London's Lost Railways Ep.5 - Staines to West Drayton
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- It's Episode 5 of London's Lost Railways, and we're on the trail from Staines West staton, over the wonderfully bleak moor on the old line that goes throug Colnbrook, and to West Drayton - part of which is still in use as a freight line today.
Download the London's Lost Railways map here: www.geofftech....
More station info:
Staines West - www.disused-sta...
Staines also used to have a THIRD station 'Staines High Street' but that only lasted 32 years and there's nothing left to see of it (Go Google it for info though!)
Many thanks to illustrations by David Kirwin.
Appreciation for the extra walking Geoff does to put his camera in position and then walk back to film himself walking past it! Excellent!
He'll need to frame the next intro shot so no gymbal is needed to show 6 digits without twisting his torso though.
The question is, which of his crew will provide the 6th digit for the walk of another London-centric lost railway episode?
Are we about to see an all the lost railways franchise Geoff? Many out here in rural Britain aren't beside the M25, suburban railways or overflown !
I call this the "Les Stroud" camera shot. He did this all the time on Survivorman. He doesn't have a camera crew, so he has to walk back to pick up his camera each time he does it. :)
I have done it when I was filming myself hiking a few times, and it does make me very self conscious that someone could wander by and pick up my camera and take off with it.
It is one of the subtle things Geoff does that I really appreciate.
I was thinking that too!
Dear Geoff, when a teenager in 1959 I discovered Yeoveney in a BR Western Region timetable where it was described as a request stop. Having never heard of a request stop on a railway line before, my brother and I decided to go there. Living in Acton it was easy for us to get to - Acton Main Line change at West Drayton & Yiewsley. We took the train all the way to Staines West then walked the mile up Moor Lane until we got parallel to the platform. To access it we had to walk across a field and climb over a style. It was beautifully peaceful there listening to the birds singing while waiting for the train to return. The station consisted of a wooden platform, a fence along the back, a bench seat and a signboard displaying the name "Yeoveney". No shelter and no lighting. My brother and I loved going there, we went many times. We regarded it as our own special place as we never saw anybody else there. If we had nothing to do on a particular day we would say "Let's go to Yeoveney." And we did.
Thank you, Geoff, you have brought back wonderful memories.
Derek, that's ... beautiful, thank you, such a wonderful comment! I hope you have pictures on an early camera perhaps? We take it all so much for granted now to snap a picture on our phones. Glad to have brought back memories for you. Dare i suggest ... if you can, you should go there somepoint this year to walk the old line yourself !?
Geoff is the only person I know who combines Train, History, Maps, Vlogging and Parkour so well 👏🏾
Don't forget TRAINS
Has anyone mentioned trains yet?
Dont forgot Laughter in some vids Lol
And themed snacks...
*PARKOUR!*
I’m a local and I wasn’t aware that some of the old track bed was walkable. I know what I’ll be doing soon! 😊😊😊
You & me both.
I remember when the line to the South of Bath Road was still there.
@@anthonylloyd6094 Me too! I used to cycle to Heathrow to plane spot occasionally and I remember only once the wooden crossing gates closing. I don’t think it was too long after that the old gates were removed and the crossing became open. And then eventually it was fenced off. Sad times.
This is my 'local' lost line. There's been lots of talk over the years about using some of the old alignment for a southern Heathrow connection, so who knows - maybe one day we'll see trains again on part of this track! Also worth noting that GWR organise the occasional heritage weekend, running a passenger service down the freight line from West Drayton to Colnebrook and back on a class 150 or similar.
@Suðringa o there's an aggregates site there, some airport cargo logistics facilities for Heathrow, and an aviation fuel terminal for the airport
If this line was reopened a lot of traffic would be taken off the nearby motorway.
@@gerardburton1081 Nice idea but I doubt many people passing that length of the M25 would find a trainline from West Drayton to Staines much benefit. The benefit would be in a Western access to Heathrow.
@@PhilEadie65 I would disagree with you because many people can't drive or would like to start their journey from there to continue to a location that is far away.
@Suðringa o
BAA airport fuel, Lafarge tarmac and concrete and Ashville Concrete all have sidings on the remaining branch from West Drayton.
“...And yes, I did have this feeling of bleakness here, but there was also a beauty and tranquility amongst the bleak landscape, which I loved.” is the most Brontë Sisters thing I’ve ever heard. Also, it’s said in a Moor.
This series is combining Northern Heights with Wuthering Heights 😁
@@PlanetoftheDeaf Nice one 👏🏾
the moors there are a nice breath of fresh air, away from all the towns and industrial estates (an ex local)
@@skippyscage I’ve never been there, but I’ll take your word for it.
Though a very different type of moorland.
I live in the USA and have exactly nothing to do with railways in the UK, but I find all of this so fascinating. A bygone era for so many of us, after all. And I really appreciate your level of research and your videography on your own.
I also love the tranquility of bleak landscapes!
When our School bus didn't turn up ,it's pick up location was next to Colnbrook Station ,the whole group of us children would walk along the old track which was still completely intact to Staines West station and then on to school.
The old signal box was still there and we would play in it and the old disused Station at Colnbrook and would regularly be chased off by Mr Evans The station master who family to this day still lived in the old station house,
Facebook Colnbrook history group page has as an album on the old station with lots of old photos
A massive Thank You for this video!
I live not far from this and have walked on Staines Moor before (walking the dogs) and tried to spot visible signs of the abandoned line but I'll be going back with fresh eyes and a better idea of what to look out for. 👍
Edited to say I walked the Southern part of it (along Staines Moor) this morning and met a couple who were there today after watching your video last night! Great walk! 😃👍🥾
When I was a teenager, I used to be able to get in to the derelict station house at Staines west and look round. I think you had to bunk over a wall. Then I would walk around the station, its platform and twin platform lines. Then I used to walk up the track on Stainesmoor. Although this was a live railway and walking was not legal there were always plenty of dog walkers on the track on a Sunday. One of the notable things were a number of flat wooden battens between the sleepers running in parallel to the rails which BR had used in connection with automatic train control experiments they ran in the 1960s. I really wouldn't recommend to do it now, but it was nice to see somewhere I used to go when I was a bit of a tearaway.
I walk my dog over staines Moore every weekend and it's very informing to learn more about Staines West.
Used this line a lot in my youth. Steam Push and Pull from Staines to West Drayton to watch Kings and Castles thunder through on the main line to and from the West Country!
Really impressive building at Staines West. So glad it survives.
I believe that I've read that the Staines West building was an existing house which the promoters of the line bought and converted into a station. This explains why an otherwise rather penny-pinching single track railway had such an impressive terminus.
Thanks, Geoff for another very enjoyable video. My family has a long history with that area. My aunt and uncle had a house in Staines for decades, and I lived with them for a few weeks in 1971, during which I took the train to work near Paddington, so it took several changes: mainline from Staines to Richmond, District Line from Richmond to Hammersmith, then Hammersmith and City Line to Royal Oak. It would have been a but easier if I could have taken this line from Staines West to West Drayton, then the mainline into Paddington. Then one of my brothers was evacuated during World War II and was sent to Colnbrook, and finally another brother lived for about 40 years in Harlington, about a mile southeast of West Drayton.
Brilliant. It's great how you can be 'remote' next to an airport and a motorway...
I've travelled on that line, from Staines to Colnbrook, when I worked there back in the early Sixties.
Honestly, your videos are great. Out of context, this is a video of some bloke poking about some woods and the side of the road, pointing out some old stuff, but your passion and interest in this is palpable and makes this genuinely enjoyable to watch. Please keep up the excellent work.
thank you ... a lovely comment! 👍
Bonus fact: In Staines there were another station called Staines High St but it was closed during WW1
I never knew that. Well, we learn each day!
As I recal it was an entirely wooden platform and steps, the supporting infrastructre included what used to be Berts snack bar, now gone, and several shops on the other side of the highstreet at the start of atation path
Geoff: A fine mix of history, site-seeing, & nostalgia!
N.B. : The several incremental _MAP_ _INSERTS_ are helpful for our orientation _&_ to tie the "when" to the "where".
Please _DO_ continue to include these maps, as they show routes' connections, stations, extensions, etc. Yes, they DO add to the editing & post -- production load, but the also add a lot of _context_ _!_ Thanks!
/Mike _ _ . _ ._. _
Also note that at the end of this walk, there's a handy bus stop where you can hop on the 81 and head to Slough or Hounslow
What a delightful choice of destinations - Slough or Hounslow!
NEVER STOP MAKING THESE! So well made, presented and very interesting
thank you Chris, very kind. another one on Friday!
@@geofftech2 U should just in general make a lost railways in britain series like the least used stations series btw u forgot Shippea hill.
The c2c 720s
I’m loving this series. I’d never heard of this line before
These excursions are fast becoming classics. Many thanks for all the research and legwork involved - plus the unrelenting good humour which accompanies them.
i walked the old disused glasgow railway lines. there is a comfort in seeing history as you walk!!! love your videos!!!
Excellent Geoff. Thank you for the video. I remember Staines West before it closed.
It's so great that you came to this area Geoff! If you ever want to film the freight trains, the best spots are: 1) where the line crosses the river Colne (there's a footpath); 2) from the Thorney Mill Road bridge; and 3) from the path next to Godwins Pool. Let me know if you need a guide 😅
I used to live near there. All the places we used to play in and took for granted. But I do remember the noise from the motorway, which cut through and destroyed a farm at the end of our road. Great video; lots of memories.
Wow, Geoff is really pumping these out at the moment!
Good work Geoff! It’s well appreciated!
thanks Steve, i appreciate the kind comments too. thank you!
Excellent episode once again Geoff
I remember walking along the line (safely closed) on Staines/Stanwell moor, so it must have been before the motorway arrived. I remember when the M25 was a twinkle in somebody's eye, before it came along and started causing local flooding.
You can access the old tracks just a few 100m from Staines West Station, as the fence down Moor Lane has a big hole in it. You can walk along the tracks until it reaches a drop where a bridge would have been. It's pretty cool, and some trees have grown up straight through the gaps in the sleepers.
Thanks for these they're quite relaxing to watch after a day at work.
When I was a child living in Egham back in the 1950s I was also a devoted train rider and remember riding the train from Staines West to West Drayton and back. Thanks for reawakening this pleasant childhood memory.
love all your videos, please keep them coming!!!
Wow, I'm finding out about all the things I've missed on my walks. Last time you opened my eyes to what used to be next to Merton Abbey, now I've found out that there's a lot more to Staines Moor than I knew. I used to work in Staines, when we were allowed to work in our offices, and Staines Moor was a regular lunchtime walk for me, but everyone I worked with thought it was boring. Now I have lots of new things to tell them and explore there. Thanks. What would make these videos even better would be links to maps with your walks shown so we can easily follow in your footsteps.
I travelled on this line a couple of times in the early 1960s. A diesel bubble car was in use at the time. On weekdays the service frequency was irregular at difficult-to-remember times, but for some reason on Sundays is was regular at hourly intervals. Yeoveney station was in the middle of a field with, as far as I remember, no road access.
If you look at the 1945 aerial image on Google Earth around Heathrow you can find this line!
I was always fascinated by Crystal Palace high level. I remember looking over the wall at the abandoned station when I was little and going through the entrance to the Crystal Palace ( remains) to watch the racing when I got bigger.
It's surprising how bleak the area between Staines and Heathrow is. You notice it on the train from Staines through Feltham. One evening I had to take the train from Waterloo to Bracknell. It was a Sunday and the line had been dug up, so I had to get a train to Hounslow for a bus connwction to Virginia Water. The bus seemed to go through a waste land, in pitch darkness, passing a few forlorn rows of houses and the odd kebab joint. It felt like a remote part of the American mid west. Finally got to Bracknell 2 1/2 hours after leaving Waterloo.
Well done for saying 'Staines Moor' without a chuckle.
I use to live right next to the buffer where Staines West was and always loved looking at it. Now I know the route and I find out it goes to West Drayton where I also used to live. Small world.
lovin' these videos. it is so fascinating to learn of and see remnants of the past. heck i am american and i maybe know more about british rail than i do about my local area. thanks
It amazes me how parts of railway history are kept as easter eggs in such bizzare ways and still look so utterly natural to the modern surroundings.
Love your content and research Geoff.
Stay safe!
Congratulations Geoff for coming to my home town. I was walking on Staines Moor yesterday. ( Not as soggy as when you visited). There was a scheme back in the early 2000s called Airtrack which was to link Staines and the SWR to LHR Terminal 5. The platforms at Staines were going to be extended and originally a new station in a similar location to Staines High Street. That was soon deleted due to cost. The route would have gone along the old line and would have descended into tunnels to reach T5. I found the information brochure from the BAA ( British Airports Authority )last year while decorating and recycled it. I think it is now doubtful that this scheme will go ahead. Cheers.
Are you planning to trek the route of the former Crystal Palace and South London Junction Railway? Just remember to bring boots as, although charming, the path through Sydenham Hill Woods can become a tad muddy.
The other thing about the old Staines West station is I believe the lights in the current car park are made from the old platform's roof supports. Quite a nice touch to keep those around!
I can remember traversing the old level crossing at Colnbrook on the 81 bus or the Green Line coach that used to travel through there on the many trips I used to do in the 70's and 80's on the way to my aunt at Langley. I often wondered where the line went, never saw a train (!!!). And of course, being just a freight line by then, it never featured on any passenger service maps, so I was a little confused for many years...it all started making sense later on...!!
Got to say, really loving this series Geoff! Hoping for lots more to come
Perfect timing for finishing work 👌
Staines Urban District Council was offered the opportunity to become part of the new Greater London in 1974 but declined the opportunity. Modern day residents often complain about the town not being in TfL's travelcard zones (as nearby Feltham is)
Jim Obama I knew that was the case in 1964 when the GLC area was being planned, and Staines and Sunbury opted out, but did that happen again in 1974 when Spelthorne was created?
I hope you check out the set of garages on Whitehall rd Uxbridge. That was the site of an old railway cutting next to the green way near Brunel university
Loving the rebooted series! Great camerawork in this as well
My favourite bit of the remaining freight line from Colnbrook to West Drayton has to be the bit that goes straight through the middle of the busy M25/M4 interchange. You drive alongside the line if you travel on the slip roads from southbound M25 to westbound M4 or northbound M25 to eastbound M4. I love to think of the problems it gave the junction designer having to incorporate a railway line going right through the middle of it!
Cool! I'm not far from Staines, I didn't know about this! I certainly will be doing this!
This is such a good series Geoff! I'm super looking forward to the next one, as the GW & Uxbridge railway goes pretty much under my house! :)
Really enjoying these
Gotta love a lost railway 👍
Just caught up with the new vids Geoff. I heard of this one but had no idea how rural the line was (and still is!) Great that you were able to find all those isolated fragments to form one story, and I rather like the fact that at least a part of it is still in use. 👍
And yeah' the old crossing controls sort of framed the production nicely I thought 😜
Thanks as ever 🍻
Have been going through the playlist so didn't see the title, so I was so surprised to see you in a place I recognised! My parents and grandparents always used to mention that Staines had not one but /three/ different stations and point out the history of the town while I was growing up, and we've all moved to different places since. This was an unexpected but welcome blast of warmth and nostalgia after a long and gruelling night shift, so thank you for that!
you're welcome Alex! lovely comment - thanks. give the whole playlist a watch, they're all good!
I know it's a bit of a trek mate, but there's a lovely trail on The Wirral, from West Kirby to Hooton that used to be an old railway. It's now called The Wirral Way. I'd love a Geoff Marshall video of that walk
that station house. cottage is just darling!
If you look in the waiting room on platform 2 of Staines station there are several old photos of the railways in the local area. One of them is of the station building at Staines West with what I've always assumed to be all of the station staff lines up in front of the building.
A most attractive little line, I must say!! I won’t look at walking in southern London, but as many people say, very attractive.
great lost london railway's episode!
Brilliant videos keep up the good work stay safe 👍👏
Thanks for another excellent video, Geoff!
Stumbled on these vids today, fab! Used to live in Wraysbury, near Staines. I'm now in East Devon, I have a photo on my phone of a disused level crossing with the red circle on the gates, near Ottery St Mary. Get down here and get sleuthing! Lovely vids, thanks🥰
Good to see that walk. Years ago, when I was working as a consultant for various things, we developed a plan for a line off the Staines - Windsor route, roughly along that way, parallel with part of the M25, then diving down into tunnelling under Heathrow, into terminal 5 (there’s a bit of spare space for an extra 2 platforms in there; there is an artificial ‘wall’ down there), with various options at Staines, Richmond, Waterloo etc. Didn’t go anywhere; probably on file somewhere. ISTR there would have been a traction changeover en route, with the new bit being 25 kV in line with the existing Heathrow arrangement.
Love this series! Seeing these old railway lines full of plants and lost railway stuff is really interesting! Well done Geoff!
A friend and I walked up the freight line when the was level crossing was still there, not in use but no railings, this was back in the eighties, where the freight line meets the mainline we found an old Pill box, don't know if it's still there, I'll have to see if it's on Google earth.
Love your lost railway episodes, it must be quite exciting discovering relics from the railways past 👍
there's a bit on Google Maps (3D view) where you can see the bridge across the Wraysbury River, but you can't get to it because it's now fenced off - that must be right where the pill box is, i think ...
@@geofftech2 I think I found it, as the freight line comes into West Drayton coal yard, well it used to be the coal yard, right at the back there's a structure on Google Earth that's a bit odd, that coukd be it. I had a search online and a few commuters have posted seeing what looks like a pill box from the main line.
Hold a special place in my memory as this disused railway is near Royal Holloway University. Wished there was an Egham on the map tbh haha.
I went to Royal Holloway late 90s. I remember walking to Staines for a night out! Lived in Halls off site at Runnymede iirc, (60s block now since demolished and a Tapas bar). Then a house in Englefield Green. Watching this makes me realise I wasted the opportunity to explore the area. Found these things too late.
Yeoveney was once Runnemede Range does that count re Egham?!
@@ggkitchener1122 Don't think so. Yeoveney is towards the West Drayton direction so its away from Egham.
@@smoktephoto Runnemede was a misnomer though as shooting club emanated from there
This is so relaxing to watch. I like this.
I caught up with all the videos and I think you’re doing a brilliant job, Geoff! 👏🏾
Colnbrook is an oil terminal. It receives jet fuel from refineries and a pipeline takes it to Heathrow. It used to be a Colas contract, but think more recently it's been Freightliner
Hello Geoff, this is a great video, thank you for sharing this, this is much appreciated. Cheers Peter :)
I used to live in Stanwell Moor and before the M25/was built there in 1981 you could walk the length of the track to Staines West Station.
This is the key to my happiness
Great new series Geoff very interesting and detailed :).
Awesome series!
When Heathrow was fully operational a couple aviation fuel trains from Immingham went down the branch to Colnbrook terminal. Also a lit of the aggregates for T5 and T2 arrived down the line. Talk of reopening as link from the South to LHR. Some quite detailed plans developed.
I used to work near Heathrow starting in the late 1970s. There used to be a minor road that ran just below Wraysbury Reservoir, along what is now the alignment of the northbound carriageway of the M25, and as you approached Staines the long, low viaduct was very evident. The level crossing at Colnbrook Station was still operating at the time.
There is another nearby lost branch line from West Drayton Station, and that ran up to Vine Street Uxbridge. You'll be hard pressed to find remains of that, although part is (appropriately) land belonging to Brunel University. Uxbridge also had a branch line from the Marleybone mainline at Denham to a completely different railway station, not far from Vine Street, and there were plans to join the two, but it never happened. That line has gone as well, but there's a lot more of the route that remains.
Incidentally, in June 1972 a BEA Trident, flight 548 crashed on Staines Moor near the start of that walk on Staines Moor. Excluding Lockerbie, which was a terrorist incident, it has the highest death toll of any air accident in the UK (118 people). Amazing to think that is almost half a century ago.
thanks Steve .. yes the Vine Street video is the next video in the series!
The road which you mention was Moor Lane which used to run from the point where Geoff was standing up to Poyle. It was also severed by the M25. If you look at Google Maps you can follow the northern part of the route as it runs next to the reservoir up to the roundabout at the junction of Stanwell Road and Poyle Road. It was the route that my late grandfather would take to work when he worked in Colnbrook in the mid 70s.
@@steve.b.23 Thanks. I can't say I ever took note of the road name, but it was a useful back route into Staines (or Staines on Thames as it now prefers to be known - which I think sounds like a pollution experiment).
I'm trying to remember what Staines is also known for, apart from being where linoleum was invented).
@@TheEulerID You're welcome, sir!
Off the top of my head, Lagonda were founded here. The worst aircrash in the UK happened next to the A30 in the early 70s. Hard-Fi hail from the town. And how could you forget Ali G?!
None of the locals call it Staines-upon-Thames. The renaming was a vanity project for a small number of councillors with delusions of grandeur. You can't polish a turd, but you can rename it Turd-upon-Thames.
edit: I can't spell : (
Nicely done
My Dad and I were there on the last day of running and have a 9.5mm film of the day's events :)
I also rode the line on that last day.
David West I was on a DMU railtour (in 1980, I think) that took in this line, plus the Brentford branch, the Coley branch (Reading) and Abingdon.
Loving Geoff's use of the word "obliterated"
Oooooh, stay off the moors 🎥
Stay safe Geoff.
Great video, Geoff. I remember the Staines West station building in the 1970s. No trains by then but you could still see the derelict platform to the rear. The undeveloped building had a Victorian postbox set in the wall, which was still in use, and the buses terminating in Staines used to turn around in front of the station in the days before Staines Bus Station was built.
Hi geoff nice video please do more!
Great content! Live around these parts and didn’t know this. It’d be super handy if it still existed, without a car, it’s a pain getting between Staines and the north side of Heathrow Airport and vice versa.
nice series
You seem to be really enjoying exploring these lost lines and your videos make great viewing. In my locality we have the old King's Lynn-Hunstanton railway, much of which can be walked and much which has been built over. Three stations are now private houses, one is a museum and the other a builder's merchants. Level crossing cottages still exist and most platforms remain but no rails. Hunstanton Station has been obliterated and is now a large car park. There are local plans afoot to re-instate the railway but not the original route.
Enjoying this new series now that you can finally get out and about! - Once the world is back to normal you should come out to Australia for a working holiday and do some videos on our railway networks
4:04 Those posts look suspiciously like platform supports. Methinks you found quite a bit of station remaining!
I agree, that is indeed what I believe them to be.
This took me back to the 1960s when I visited my grandparents at Thorney Mill Lane. Can just remember the bubble car running before it became freight only.
Please forgive me for not catching up on these videos. It looks like great fun.
I was aware of a train from West Drayton to Uxbridge but I never knew of this line, very interesting to learn of this lol, great video
Although I did always question why those crossings at the end were there whenever I went past on the 81 lol
Used to work at poyle trading estate and walked this stretch of old lost railway last summer.
I worked in Calder way, colnbrook for years and a rail bridge crossed the river next to the car park, I don’t think you can cross it from any direction.
Go speak to Daniel at Ashville construction/concrete. He has a rail head north Colnebrook Estate. He has ballast, gravel etc delivered to his yard by train via the freight only loop from West Drayton. He used to do train drone montages, however he has stopped that. Daniel likes trains.
Enjoyed the video update very much. Take care.