Great Central Railway - Charwelton Water Troughs & Woodford Halse Water Tower
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 มี.ค. 2024
- Welcome to Part 3 of our 'Ghosts of the GCR mainline' series.
We're moving north up the abandoned railway line from Woodford Halse to the end of the 'New Yard', built during WW2.
However we start our video on the outskirts of the sleepy village of Charwelton. We walk back down the Great Central Railway towards Woodford Halse, only a few miles away. Here we pass through the section of disused railway line that once contained the Charwelton Water Troughs.
Water was taken from the River Cherwell and pumped into troughs that sit between the rails.Steam locomotives would scoop water up into their tenders, meaning they could take on water without having to stop at a water tower or station.
We then move on to another water feature. This time the more conventional water tower that sat at the top of the sidings. Sat on the edge of woodland these days, but still in reasonable condition with a fascinating collection of values and old workings still decorating the inside.
**About this series**
We are visiting various locations on the GCR between Culworth Junction in Northamptonshire and Rugby in Warwickshire. Visiting former station sites, bridges, junctions, old infrastructure, viaducts, tunnels and some other interesting stuff.
Great Central Mainline was built as the London Extension of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire railway. Opening in 1899, it was designed to be as straight as possible with as little gradient as possible. Speed was the aim and express trains travelled between London Marylebone, Leicester, Nottingham, Sheffield and Manchester. It was the last UK mainline to be built before HS1 over a century later.
It thrived initially, however with a lack of upkeep, neglect and dwindling usage, it was mothballed during the great railway rationalisation of Dr Beeching in the 1960s - known as the Beeching Axe. Lost railway artefacts and relics are left scattered along the route.
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its criminal what was destroyed in the 60s and 70s, the railways would have been more viable than ever today, history destroyed forever, no proper station building anymore just silly bus type shelters and faceless stations, i was born in the 1950s and saw the end of all this, different world from today, fantastic vlogs again thank you.
Thanks Andy. It's a shame they went about with the buldozers so quickly too after closure.
Thank you for today’s walking tour. Very informative and enjoyable to view. See you on the next. Cheers Paul! 🇬🇧🙂👍🇺🇸
Thanks Martin. Take care. See you on the next one.
Fantastic video Paul, packed full of history and information. Keep those blue bricks coming! Thank you ☺️
😄 cheers David. Plenty of blue bricks on order.
That day was just getting better and better at that point, it's just as well I had such a substantial sandwich as the next sections were very energy dense!!!! That water tower was very impressive, it looked like you could re-equip it and it would be ready to work flat out again. I also loved the telegraph pole bit that we found, history right there.
Your sarnies are an inspiration Jim.
I've been reliving that day through doing all the editing. So many little bits I'd forgotten about already.
I'd just been looking at Newton's photographs and had seen the water troughs at Charwelton! I do like watching GCML explores, but it so maddening to see what we had, and could still have been using to great advantage, getting some traffic off the roads. Ach...
Newton's photos are great aren't they. If only there were digital and camera phones back then...
@@WobblyRunner Absolutely. Though, if things were digital back then, would we have any record at all? Most digital pictures are never printed and SD cards degrade. Maybe it all came at a fortunate time when so much care and effort went in to each plate.
superb video as always spot on
Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Another great video, ut it makes me so sad and angry that this wonderful line closed
Thanks John. Yep. And a shame it was quickly set about being demolished after cosure. I've no doubt it left alone it would have found new life.
Clever invention with the water scooping. I bet they had problems in cold conditions with water icing up tho
This is down south. They dont have ice down there do they? ;)
Deltics had water scoops when built
Another great video.The water tower was a good find and interesting like the before and after photos to keep up the good work Paul and will look out for your next adventure.
Cheers Chris. Fantastic that it's left sat there in a woods off the beaten track, isnt it. So mysterious.
Very interesting video Paul, I never knew about the water troughs at the side of the track to fill the steam engines that was ingenious. So much to see & the water tower still standing after all these years. Lovely blue brick bridges to see as well. Loving this series Paul. Take care see you soon! ❤😊👍
Thank you very much Carol. The troughs were new to me too 😊. I can't believe I'd not read about them before given there were some near Killamarsh.
@@WobblyRunner you will always find something new on explores I never noticed them at Killamarsh either! 😆❤
Hi fantastic video i think that firat concrete post was the marker for the start of the water troughs.Im sure that you can still find both starting and finishing concreat posts to mark the start and end of the water troughs. The one closer to the new yard is a more overgrown.
Great stuff. That didn't even occur to me 👍
There is a video on TH-cam showing the discarded water trough sections at a spot on the west coast main line , they were just thrown down a banking .
That would have been great to see. I'll have a look for that. Makes you wonder if anything was left discarded here and burried over time in the undergrowth.
Nice one Paul, that water tower was fab, and that bit of footage of it mate. Shouldn’t mind a nose up there myself.
Worth the 3+ hour round trip 😄
We need to sort out a video soon.
@@WobblyRunner absolutely buddy, I’d like to come up north and look at summat juicy lol
Im always fascinated by how much is still left to see great video again😊
Cheers James. Im amazed how much of this water tower remains. Inside too.
I should add fascinating episode. Loved that water tower which is in such great nick. More should be made of such a treasure. Is scrap metal worth less down south or are there just less scallies?!
It's great isn't it. It probably helps it that it's hard to get to by road... and even footpath for that matter 😄
I did have to read it and weep Jim! Awesome egg and bacon butties. If (when) we meet there will be a buttie off 😊
Ante upped.
😄 I need to film that buttie off
Another great video Paul. That water tower is amazing. I wonder if its still connected to a supply?
Oooh good question. I guess we'll never know 😄
Just think if the advice of the late 1990's was followed the Great Central would be operating HS2 trains now
Would have loved to have seen that
I remember following a series about that. I have a vivid memory of Lutterworth where they were valuing houses as the back gardens had gone across the track bed. Towards the end of the series, things really seemed to be really close to bringing the GCR back. Even the preserved railway were accommodated with a plan to rehome them. But then a family of rare newts were discovered somewhere along the route (can't remember where but it was in a cutting that was no longer draining) and that meant a Quango had the "go"/"no go" call for the whole project. So for the sake the newts, they said "no go" and that was that.