a swift half!
@@ampersand. whoa!! Thanks so much! ❤️
@@ampersand. ... and thanks for noticing! I'm away right now, so will do a post later in the week to thank everybody.
I very much enjoyed this clip. As a child I spent many holidays in Weymouth. On one occasion we boarded in a guest house on the quay. Below the lounge window, the trains would run up and down the qyay to the ferries as you have described. In those days, they were pulled by a small outside cylinder pannier tank with a bell on it. I remember it like it was yesterday. It is good to see that some of the tracks remain, but I would love to have seen those vans loaded with tomatoes. I believe that the engine is now preserved on one of the South Devon Heritage, Railways. As I write this, I also remembered seeing the Duke of Edinburgh’s yacht, Bloodhound moored on the quayside. All this happened 65 years ago. Sadly, just a memory.
@@martinbradshaw7877 gosh you predate me remembering the pannier tank service! I only remember the diesels!
I'm pleased the video brought back those memories and that you shared them with us all. Thank you 👍
Memories aren't sad they are happy in most cases.
Cracking little video Johnny, brought back some memories. 👍.
@@stevewareing8525 love that you enjoyed it. Thanks 👍
Nice little walk. Nothing wrong with a slow train now and then. The editing team did a great job prepping that map in time. ;)
@@sandiandgregh they are stars. I sometimes don't give them enough credit... probably because they eat all the biscuits...
Sad to see it all but gone. First went to Guernsey via rail/sea in 1975 and loved the place so much, I moved out there for a while. The tramway was amazing in parts as you physically touch the sides of buildings as the train made it's way down to the harbour #happydays
@@DonQuixote-g7j what great memories. Thank you so much for sharing them... especially being able to touch the buildings as you passed!
Another good snippet, I had the pleasure of travelling on it on a railtour whilst living in the area.
@@kevinellis8869 excellent... pleased you got a ride on it before it was closed.
Thanks for watching 👍
Might have been the Herts Railtours trip I was on! Some years later, when it was largely disused, my Ford Escort had a mud flap ripped off by some points near the pier end.
Great video especially with all the signage showing the route of the old track not to mention the remnants of the track. Good to see what is left as we tend to rely on really old video footage and divided opinions.
@@andrewlong6438 no problem. I was pleased to go as i was fascinated to discover what was left 👍
Never been to Weymouth but I did go through a stage a few years ago of obsessively watching those videos you mentioned in utter disbelief! ("stage" = prob 2 days or so). Cheers for the memories that weren't even mine 🤣
@@horsehollerer Yes those videos are nuts. The bouncing of the cars out of the way always comes to mind! Not an efficient way of getting people to the quayside!
Thanks for coming along virtually 👍
Thanks Johnny for a reminder of my past. In 1980 travelling through the town was a most odd feeling on the train. Down the street slowly with my then wife and eldest son (babe in arms) on a, family rail card, Rail and Ferry combine ticket heading to Guernsey and of course the return journey. No idea what class we were on. Keep up the great vlogs.
@@matts-occvids24 thanks, such great memories! Nice to hear from someone who actually rode the train to catch the ferry! Very cool!
Thanks for sharing your story 👍
Magnificent. Thankyou.
I remember it running. Would take it to Guernsey ferry.
@@user-eg8pv2om7j great to hear from an old passenger! Pleased you enjoyed the video 👍
My hometown:)
@@jamesbuckley031090 yay!
Thanks for watching 👍
Thanks for the update. I travelled the line in the 1970s. I believe that the quayside passenger service stopped when the Weymouth line became 3rd rail from Bournemouth to Weymouth. The Channel Islands boat express was, in steam days, an express passenger service from Waterloo to Weymouth, where they then they took off the big loco and replaced it with a couple of little tank locos, one at each end.
As far as I know, the cross channel service to Cherbourg never had a connecting train service.
@@icdgyixify99 thanks for the information and the memories.
And thanks too for watching 👍
A Class 33 push-pull diesel locomotive was attached to quay bound trains at Bournemouth to carry the train over the non electrified section to Weymouth. Electrification was completed through to Weymouth in 1988. The last service train to the quay ran over the route in 1987.
Interesting bonus on a strange railway line that survived rather long time
@@Kulla1berg Yes. A very strange line indeed!
Yet another very interesting video. I am amazed, Johnny, how much both very diverse and absolutely fascinating scenes you showed us in just six-and-a-half minutes! It (perhaps) would have been an even better video if the map you showed at two mins had been shown a little bit earlier.
Yes, i know what you mean wrt the map. A bit of context for where the line to the quay branched off from the station. However, that wasn't when i talked about the route.
Between you and me, this was a trial, recording the vocal voiceover at the same time as i was shooting the video. There was no voiceover added at all during the edit process. Just an experiment 🤷♂️
Best wishes to you 👍
Btw when are you back in Switzerland?
@@JohnnyHooverTravels Early October.
Thanks for the update.
@@barrytrimmer9576 you are very welcome. Thanks for watching 👍
I've never actually been but always remember the pictures of class 33,s there in my platform 5 spotters book in the 80s lol. Another great video 👏
@@garymcgregor7048 thanks. You are very welcome 👍
In Weymouth at the moment, on holiday. Vague recollections of a train in the streets. Thanks for the upload. Will investigate during our stay.
Caught a boat trip from the quayside shown the other day, and did notice the rails in bedded in the road.
@@willsgrandad enjoy your stay in Weymouth. I hope the weather is kind 😀
Thanks for watching 👍
I really enjoyed that mate and yes I do remember it, just. Caught a Sealink ferry from Weymouth to Jersey in 1973!
@@LetsMakeaTrip gosh you must have been very young indeed!
Very Beautiful ❤️
@@trailwayt9HG thank you 👍
I used to ride that train in the early 70s to take the midnight ferry to Jersey. Cars were craned into the hold in those days. No ramps.
@@charlo90952 Yes, those days, cars were the unusual ones as most people were not driving!
Thanks for watching and for sharing your memories 👍
Local to Exmouth, recently visited Weymouth to do some random travel vid for personal use and saw that platform by the river and wondered where the rail went. I had visited as a child and remembered the rails going down the streets and knew they covered them over, didnt realise so much of them still existed.
@@AtlasVideography ah well, there you go. It's nice they have kept a bit for posterity.
Best wishes from Topsham 👍
Great video Johnny and you better have had a pint after it
@@Citylinespotter-n6v haha! As it turned out, if i rushed up the front, i worked out i could get there earlier train and get home an hour earlier... so i missed out on the pint this time!
Thanks for watching 👍
@@JohnnyHooverTravels you should have 2 in exmouth then lol
Remember it well when i was stationed at HMS OSPREY in the 1960s ⚓️
@@rhyswebb3581 Yes. Quite an iconic line back in the day
Thanks for watching. 👍
Great Video Johnny
@@paulgibsonphotography thanks Paul 👍
Congratulations! You Hit 10,000 Sub!
@@oumimrane4470 thanks! I did!
Bit surreal thinking i had about 100 subs two years ago 😀
Good to see what is left. I didn’t know this piece of history. It’s a little bit like Folkstone? The railway went all the way to the pier where the ferry moored.
@@Trond_travels Yes, there are lots of places such as this, for sure.
Thanks for watching 👍
We used to stay in Weymouth when I was younger.We saw cars being bounced out of the way quite a few times!!😂
@@spacellama7917 Yes! The videos of the bounced cars is great fun!
Thanks for watching 👍
Congratulations on the 10k
@@shropshiregirl9279 thanks! Did not imagine it would go this far!
Thanks for coming along 👍
The reason for remaining railway signals and the track still in situ is because they’ll still be a part of operational safety-critical railway signalling system. The signal bulbs typically have two filaments and as soon as the primary filament fails will light the secondary and trigger an alarm for bulb replacement. Track circuits by the signals will detect when a train is approaching or passes a signal and will, for example, switch the signal from green back to red as a train passes. All this is part of a complex interlocking signalling safety system and removing the signals and track will require redesign, rewiring, retesting and recertification of the altered signalling. The cost-effective alternate is leave everything in place, replacing a blown bulb every couple of years, until the wiring and infrastructure can be removed as part of some future major resignalling work.
@@roytait thank you so much. Very interesting and informative. 👍
Although not a Tramway, I am happy that Harwich still has local stations between Harwich International (formerly Parkeston Quay), Dovercourt, and Harwich Town. They cover a similar distance to the Weymouth Tramway, so it's sad to see a local transport network in disuse. When services to Esbjerg, Cuxhaven, Rotterdam, Zeebrugge, and others were curtailed, I expected the stations would go with it.
@@htt232101 Yes, it's good that they are still there. Another odd one is Newhaven Harbour station. Given that you now get off at Newhaven Town for the ferries. I suppose it still has enough local custom to stay open 🤷♂️
Thanks for watching the video 👍
Good video 😊
@@christinehodge3608 thanks. And thanks for watching too 👍
I remember as a child seeing the line in use in the mid 80's. I believe it was last used by a special charter in 1999. I was a regular visitor to Weymouth up until the mid 90's. I seem to remember it was the Class 73 latterly that had the job of hauling the trains.
@@Mattod80 ah a 73. Others thought maybe 33s, but those 73s were bi-mode, so that makes sense too.
Thanks for watching 👍
@JohnnyHooverTravels 33's would have defintely worked them as well in the early 80's but in my era of travelling to Weymouth they were largely usurped by the 73's normally hauling 2 or 3 EMU's coupled together. I distinctly remember catching them in both directions from Woking to Weymouth and vice versa.
Thanks for an interesting reminder of days of yore. Scout camp on Jersey in 1963 (plus or minus a year) - joined the Waterloo - Weymouth Boat Train, steam hauled of course, at Woking. Then stopping outside Weymouth station for the switch to a shunter for the rest of the journey to the quay. As I recall, the ferries were not Ro-Ro so cars were 'craned' on and off.
On the return trip, the train had a banker to get out of Weymouth. We were in the last carriage and, on a very sunny day, we could see the shadow of the banker as we 'left it behind.'
@@rwm2986 what great memories. I really enjoyed hearing them. Thanks.
And, of course, thanks for watching 👍
The ships used in 1963 were the St Julian and the St Patrick, cars were craned onto the ships. My parents would take me to Jersey for our summer holidays, I enjoyed the voyage far better than the holiday! These trips inspired me to join the Merchant Navy in 1969, I retired from the MN in 1999.
I have vague, perhaps incorrect. memories of Sarnia and Caesarea.
@@oilburner225 i have an old picture of my parents' motorbike being craned into a ferry. Seems that we have had RO-RO ferries for so long, that you can forget it wasn't that long ago when this happened everywhere!
Is there anywhere in the UK's waters that still cranes cars on except maybe the Scillionian going to the Scillies?
Superb, very interesting
@@steveparkinson8887 no problem. You are very welcome 👍
Thanks for watching 👍
I remember when we were on holiday in Weymouth pestering my Dad to take me to see the train going through the town…….it was a long time ago.
@@peterjones6640 ah what a lovely story. Hopefully he did take you down!
Thanks for that 👍
@@JohnnyHooverTravels Yes he did a few times during our 2 week holiday (plus sometimes an ice cream as well😄)
@@peterjones6640 what a great Dad!
I remember in the late 1960's when a Mini was parked too close to the tracks blocking the train's path. A young police constable with a large bunch of car keys approached and tried to open the car. It took about 10 minutes but he eventually succeeded and drive off accompanied by cheers from the gathered crowd.
@@snowwhitehair485 haha what a great memory! Thanks for sharing that, and thanks too for watching 👍
Really interesting video, thank you for posting. I went on holiday to Weymouth a couple of times in the early 2000s and the whole line was still there but disused. It's a shame they haven't kept more of it as a memento. And we accidentally pulled the guest house curtains down after returning drunk, but that's not relevant!!
@@pacerchaser9434 maybe there were more tracks left, but someone pulled them up when they came home drunk... 😉
Thanks for watching and sharing your memories 👍
I remember riding the line in the late 1980s. While it was great fun the trip took so long that I think it would have been quicker to walk! It’s funny though as in the states the train going down the Main Street is quite a common sight. No guys walking in front of it, instead you can see huge mile long freight trains going through at line speed.
@@nigelfarley814 yes, i think the "quicker to walk" was a part of the ending of the service! And once there's no quayside freight being loaded and all you have left is the passenger train, well, it just isn't worth it.
Thanks so much for watching 👍
Remember it well JH
@@kevincollis2632 Nice one 👍
I'm sure the station building at Weymouth Quay Station was unsafe which is one of the reasons why it was knocked down, I remember being in Weymouth back in 2019 and did see the station with building still intact and have seen TH-cam videos on this and even people shoving parked cars out the way as well. It's a shame I never experienced the line but I was only a kid back then, great bonus video
@@Sim0nTrains thanks for that Simon. The station is saw on google was quite dilapidated! 👍
Hi, interesting video, I was in Dorset for a stag do in 2007, whilst I was there, I called in at Weymouth to see the Tramway while it was still in situ, I think it's a shame that it was lifted, But no doubt the council probably used "Health & safety" as an excuse to get rid of a piece of history, I have seen a lot of interesting photo's over the years of Trains using the line.
@@TechnoJonny Yes, essentially i was doing just the same as you . It was nice that what is left had been preserved for us to track the old route. And the heritage information boards are very helpful indeed.
Thanks for watching 👍
I have watched previous videos of this route, and things seem to have been tidied up. When you see footage of the train moving down road in the old days its quite an experience. its somehow like an Easter procession in Sicily. I expect to see a priest and acolyte coming into picture; or is it me being fanciful?
@@colinriley123 well yes, you are being fanciful for sure... but i do like the comparison 😀
I think there was enough left to give the history to people. Things do move on.
Thanks for coming along 👍
I used to see the train quite a lot in the late nineteen sixties. It never seemed very practical then, probably the growth of private cars in the time making the trip difficult and as you say glacially slow. Fascinating but it surprised me how long it lasted. The number of railway men involved hardly made it a cheap exercise either. Wonder what other work they did at Weymouth Station when they weren’t bumping cars out of the way? Modern cars, now so much heavier would need an army of people if it existed today.
@@truebrit3578 Yes, I'm surprised it last so long. It is literally quicker to walk from Weymouth station to the quay than to take the train... but i suppose people did not have wheelie suitcases back in those days.
Basically, everybody ended up driving to the ferries and so boat trains became a thing of the past 🤷♂️
Thanks for watching 👍
When were the tracks taken up? I seem to recall seeing a train rumble along the streets about 15 years ago.
@@telemachus53 my research says that the last rail tour to go down the line was in 1999. I suppose the tracks are lifted (or covered) when the road gets resurfaced .
Thanks for watching 👍
From memory, the track lifting was in the last 5 or 10 years. I guess the internet probably has a note of the formal closure of the line somewhere.
2020/21 was the main removal period
@@allanfstone I believe the closure was not formally documented, it predates the current legal closure processes
@@JohnnyHooverTravels My understanding is that the local council wanted the tramway gone for whatever reason (maintenance costs perhaps), and that all the rails were removed at once.
Imagine your job being to walk in front of a train all day. I'm all for nostalgia, but it's no suprise it's gone.
In fairness,the line’s demise could possibly be traced back to the 1970s and early 1980’s when BR was forced to make massive savings across the railway network. Boat trains had become uneconomic with the rise in popularity of road transportation, when travelling to ferry ports
@@RoddyJenkins You're right! Unlike Johnny said, tomatoes aren't flown in, they arrive in the UK in a temperature controlled lorries.
@@custardo Yes no surprise. As others have said, it was really the drop in train/foot passengers that made the boat train concept uneconomic. 🤷♂️
Thanks for watching 👍
We were able to have a holiday in Dorset in October 2020 and briefly visited Weymouth so I could take some photos of the "tram way" near the Harbour Station. Those new gates weren't there then!
@@jsimmo52 Yes. They were a surprise to me as Google Street view wasn't showing them there when i did my research before i got there!
Thanks for watching 👍
@@JohnnyHooverTravels Remember - It takes Google around 6 to 8 months to compile every street and lane before releasing it to the public.
@@raystewart3648 Yes. You can't expect Google to pop out every morning to get fresh pictures! I think the frequency is pretty good considering!
Thanks for the note 👍
It looks as though a lot of the rails have been lifted in the last 10 years as part of the renewal of the road surface.
@@alastairhoffmann9079 Yes, there was a lot less than some videos i watched in my research before i went. Still I'm pleased they now have preserved what there is and have put in the heritage information boards.
Thanks for watching 👍
What exactly are they building at the Weymouth ferry port?
@@WillHaynesbackpacker not exactly sure. They just removed the old quay station and have poured some fresh concrete 🤷♂️
Anyway, thanks so much for watching 👍
I well remember the trains going down to the harbour in the mid-1970's. Would they have been Class 33's?
@@phillloyd5233 i reckon they used 33s a lot, from my memories...
Thanks for watching 👍
Yes it was Class 33 and 4 TC units
Shame they demolished the old station building. I went there in 2020 and the old station looked untouched since it had been shut down.
@@simplygeorgee it's been said in here that it became unsafe and had to be demolished.
Thanks for watching 👍
@@JohnnyHooverTravels Ahhh, makes sense.
Have a picture. of a dmu going through the arch.
@@kevinstaddon8517 excellent old picture. Good relic of the past 👍
Jersey you mean for veggis and if you look in river you might see the fishes easy like blue bass
@@BIGV710 Jersey Royal potatoes!
Thanks for watching 👍
I took a ride from th qUAY TO TOWN STATIONS IT COST 50P!
@@DavidTurner-r1k some time ago...
it was not a tram it was a steam train called the Boat train cus it ran to the harbour they later tried to run a tram and did a test but it got struck cus the did not clear the track
@@tonyhughes2686 it is called a tramway because it shares the route with the roadway. In this case the trains are, well, trains, but the line becomes a tramway.
Either way, thanks so much for watching 👍
It would be a major tourist attraction if they had foresight in early 00s
@@alisonjones9089 but sadly a very expensive one to maintain!
Thanks for watching 👍
3:09 you say 'as you expect' but the track was only removed in 2020 (Google the video) following securing a £1m fund. I still don't know why they went to the bother, they could have just tarmaced it over instead of removing it. Trains could have run down pre 2020, the only thing stopping it would have been a traffic light post which was installed for the Olympics.
@@oninbridders thanks for the extra information, much appreciated.
And thanks, of course, for watching too 👍