GCR - Calvert Station
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ย. 2024
- Join me and the team as we explore this once proud station on the Great Central Railway which is about to be consumed by HS2. Although some features still remain it wont be long until this station is consigned to history. A sad end to a wonderful piece of engineering. We look around the remains and record what we have found.
I always feel strange when, a line I travelled on, including the last GC special 3/9/1966 is shewn as it is today. I guess that rather than disappearing into forest or housing estate or another motorway, to be partly re-used as a modern railway, is something of a consolation.
Thanks for watching. I do feel the same in a way but the complete devastation of the area is inexcusable.
@@MiddyExplores The devastation which is totally unnecessary is to make the most money possible for the people planning it and doing the construction.
A crying shame to see those mainline bridges go. Thanks for sharing while they are still here.
Thank you for watching. It is a crying shame as most are in great condition but I suppose this is progress ☹️
So many people wanting the GCR to reopen but there was no way it would have done so in its old format. So this was going to happen. But it is sad to see these old relics going. Looking forward to more.
Thanks for watching. Unfortunately progress always wins. It is in poor shape though.
A brilliant capture of history before it all goes, I'm going to try and get myself down there too. The presumption is Sunday would be the best day of the week, as it looked pretty deserted for a weekday!!! I love those platforms, hopefully I'll get to them before they get demolished.
As always thanks for watching. Yes I would recommend a visit as I don't think it's got long left. Very sad sight but well worth the effort. There is so much more in the immediate area as well which you will see on the channel over the coming weeks👍😃
@@MiddyExplores Did you call in at Helmdon Station? I did that and Catesby Tunnel on the way back from a competition in Swindon, great day out believe me.
@@seamusmcevoy2011 yes we did helmdon station and viaduct which is an absolute beauty.
@@MiddyExplores The viaduct nearly took my breath away, like most of the infrastructure on the GCR it's bloody enormous!! The cutting leading to Helmdon Station from the south is incredible, the width of it is just amazing. I'm competing down in Rugby on Saturday so will be following in your footsteps by doing the Great Central Walk, looking forward especially to Rugby Central Station and the bridges. I'm just hoping the weather stays clear/dry long enough to get some good stills. I may even pop down to Willoughby just south of Rugby where there is a GCR signal still standing, mind you once I've done my Hammer Throw competition and walked around Rugby, I may well be too knackered for that!!!
Is it being incorporated into the HS2 route then? ....or is the whole area bring levelled for a housing development?
Great work. I was born 1\4 mile from the GCR. I went out with Linda a few times. What a woman! Up goes to London.
Thanks for watching. Lovely old site shame it is being redeveloped and effectively destroyed.
The Hamblet bricks got me googling, and I found a great blog where someone had researched the whole family and contacted the 4x great-granddaughter for more info and pictures. Very interesting stuff. Then went on to streetview and looked from the top of that beautiful bridge when there was still track down in 2021, plus found some pictures of the former station and a shot of the construction site in 1897(looking a bit similar but somewhat less destructive then the present)! Hope those bricks were saved for the reunification project. Surely they must have first dibs when these former structures are removed? One can hope so. Fantastic to see it from trackbed level, cleared back to reveal something of what it looked like in 1899.
Thanks for watching. To my knowledge nothing was saved but I hope I am wrong. The platforms are now gone along with that glorious platelayers hut and the bridges further down which I visited. Also the station masters house has gone and the houses nearby. A friend was there the day the house went and asked the same question you have and was told the lot was being used for infill or disposed of. A sad end to this once lovely station.
@@MiddyExplores Oh no, that's heart breaking. So little thought or respect for so much back-breaking work. I read that the bridge spans were so wide so that the lines could be quadrupled at a later date. They really did think ahead, unlike Beeching. A shame you didn't take a chisel and hammer and rescue some of the bricks while no-one was about!
@@ceanothus_bluemoon yes the whole line was set up for expansion a real lack of foresight when they closed this. There is no respect for these historic structures it's such a shame. It would be great to save things!!!
I'm making the trip from Lincs on Sunday, fingers crossed that the platforms are still intact, then I'm making my way back via Brackley(Viaduct remains, track bed and Station), the bridge over the M45 and Lutterworth(Station remains and track bed), should be a good day out.
While I'm glad some of the route of the GCR is being put to good use again, I think it's a shame to lose what remained of Calvert station. I'd like to have seen it re-opened as some sort of Parkway station
Totally agree. It's such a shame that they are using some of the GCR but losing all the features. A real shame and a missed opportunity to build a really usable railway
The locals are not keen on a station as it would bring development and housing.
I had no idea the track had been lifted, let alone that the whole lot was due for demolition! I hate how much railway history HS2 is destroying
Thanks for watching. All in the name of progress... The platforms have gone now and I have been informed it won't be long before the bridge is gone as well ☹️
Good to see that this stretch of line will be used again- not for misty eyed nostalgia but to create a fab new railway to Birmingham.
Thanks for watching. As a lover of old architecture i am incredibly sad that its being demolished but also I love the idea of progress so I am stuck in the middle somewhere! it would have nbeen nice to keep some features but in reality i know this would be nigh on impossible.
Interesting explore by you and the scallywags ! Vic.
😂 thanks Vic! It was a great day. See you soon mate 👍
Shame to see the G C being destroyed in the name of progress. Sadly it was 120 years before its time. At least a bit of the route is being re used as a high speed line again.
Up was always towards London on almost all railways. The N. E. R. however had Up toward York, and their railway cottages were always numbered with number one at the York end.
Just a useless fact you might enjoy!
Thanks for documenting what is still there and soon to be destroyed. Always a pleasure to see what is left of our railway heritage.
Thanks for watching. Since I filmed that a lot more has gone sadly there is now no more station masters house and the platforms are all but gone. A sad end but like you said it was ahead of its time.
Shocked by the devastation at Calvert . Is not that long ago I stood on that bridge and watched trains passing underneath going to the waste unit . Very sad to see more removal of any signs of the GCR .
Surprised they did not use this track bed to link the new Oxford Cambridge link to Aylesbury . More use than HS2 .
Another great vid thanks for capturing before it's completely gone .
Looking forward to your next adventure .
Thank you and thanks for watching. Unfortunately I don't think it will be long before this is gone. Cannot believe the size of the hs2 operations! I agree the line could have been used for other reasons
@@MiddyExplores Not totally surprised by the excavation as have seen the works by the M25 , Does seem a bit excessive considering the land is almost flat . Still I am sure by the time HS2 is built will be just a blot on the landscape and hardly used , can't see it will ever make money .
@@DesigntowinLew I expect they will 'make good' eventually. Whether the line will make money in the future I am not sure...
The plans for HS2 allow for the Aylesbury-Calvert link to be reinstated, there's also going to be a new waste loading point.
That shed at 12.10 ,,take a look at the brickwork,,you do,nt see that these days so so neat
Thanks for watching. The whole area was so well built tbh but sadly has now been completely flattened by hs2
HS2 is to the East of here so unlikely to take anything out.
The "HS2 diverging" you point out is tye Wattime installed link ftom GC to LMS at Calvert junction and was in use for refuse trains until Claydon tip shut.
Thanks for watching and for the information
Hs2 brought a few 100,000 tonne of stone to Calvert down the line from Aylesbury before it was lifted. A load more will be moved into a depot near Quainton via Aylesbury. The works around Calvert are extensive as east west crosses hs2 and the maintenance depot for hs2 will be built just to the north of east west.
Thanks for watching and for the information. It's always good to find out what's happening. I am still not decided if I am a fan of hs2 or not really!
@@MiddyExplores yes may be the wrong solution for north south capacity. Politics does not always end up with a logical plan. The approach of Network Rail (east west) and HS2 to build standards and works are very different.
Extremely interesting, thank you 😃👍👍👍
Thank you for watching 👍
Nice video, the rubbish pile by the occupation bridge was the crap left over from a HS2 rebellion protesters camp that was there. Glad you enjoyed your walk about. 👍
Thanks for watching and the information. Makes sense with the bridge graffiti.
As you say an historic document! And it is a shame those houses are to go as well. I must agree with you those 1895 bricks would be worth saving if you can when they break the bridge. Do you know the time table for its demolition.
Incidentally tracks heading toward London are UP lines so the others are DOWN lines.
Thanks for watching. The up/down thing always gets me! The road is due for closure soon so imagine it won't be long. I will update on my channel.
I have a contact chap in hs2 I’ll find out when it’s going
Fantastic! No surprise that HS2 is following the GCR
Thank you for watching. That whole station and house has now gone, and the plate layers hut didn't survive either a real shame in the name of progress.
Excellent record of the last piece of GCR infrastructure at the London end - I believe??? Just to add to another comment, in Rail Network terms anything heading towards London is generally referred to as an "Up" line. At least there will still be a railway in the location and not another Business Park or Housing Estate with a "Beeching Way" as an entrance road!!
Thank you for watching. It is now almost completely gone so I am glad I caught it before the bulldozers moved in. Yes I have lost track of how many Beeching Ways I have seen!
@@MiddyExplores Where you showed the HS2 deviating to the right, I believe that is just the access to the new HS2 Maintenance Depot - as I understand it the actual line will still follow the course of the former GCR formation up to Brackley where it will then follow its own path across the A43?? One way or another that poor old Occupation Crossing will not take a lot to demolish!!!
I got down there today and took some great photos. Sadly there's now only a short stub of platform left under the bridge and the place is now swarming with security. They actually caught me on the track bed taking photos of the platform, apparently there's been a number of videos of the Station which they say is encouraging (and I quote) "people like you to come down", I wonder who could possibly have been videoing on the track bed!!!!
No idea 😂 it's just a trackbed I have no idea why they get like that. If you are genuine then there is no problems
@@MiddyExplores Apparently it's private, but I didn't see any signs, plus there was nobody working so I thought I'd be ok. There's fencing up everywhere now, I had to do a fair bit of climbing to get down to the track bed. The real shame was the destruction of the platform, such a travesty.
For the railway it is a health and safety risk. However high or low the risk might be, protecting the public from potentially dangerous situations is the priority. This site is a building site; PPE has to be worn. Just because there is no one working there doesn't mean it isn't dangerous for those who aren't aware what is under their feet.
@@LEVELCROSSING225 Spoilsport🤣😂!!!!!
It's upto London and down from London.
thank you! and thanks for watching.
When the GCR London extension was built it was Down to London and Up from London. At some stage during its life, possibly during grouping, the line designations were swapped around to Up to London and Down from London. Strange old world!
@@peterrobinson3646 I will blame them changing it for my confusion.!!
Those engineering bricks should be recycled. They would invaluable to the heritage sector. Hope someone is on to them.
Thanks for watching. Sadly I think they just got bulldozed although I totally agree with you that they could have been saved. Unfortunately as we have seen nothing stands in the way of progress
Whilst I support high speed rail, I would have thought there was enough room on that site for the new line and for the houses to remain. The new high speed routes in Europe aren't that wide - this project looks more like a motorway construction - is HS2 over-specified?
Thank you for watching. My thoughts entirely and I cannot imagine for a second that so much destruction accompanied the GCR when it was built. More videos coming from that area very soon with more pictures of the HS2.
Can’t make anything today without causing the mother of all messes and without costing the earth totally lost the plot Imho - great clip though , nice to see the old GCR as was
Just to briefly add to my Facebook comment, thank you for posting videos like this. I don’t have my own transport so find it almost impossible to venture out too far. Another 10/10 rating from me.
Thank you David for your support and kind comments. Loads more videos on the way👍
UP & DOWN. UP is always towards London. DOWN is always towards anywhere else!
Thank you that's a good way to remember it 👍
My friend the line is all ways to London. So were even you are you will know x fireman.
Thank you! Good to have some knowledge of these things! Thanks for watching
Hi you guy's what I should off put is up to London and down to ever were else .Hope that's a bit clearer for you .
All needs photographing and brick counting ideal for scale models
Maybe they could use the bricks from demolishing the bridge to make the new bridge that they are making on the GCR. ( the unification project)
Thanks for watching. Would be great if they could
Up towards London
Thank you and thanks for watching 👍
Scrap HS2. Oh, it's too late now. It's such a shame that the GCR will be lost. Great video capturing things before it's lost forever.
Thanks for watching. All in the name of progress unfortunately. Lovely to see the old place before it goes though.
Part of the GCR has been preserved - Leicester North to Loughborough as a heritage railway. Well worth a visit.
So, what is on the Calvert station now ? Love this.
Thanks for watching. All that remains now is the bridge. The platforms have gone along with the station masters house and that lovely old hut. The bridge will be replaced eventually as well as HS2 will cut through this exact spot. Very sad and a real loss of history to the area.
@@MiddyExplores Thank you for the update, it is the same here in Australia! The old stations were beautiful, unlike today's efforts.
@@pambrown8697 totally agree. The new stations here are totally devoid of character, such a shame this old architecture isn't appreciated. I would love to film some of Australia!! One day perhaps!!
Was here yesterday platform gone apart from a little bit by the bridge
Thank you for watching. Apparently it's not long now until the whole bridge comes down. Very sad in the name of progress 😢
@@MiddyExplores looking at signs may be July
@@Mac_Cam very very sad
nice one again mate 😀 for some reason i've had to subscribe again? i've been following you for over a year now no wonder i don't get notifications these days
Thanks buddy. I have checked mine with you as well and it says all good?! Hopefully it should sort itself. Thanks for your support 👍
Watkins opened the g,c,r in 1899 and got beachinized in 1969 !!! The line to London was the up line!!!!!I worked there for a week laying cables on the s,and t ,,for br !!!! 1987 !! Back then there were train loads of waste going to the quarry there from London trash
Thank you for watching. It did not have much of a life before being butchered by beeching! Thank you for the information 👍
Are you allowed to walk along there ? Or do you need authorisation....? Love the vlog very interesting, see how it changes over the years
Thanks for watching. Not anymore as it's nearly all gone unfortunately. Thank you for your comments plenty more videos coming up every week 👍
Is HS2 using all that land where you walked and shown us around. ? What's happening after they have knocked the houses down on the left at the beginning
Up to London
Thank you and thanks for watching
If they simply restored the GCR, there'd be no need for the other thing.
Thanks for watching. Way to simple for this or any other government! Absolute mess they have caused and continue to do. Should neverr have been closed in the first place
@@MiddyExplores Seconded.
The track bet your on heading to Leicester is the up line and of course the London line is the down line
Thank you always get them mixed up! Thanks for watching 👍
Visited that little occupation bridge in 2020 as we walked around the nature reserve and it was totally hidden by trees and bushes. Now it looks like world war 3 has hit it, or rather HS2! Such a shame.. 😔
Thanks for watching. Yes it's a real shame as it had some nice features. It really felt that hs2 is consuming everything in its path!
@@MiddyExplores Glad my 4 year old, George, saw it before it goes, he loves your GCR video's by the way keep up the good work! 👍
@@jasonchandler2079 that's fantastic and thank you George is definitely my youngest fan! Thank you for watching and the kind comments. Loads more coming up on the GCR in the next few weeks 👍
So no chance now of connecting Aylesbury with east west rail as the old freight line is gone. How many tracks do they need on hs2? If they are budozing houses they must need 6 or 8 tracks as the existing trackbed could have accommodated 4 easily. Hs2 is such a waste of money which no one will ever use.
Thanks for watching. I am not sure exactly what the plans are there for hs2 but the works are massive and indicate a massive railway!! It certainly divides opinion, I was all for it until I saw the destruction it's bringing with it.
@@MiddyExplores connecting Aylesbury with east west rail or even funding the Bedford to Cambridge rail tunnel would be a much better use of the money. A railway already exists between London and Birmingham yet they won't pay for places that aren't currently connected to rail to be connected. Useless Tory government who hopefully will be out in the next general election. All Tories think about are the needs of the elite few not commuters who would use east west rail and an Aylesbury link. That electjon cant come quickly enough. HS1 is only 2 tracks so why the need for at least 6 tracks for HS2? Perhaps useless Tories might change it to a fat motorway since they love their cars so much, at least the space needed makes sense if a 6 lane motorway is planned.
Here's a radical solution.... Don't build HS2, but where possible reopen some of the old lines. They could be used for freight, etc. That would relieve the main routes of some traffic. At the end of the day, people don't need to move at 200 mph between cities, how about living life and travelling at a bit more sedate pace? 🤔
Absolutely agree. You have my vote 👍 I was a fan of hs2 but I must honest this trip changed my view!
HS2 is being built to provide more capacity on the existing west coast main line so that high speed trains are not hindered by slow moving local trains and freight trains
There is a purpose in building HS2. Trouble is there is little point in reopening this stretch of the GCR as you can already access mainline railway at Rugby, Aylesbury, Northampton etc. Prior to 1899 this village didn’t have a railway station nor did Charwelton or Helmdon. A reopened GCR would simply duplicate the ex MR route
Thanks for showing us that mate I’m from Wales so I’ll probably never get to see any of it, fascinated by the Great Central I am not a fan of HS2 I think it’s a vanity project for wealthy elitists never benefits the plebs that pay for it.
Thanks for watching. Couldn't have put it better myself! I was a fan for a while but now it's been curtailed and after seeing the damage to the environment I have changed my view.