The GHOST Railways of England
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 เม.ย. 2024
- I take a look at two former railways which were closed in 1960s and have remained so ever since. The first example is a section of the Varsity line between Bedford and Sandy, which the National Cycle Route 51 now occupies (I think I forgot to mention that in the video). The second line is part of the Bedford to Northampton branch, which is partly-occupied by Stevington Country Walk which I traverse.
Along the way I see plenty of reminders that each were working railways in the past. Bridges, huts, etc.
Thanks for watching!
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I can't quite describe the feeling of seeing old, forgotten railways, buildings, and roads. I wouldn't say the feeling is exactly nostalgia, but i can't help but feel a strong connection to these things.
A yearning for a time long gone, days we never witnessed, only read about. And so few people actually care about these things or even bother to remember nowadays.
I wish I could have seen it all.
I don’t watch many TH-cam videos as they just annoy me, but you, your different, your humour, wit and presence makes for a great video🙌Keep them coming🤙
Thanks Marcus!
COAL TRAIN BRIDGE.
Next to this site used to be the Bedford power station which was fed coal from this line.
The power station sat in the fields by river field housing estate.
Thanks mate! Had a feeling it could be to do with the power station.
I fkn love this guy. He’s a top man and his videos are pure class👌🏼
Your presenting style is brilliant. We all love a disused railway! Nice one.
Thanks Ringway!
@@BrickDust It makes you look like a prick - turn your camera around and focus on the scenery and surroundings, not yourself. Can still give commentary, but doesn't need to be all about you.
The old blue brick bridges and viaducts look far better than the ugly concrete ones that they are building on HS2.
They are feats of engineering and enduring works of art, but you have to wonder what people said about them, and the railways, when they were built.
Just subscribed before you blow up 🎉. Keep up the great work bud
This channel is quickly becoming one of my favourites!
Absolutely love the video Andrew, the commentary is brilliant and love the witty comments too. The brick built huts you came across are called Plate Layers huts, they are shelters for the Permanent Way gangs keeping the track in good condition as things like rotten sleepers need replacing etc..
Hope that helps?
Thank you Peter!
Excellent video and great watch of the Varsity Line along National Cycle Route 51!
Regarding the bridge at 8:14:
According to a google maps review: "The bridge is as shown, but the references to this being the bridge used to supply coal to the power station are incorrect. That bridge was near the entrance to Priory Country Park at TL07234949. The springers for the bridge can be seen on both sides of the New Cut which was crossed at an angle, and the gates into the power station are still present in the railings on the north side. You can even match the existing railings next to the car park to those in the photo of the train crossing the bridge in the interpretation board at TL07914968. If you look up old maps online you can see the route the railway took into the power station's sidings. The bridge in this photo is nothing to do with the power station and may just be a farm bridge, though I'm not sure of its exact purpose."
(Likely it was for farmers to cross over the railway and be able to look down and see the train come through, as you said)
Please upload more soon, your personality is awesome, the topics are very fascinating to me and I like the way you question things such as “I wonder who was the last person to be here before it was closed” and “I wonder if they are aware they are the last one”. There’s always a last time for everything. Im from north east England so there’s lots of coal mining history in my area, a lot of the railways and wagon ways of bygone industries now used as dog walking routes haha
Thank you! Don't worry, I have lots of video ideas in the pipeline.
For those that don't know those massive airship sheds were part of the former RAF Cardington which is now the training centre for dvsa driving examiners 😊
These kinds of videos are always better enjoyed on Sundays for some reason.
Oasis!!! RIP to a great swimming pool! Memories are good.
My local pool shut down during covid. It reopened as a gym that you noe need membership for. The most frustrating part is how the waterslides are still there, just rotting away
I went in there as a kid , when did it close down
@@scottjohnevans97 think it closed up properly in 2023
@@BagMan42 wow would've guessed at least 10 years earlier
@@scottjohnevans97 yeah don't hold me to that, because I thought the same I assumed it closed long ago
Great to see this, delivered well and very interesting. As an engineer who has worked on railways, I enjoy seeing evidence of a bygone era - shame the railway network has shrunk, would be so useful to have some of those lines running today... Also, enjoyed the raod video too, always been curious about abandoned roads in the middle of nowhere
Thanks for watching, Matt!
Another well presented and informative film! Well done buddy!
If I close my eyes, I hear James Buckley in your voice! 😅 Very interesting vids with your ghost roads and tracks, I’ve subbed 👍
Ps. Metal detecting alongside the old rail tracks is a great idea for a vid.
You're not the first person to say that, and you certainly won't be the last 😂
Thanks for the sub! Definitely considering going out metal detecting.
@@BrickDust haha, it’s uncanny! 😂 Shout out to Dick from 1988, hope he’s watching 👋😆
Actually in the 1963 Beeching report it was recommended the line stay open. I think BR wanted it closed
Another Solid video Andrew. Looking forward to the next one! 👍🏼
Hello mate. That thing you found. Its an old brown ceramic telegraph pole insulator.
Oh yes. 😮
Loving your videos and your presenting style, keep 'em coming, xx
Jimmy Hill, legend
That was hilarious, he does genuinely resemble him a bit
Keep up the good work! Really enjoy the way you present these videos, look forward to seeing you branch out to other locations 👍🏼😀
This channel alongside Dime Store Adventures have quickly become my favourite thing to watch on TH-cam. I’m looking forward to seeing many more adventures as your channel flourishes!
Awesome. I love this as I’m just down the road In St Neots. Love this channel and the effort involved. Keep it up. You’re doing a sterling job! 👍👍
I really enjoyed this thank you, keep up the good work.
Cheers Frank!
Fantastic video. I'm fairly local myself and know these lines. If I see you walking them, I might buy you a beer. Thanks for finding the access to the Turvey section of the Bedford-Northampton which I didn't. On the Varsity Line closure though, you may be surprised to learn that one wasn't down to Beeching.
Another fantastic video! Please keep them coming! 😊
Loving the channel, I too am a fan of documenting the fascinating hidden remnants hiding in the woods
Another brilliant and interesting video! Just as I was wanting an old railway video too!
Weirdly enough I was thinking about this as a potential sequel to your ghost roads video given the amount of disused railways that there are in the UK, was shocked when I saw the notif like you read my mind 🤣
Me too, clearly we got a message through the consciousness field 🤣
Another great video, escapism at its finest ❤
I actually hurt when I see horrible housing estates on rail lines. It's the finality of it.
Awesome, been looking forward to this one!
Same, I've comparing my local maps with old schematics, such as the construction of A16. What's annoying is that it was built across fields that were pleasant walkways.
This is another brilliant video. Thank you for showing me more of my hometown!
Cheers Ben!!
Crikey, my old news patch. Bedfordshire. Another superb video! Long may you film!
Ey up me duck.
The brown ceramic article you found was a ceramic pylon electricity insulator...
2.28k subscribers at the time of this comment after just three videos, I think your channel will do well if you carry on like this.
Well done me owd.
*A subscriber 🙂👍
Thank you, appreciate that! 😃
Love this mate, very interesting there's a big abandoned railways line near me
I have a fond memory as a kid when google earth was still very new, sitting up late at night with my dad and following along the old great central railway line and we traced it all the way to london. We both still like exploring old features on maps and on walks :)
I grew up in bedford and find your content interesting. Keep up the great work!
Cheers! Stay tuned for more!
Good stuff mate. I live and work round bedford and kempston. really interesting vids. think i passed you when you where doing the chimney corner vid. keep it up.
Another great video, just shows you what is still hidden out there, gone but not forgotten. Mick H
Cheers Mick. New one out tonight.
This is so cool. I absolutely love trains, especially steam trains so seeing these and imagining the steam trains is ace.
It'd be awesome to see you travel the UK doing these on the ghost roads and train lines 💜
Bedford Oasis!
Used to love going swimming there back in the day :)
Great vid! Loved seeing those old stations saved as housing. I've had a fair hand in designing a similar job out Norfolk way recently, there's numerous ghost lines out here.
Keep it up mate im from the local area love finding out about the local history 👍
its amazing that there are thousands of miles of old abandoned railways all over the UK , which are all freely traversable as bridle paths. you can walk from the sleepy East Yorkshire town of Hornsea all the way to Liverpool without setting foot on a road.
That's a great little fact!
lots of old railways near where I live, it's a really interesting topic, hopefully someday these railways see life again.
Love the video once again, very well done and good to watch, find all this super interesting! I've been doing this for about 10 years since I was 19, started by just spending hours on Google earth because it's interesting and then I was like wait what's that, and realised my village used to have a railway station. So I decided to walk it one day in 2014, done absolutely loads since! Found abandoned roads, where roads have been re-aligned all sorts. I always think nobody else is interested since nobody I know understands why I do it lol! Also done a ton of building urban exploring which people seem to find more interesting. Not for TH-cam or anything just me exploring. Recently explored another disused railway near me that's literally been totally forgotten, multiple bridges but so hidden you'd never know they are there, especially as they pass single track roads nobody uses. Lots of very old bottles too ;) if you ever fancy travelling down to Essex / find yourself near the haverhill end of Essex (I know haverhill is Suffolk tho) I'd be happy to show you and share what I've found over the years!:) keep up the videos absolutely love them 👍
That hand-crank story time was fun! You need one of those backpacks (knapsack, rucksack...?) that holds "Wellies" on the back! Thanks for doing what you do! Cheers from the other side of the puddle!
Thanks for the upload enjoyed... Daz.
Another interesting line was the Sheffield line. Just outside Bedford is the old warden tunnel. Pretty cool
Great content
My dad’s house is built on an old railway track, we knew there was one which ran through the area then we discovered old sleepers deep under the back garden. The old station (Worsley) is about a mile walk away, it’s is also a ghost station though the platforms still remain.
Love the fact you discovered the old sleepers under the garden. Great bit of history!
Funnily enough, the footage of the first viaduct being exploded is my local line (well, ex line I guess). The station building still exists, then there's a industrial estate with the road built on the line, harshly called "Beeching Road". A newer road was built on the second part. But the rural part either side of the old viaduct still exists with some relics left. The viaduct crossed a portion of marsh as the line raised in elevation either side.
you can use those nice ghost railways for pedal driven "Draisine" touring as we call those pedal driven railway vehicles. That makes nice tourist attraction, you can build draisines for 8 people or 11 people with lots of pedals. Only the tracks must have been left.
I followed an old track bed on Google maps . I was surprised to find a steam engine and several coaches sitting on a small stretch of remaining track in somebody’s garden.
That old station building is beautiful, I'm glad it still stands. Also maybe get some comfy wellies or something?
Greetings from a fellow railway explorer. Google Earth and the old Victorian/Edwardian maps are a godsend for us explorers. I’ve enjoyed this video very much and of course subscribed so I can watch some more. Happy exploring. Ron.
Cheers Ron! Looks like you have a very interesting channel, I look forward to watching some of your videos.
I’d love to see you combine these fun historic route walks with some metal detecting and magnet fishing 😉 A bit like the bottle you found it adds more to the story.
Great idea!
I love see a haunted places one day on your videos
there’s a really good abandoned 2 mile bit of railway in greenock scotland, massive bridges and tunnels to see if you every make your way up there
Fascinating video once again! Somehow you even make the fence posts interesting.
I'm still a little surprised they didn't just reuse more of the old route for East-West Rail. I know further west (Bletchley - Oxford) the route is mostly the same.
The cottage near Stevington has gotten worse since I first saw it about 15 years ago. Every time I walk that route it seems to be getting worse! I've also walked further along on to picts hill estate - not much to see that I remember. (It was with permission I should add... the farmer nearby doesn't take kindly to visitors)
Given this is all local to me as well, I need to get back out there and see what else there is to see!
Thanks! Shame about the cottage, some of those walls probably don't have long left!
This is Distinguished map skills well done Good drills that
There used to be a narrow gauge railway on the Stevington Walk, I used to be a member but was forced to move due to metal thefts … Great pub shame it closed down
Please come to the redditch railway it's the end of the line, but once upon a time, the track used to carry on! Long story short, there's a tunnel underground. There's only one-way round to access it. well, worth a look!!! 👍
I'll bare that one in mind. Sounds interesting!
@@BrickDust let us know il show you 👍
Nice little video
Keep them coming
i was cycling on the bedford to Sandy bit when you were filming this dunno how i didnt see you
You've gotta do old runways, airfield and airplane parking areas, easy to identify with the unique concrete squares!
That hut was like a visitors book, maybe you should sign it if you go back.
I thought it was Tom Fraser that closed the line. Enjoyed the video, thank you.
Loved it dude. Glad you didn’t actually soil ya self 😅 would love to come along one stroll and a pint with you one day!
Cheers Thom! 🍻
Haa just been into tesco next door.
My girlfriend has her horse stables slap bang next to the old line in Willington. I walk my dogs along the old line most days. Nice wonder. You’ll see the original oak fence which lined it in stages. In the car park of the danish camp you’ll see the old weigh bridge.
In Gosport there is an old railway track that went from Fareham to Gosport. All now gone apart from a few stations and platforms now homes or overgrown. Gosport is a big town without a functioning railway station since it was bombed during the war. For years it remained a ruin, now awful flats
I used to go to that pool as a kid that's some nostalgia for me 🤣
Don't you just love those "wait a bit" bushes? Very common on branch lines.
Sometimes, the audio doesn't seem to be synchronised with the video, but otherwise, anorher great video, Andrew! Thank you very much, very enjoyable 👍🏼😄
Thank you very much! I'm working on the audio, hopefully there will be less and less unsynchronised audio in each video going forward.
you have "one of those voices", and you are very aware of it
Great video 😊 Please can you do the Bedford to Hitchin line ? You've also got the Nickey Line not too far away
you need to have a look at oswestry to welshpopol, most of the track still remains. also theres a great abandoned railway tunnel between rhayader + st harmon. follow the old track from the hairpin by the nature reserve
I walked that line a few years ago, but in the opposite direction to what you’re doing. Should be reopened once they’ve finished the other section between Bletchley and Bicester/Aylesbury.
You are like the replacement figure for Tom Scott, ...there is a discontinued railway line that went from Didcot nr Oxford down to Winchester where it got axed before it could continue westward, they have reopened the Hermitage to Hampstead Norris as a pedestrian and cycle path, they want to reopen more to provide the public with a place with which to travel at leisure or fitness, but many parts are now on private land so it will never be the same route, ha, James Buckley Ive said that before but forgot until his pic popped up! 😂
Very nice of you to say! Always liked Tom Scott's stuff. Yes it's good when the railway lines are repurposed like that..shame that sections have been built on and the routes spoilt.
I'm glad you did a second video. You have a very good and interesting channel. Would you ever consider doing old ww2 airfields too? There's plenty of them in old maps with the runaway still there
Absolutely! Definitely would be interested in going to one.
Your opening words that you were in Egypt Meade me thing you were in burnham beeches near slough. Cc which really is called Egypt
But walking disused railways is interesting
In course of my work I walked most of Stirling to Alloa and Kincardine. In Scotland. And then some years later involved in the commissioning of the reinstated railway>> veery satisfying
The route of the varsity line through Sandy station and then on to Cambridge is also quite visible
SPB
The platform you depict at Willington is not the station as used by passengers. What this is is the sidings used to load goods and the old weighbridge also exists close by. Willington passenger station remains are discernable but not obvious. Station name board also exists with local collector.
Latest news is that Bedford Borough Council is protesting about 38 (not 65) houses to be demolished. BBC in fact are saying the reinstated line is 'not necessary'.
Great video! Ever considered diving more into derelict pubs? I've found The Lost Pubs Project is a great tool to find them all over Britain. Growing up in the East End it's an unfortunately common sight to see these once great pillars of the community redeveloped into housing or demolished entirely, so a video on them might be interesting!
Definitely planning on doing a lost pubs video!
lol I walk there all the time, there’s llamas at the end of that long long long route, 🛣️ so cool to see someone in my town document this shit haha
you should make a vid exploring stewartby brickworks
@BrickDust - Andrew! Great video!
If you're ever interested in old railways of the Cotswolds, come by Cheltenham!
Cheers! Thanks for letting me know.
20:35 looks like a ceramic electrical cable holder like you see on power lines
Aren’t they reusing this former track bed you are walking on to reopen the Oxford to Cambridge line, now called EastWest rail?
Wow just found this, Enjoyed Subscribed, But one question, Is the train finally going to stop Cambourne Wednesday's ?
I don't think we ever will stop Cambourne Wednesdays!
Im sure you will do the milton keynes railway walk one day too
Another very enjoyable video.
Were you not spinning the magic voice post the wrong way?
Thank you! Haha, quite possibly 😂
Don’t blame Beeching totally. He only identified lines and stations that lost money. He wasn’t responsible for closing them. Two people share that honour. Earnest Marples who was not only the Minister for Transport but a director of Marples Ridgeway who built roads. A definite conflict of interest. Next was Barbara Castle who carried on closing them based on the original report.
Beeching specifically didn't do his report in summer, when many lines that appeared unprofitable in other seasons, were making so much money they paid for the rest of the year and still turned profits.
20:50 maybe an isolator for electric cables?
Interesting video. BUT. Richard Beeching had left the Railways Board by June 1965 when he returned to work at ICI. A Labour Government came to power in October 1964. The Transport Minister who let the Varsity line close, was Barbara Castle. Both the Conservative and Labour parties, shut down large parts of the Railway network. So NOT a Beeching cut.
The Varsity Line is in the process of being rebuilt.
you should go and look at the old Bedford St Joins station that closed in the 80s the platfoms and lamp posts are still there and the bedford to hitchin line and old warden tunnel
Thanks for the suggestions 🙂
16:55, did a photoshoot in there 😂😂