It was always amusing to see peoples faces at Highbury & Izzy Station when some random Anglia Railways trainset pulled up totally unannounced - doors open, nobody getting, nobody getting off - randomly and for no explained reason. Shows how well this was marketed! Btw, I still love the Class 170, especially on Chiltern. Great trains, based on the last ones BREL built before being sold off to Adtranz.
@jackmartinleith
Ай бұрын
Not so much poorly marketed as badly implemented. Services need to go from A to Z calling at B, C, D etc, every time, no deviation. The marketing people had an impossible task.
@KempSimon
Ай бұрын
@@jackmartinleith - If you weren't weighed down with heavy luggage, wasn't it easier to catch a direct train from Norwich to London Liverpool Street, take the Underground from there to London Waterloo and then board a direct train to Basingstoke?
@KempSimon
Ай бұрын
Forgotten? I remember it very well! It was about the same time that South West Trains started running through services (via Salisbury) from London Waterloo to Bristol Temple meads and New Southern Railway started running through services from Brighton to Rugby via Kensington Olympia using dual-voltage Class 319 EMU's!
@realman6ft6
Ай бұрын
That large area at Stratford between the platforms is where the shuttle buses used to go between the mainline station and Stratford International before Westfield and the DLR extension opened and the only way into to Stratford International was the one by the now positioned DLR.
@kevinellis8869
Ай бұрын
This brought back so many memories. Between 1978 and 1991 I lived in Chiswick Village, the complex of flats that's bounded on two sides by the District Line and Hounslow loop and was a regular traveller at both Gunnersbury and Kew Bridge. Fast forward to early 2002 and we were living in Dorset and my eldest daughter had a Uni interview in Chelmsford so we used this route to avoid Central London, probably the first time I'd been on a 170 (use them all the time now living in Nottingham). It would make so much sense to put the third rail in between South Acton and the two sides of the Kew Bridge triangle the possibilities would be endless, but DfT don't want anymore third rail - witness Headbolt Lane on Merseyside.
@LostsTVandRadio
Ай бұрын
I remember that the launch publicity said 'it's like the M25 for trains' I wanted to find the time to use the service but sadly it was withdrawn before I got the chance.
@KempSimon
Ай бұрын
Same here! I suspected from the outset that this innovative train service wouldn't last long as it was easier to travel from Norwich to Basingstoke via London Liverpool Street and London Waterloo!
@SimpsonBrooker
Ай бұрын
A few notes to add for you to note at Stratford. The large platform area between platforms 10a and eleven used to be the main station building entrance and road led to in front the building behind that red wall. Also when this was moved and rebuilt the older building was demolished leaving this larger area and also they covered over the down line crosslink used. Can you guess, yes platform 10a is built on top of this old line and hence when the connection was to the GEML.
@StephenHutton-ig1xp
Ай бұрын
I once used this service from Woking to Stratford. Never again. On joining the North London Line, which had a far less frequent service at the time(Only 3 or 4 an hour) we rapidly caught up a slow train. I reckon we spent more time at Red signals that we were moving.
@TonieandSusanPollard
Ай бұрын
Most interesting. You commented on the slightly odd location and appearance of Gunnersbury Station; did you know that it was completely wrecked by a tornado (only a few yards in width) on 8th December 1954?
@craigthomson3621
Ай бұрын
I live in a house in Canonbury, and I can see Canonbury Station through a gap in the houses opposite. I used to occasionally see this Anglia service pass through Canonbury. At the time I had a job that necessitated occasional visits to Ipswich and I did consider trying to catch the Anglia service from Highbury & Islington to Ipswich. However, the timings were inconvenient and infrequent (a fatal combination) so I just used to make my way to Liverpool Street and take a train to Ipswich from there.
@pianoman1396
Ай бұрын
I remember this service; I went on it on the London section (the zones 1-6 travelcards were valid on the service). It’s funny because it used chords that are no longer used by passenger trains these days. I’m sure these used 158/159s, when I went on it.
@whyamiwhat
Ай бұрын
anglia railways never had any 158s or 159s, their only DMUs were 156, 153 and 170s
@williambutcher7432
Ай бұрын
I used to use this service to get home from Camden to Colchester when I was a commuter, it was nice and quiet! However I had numerous disputes with ticket inspectors about the validity of my ticket, eventually getting a written confirmation from management at Anglia Railways that my ticket WAS perfectly OK....I probably still have the letter somewhere.. I gave up with the hassle eventually and returned to the Camden Town-Moorgate-Liverpool St mayhem.....but it was good for a while.
@KempSimon
Ай бұрын
It would be so good to see a copy of that letter!
@williambutcher7432
Ай бұрын
@@KempSimon Well, I almost certainly still have it somewhere, but finding it could be an issue after all this time! I have just retired and one of my "to-do" jobs is clear stuff out, if I find it I will comment here but it could be a year away!
@ADAMEDWARDS17
Ай бұрын
I can remember getting on at Highbury and Islington to travel to West Hampstead and getting a coffee from the bar!
@matthewwilliamson8430
Ай бұрын
110 to Hammersmith! The Incredible Changing Bus Route! When I was young it went Twickenham Station to Hounslow Bus Garage then onward to Cranford when the wind was blowing in the right direction or when the driver felt like it.
@peterknight6535
Ай бұрын
I think when I was a conductor, the 110 ran between Hanworth (Brown Bear) to Cranford.
@Thornaby37
Ай бұрын
I once travelled all the way from Basingstoke to Colchester on this service, purely for the fun of it. The train was completely packed for the first part of journey, however it seemed that everyone got off at Woking except for me. I think I had the coach to myself the rest of the way, and the North London Line was very slow
@KempSimon
Ай бұрын
The slowness of the North London line neatly explaining why this innovative direct train service from Norwich to Basingstoke (which never reached its intended destination in the bay platform at Bournemouth!) only ran for two years!
@IainG81
Ай бұрын
I did enjoy the video, First time I've seen your channel. I remember this service being advertised at Brentford don't think I ever saw one stop tho. Used to travel from Brentford to Twickenham for college. It wasn't around during commuting times.
@thetflthree
Ай бұрын
I do believe Brentford was very rarely served by trains. According to a timetable on Wikipedia it only had 1tpd in the morning. But then again infrequent service was the reason why Crosslink failed- Hugh
@gibsonms
Ай бұрын
Waheyyyy! Felthamite here, and I used to live in Woking. Woking to Ipswich was a weird route!
@arch9enius
Ай бұрын
I noticed the other day Thameslink stops at Wimbledon , on journeys between St. Albans and Sutton.
@martyn6792
Ай бұрын
A bit like the Lowestoft through service to Liverpool Street, used that a couple of times also used 170s I think
@robinjones6999
Ай бұрын
What a great video and so informative. Reminds me of the train you could once get that went from Brighton to Glasgow / Edinburgh
@KempSimon
Ай бұрын
The famous, locomotive-hauled "Sussex Scot" Cross-Country service which I once used to travel direct all the way from Glasgow to Guildford, with a change from electric to diesel traction at Birmingham?
@Clivestravelandtrains
Ай бұрын
I remember that too, went via Kensington olympia and Clapham Junction. Waited a long time in platform 17 at Clapham Junction while the Southern Region worked out how to handle a "real" inter-city train!!
@cedriclynch
Ай бұрын
I used this service a few times because I could get from Potters Bar to Honiton with only two changes, at Highbury & Islington and at either Woking or Basingstoke. However it was slower than using the Underground from Finsbury Park to Waterloo. The Anglia trains ran around the North London Line stopping at only a few of the stations but they could not overtake the North London trains that were stopping at all stations. This meant that Anglia's 100mph trains ran for 15 miles at about 10mph. The buffets on the Anglia trains sold confectionery at the same price that the same items would have cost in a shop, whereas South West Trains charged about three times as much.
@FrangoTV1
Ай бұрын
Great video Hugh; I’m glad you’ve drawn attention to this long defunct train connection which I suspect was ahead of its time. As far as private train operators go, I think Anglia Railways was at the top of the league. As you mentioned in the video, it sounds like congestion on the North London Lines caused it to become an unreliable and infrequent link. I’ve subscribed to your Channel - thanks again. ☺️
@peterd788
Ай бұрын
Thank you. People though i was mad when i said you could once catch a train from Basingstoke to Norwich.
@KempSimon
Ай бұрын
Anglia Railways wanted to run their Turbostar DMU's all the way through to/from Southampton Central, but Basingstoke was the furthest which they ever got!
@ArmanHashtroudi
17 күн бұрын
I never even knew this line existed! I live in Richmond which is near Brentford and once we needed to get to Norwich and what we did was get 110 bus (which is my local bus) to Hammersmith, then the H&C to Liverpool Street then Greateranglia but if I knew this existed it would’ve been so much more useful😊
@JasonLong4875
Ай бұрын
The 170's that Greater Anglia had used, were sent to Transport For Wales's Cardiff Canton and used on The Ebbw Vale Line between Cardiff Central, Maesteg or Bridgend and Ebbw Vale Town, they were also used between Gloucester and Cardiff, they were sent away to East Midlands Railway because the Department of Transport had the final say weather TFW kept them or not
@BusesFromHanworth
Ай бұрын
Ah yes! Feltham! My local station in West London! Living here for a few months and I never knew about this
@DanBen07
Ай бұрын
Also similar to the Croydon - Watford service there used to be one by Virgin trains. Basingstoke to Norwich i never went on this train service but I remember seeing it on the London and Southeast train map publications.
@harshilpatel684
Ай бұрын
This is actually insane. Who came up with it and how did it last 2 years! Even just connecting any 2 bits together seems wild, like Basingtstoke to Staines or Feltham, or Feltham to Willesden Junction - and some of those would make useful journeys!
@michaeljohndennis2231
Ай бұрын
Being Irish and living in Manchester 23 years, I find this very interesting and indeed, when I saw the title of the video, I did initially think of the Elizabeth Line - as an aside, here in Manchester, I use the SailRail service to travel home to family in Ireland via Holyhead - Dublin, but changing trains at Chester, Crewe and Lladnuo is a real pain where there should really be a train from Hull, via Leeds, Manchester Victoria (not Piccadilly) to Holyhead - aside from the constant (post-HS2) shelving of the high speed rail tunnel under the Irish Sea from Holyhead to Dublin, it is encouraging news to hear that the Irish government is investing in Irish Railways, as they are planning to comply with EU climate change rules and are banning short-haul flights between Ireland, the U.K. and Europe - aside from links from the Irish Ferries and Stena terminals via Dublin Docklands into Dublin City Centre via LUAS Trams or DART underground they are planning a line to Dublin Airport and they are extending the M3 Parkway Line to Navan in the coming years, having already completed an upgrade to Dublin Pearse Station
@maimadha
Ай бұрын
Great video.
@pete6645
Ай бұрын
What a great railway! They certainly ought to revive it. Perhaps extend the south-western end on to Southampton.
@markpunt9638
Ай бұрын
In a similar vein - what happened to the amazing Brighton to Bristol service. And then again there was the Brighton to Edinburgh via Birmingham. Both extremely useful😢
@adlam97531
Ай бұрын
i travelled on it once when I needed to get to the other side of London, but found out there was no train I could take on my way back at the time i wanted to travel.
@thetflthree
Ай бұрын
Yeah infrequent service was the achilles heel of the Crosslink which is why it ceased after 2 years, then again the Elizabeth line basically provides an easier link today -Hugh
@Clivestravelandtrains
Ай бұрын
Really enjoyed this film, very informative to provincial guys like me! I guess there will now be a spike in tickets issued Feltham to ingatestone now that you've publicised it as an adventure holiday. Personally I'd walk between the two stations where you caught the bus (can't remember their names). By the way, look at the LENS when you are talking to us!!
@KeithDumpleton
Ай бұрын
I used to use that service. I was delivering cars from a garage in Borehamwood, and often delivered to Basingstoke. Got the Crosslink back and changed onto Thameslink at West Hampstead. Often wondered if it confused Silverlink passengers who were used to all trains stopping at all stations.
@Andrewjg_89
Ай бұрын
I remember London Crosslink that they used to have or hired some of Anglia Railways’s Class 170s and went via the North London Line and Brentford from Norwich to Basingstoke.
@antigod8385
Ай бұрын
great video hugh! shame this service doesn't exist anymore but if it did i'd want more than a 170 🤣
@davidfalconer8913
Ай бұрын
ANY intercity service that passed through ADDLESTONE had to be investigated ( ? ) .... I did the whole thing in 2002 , and OMG it took all day ... but .... I was accompanied by a young family , playing a game of : [ spot how many bathroom fixtures , thrown down the embankment ] , on the LMS part in London ! ... FYI , although electrified , the turnoff from Byfleet and New Haw up to Addlestone was also a freight only section .. also amusing : ( the next stop is Gospel Oak , change here for the BARKING line ) ... ( ? ) .... incredible fun , but tedious ................. DAVE™🛑
@robertsmith4830
Ай бұрын
I remember seeing these trains very occasionally in back 2001 and always wondered what the point was. By the way, why did you choose Ingatestone and not Chelmsford as your destination? Unless you live there, or have a hankering to see the old station building, there's really no other reason to visit. Chelmsford is only 8 minutes further along and has a far more frequent service back in to London.
@PaulGodfrey
Ай бұрын
I remember that service and badly wanted to try it out. But never did as it was impossible to do a day return with the limited timetable.
@KempSimon
Ай бұрын
Same here!
@AFCManUk
Ай бұрын
Just had an idea for a video for you guys. Everyone's mate, Nick Badley, recently made a video where he visited Northern Rail's most Northerly and Southerly stations . . . How about one where you all visit London's most North, South, East and Westerly Stations? If you split into two groups, one could do North-South, and the other East-West, maybe arranging to meet somewhere in the middle at the halfway point? Just an idea :)
@haden3828
Ай бұрын
I use to see this pass through Stratford after school….not sure if it was.
@MrGriser
Ай бұрын
This service was withdrawn just after my Grandmother died she was the only surviving grandparent I had 😢😢
@KempSimon
Ай бұрын
I'm very sorry to learn of your sad loss. It really hurt me when my maternal Grandmother passed away.
@-MapEnthusiastjj4eu
Ай бұрын
Interesting service 🤔 it only ran for 2 years thats sad
@KempSimon
Ай бұрын
Hardly anyone ever used it, that's why! You can get from Norwich to Basingstoke via Liverpool Street and Waterloo!
@barttheanorak
Ай бұрын
Or one could just get a tube from Waterloo to Stratford and connect with the GEML there.
@KempSimon
Ай бұрын
Which, I suspect, is what most people did if they weren't burdened with young children or heavy luggage!
@EM-yk1dw
Ай бұрын
It was a good service.
@KempSimon
Ай бұрын
Just tediously slow and miserably infrequent!
@Welshy1717
Ай бұрын
Ooh he's back taking the reins of another adventure 😎 why are they not building more of these East to West lines....... we have enough North to Souths with Kingscross, Euston, Liverpool Street) and they keep pushing for this HS2 line running to Birmingham. Give us more Cross Country rail connections..
@Sim0nTrains
Ай бұрын
Nice video on retracing the route, Is there any plans for more journeys like this?
@goatgamer001
25 күн бұрын
If this service was to run with active trains as of 2024, a good option would be the class 755
@Korokukanas
25 күн бұрын
Studying for Fallout: London......
@williamhuang8309
Ай бұрын
14:17 Why do the 720s have such poor ride quality? When I rode on one it was similarly bumpy.
@GregLoutsenko
Ай бұрын
no need for this, just use the elizabeth line
@thetflthree
Ай бұрын
Need I remind you that this service ceased 20 years prior to the Elizabeth Line opening, also the whole point of the video was to retrace, of course today it wouldn't make sense.-Hugh
@aleksmot
26 күн бұрын
Amazing story - I never heard about this service before and you tracked it nicely. BUT Please stop touching your hair every 20 seconds or so... It's SOOO distracting. Maybe worth getting some sort of headband? You may not even notice it but it keeps happening... Otherwise your style and material are great, just need a bit of presentation discipline :)
@ChoobChoob
Ай бұрын
Do you think they could bring Crosslink back using the Crossrail tunnel? 🤣
@JP_TaVeryMuch
Ай бұрын
2:56 Pardon me, please permit the pushy pronunciation pedant in me to politely point out that more often than not, place names are not said as their pattern of letters at first glance suggests. Just as it's Bucker still, so too is it far closer to sthg approaching In guh stun than a slaveish sticking to the sequence of syllables some have fallen foul of. Faydun Boys n so on geeze.
@MrMWRMWR
Ай бұрын
That was hard work I didn't need.
@JP_TaVeryMuch
Ай бұрын
@@MrMWRMWR Bravo ragazzo for doing whatever your hardwork was, regardless.
Пікірлер: 77