You can travel anywhere in Britain without any knowledge of it. It's not as if you're given a geography quiz before you can buy a train or bus ticket, lol.
I have a friend who becomes near apoplectic about the name "Three Bridges". He points out that whilst there are three levels; the railway, the canal and the roadway, there are only two actual bridges. He's only calmed down by a pint or two in a local pub. On the subject of the costs of the project, and the speculation that it was due to being under so much stress when in poor health, all I can say is that it's quite difficult to find a project that Brunel was involved with that didn't considerably exceed the original estimate.
It could be argued that the upper, road, bridge is two of the three bridges since it crosses two obstructions, the canal and the railway. Try that on your friends apoplexy meter. 🤣🤣
I only counted two bridges too but didn't get upset about it. It's just one of those whimsical features that make these videos so delightful. Does your friend know about Junction Road Junction near Gospel Oak? The railway junction is clearly named, as is often the case, after the road; but how did the road get its name? There's a fine calming pub (the Southampton Arms) close by, too!
Well there's an old foot bridge (or abandoned road bridge?) across the railway at the canal, that's the third one. Next time someone tries to scam a beer out of you, you know better. ;)
You can see Brentford Docks in the 'Hard Days Night' film. The scenes where Ringo has escaped from the others and is talking to a lad next to the river. These were filmed on the Kew side opposite the docks.
The Brentford branch is very much alive and well - The rubbish train does not go to land fill but to a multi million pound incinarator build at Sevenside close to Avonmouth on the former ICI chemical plant. you will need to get up well early if you want to see the "Binliner" as it runs 6 days a week at around 1am then back to Southall and then over to Northolt. There are other flows to Day & Sons these are pre-crushed stone and "Fly ash". The Brentford branch uses a "Train staff and Ticket" system of signaling (It`s a pain in the arse if there is a train down at Brentford with the "Staff" as you need the "Staff" at Southall to be able to retrieve the "Ticket". The Line speed is 10mph from Southall to 3 bridge`s then up to a heady 25mph.
Having been brought up in Southall in the 60s and 70s the Brentford branch became my favourite line as I regularly visited the iconic Three Bridges. Thank you for featuring this quirky branch. Long may it survive. Shame it never became a heritage line, for which the old Southall Steam centre was well placed to serve.
The Southall steam centre run by the great western railway preservation group, whom aspired to run passenger excursions along the branch, but it never happened, and never will as the gwrpg ceased to exist as of last autumn, they closed their membership down in 2019 and were liquidated as of September 2021, mainly financial reasons The last I saw they had a few old odd wagons still on site but they may have been sold or scrapped I was a member there briefly in the mid 1990s,
@@highpath4776 I used to have my car then, or it was central line from Stratford to ealing Broadway and train to southall so wasn't too bad on an east West axis
Interesting vid this one...... I used to drive trains over this route to Brentford. There are 2 traffic flows that use it, the West Waste 'binliner' trains plus just north of that terminal is Day's Aggreates who have stone delivered by trains. When i drove over the line in the late 1990s sometimes 2 stone trains a day would go there. The bins tended to run arond 22.00 onwards so were impossible to photograph although there was a Sunday daytime working that ran as required. The branch is worked under the 'Ticket & Staff' stsytem, the last place on the national network that does so, under the control of a Shunter at Southall. When i was last there, in the undergrowth next to the bin terminal run round line, was an old MkI coach, it could still be there as i'm sure the reason for it being there is lost to time...... Next to the bin terminal, on the west side of the line was a Firestone tyre factory at one time, with the local signal box being called Firestone.... In times past there were a lot of boxes with unusual names, like Junction Road Junction, maybe a video on some of them could be a winner?.......
@@librarian16 Which Junction Road Junction do you mean? I can only think of the one in the vicinity of Tufnell Park on the old Tottenham & Hampstead (Gospel Oak - Barking) line, which is 1.16 miles from Hampstead Road (Camden) Lock on The Regent's Canal.
As someone who worked in the waste industry, I just have to say, it's honest work gov. Also with recycling on the rise there might still be use to transfer the raw materials to be sorted. With the new A.I tools and grabbers, it's come a long way from the magnets of ye olde sorting lines.
Recycling in this country is WOEFUL, particularly when it comes to packaging. The householder is the one with the "burden" of making sure that tins and the like are washed, but few bother to do it properly resulting in what should be recycled being buried because of contamination. Why can't the plant do the washing?
@@eattherich9215 They certainly must so some washing. Few containers are tossed totally clean. Then there's the people in Apt 2R, who put out bags in the container recycling bin containing for some reason used paper towels, various other obviously non-recyclable stuff, and things like a 1/4 full jar of pasta sauce. (Yes, I do check through their bags.)
@@emjayay: I am a bit obsessive and wash everything sparkling clean and make sure not to put pizza boxes or waxed wrappings into recycling BUT if most don't bother with my level of cleaning, what's even the point?
in Denmark the last landfill closed nearly two decades ago. Nearly all household waste is sorted into recyclables with only very little going into the "general waste" bin, which ends up in the incinerator. Granted we have a much smaller population, but the recycling system has been slowly built up over the past 40 years and it's only in the last couple years as technology has evolved that plastic and metal recycling has been added thanks to being able to automate the process. Basically our system is a proof of concept for other countries. It can be done, it's not cheap, but once it's there people embrace it despite the hazzle of having to split your rubbish into 10 different bins. In places like where I live it's even more than 10. And no, in our system you don't have to wash your trash. It's just a waste of water and is done at the recycling end anyway, but rinsing out food containers and tins can stop them from rotting in your bin, and thus will attract fewer flies and vermin
I used to work up in Sky Studios, so I got a good view of the train whenever it was at the waste transfer station.. man that place really stank up the campus in the summer time 🤢
Well, it is if they run to Appleford. When Appleford lost the landfill contract for a couple of years, the trains ran to Calvert via Greenford and the Chiltern Line to Princes Risborough & Aylesbury. That involved a run round at Southall on the way out and of course on the return......
Afaik, the line is also used by trains carrying stone from a quarry near Buxton to be broken down into construction aggregates at the large Day & Sons facility next to the waste transfer one. There have also been rumblings of a possible re-instatement of passenger services to a new station called Brentford Golden Mile (presumably next to where PC World is now) to serve the large GSK and Sky campuses that the railway falls in between. However, with the last couple of years changing work practices and GSK now breaking up its group and moving out of its offices, I imagine this won't be happening any time soon...
My goodness, Jago ! That brought back memories for me from when I lived by the Great West Road at Osterley, and on a sortie into the country lanes thereabouts discovered the Three Bridges trio ! And, as it was in the 1950s, I actually saw a train on one occasion ! Thankyou very much !!
Once again a wonderful video. Also you caught my narrowboat in one of your shots. Keep up the great work. I love to see more on the canals, if that take your fancy. Thanks again.
Hello! More info here someone who did some research many, many years ago, and your delightful video is substantially correct. Tiny niggles though: the original company was the "Great Western and Brentford Railway", and the passenger station at Brentford was never officially known as 'Town' although the nearby London and South Western Station did get the suffix 'Central' because of it's proximity. The goods station built on the Great West Road *was* 'Town' though. Now some juicy nuggets: The AEC factory had a siding off the branch and it was used extensively for testing the famous 'Flying Banana' railcars. The signal box at the 'Town' goods yard was called 'Firestone'. I believe the 'pagoda' huts on Trumpers Crossing Halte were reused at South Greenford. As for the passenger station in the Dock, this is almost certainly down to the fevered and vivid imaginations certain historians: there was never any need for it. That area of the riverside at the period was pretty grim, too. Oh, and one final thing, Brentford Station was technically in Isleworth.
Thanks Jago, another informative video. It's particularly interesting for me because I grew up in Brentford in the 1950s-60s and remember clearly the Brentford Town station, the bridge over Brentford High Street and the line to the Docks. The station still existed in the early 1960s, although it was closed, when I used to cycle past it on my way home from school in Isleworth. In the mid-1950s I was lucky enough to be offered a short ride on the footplate of a shunting engine at Brentford Docks. Like your other correspondence I also regularly biked along Syon Lane - Windmill Lane (I wouldn't try that now!) to see Three Bridges and to see the new Routemaster buses emerging from the AEC works just north of the bridges! Ah, the nostalgia! Thanks again!
"Nostalgia" indeed! I grew up in Southall in the Fifties. I emigrated long ago, but memories are alive and well there. It's wonderful to read the other posters from that place and era. It's like revisiting.
Been looking forward to this video after I got an inkling it was coming from photos on Instagram (my friend "Mick the Tug"'s tug can be glimpsed at 1:48, the shot taken atop the bridge entering the old Maypole Dairy branch). The canal stretch from Uxbridge to Brentford is particularly special to me - after having "a bit of a day" 12-odd years back I cycled it on the spur of the moment, never having ventured onto the towpath before and not having a clue where it led. That one exploration began my interest in waterways history from which I ended up working on the canal, and writing about it's history in various capacities; whilst seeing the remains of the old railway line over Brentford High Street also spurred my initial interest in our old railway heritage. All that from an impromptu bike ride (though I tend to walk or boat it nowadays!). The "Three Bridges" (painted, pre-development, by J.M.W. Turner) of course has the long-running debate of "is it actually three or two bridges?"but regardless, seeing it that day was probably my awakening to how impressive our historical engineers and builders were, and thus my love of our industrial history. ...Considering the long-running rivalry, yet occasional co-operation, between canals and railways (as with the rival railway lines back then, it sometimes literally came down to what money was on the table at the time!!), it might be interesting to consider a video on the often forgotten work "railway icon" Brunel actually did for the waterways, admittedly before the railways became such a driving force of industry . Certainly in terms of bridges and aqueducts, the traces of such work can still be found.
One great way to revive this line is by building a link the the SWR station at Brentford then run some London Waterloo to Southall trains via Clapham Junction. I think this would be a popular link especially if you could head from Slough to Clapham Juction with a change at Southall!
That might be doable - but difficult - in civil engineering terms. The Brentford branch is on an embankment and the Waterloo line is in a cutting, with quite a height difference between the two - at a guess, something like 25 metres. Assuming the branch crosses the Great West Road via a new bridge on its old alignment, you'd then have about 200 yards to build a sharp curve on a steep gradient to get down to the Waterloo line. Probably could be done, but it would put the notorious Exeter Central - Exeter St David's curve to shame. However, Southall is now an Elizabeth Line (aka Crossrail) station, with a frequent, direct service into central London and beyond. The fastest journey time from Southall to Paddington is 18 minutes, while the Brentford - Waterloo journey time is 32 minutes. I would estimate the journey time from Southall to Waterloo via the Brentford Dock branch would be about 40 minutes. I don't think there would be much demand for a roundabout route into London from Southall, which would take twice as long as the direct route - and even then would stop south of the river, rather than seamlessly continuing into central London. Could there be untapped demand for a new transport corridor linking areas west of London (Slough and beyond) with south-west London (Clapham Junction and beyond)? I'm not sure. It's interesting that there have never been any rail routes in that bottom-left corner of the London hinterland which offer that kind of round-London (as opposed to in-and-out-of-London) journey. A while back there was a suggestion that the two lines into Windsor, from Paddington and Waterloo, should be connected to form a kind of west-of-London loop which would provide that Slough - Clapham connection. But it was a highly speculative idea that didn't seem to have any real demand for travel behind it. I think someone had just looked at the London Connections map and decided that Windsor would look much neater if its two lines were joined up. Having said all this, I do think there's scope for introducing passenger services on the Brentford Dock branch. The Great West Road looks likely to become more of a residential area in the next few years (the Gillette factory is already being converted into flats) so I think there will be a demand for better public transport in the area. I would just run the line as a simple end-to-end shuttle, possibly using battery-powered Class 230 D-Train units (the ex-District Line trains, now rebuilt for use on the big railway). Ideally I would extend the line all the way to Brentford, although I realise this would mean a very expensive bridge over the Great West Road, just for the last few hundred yards of track. I probably wouldn't rebuild Trumpers Crossing Halte, though. You've got to draw the line somewhere!
@@michaeljohnson9421 Or keep it active, so that in 30 years it can becomes the starting point for Crossrail 3, a new West to South east route through London. 🤔
@@sophieewohaa Or best of all, link to the Piccadilly Line westbound at Osterley. Suddenly you could have direct tube trains running through from Clapham Junction to Brentford, Hounslow (TfL) and Heathrow Airport, solving an access problem from south London and southern England that has been there for 50+ years. Tube trains would be sufficiently compatible with the third rail, as in other places where common running occurs, and can negotiate quite steep gradients, so that the Brentford height difference is less of a problem. The Southall link is an alternative, but I believe that it would be tricky to get the trains onto the GW main line going westwards because of track layouts.
Melksham in Wiltshire was blessed with two GWR lines. The main station on the Chippenham to Trowbridge line, and Bowerhill halte on the Patney and Marden jct to Holt jct line. That particular line had more halts than you could shake a stick at... Railmotors of the push pull variety lasted till the end of steam on the Calne branch, complete with the excellently named Black Dog halt. Ta Jago.
I have been on a train down that branch. In the mid 80s the Southall steam preservation group (I'm sure that's not their proper name) had an open-day with their tank-engine under steam. There was also the chance (which I took!) to go on a single-car DMU down the Brentford branch. I just wish that I could remember how far we went.
In my humble opinion he was the best engineer ever. He was one of a kind. I've never seen such versatile person being able to design buildings, infrastructure of all kinds, ships etc.
Lovely history of the Brentford Branch but totally agree that it didn't go to waste, it did see a GWR Rail Steam Motor (one from the Didcot Railway Centre) in 2014 when they ran a shuttle service by the Great Western Society, could only board at Southall
I think Hounslow want to reopen it to the A4 and also that Sky were possibly interested to have astation there to let people get directly to Southall to conect with the Elizabeth line
There is a proposal to run a rail service between the great West road, which is seeing a surge in development and the Southall providing a link to crossrail.
The line runs just outside of the eastern boundaries of the massive Sky plc campus grounds (as seen in the satellite image, on the other side of the waste facility). I remember when I worked there (quite recently) that there were rumours about a station being placed there for Sky staff and trains running to and from Ealing to take people to and from work easing congestion on the otherwise very busy nearby Syon Lane station and also to reduce people driving. Currently staff shuttle buses operate from Ealing but this would massivly cut the journey time. I hope it happens and even better if regular fare paying passengers can also use the line.
The old docks had some fantastic buildings including the original wooden canopy (destroyed in 1920 for which I have never found any photos only Brunel's drawings) and the replacement iron and steel girder structure. There was also an early (for the UK) example of a Ferro-concrete framed bulding designed by Louis Gustave Mouchel, built in 1899. I believe it also had the largest single wooden dock gate in the UK.
Jago Kingdom Hazzard....🤨🤔....I like the sound of that! 😉😎 How about some LMS Fowler 2F, LNER J72, GWR 5700's, Southern E2's or any tank engines in general....getting more and more fond of these wee....critters! Most excellent video young man, as always! 🍻
Thanks again Jago! Long live the waste-line! Until recently we had such a line in Edinburgh for transporting processed waste from the Powderhalll waste transfer station (formerly the "Destructor" - an enormous building) to landfill sites (disused quarries). The train service was named the "Binliner". The track is still there but the WTS site is being redeveloped for housing.
Every now and again a heritage steam railmotor service has been run by the Great Western Society between Southall and Brentford, although looking back it appears that the last time was in 2014. The retail/industrial estate close to Three Bridges (Windmill Lane) was the site of the AEC factory where the Routemaster buses were made. You can follow the canal towpath from Southall to Brentford. It amazes be how, just a short distance from the hustle and bustle of Ealing, Southall and the A4 road, you can find such a semi-rural location.
Only the chassis for the Routemaster bus was made there. The bodies were made by Park Royal Vehicles at Park Royal. I used to work in the Park Royal area and would often see the completed buses, awaiting collection by LT, parked on the road outside their factory.
Interesting area for a look around Brentford Dock ,there’s a interesting boatyard that works on steel barges, and bits of Canal and railway infrastructure to look at.
It is a long story but I am now living in Australia because of Brentford Dock. I used to live in the borough of Richmond Upon Thames and had no inkling the garbo-line. You covered Surbiton Station too - another of my haunts.
The oddly spaced tracks you found are next to what is now known as Soaphouse Creek Marina. I believe it was previously known as Soaphouse Wharf. That area was formerly a soap factory, and the small wharf was used by lighter barges to transport goods and supplies from there. During its commercial use, the wharf did not have lock gates, so the barge traffic moved in and out on the tides. The landing where those tracks are was also used for a ferry service to Kew. This history is reflected in the two streets named "Ferry Lane" on either side of the river at this point. As far as I know however, the wharf was never connected to the railway branch. An interesting piece of industrial history none the less.
Network Rail currently looking into feasibility of reopening the line to passenger traffic with a new station called ‘Brentford Golden Mile’ this station will serve the golden mile businesses along the Western Road. Things look positive for this little line
A great episode Jago. Informative as always. Omitted however, is the proposal to partially reinstate the line put forward by Hounslow Council at a new Golden Mile Station.
As a local to the branch line, there are lots of rumours of a reopening to passengers with a station around the waste transfer area. There’s a massively large redevelopment coming in that area, which already has big offices for Sky and GSK among other companies, and would be a good link to the Elizabeth Line. It would be a very useful link so I really hope it’s not just a pipe dream.
I remember seeing a small tank engine crossing the great west road heading for Brentford - guessing late 50's. My uncle worked at the docks most of his working life! Great video, brought back some memories. Thank you
The people of Crawley would like to raise objection about the use of the term Three Bridges in a railway context & assert their ownership of said station
Well, it's a good idea, as long as the waste is not hazzardous. I'm surprised no-one thought of that possible difficulty! Any more puns on this line and we might have a bridge collapsing.
Bought up in Southall ( Ash Grove) this Brentford line has always intruiged me, my dad sold fish from his van around Norwood Green in the Fifties, and on Saturdays I used to help him on his round, and the big pleasure was going over the ' Three Bridges'. I walked under it along the canal path for the first time last month, after 70 years.
Fascinating video of an area I have lived in and around all my life. There have been some amazing changes in the Brentford area in the last 70 years. I didn’t know any of the history of the the Brentford branch line until now. Thanks Jago.
Lovely vid showing some of my old haunts. In the 90's I used to live a literal stones throw from what remained of the line, and often thought what a shame it was that there were no passenger services running on it.
I worked in a building next to Three Bridges on Armstrong Way back in the late 00's, it backed onto the tracks and on those occasions when a train did go slowly past it would shake the entire building. I did always wonder what exactly the track was being used for considering the usage was infrequent, now I know.
That broad gauge track would have got me measuring it too. I've no idea what inlaid broad gauge track looked like but I would have been intrigued because it doesn't look like broad gauge rail but looks wide enough yet is beside water; so is it train or crane? I would have have gone for a tape measure too but possibly counted granite setts and measured it that way first as a guide. I think the cross section of broad gauge rail was quite different from standard gauge rail, but how much it really mattered and how much it was employed is another matter. I think a set of broad gauge sidings and points were discovered long abandoned in undergrowth a good few years ago which got industrial archaeologists really excited. Clevedon Pier famously uses second hand broad gauge rail, for its frame, doubled up back to back . It's still there, good as ever as far as I know except for the first two arches from the landing stage which are new. These are from the 1990's restoration that saved the pier. The pier always had had a slightly lopsided appearance around one of the supports concerned which finally collapsed in a load test around 1971 (check photos of the Western side) .
the line also gets a regular service to and from various aggregate terminals and quarries in the UK (they're actually more frequent than the waste trains!), so even if the waste services did stoр the line will still have a regular service in the form of the aggregates trains. it's certainly a very peculiar branch though, especially for london there's nothing else like it. nice video.
Back in the 1950s I used to wander round Southall sheds - they were quite lax, and the only warnings we got were to keep away from the turntable, and don't touch that it's hot! Back then there was a footbridge across the railway to the east of the station that had a spur to the shed area. In the 1960s my first girlfiend lived in a house close by Three Bridges, and I used to walk home from there the mile and a half along the canal towpath to The Old Oak in Regina Road. Those days there were still working boats on the canal, even horse drawn ones, and boy were they rough - they'd have thought nothing of kicking you into the cut if you were in their way. Quite often, when Brentford branch not in use, newly overhauled locos would steam some way along the branch and back to the shed. I was lucky enough to be taken on a footplate ride on a Pannier to just beyond three bridges and back when a neighbour was the driver.
A fascinating mini documentary, Jago - just spent two hours on Wikipedia and Google Maps after watching this! Strange that such a short line should arouse so much interest. I knew nothing of Brentford before watching this - except that it had a football club - I didn't even realise it was on the Thames! Yet another example of a line that (although very successful in its original aim) was a bit of a wasted opportunity because of company rivalry. As well as giving Brentford a second station, this could have become a useful link between the two main lines in the area - maybe only for stock/freight movements, but possibly a very useful connection in these days of light rail/tram systems, London Overground, etc. You can't help wondering how different its future might have been if the junction at Southall had faced the other way and/or it had joined the LSW line. A west london loop between Southall and Brentford? Even now, it could be used to connect the Piccadilly at Boston Manor (although I'll admit, I've no idea why!). More and more when I look at disused lines and bits left over like this, I think there should be a legal requirement to keep the track bed of disused lines available for possible future use. This line at least wasn't cut in half by the M4 (although I imagine that must have been a close run thing). but any possibility of it being used to run into Brentford (or even extended across the Thames to Kew and Richmond) is now lost because of the upgrade. Wishful thinking of a railway nerd, I know, but you can't help dreaming - just think what would have been possible today if all the old routes were still availalble (with just a new trackbed and rails in many places). Imagine if docklands had been redeveloped before the DLR was thought of and all the old railway viaducts, etc had been demolished...
As an ealingite its so great seeing all these shots of places i love going for walks, used to work in hayes and always cycled all the way down that canal, big thanks jago loved this one
I think that Geoff Marshall might of done a video of the former branch line that went to Brentford Docks. Maybe TfL could bring it back or to open it as a heritage railway from Southall to Brentford Dock with the freight only railway tracks to be reinstated. And to use exciting DMU rolling stocks or hybrid-battery rolling stocks such as the Class 230 converted from former London Underground D78 Stocks.
Thanks for this, I enjoyed it. I was born and raised on the Syon Estate (1947-1966) and Brentford was so familiar to me. Just so sad to see the places that have all gone now.🥲👍
Knowing a reasonable amount about waste trains, I’d say this route is very futureproofed, waste via rail is highly sought after as the Merseyside to Teesside waste train is. Good example. Tend to be waste to EfW plants now rather than landfill, or look at Cory Riverside in Belvedere, waste via Thames barge. Less trucks on the roads is very positive and ultimately it will be waste to other forms of fuel, such as aviation or hydrogen, watch this space.
In the late 80’s I drove the GLC Waste trains (they had a more colourful nickname) from Brentford to Appleford (Didcot) with Class 56’s & 47’s. Guessing they burnt the rubbish in their big power station there. Another great video, thank you.
watching this reminded me of a local station to us. The Aldermaston railway station which is beside the once a busy industrial canal wharf at Aldermaston Wharf. The Wharf has an interesting history, as does the canal with it special lock designs which were originally turf-sided, but enlarged in the mid-eighteenth century and given scalloped brick walls.
Haltes or halts were unstaffed platforms where trains stopped. Tickets would be sold by the guard on the train to joining passengers, and the guard did a third diryty as ticket collector collecting the tickets at the exit from departing passengers If this nomenclature was still with us in this era of unstaffed stations, the majority of network rail would be halts. Actually the still existing halts have been renamed as stations (for example South Greenford Halt which I used as a five year old)
in the turn of the fifties to sixties we watched excitedly at this bit of line as BR seemed to use it for experimental engines - for instance the. ill fated gas turbine one
FWIW, the Dutch word for tram (or bus) stop is 'halte" pronounced according to Dutch phonology (which can be bewildering, since the Dutch like to copy words, including phonology and orthography, from other languages). I never considered before this video what the etymology of the word might be. "Halt" as a command exists, but mostly used by police, and 'halteren" (to halt) is really only used in railway terms.
I used to live very near the "Three Bridges" for a long time. Loved walking along the canal towards Southall,passing the beautiful Sikh temple - Well worth the trip to Southall just to see it and the brilliant old cinema too. Don't forget the incredible restuarants also. - A friend of mine would cycle from Southall,via the canal network all the way into central London at least one a month just for the hell of it( with a few diversions to various pubs).
There's an aggregates yard on the line too, where they deliver rocks by freight. On the Picadilly line in-between Boston Manor and Osterley, when travelling westbound, you can see the tracks and the yard to the left, just after you cross the M4 motorway. I'm pretty sure the land along the route is greenbelt, however if Osterley golf course or Osterley park was to be have a big development built, that could bring lease to this line. Then you could potentially have a shuttle train that runs between Southall and the area, as adjacent to platform 1 in Southall, you have the branch line. So it wouldn't interfere at all with the Western branch.
Развлечения
"The line didn't go to waste."
One of your best, Jago.
I think he enjoyed that line a little too much... as did I. 😁
I…*refuse* to believe he didn’t enjoy that joke. It obviously wasn’t a throw away line!
Rubbish!
At least they haven't binned the line. (less A-track-tive than Brunel intended)
He didn't "throw away" the opportunity I guess :D
I’ve never been to the UK but by watching a combination of RUclipsrs I now can travel any where in Britain
A few weeks ago I was in London and came across several obscure things seen here or on Jools or Goeff just at random.
reminds me of pre ww2 german practises to 'learn' uk - your not working for 'anybody' are you? lol
You can travel anywhere in Britain without any knowledge of it. It's not as if you're given a geography quiz before you can buy a train or bus ticket, lol.
that's probably as near to the UK as one would ever want 🙂
@@daffyduk77 well I like the trains
I have a friend who becomes near apoplectic about the name "Three Bridges". He points out that whilst there are three levels; the railway, the canal and the roadway, there are only two actual bridges. He's only calmed down by a pint or two in a local pub.
On the subject of the costs of the project, and the speculation that it was due to being under so much stress when in poor health, all I can say is that it's quite difficult to find a project that Brunel was involved with that didn't considerably exceed the original estimate.
Imaginative way to get someone to buy you a beer.
It could be argued that the upper, road, bridge is two of the three bridges since it crosses two obstructions, the canal and the railway. Try that on your friends apoplexy meter. 🤣🤣
I only counted two bridges too but didn't get upset about it. It's just one of those whimsical features that make these videos so delightful. Does your friend know about Junction Road Junction near Gospel Oak? The railway junction is clearly named, as is often the case, after the road; but how did the road get its name? There's a fine calming pub (the Southampton Arms) close by, too!
@@johnm2012 Not to speak of if they build another road there and name it after the junction. "Junction Road Junction" Road... 😲
Well there's an old foot bridge (or abandoned road bridge?) across the railway at the canal, that's the third one. Next time someone tries to scam a beer out of you, you know better. ;)
You can see Brentford Docks in the 'Hard Days Night' film. The scenes where Ringo has escaped from the others and is talking to a lad next to the river. These were filmed on the Kew side opposite the docks.
The Brentford branch is very much alive and well - The rubbish train does not go to land fill but to a multi million pound incinarator build at Sevenside close to Avonmouth on the former ICI chemical plant. you will need to get up well early if you want to see the "Binliner" as it runs 6 days a week at around 1am then back to Southall and then over to Northolt.
There are other flows to Day & Sons these are pre-crushed stone and "Fly ash".
The Brentford branch uses a "Train staff and Ticket" system of signaling (It`s a pain in the arse if there is a train down at Brentford with the "Staff" as you need the "Staff" at Southall to be able to retrieve the "Ticket".
The Line speed is 10mph from Southall to 3 bridge`s then up to a heady 25mph.
Having been brought up in Southall in the 60s and 70s the Brentford branch became my favourite line as I regularly visited the iconic Three Bridges. Thank you for featuring this quirky branch. Long may it survive. Shame it never became a heritage line, for which the old Southall Steam centre was well placed to serve.
The Southall steam centre run by the great western railway preservation group, whom aspired to run passenger excursions along the branch, but it never happened, and never will as the gwrpg ceased to exist as of last autumn, they closed their membership down in 2019 and were liquidated as of September 2021, mainly financial reasons
The last I saw they had a few old odd wagons still on site but they may have been sold or scrapped
I was a member there briefly in the mid 1990s,
@@Keithbarber Thank you for filling the gap in my knowledge. Sad that their aims were never fulfilled.
@@andrewdolinskiatcarpathian that's my pleasure - I was involved at southall in the mid 1990s
@@Keithbarber Visited , but too awkward to get to from other bits of london
@@highpath4776 I used to have my car then, or it was central line from Stratford to ealing Broadway and train to southall so wasn't too bad on an east West axis
Interesting vid this one...... I used to drive trains over this route to Brentford. There are 2 traffic flows that use it, the West Waste 'binliner' trains plus just north of that terminal is Day's Aggreates who have stone delivered by trains. When i drove over the line in the late 1990s sometimes 2 stone trains a day would go there. The bins tended to run arond 22.00 onwards so were impossible to photograph although there was a Sunday daytime working that ran as required. The branch is worked under the 'Ticket & Staff' stsytem, the last place on the national network that does so, under the control of a Shunter at Southall. When i was last there, in the undergrowth next to the bin terminal run round line, was an old MkI coach, it could still be there as i'm sure the reason for it being there is lost to time...... Next to the bin terminal, on the west side of the line was a Firestone tyre factory at one time, with the local signal box being called Firestone.... In times past there were a lot of boxes with unusual names, like Junction Road Junction, maybe a video on some of them could be a winner?.......
The junction after which Junction Road Junction was named was a canal junction.
@@librarian16 I thought it was the road up above, Junction Road? Or was the road named after the canal?.....
@@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus The road was named for the canal junction.
@@librarian16 That explains everything, thank you....
@@librarian16 Which Junction Road Junction do you mean? I can only think of the one in the vicinity of Tufnell Park on the old Tottenham & Hampstead (Gospel Oak - Barking) line, which is 1.16 miles from Hampstead Road (Camden) Lock on The Regent's Canal.
As someone who worked in the waste industry, I just have to say, it's honest work gov. Also with recycling on the rise there might still be use to transfer the raw materials to be sorted. With the new A.I tools and grabbers, it's come a long way from the magnets of ye olde sorting lines.
Recycling in this country is WOEFUL, particularly when it comes to packaging. The householder is the one with the "burden" of making sure that tins and the like are washed, but few bother to do it properly resulting in what should be recycled being buried because of contamination. Why can't the plant do the washing?
@@eattherich9215 They certainly must so some washing. Few containers are tossed totally clean. Then there's the people in Apt 2R, who put out bags in the container recycling bin containing for some reason used paper towels, various other obviously non-recyclable stuff, and things like a 1/4 full jar of pasta sauce. (Yes, I do check through their bags.)
@@emjayay: I am a bit obsessive and wash everything sparkling clean and make sure not to put pizza boxes or waxed wrappings into recycling BUT if most don't bother with my level of cleaning, what's even the point?
in Denmark the last landfill closed nearly two decades ago. Nearly all household waste is sorted into recyclables with only very little going into the "general waste" bin, which ends up in the incinerator. Granted we have a much smaller population, but the recycling system has been slowly built up over the past 40 years and it's only in the last couple years as technology has evolved that plastic and metal recycling has been added thanks to being able to automate the process. Basically our system is a proof of concept for other countries. It can be done, it's not cheap, but once it's there people embrace it despite the hazzle of having to split your rubbish into 10 different bins. In places like where I live it's even more than 10. And no, in our system you don't have to wash your trash. It's just a waste of water and is done at the recycling end anyway, but rinsing out food containers and tins can stop them from rotting in your bin, and thus will attract fewer flies and vermin
@@eattherich9215 How much water does that consume? /s
But what has Brunel ever done for us...?
Landfill trains can easily become trains to energy recovery power plants (with a corresponding 99% reduction in materials to landfill).
I used to work up in Sky Studios, so I got a good view of the train whenever it was at the waste transfer station.. man that place really stank up the campus in the summer time 🤢
At least the junction at Southall faces the right way for the trains on the way to the landfill sites.
Quite far sighted of Brunel!
Well, it is if they run to Appleford. When Appleford lost the landfill contract for a couple of years, the trains ran to Calvert via Greenford and the Chiltern Line to Princes Risborough & Aylesbury. That involved a run round at Southall on the way out and of course on the return......
Afaik, the line is also used by trains carrying stone from a quarry near Buxton to be broken down into construction aggregates at the large Day & Sons facility next to the waste transfer one. There have also been rumblings of a possible re-instatement of passenger services to a new station called Brentford Golden Mile (presumably next to where PC World is now) to serve the large GSK and Sky campuses that the railway falls in between. However, with the last couple of years changing work practices and GSK now breaking up its group and moving out of its offices, I imagine this won't be happening any time soon...
My goodness, Jago ! That brought back memories for me from when I lived by the Great West Road at Osterley, and on a sortie into the country lanes thereabouts discovered the Three Bridges trio ! And, as it was in the 1950s, I actually saw a train on one occasion ! Thankyou very much !!
Once again a wonderful video. Also you caught my narrowboat in one of your shots.
Keep up the great work. I love to see more on the canals, if that take your fancy.
Thanks again.
Hello! More info here someone who did some research many, many years ago, and your delightful video is substantially correct. Tiny niggles though: the original company was the "Great Western and Brentford Railway", and the passenger station at Brentford was never officially known as 'Town' although the nearby London and South Western Station did get the suffix 'Central' because of it's proximity. The goods station built on the Great West Road *was* 'Town' though. Now some juicy nuggets: The AEC factory had a siding off the branch and it was used extensively for testing the famous 'Flying Banana' railcars. The signal box at the 'Town' goods yard was called 'Firestone'. I believe the 'pagoda' huts on Trumpers Crossing Halte were reused at South Greenford. As for the passenger station in the Dock, this is almost certainly down to the fevered and vivid imaginations certain historians: there was never any need for it. That area of the riverside at the period was pretty grim, too. Oh, and one final thing, Brentford Station was technically in Isleworth.
Thanks Jago, another informative video. It's particularly interesting for me because I grew up in Brentford in the 1950s-60s and remember clearly the Brentford Town station, the bridge over Brentford High Street and the line to the Docks. The station still existed in the early 1960s, although it was closed, when I used to cycle past it on my way home from school in Isleworth. In the mid-1950s I was lucky enough to be offered a short ride on the footplate of a shunting engine at Brentford Docks. Like your other correspondence I also regularly biked along Syon Lane - Windmill Lane (I wouldn't try that now!) to see Three Bridges and to see the new Routemaster buses emerging from the AEC works just north of the bridges! Ah, the nostalgia! Thanks again!
"Nostalgia" indeed! I grew up in Southall in the Fifties. I emigrated long ago, but memories are alive and well there. It's wonderful to read the other posters from that place and era. It's like revisiting.
My late father used to work as a storeman at AEC, and knew nearly all the numbers of Routemaster spare parts off by heart!
I never thought I'd hear of anything of Brunel's going to waste, but...
Been looking forward to this video after I got an inkling it was coming from photos on Instagram (my friend "Mick the Tug"'s tug can be glimpsed at 1:48, the shot taken atop the bridge entering the old Maypole Dairy branch).
The canal stretch from Uxbridge to Brentford is particularly special to me - after having "a bit of a day" 12-odd years back I cycled it on the spur of the moment, never having ventured onto the towpath before and not having a clue where it led. That one exploration began my interest in waterways history from which I ended up working on the canal, and writing about it's history in various capacities; whilst seeing the remains of the old railway line over Brentford High Street also spurred my initial interest in our old railway heritage. All that from an impromptu bike ride (though I tend to walk or boat it nowadays!).
The "Three Bridges" (painted, pre-development, by J.M.W. Turner) of course has the long-running debate of "is it actually three or two bridges?"but regardless, seeing it that day was probably my awakening to how impressive our historical engineers and builders were, and thus my love of our industrial history.
...Considering the long-running rivalry, yet occasional co-operation, between canals and railways (as with the rival railway lines back then, it sometimes literally came down to what money was on the table at the time!!), it might be interesting to consider a video on the often forgotten work "railway icon" Brunel actually did for the waterways, admittedly before the railways became such a driving force of industry . Certainly in terms of bridges and aqueducts, the traces of such work can still be found.
One great way to revive this line is by building a link the the SWR station at Brentford then run some London Waterloo to Southall trains via Clapham Junction. I think this would be a popular link especially if you could head from Slough to Clapham Juction with a change at Southall!
That might be doable - but difficult - in civil engineering terms. The Brentford branch is on an embankment and the Waterloo line is in a cutting, with quite a height difference between the two - at a guess, something like 25 metres. Assuming the branch crosses the Great West Road via a new bridge on its old alignment, you'd then have about 200 yards to build a sharp curve on a steep gradient to get down to the Waterloo line. Probably could be done, but it would put the notorious Exeter Central - Exeter St David's curve to shame.
However, Southall is now an Elizabeth Line (aka Crossrail) station, with a frequent, direct service into central London and beyond. The fastest journey time from Southall to Paddington is 18 minutes, while the Brentford - Waterloo journey time is 32 minutes. I would estimate the journey time from Southall to Waterloo via the Brentford Dock branch would be about 40 minutes. I don't think there would be much demand for a roundabout route into London from Southall, which would take twice as long as the direct route - and even then would stop south of the river, rather than seamlessly continuing into central London.
Could there be untapped demand for a new transport corridor linking areas west of London (Slough and beyond) with south-west London (Clapham Junction and beyond)? I'm not sure. It's interesting that there have never been any rail routes in that bottom-left corner of the London hinterland which offer that kind of round-London (as opposed to in-and-out-of-London) journey.
A while back there was a suggestion that the two lines into Windsor, from Paddington and Waterloo, should be connected to form a kind of west-of-London loop which would provide that Slough - Clapham connection. But it was a highly speculative idea that didn't seem to have any real demand for travel behind it. I think someone had just looked at the London Connections map and decided that Windsor would look much neater if its two lines were joined up.
Having said all this, I do think there's scope for introducing passenger services on the Brentford Dock branch. The Great West Road looks likely to become more of a residential area in the next few years (the Gillette factory is already being converted into flats) so I think there will be a demand for better public transport in the area. I would just run the line as a simple end-to-end shuttle, possibly using battery-powered Class 230 D-Train units (the ex-District Line trains, now rebuilt for use on the big railway). Ideally I would extend the line all the way to Brentford, although I realise this would mean a very expensive bridge over the Great West Road, just for the last few hundred yards of track. I probably wouldn't rebuild Trumpers Crossing Halte, though. You've got to draw the line somewhere!
Or link to the Overground at South Acton.
@@michaeljohnson9421 Or keep it active, so that in 30 years it can becomes the starting point for Crossrail 3, a new West to South east route through London. 🤔
@@michaeljohnson9421 Excellent post!
@@sophieewohaa Or best of all, link to the Piccadilly Line westbound at Osterley. Suddenly you could have direct tube trains running through from Clapham Junction to Brentford, Hounslow (TfL) and Heathrow Airport, solving an access problem from south London and southern England that has been there for 50+ years. Tube trains would be sufficiently compatible with the third rail, as in other places where common running occurs, and can negotiate quite steep gradients, so that the Brentford height difference is less of a problem. The Southall link is an alternative, but I believe that it would be tricky to get the trains onto the GW main line going westwards because of track layouts.
Melksham in Wiltshire was blessed with two GWR lines. The main station on the Chippenham to Trowbridge line, and Bowerhill halte on the Patney and Marden jct to Holt jct line. That particular line had more halts than you could shake a stick at...
Railmotors of the push pull variety lasted till the end of steam on the Calne branch, complete with the excellently named Black Dog halt.
Ta Jago.
If you go to the old Firestone building on the great west road there is still line and carriages at the back.
Cartridges?
Shotgun cartridges?
The old Firestone building was demolished illegally forty years ago.
@@richardharrold9736 yes it was just a point of reference
I see - you've changed it now. Carriages then.
I have been on a train down that branch. In the mid 80s the Southall steam preservation group (I'm sure that's not their proper name) had an open-day with their tank-engine under steam. There was also the chance (which I took!) to go on a single-car DMU down the Brentford branch. I just wish that I could remember how far we went.
In my humble opinion he was the best engineer ever. He was one of a kind. I've never seen such versatile person being able to design buildings, infrastructure of all kinds, ships etc.
Lovely history of the Brentford Branch but totally agree that it didn't go to waste, it did see a GWR Rail Steam Motor (one from the Didcot Railway Centre) in 2014 when they ran a shuttle service by the Great Western Society, could only board at Southall
brentford always makes me recall the books from Robert Rankin which were... *very, very strange*
Having worked at the Brentford bus garage for over 12yrs, I often wondered about the railway, this has been an enlightening vid
I think Hounslow want to reopen it to the A4 and also that Sky were possibly interested to have astation there to let people get directly to Southall to conect with the Elizabeth line
There is a proposal to run a rail service between the great West road, which is seeing a surge in development and the Southall providing a link to crossrail.
I walk around Warren Farm and Hanwell Meadow on a regular basis, and I have yet to see a train using the line.
ln the '50s and early 60s, loos coupled freight trains were constant - until Brentford Docks closed
Excellent as always, thank you.
To quote a well known duo, "What do you think of is so far?"
The line runs just outside of the eastern boundaries of the massive Sky plc campus grounds (as seen in the satellite image, on the other side of the waste facility). I remember when I worked there (quite recently) that there were rumours about a station being placed there for Sky staff and trains running to and from Ealing to take people to and from work easing congestion on the otherwise very busy nearby Syon Lane station and also to reduce people driving. Currently staff shuttle buses operate from Ealing but this would massivly cut the journey time. I hope it happens and even better if regular fare paying passengers can also use the line.
A good evening video during the day? Very interesting train story still
Here, it is always the evening.
I kept waiting for you to call it the "Brentford Binliner" 😀
The old docks had some fantastic buildings including the original wooden canopy (destroyed in 1920 for which I have never found any photos only Brunel's drawings) and the replacement iron and steel girder structure. There was also an early (for the UK) example of a Ferro-concrete framed bulding designed by Louis Gustave Mouchel, built in 1899. I believe it also had the largest single wooden dock gate in the UK.
Broad gauge.... Don't forget that oh so vital one quarter of an inch.
It does make all the difference, doesn't it?
Any chance you'll give a similar treatment to the Staines West branch?
Jago Kingdom Hazzard....🤨🤔....I like the sound of that! 😉😎
How about some LMS Fowler 2F, LNER J72, GWR 5700's, Southern E2's or any tank engines in general....getting more and more fond of these wee....critters!
Most excellent video young man, as always! 🍻
Thanks again Jago! Long live the waste-line! Until recently we had such a line in Edinburgh for transporting processed waste from the Powderhalll waste transfer station (formerly the "Destructor" - an enormous building) to landfill sites (disused quarries). The train service was named the "Binliner". The track is still there but the WTS site is being redeveloped for housing.
Every now and again a heritage steam railmotor service has been run by the Great Western Society between Southall and Brentford, although looking back it appears that the last time was in 2014.
The retail/industrial estate close to Three Bridges (Windmill Lane) was the site of the AEC factory where the Routemaster buses were made.
You can follow the canal towpath from Southall to Brentford. It amazes be how, just a short distance from the hustle and bustle of Ealing, Southall and the A4 road, you can find such a semi-rural location.
Only the chassis for the Routemaster bus was made there. The bodies were made by Park Royal Vehicles at Park Royal. I used to work in the Park Royal area and would often see the completed buses, awaiting collection by LT, parked on the road outside their factory.
Interesting area for a look around Brentford Dock ,there’s a interesting boatyard that works on steel barges, and bits of Canal and railway infrastructure to look at.
..and the odd kingfisher
It is a long story but I am now living in Australia because of Brentford Dock. I used to live in the borough of Richmond Upon Thames and had no inkling the garbo-line. You covered Surbiton Station too - another of my haunts.
I like the Three Bridges , a slightly mad but impressive bit of engineering. Reminds me a little of Smethwick Galton Bridge station.
My old stomping grounds, i was hatched in Hanwell, spent a lot of time at the Brentford red lion, met my wife in south Ealing.....happy days 🙂
Indeed, the Red Lion was one of my haunts, was there for the last night.
The original Red Lion was on the other side
:0)
His photographs appear so tired. His candle burned twice as brightly.
I'm sure Jago will be pleased to know that his efforts producing this item didn't go to waste.
The oddly spaced tracks you found are next to what is now known as Soaphouse Creek Marina. I believe it was previously known as Soaphouse Wharf. That area was formerly a soap factory, and the small wharf was used by lighter barges to transport goods and supplies from there. During its commercial use, the wharf did not have lock gates, so the barge traffic moved in and out on the tides. The landing where those tracks are was also used for a ferry service to Kew. This history is reflected in the two streets named "Ferry Lane" on either side of the river at this point. As far as I know however, the wharf was never connected to the railway branch. An interesting piece of industrial history none the less.
For this yank it’s nice to see a video of my new adopted home. My favorite walk is out along the canal to Three Bridges.
Excellent News.
A new video from Mr Hazzard
the atmosphere is cool, beautiful, very charming in life here I like videos that are made to be inspiration and happiness
Fascinating, as always, thanks
Network Rail currently looking into feasibility of reopening the line to passenger traffic with a new station called ‘Brentford Golden Mile’ this station will serve the golden mile businesses along the Western Road. Things look positive for this little line
A great episode Jago. Informative as always. Omitted however, is the proposal to partially reinstate the line put forward by Hounslow Council at a new Golden Mile Station.
What a magnificent effort I have rarely seen so much work expended for the sole purpose of supporting a pun. Well done
As a local to the branch line, there are lots of rumours of a reopening to passengers with a station around the waste transfer area. There’s a massively large redevelopment coming in that area, which already has big offices for Sky and GSK among other companies, and would be a good link to the Elizabeth Line. It would be a very useful link so I really hope it’s not just a pipe dream.
I remember seeing a small tank engine crossing the great west road heading for Brentford - guessing late 50's. My uncle worked at the docks most of his working life! Great video, brought back some memories. Thank you
Hello. It's been long since I wrote. Thanks for this video. I don't know how you do it but your videos are amazing!!
The people of Crawley would like to raise objection about the use of the term Three Bridges in a railway context & assert their ownership of said station
Definitely worth a Bristol trip to see Brunel's great works, especially after the SS Great Western is rebuilt in one of the old dry docks
@@JP_TaVeryMuch That's a good plan right there
I hope it becomes part of the Overground as an extension of the West London Line, be very useful to have a direct connection to the Elizabeth line!
Well, it's a good idea, as long as the waste is not hazzardous. I'm surprised no-one thought of that possible difficulty! Any more puns on this line and we might have a bridge collapsing.
Bought up in Southall ( Ash Grove) this Brentford line has always intruiged me, my dad sold fish from his van around Norwood Green in the Fifties, and on Saturdays I used to help him on his round, and the big pleasure was going over the ' Three Bridges'. I walked under it along the canal path for the first time last month, after 70 years.
Fascinating video of an area I have lived in and around all my life. There have been some amazing changes in the Brentford area in the last 70 years. I didn’t know any of the history of the the Brentford branch line until now. Thanks Jago.
Ah, Brentford....that famous 'bus stop in Hounslow'! (In joke for any footie fans reading!)
bees bees barmy army!
It seems so small and insignificant for Brunel.
There are plans being submitted to turn the part from Brentford Goods Yard to where Brentford Bridge is into a nature reserve.
Lovely vid showing some of my old haunts. In the 90's I used to live a literal stones throw from what remained of the line, and often thought what a shame it was that there were no passenger services running on it.
Nice video as usual! Keep going :)
I worked in a building next to Three Bridges on Armstrong Way back in the late 00's, it backed onto the tracks and on those occasions when a train did go slowly past it would shake the entire building. I did always wonder what exactly the track was being used for considering the usage was infrequent, now I know.
That broad gauge track would have got me measuring it too. I've no idea what inlaid broad gauge track looked like but I would have been intrigued because it doesn't look like broad gauge rail but looks wide enough yet is beside water; so is it train or crane?
I would have have gone for a tape measure too but possibly counted granite setts and measured it that way first as a guide.
I think the cross section of broad gauge rail was quite different from standard gauge rail, but how much it really mattered and how much it was employed is another matter.
I think a set of broad gauge sidings and points were discovered long abandoned in undergrowth a good few years ago which got industrial archaeologists really excited.
Clevedon Pier famously uses second hand broad gauge rail, for its frame, doubled up back to back . It's still there, good as ever as far as I know except for the first two arches from the landing stage which are new. These are from the 1990's restoration that saved the pier. The pier always had had a slightly lopsided appearance around one of the supports concerned which finally collapsed in a load test around 1971 (check photos of the Western side) .
the line also gets a regular service to and from various aggregate terminals and quarries in the UK (they're actually more frequent than the waste trains!), so even if the waste services did stoр the line will still have a regular service in the form of the aggregates trains. it's certainly a very peculiar branch though, especially for london there's nothing else like it. nice video.
Something I have occasionally wondered when seeing one such - how overgrown can a railway line be and remain useable?
I suppose to some extent it depends on the nature of the vegetation - hard trees or soft springy bushes.
Back in the 1950s I used to wander round Southall sheds - they were quite lax, and the only warnings we got were to keep away from the turntable, and don't touch that it's hot! Back then there was a footbridge across the railway to the east of the station that had a spur to the shed area.
In the 1960s my first girlfiend lived in a house close by Three Bridges, and I used to walk home from there the mile and a half along the canal towpath to The Old Oak in Regina Road. Those days there were still working boats on the canal, even horse drawn ones, and boy were they rough - they'd have thought nothing of kicking you into the cut if you were in their way.
Quite often, when Brentford branch not in use, newly overhauled locos would steam some way along the branch and back to the shed. I was lucky enough to be taken on a footplate ride on a Pannier to just beyond three bridges and back when a neighbour was the driver.
A fascinating mini documentary, Jago - just spent two hours on Wikipedia and Google Maps after watching this! Strange that such a short line should arouse so much interest. I knew nothing of Brentford before watching this - except that it had a football club - I didn't even realise it was on the Thames!
Yet another example of a line that (although very successful in its original aim) was a bit of a wasted opportunity because of company rivalry. As well as giving Brentford a second station, this could have become a useful link between the two main lines in the area - maybe only for stock/freight movements, but possibly a very useful connection in these days of light rail/tram systems, London Overground, etc. You can't help wondering how different its future might have been if the junction at Southall had faced the other way and/or it had joined the LSW line. A west london loop between Southall and Brentford? Even now, it could be used to connect the Piccadilly at Boston Manor (although I'll admit, I've no idea why!).
More and more when I look at disused lines and bits left over like this, I think there should be a legal requirement to keep the track bed of disused lines available for possible future use. This line at least wasn't cut in half by the M4 (although I imagine that must have been a close run thing). but any possibility of it being used to run into Brentford (or even extended across the Thames to Kew and Richmond) is now lost because of the upgrade. Wishful thinking of a railway nerd, I know, but you can't help dreaming - just think what would have been possible today if all the old routes were still availalble (with just a new trackbed and rails in many places). Imagine if docklands had been redeveloped before the DLR was thought of and all the old railway viaducts, etc had been demolished...
As an ealingite its so great seeing all these shots of places i love going for walks, used to work in hayes and always cycled all the way down that canal, big thanks jago loved this one
I think that Geoff Marshall might of done a video of the former branch line that went to Brentford Docks. Maybe TfL could bring it back or to open it as a heritage railway from Southall to Brentford Dock with the freight only railway tracks to be reinstated.
And to use exciting DMU rolling stocks or hybrid-battery rolling stocks such as the Class 230 converted from former London Underground D78 Stocks.
Thanks for this, I enjoyed it. I was born and raised on the Syon Estate (1947-1966) and Brentford was so familiar to me. Just so sad to see the places that have all gone now.🥲👍
Knowing a reasonable amount about waste trains, I’d say this route is very futureproofed, waste via rail is highly sought after as the Merseyside to Teesside waste train is. Good example. Tend to be waste to EfW plants now rather than landfill, or look at Cory Riverside in Belvedere, waste via Thames barge. Less trucks on the roads is very positive and ultimately it will be waste to other forms of fuel, such as aviation or hydrogen, watch this space.
Nice video Jago - thank you!
Fascinating delve into history.
In the late 80’s I drove the GLC Waste trains (they had a more colourful nickname) from Brentford to Appleford (Didcot) with Class 56’s & 47’s. Guessing they burnt the rubbish in their big power station there. Another great video, thank you.
A welcome compliment to Geoff's video. 👍
The Grand Junction Canal was truly the best character
watching this reminded me of a local station to us. The Aldermaston railway station which is beside the once a busy industrial canal wharf at Aldermaston Wharf. The Wharf has an interesting history, as does the canal with it special lock designs which were originally turf-sided, but enlarged in the mid-eighteenth century and given scalloped brick walls.
I love the puns - they are verging on "Dad Level" Jokes.
Those sorts of jokes, and puns dont take much writing - they just appear....
Haltes or halts were unstaffed platforms where trains stopped.
Tickets would be sold by the guard on the train to joining passengers, and the guard did a third diryty as ticket collector collecting the tickets at the exit from departing passengers
If this nomenclature was still with us in this era of unstaffed stations, the majority of network rail would be halts.
Actually the still existing halts have been renamed as stations (for example South Greenford Halt which I used as a five year old)
in the turn of the fifties to sixties we watched excitedly at this bit of line as BR seemed to use it for experimental engines - for instance the. ill fated gas turbine one
Love this channel
FWIW, the Dutch word for tram (or bus) stop is 'halte" pronounced according to Dutch phonology (which can be bewildering, since the Dutch like to copy words, including phonology and orthography, from other languages). I never considered before this video what the etymology of the word might be. "Halt" as a command exists, but mostly used by police, and 'halteren" (to halt) is really only used in railway terms.
Always entertaining and humorous and very knowledgeable filling in a lot I would never have known if I had never subscribed. 😀
I used to live very near the "Three Bridges" for a long time. Loved walking along the canal towards Southall,passing the beautiful Sikh temple - Well worth the trip to Southall just to see it and the brilliant old cinema too.
Don't forget the incredible restuarants also. - A friend of mine would cycle from Southall,via the canal network all the way into central London at least one a month just for the hell of it( with a few diversions to various pubs).
More excellent maps!! Thanks.
'...first name that springs to mind; Isambard Kingdom Brunel.'
That's three names.
Another splendid video Mr H. 8:18 - 8:23 ... when you pause I'm sure I hear you twirling your waxed moustache...
Was on a rail tour via a few years ago. Went as far as the line went which was past the waste area
There's an aggregates yard on the line too, where they deliver rocks by freight. On the Picadilly line in-between Boston Manor and Osterley, when travelling westbound, you can see the tracks and the yard to the left, just after you cross the M4 motorway.
I'm pretty sure the land along the route is greenbelt, however if Osterley golf course or Osterley park was to be have a big development built, that could bring lease to this line. Then you could potentially have a shuttle train that runs between Southall and the area, as adjacent to platform 1 in Southall, you have the branch line. So it wouldn't interfere at all with the Western branch.
Amazing 👏
As always, very informative. And yes please to a video about Halts/Haltes.
Jago, very interesting story, as always
There is a proposal to make it 2 lines again, and run a passenger service from southall to the sky TV studios, apparently
"The line didn't go to waste." - hahahahahaha - how could I "refuse" to laugh????
That joke should be binned! It was rubbish ;-)