Newport (Maindee East Jn) to Hereford - Hastings DEMU cab ride - 24 March 2018
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- Опубликовано: 30 июл 2024
- The Sixty Marches charter, Part 5:
Cab view from Newport (Maindee East Junction) up the Welsh Marches Line to Hereford. Filmed from Hastings Diesels Limited’s preserved Hastings DEMU on Saturday 24 March 2018, during the outward leg of The Sixty Marches private charter.
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In this video we travel 43 miles and 79 chains in 51 minutes across Monmouthshire and Herefordshire, crossing and re-crossing the Wales/England border and skimming the edge of the Brecon Beacons. Initially we are on the Pontypool, Caerleon & Newport Railway which was built to act as a ‘bypass’ for the busy Monmouthshire Railway south of Pontypool, which the Newport, Abergavenny & Hereford Railway had originally been obliged to share. In the Pontypool area we pass a vast area which used to be heavily industrialised and served by many railway lines... all of them gone except for the one we are on, passing abandoned industry, overgrown railway sidings and a suspiciously new-looking housing estate. North of Pontypool we are on the Newport, Abergavenny & Hereford Railway proper, and at Abergavenny we pass first the existing station and then the site of a huge station of which nothing remains. Our climb steepens to 1 in 82 and our speed eventually stabilises at 40mph as we crest the summit at Llanvihangel, thereafter we have a fast run on downhills and moderate grades into Herefordshire and eventually down into the City of Hereford.
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This outing began at Hastings and ran via Tonbridge, Redhill and Guildford to Reading; then from Reading via Hungerford (part 1) to the Westbury area (part 2) where we turned right at Heywood Road Junction, through Bradford-on-Avon and Bath to Filton (part 3), through the Severn Tunnel into Wales, to Maindee Junction (Newport) (part 4) for the line through Abergavenny to Hereford (this part); the return journey was via the same route.
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Video footage is from an unattended unmonitored forward-facing cab-camera in motor coach 60116 Mountfield.
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1:23 - Newport MAINDEE EAST JUNCTION
4:23 - Maindee North Junction
7:34 - Caerleon disused station
9:22 - Ponthir disused station
10:54 - Llantarnam disused station
11:31 - site of Llantarnam Junction
12:50 - Cwmbran station
13:09 - Lower Pontnewydd disused station
14:05 - Chapel Lane Ground Frame - Panteg Goods Loops
14:53 - site of Panteg Junction and former steelworks
15:36 - site of Coedygric Junction
16:40 - site of Coedygric North Junction
17:04 - Pontypool and New Inn station
18:36 - Little Mill Junction, Signal Box & disused station
20:48 - Nantyderry disused station
22:51 - Penpergwm disused station
24:40 - Abergavenny Signal Box and station
25:58 - site of Abergavenny Junction and disused station
30:44 - Llanvihangel disused station and the summit of the line
33:09 - Pandy disused station
37:02 - Pontrilas Signal Box and disused station
37:15 - site of Pontrilas Junction
40:05 - St Devereux disused station
42:07 - Tram Inn Signal Box and disused station
44:09 - Red Hill Tunnel
45:10 - site of Red Hill Junction
46:59 - site of Rotherwas Junction
48:57 - HEREFORD.
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Video, soundtrack and captions © Copyright 2018-2019 Hastings Diesels Limited.
www.hastingsdiesels.co.uk/
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Travel on our train! See our Railtours webpage at:
www.hastingsdiesels.co.uk/rai...
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Equipment: video by GoPro Hero3+ camera with focus modification, suction-mount and extra batteries; video production by Da Vinci Resolve (free).
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Here are the actual timings for the day’s outing:
www.hastingsdiesels.co.uk/dia...
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Here are annotated extracts from the Network Rail Section Appendix:
* Outward: www.dropbox.com/s/nexbk2jdnmp...
Our return journey’s route was changed just a day or two before the trip because of a bridge strike - from Hereford to Filton Abbey Wood we were supposed to have been routed via Worcester and the Gloucester area to Yate and Bristol Parkway, but as things turned out we had to retrace our steps via the Severn Tunnel. The following shows our original route.
* Return: www.dropbox.com/s/kana0042y09...
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Авто/Мото
Nice to ride that route again , I used it many times when I was at stationed at , Creden Hill . A friend told me that once upon a time , many moons ago , it had it's own station . Interesting , and well presented as always . Thank You .
Having left the mother country exactly 50 years ago in June 1974, watching videos like these help keep me in touch with railway journeys in the UK. As I love to reminisce of the old railway lines on trips I have traveled as a young lad on holidays in the past, it keeps my memories alive. I want to say how much I appreciated your wonderful whole five segments of this fantastic trip in areas I was once familiar with and want to say how diligent I thought the driver of this Hastings Diesel was with his horn warnings well before the sign appeared. Also the information provided on the screen was extremely informative of old by-gone days of over two centuries.
You all have to be commended.
Many thanks for this! Glad we've been able to keep you reminiscing!
Wow.. whoever came up with the idea of filming train rides from the cab.. I take my hat off to them because it's something wonderful for guys of my age & older to be able to see what we wanted to see all those yrs ago but could only look out the side windows of the train pulling us along ..
lovely ride man..I love these remote country rides, especially the " One Track " ones,,through the middle of nowhere..they're just great..!!!.
Lovely Capture and a superb route, the GWR(/LNW) Signalling are very impressive, its stayed strong and is a testament to the Victorians who built it.
Can't wait for the return trip!!
Nice run. I've enjoyed these sequences from Reading. Good to see the ex-GWR lower quadrant signals are still in place as of 2018, they certainly add to the lines character.
It’s taken us a month to go from Reading to Hereford... but even on the day that was a long old slog wasn’t it? No wonder the driver says “Six miles to Hereford!” with a sense of relief... :)
A fantastic series, informative in each episode and a pleasure to watch. Great job on this, Richard.
Thank you Starman
Thank you! An excellent piece of railway filming, made all the more valuable by the on-screen commentary and maps.
Thank you Martin, glad you appreciated my efforts.
On screen information and on screen map positioning; who could possibly Usk for more?
I agree.
@@RichardFelstead1949 Seconded
Great ride, guys, and congrats on making up the time. I'm off to watch another Hastings video. Cheers!
I have been with you on all the cab rides very interesting and informative thank you
More great footage with really helpful maps and captions: thank you! Interesting the trip touched on an area so severely affected by the Beeching axe in the 1960s, but which the South Wales Metro proposals envisage revitalising.
Thank you Richard. These things are always evolving, aren’t they - we’ll see what comes of the proposals.
Thanks for sharing. Excellent as usual. Bob Mac.
I'll second that, the on screen map is a great addition to these videos, saves me flitting between tabs to OSM
Thank-you Richard Griffin and all associated with making this splendid Video series.
Thank you! ^RG
Many thanks for another wonderful cab ride Richard. These videos make my week.
Thanks Mike, that’s kind of you.
Another brilliant and beautifully made video! Thanks !
Thank you Andrew.
Thanks, once again, Richard. Very enjoyable.
Thank you phwbooth.
Many thanks, Richard for your cab rides in this wonderful train.
Thank you Ian, glad you enjoy them.
Love your videos. Beautiful Countryside! Big thanks from New York.
Thank you Ted.
Another brilliant bit of driver's eye view footage!
Like a few others who have made the same comment, the on screen historical notes are excellent. Locations of closed stations - which seem in the main, to have sympathetically restored station houses; junctions of long closed branches, and other notes make these videos just a little better than others without “overdoing” it. And those lower quadrants - don’t tell the signal engineers they’re still there! Thanks again!
Thank you, Andrew. Yes, there is always the risk of overdoing it and I’m trying to walk that line with care. Thanks again. Richard.
Hi, since I have been watching your videos I have learnt such a lot about how the railways work, junctions, signals etc, and its been a real good history lesson too. The numbers of closed lines, and stations is staggering, I always knew the 1960's were a time of closures but it was more like a holocaust for the railways. Thank you
Thank you, glad you've found it interesting!
Fantastic yet again, another saturday night's decent viewing on offer, roll on the,next one, awesome stuff
Thank you, Antony.
terrific video, onscreen info takes it to the next level
Thank you J Mac, glad you enjoyed.
Very interesting film. Thank you ! I was surprised that no trains at all came in the opposite direction.
There was one I saw but it was at a station where there was an island platform
Good point. It seems there’s only 3 trains per 2 hours over this section.
WHAT A BRILLIANT CAB RIDE VERY INTERESTING AND ENJOYABLE
Thank you Hamish, glad you liked it.
Very good, travelled that way a few times, thank you....
Thank you, Leslie.
Another superb video presentation. Such a pity your proposed route home was compromised, that would have been a really interesting run. Thanks to all concerned.
Thank you Ho Bo, glad you enjoyed it. Yes, a pity but perhaps another time.
Thank you for the video.
I've travelled on this line several times over the last few years,most recently between Cardiff and Chester when I went to North Wales and ultimately Liverpool.
A very good video once again with the maps. And the list of places and disused stations on the way
Thank you, Richard
Best of the series. Lots of curves and grades. I sure would have liked to see the scheduled return trip. Too bad that there was a track emergency.
Thanks. Indeed!
This is great work
Looking at a map you'd think the trip would be slow with all the curves but it's not. Great video as always HDL.
Thank you, Richard.
Very good, I enjoyed that ( at X2 speed).
Just a few notes about Hereford.
This map shows the various lines in and out of the city in the early 1900s [1].
Moorfields and Barton Stations were closed (the latter being demolished in 1913) when the rail companies then serving the city all agreed to work out of Barr’s Court Station.
Though passenger services from Barton Station ceased, the line south remained open as a goods line until the late 60s. A number of years later it was converted to walkway/cycle path though, more recently, there have been calls to recommission it as part of a light railway route.
A potted history of the railways in the city can be found in this book [2], with greater detail being found in this book [3].
A couple of other (none railway) notes.
Two or three hundred yards on, after passing under the A49 bridge, there’s a relatively new housing estate on the left. This was built on what was the old Bradbury (Sterling) Lines SAS camp. (They’re now based out of the old RAF base at Credenhill - a little to the west and north of the city.)
A few hundred yards further on, one passes Rotherwas. This was the site of a large munitions factory built during WW1 (and subsequently reopened for WW2).
[1] maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=14&lat=52.0559&lon=-2.7159&layers=171&b=1
[2] www.amazon.co.uk/Shaping-Modern-Hereford-Graham-Roberts/dp/1873827679
[3] www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B074SJ4JWM/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Very nice.
Great to see in reverse..
Another excellent film. Pity about the line closure at Ledbury. Perhaps another time?
As ever, a brilliant film record. The whole journey was spectacular, especially the bits on the Berks & Hants and onward to Bath. This last section seemed to be bereft of other trains. Did Dr. Beeching miss a trick perhaps?
Great video. So, what about a 157 mile return trip to Readings via Hungerford? Would love to take the journey back to where we'd started from in the first place.
I like the idea of that... but don’t forget it gets dark quite early in March, and it was actually just about dark by the time we got back to Bath: as you may see…!
Nice run.
Can someone remind the driver to sound the horn *on passing* whistle boards [not as soon as he sees them]?
Very true.
Magnificent !! One teensy weensy question if I may............what's next and when? I'm on a need to know basis or it's back on the Cleethorpes vids again ;)
Thank you John. I try to publish a video each Saturday if I can. I'm expecting to publish part of the return leg of this outing, until daylight fades around Bath.
Great video but strange that not a single train passed in the opposite direction. Any reason for this?
Fantastic journey. Nice to know the history of the railway. Do you have one driver for a journey like tbat
It needs more than one driver because of driving hours regulations. One driver drove all of what we see in Parts 1 to 5.
Thanks richard for another great video,What was the knocking noise was it a engine knock or a wheel noise,cheer's bob.
Thanks. It's a wheel-flat on the leading wheelset of this motor coach unfortunately.
The line from Newport to Hereford seemed to be very well engineered and (apart from the occasional wet spot) very well maintained. I've travelled over this section in daylight in a Class 175 from Bangor to Cardiff and one definitely gets a different perspective on the curves and the gradients when you are effectively occupying the Secondman's seat in the driving cab. It's good that the journey was undertaken in the Spring, whilst the trees were devoid of leaves, otherwise it would have been like travelling along one extensive green tunnel, with little to see to the left and to the right. Network Rail, isn't it time that you took a chainsaw to all of this lineside vegetation?
what happened in '58 to close all those stations?
As with so many other places, it was the improvement of local roads and the misplaced belief that buses and cars could replace the railways.
Sounds like a flat tyre on one of those wheels !
You have a very gassy driver 😂. Great video watched all five.
A sure fire flat from Maindee?
Does this line extend up to Chester?
Newport looks a nice town...….the further you get away from it!!!
another great production, just a rather dull line, The Welsh Marches.....shame about not going back via chosen route.
Thank you... I disagree, the Welsh Marches line seems to me full of interest, massive history, steep gradients, some pretty decent running all told. That said I was looking forward to the Worcester route too.
Ummm........I. ..er...geeze gotta go.
do u come to hfd evey day then i from hfd my self
Is there a flat spotted wheel on the motor coach?
Yes, afraid so.
@@hastingsdiesels doesnt that risk further damage especially running it at 75mph?
Modest wheel-flats such as that one are noisy but not dangerous. The presence of a modest wheel-flat does not increase the risk of wheel-lock under braking. As circumstances permit, we do get our tyres 'turned' but it is quite an involved and costly process (either lift the vehicle off its bogies, remove the wheelset and send it away for turning, or send the train away to a facility with an underfloor wheel-lathe).