England's Lost Main Line Railway: Rediscovering the Great Central Main Line

there was once a railway it carried passengers it carried freight and it did so at speed for this was no provincial branch line no backwater of the railways this was a mainline from nottinghamshire to central london arrival to the east coast west coast and midland main lines and now it is gone me the great central main line was the vision of member of parliament and railway entrepreneur edward watkin as director of the manchester sheffield and lincolnshire railway later renamed the great central railway or gcr watkins ambition was to construct an express line to london that would rival other alternative mainline routes beginning in ansley and passing south through nottingham loughborough leicester and rugby the london extension as it came to be known joined existing rails into london at quainton road to the north of aylesbury from there trains travelled into the capital and the railways terminus at london marylebone [Music] the 92 miles of railway between ansley and quainton was built to an exceptionally high standard demanding the construction of some remarkable structures and with a ruling gradient of 1 in 176 and curves with a minimum radius of 1 mile in non-urban areas watkins vision of a high-speed mainline was realized upon its completion in 1899 [Music] but it was not to last when the government of the day ordered dr richard beeching to reshape britain's railways he concluded that 2 363 stations and 5 000 miles ought to be closed including the great central railways london extension by 1969 the railway was no more [Music] beginning at the london extension southern end at quainton road we'll journey the 92 miles north to ansley to see what remains and what there is to rediscover of this lost line quainton road is now a home to the buckinghamshire railway centre but at one time it was a junction for metropolitan railway services to verney junction and the brill tramway the building today is in fine order the through line has been singled and carries trains hauling household waste to the nearby landfill site which we will soon encounter we're only two and a half miles from our entry onto the london extension at quainton road here we come across a vital great central railway junction causing us to pause our northward journey until 1906 the great central railway had to share its rails between quainton road and marylebone with the metropolitan railway this was not ideal it was the cause of congestion and delay for the gcr's express services therefore in conjunction with the great western railway the gcr constructed and opened the appropriately named great western and great central joint railway this allowed the gcl's trains to bypass the metropolitan line in and out of london a branch was built between ashendon junction and grenden underwood junction allowing the gcr's trains to leave the joint railway and rejoin the london extension so before continuing north we will briefly examine this branch and to do so we travel five miles west to ashendon junction we leave the joint railway and see the gtr's formation marked by the trees below [Music] among those trees this somewhat decrepit occupation bridge and less than a mile later we reach one of the two stations on this branch opened on the 2nd of december 1906 was wooden it was not the only station to serve this tiny village but meters away was a station of the same name serving the british tramway the main station building lives on as a private residence long after its closure in 1953 [Music] calling this a branch line is somewhat disingenuous here one and a half miles later on the track bed one can clearly see the gcr's wide formation this was a railway built to a mainline standard and was by no means a meandering branch rambling through the countryside scattered hereabouts you will find twisted metal and concrete objects hinting at the railway's presence so we reach the second and final station on this stretch of line at aikman street also opened in 1906 this photo shows that the platform and associated buildings were on top of the embankment the same view today the trees have grown in the intervening years and the platform buildings have been demolished but the station house remains by the roadside even if it is obscured in this picture [Applause] we stand now on what was once the railway the track was in the last few years lifted and the ground resurfaced to provide vehicular access for lorries carrying waste to the aforementioned landfill site near calvert so we return once more to grand underwood junction with aligned quaint and striking south and the branch from ashenton junction joining from the right the view from track level still embedded in the ground track and sleepers from the great central railway together with this ramshackle hut we resume our journey north along the london extension and it is not long before we encounter our first proper example of a gcr station at calvert one of the defining characteristics of gcr london extension stations was the island platform this it is thought was to save money in construction costs but it also facilitated the possibility of track widening of one kind or another at a later date the platform buildings broadly followed a similar arrangement and we shall see fine examples of this later on sadly the overgrown platform is all that remains of the station at calvert which closed the passengers in 1963 we continue north and in so doing we encountered the site of bridge 561 which carried trains across the former varsity line railway which connected cambridge bedford bletchley and oxford work is currently underway to reinstate the line between oxford and bedford trains would pass beneath this road bridge half a mile later then beneath this occupation bridge slightly less secluded is bridge 541 across the a4421 which carried trains into the next station [Music] in this photograph we face south and see the station master's house to the picture's right this still stands in front of the busy main road we see the bricked up entrance to the station which was accessed by a flight of stem the railway passed through a cutting marked by these trees where we find the remains of a bridge it's arched just peeping above the infill more striking perhaps is the gtr's bridge crossing the form of bambury and verney junction railway upon whose track bed we stand less than a mile later running parallel to the a422 we find the top of bridge 528 under which trains passed yet for all the bridges we have seen thus far none is perhaps as breathtaking as one of the gcr's finest pieces of engineering bradley viaduct spanning the floodplain of the river great ooze this vast structure was 320 feet in length and comprised 22 arches what a pity it is then to find that standing in approximately the same position this stately viaduct has been demolished we stand on the viaduct's north end where some brickwork yet survives it is reported that the viaduct fought heroically against demolition in 1978 resisting explosives such was the strength of its engineering sadly it eventually succumbed and some of the brickwork was used as hardcore in the construction of milton keynes some 15 miles to the east the journey continues and just prior to entering brackley central station itself we encounter the former goods shed which fortunately has not gone the same way as the viaduct five miles since departing finmere we arrive at brackley central the main station building was located above the station itself [Music] and it is gladdening that it still stands today however even this shot is outdated since filming the building has been turned into what is by all accounts a popular coffee shop the station building scene from track level brackley central was one of two stations serving the town the other served the babri and verney junction railway and here we see how the footbridge connected the station building to the platform this is gone as is the cutting through which trains continued their journey today it seems difficult to imagine trains speeding northwards beneath this occupation bridge the broad span of railway cutting south of helmdon is framed beautifully by bridge 519 positioned on bridge 518 we face bridge 519 from the north and here we see that the former bridge has been filled in it was at this point that trains reached helmdon or sometimes held them for seoulgrave since helmdon was served by two stations viewed from bridge 518 the characteristic island platform and its buildings appear here but a couple of days before the station's closure to passengers in march 1963 approximately the same view today but on the track bed we can see the platform camouflaged by bracken and undergrowth on the downline the platform is better visible standing on the platform somewhere between the waiting room and the station's lavatories whilst the station masters house survives as a private residence this forlorn goods building exists in a state of decay yet standing firm half a mile north is the mighty helmdon viaduct consisting of nine 34-foot span arches it is a remarkable structure to behold and at its northern end the skeletal remains of this platelay is hut we continue across the northamptonshire countryside for the next two miles and here we find the bridge carrying banbury lane it has been filled in almost all the way to the top which is no small amount as this is a deep cutting the railway would then deliver trains into the next station located at some distance from carl with itself it was so named because the gcr were unable to use the name of the nearer village of morton pinckney since this had been taken by another nearby railway company a station in character it did not host express services it was in fact one of the first gcr stations to close to passengers in september 1958. closing to all traffic in 1962 this is the station site today standing on bridge 506 and facing north we encounter the second and final branch line which served the london extension here at colwith junction bridge 506 is at the center of our picture but traveling north just a little way brings us to the site of coalworth junction developed to access a much bigger area for traffic to and from the western region the gcr built a branch line between carlworth junction and the oxfordshire market town of banbury along its nine miles there were two halts at chalcombe road and eidon road whilst referred to as a branch line this railway was very much built to mainline specifications [Music] we begin in banbury undergoing work the station looks quite different from the building which served the line during the years of the gcr trains for the london extension would proceed north diverging northeast a little further up the line they would then cross the river charwell via bridge 23. and after three and a half miles they would reach the first station once the battery branch moved passengers goods were its chief custom it is little wonder then that little effort was made to encourage passenger footfall opened on the 17th of april 1911 11 years after the branch itself opened chulcum road halt was little more than a few timbers adjacent the signal box [Music] nothing of the station survives savor this gradient post holder with its missing arms yet if little investment went into the halts then one can see where the money was spent in the depth and width of the magnificent thorpe mandeville cutting and here in the imposing bridge number 15. two miles after passing beneath bridge 15 trains would arrive at eidon road halt confusingly the halt better served coalworth than coalworth station did situated as it was on the village's northwestern perimeter the same view today not a trace of this station nor the bridge beyond it to be found orderly to end where we had begun at the site of coalworth junction here to the right of the picture the branch from banbury joined the london extension the root of which can be seen to the far left here lie the mortal remains of coal with junction signal box and here it stands in better days where it oversaw the comings and goings of this vital gcr junction its destruction seems particularly cruel scrap men simply burned this delightful building to the ground so as to access the metal within reports indicate that the wind fanned the flames so that it burned with great but ignominious figure to this day all about like the signal boxes scattered bones having rejoined the london extension our journey now is north the skeletal remains of coal with junction up distance signal marks our onward course we pass through this cutting and encounter bridge 498 from the top of which we gain entry to the site of the next station it is worth noting that there was once a spur to the left of the picture which connected the gcr with the stratford-upon-avon and midland junction railway three miles since departing carlworth we arrive at woodford house access to the site is not currently possible [Music] but the hallmarks of the station can be found at road level including the now familiar twin bridge arrangement and the bricktop station entrance the station closed in september 1966 but among enthusiasts the station plays second fiddle to the gcr's extensive sidings a motive power depot flying over the site gives one a sense of its scale the trees now occupy the site of the so called old yards owing to woodward house's central position these exchange sightings allowed freight to be distributed via the spur to the stratford-upon-avon and midland junction railway or else towards banbury and beyond via coalworth junction at the north end of the old yards stood the motive power depot whose shed could house at least 30 locomotives for maintenance and repair there was a turntable a triangle water towers a coaling plant together with carriage and wagon repair shops indeed in what is now scrubland to the depots north were the vast new yards constructed in 1941 owing to increased wartime goods traffic yet today it is as if the depot and yards old and new never existed so we continue our onward journey a little over a mile after departing woodford house's new yards we've reached the next station here we see a fine portrait of charwelton the station closed to goods and passengers in 1963 but the platform remained into the 1980s when both it and the bridge number 490 were demolished to accommodate the widening of what is now the a361 we stand on the site of bridge 490 where one would descend the steps into the station taken in october 2018 the situation at charwalton is a changing one we view the area from bridge 489 facing south and see that development is underway in constructing the kate speed aero research facility which occupies the track bed up to and including one of the gcr's most remarkable structures kate speed tunnel taking two years to construct the tunnel is 27 foot wide 25 foot tall at 2997 yards in length its construction demanded the removal of nearly three million cubic yards of material one and three quarter miles in length five air shafts punctuate the tunnel's northward course the gcr had planned to run the line through a cutting but the objections of a wealthy local landowner demanded that a tunnel be built standing at the north portal we see light at the southern end the tunnel is now home to the catesby era research facility now cars be they prototypes or from motorsport or both are tested along the tunnel's length with automated turntables at either end to allow for return testing the track read north of kate spital is rich in railway relics be they in the form of bridge 488 this time-worn plate layer is hot or this pumping station used to draw water out of the tunnel but the finest valley to be found is one of the railways most majestic catesby viaduct kate spee's 12 arches span the river lame built in engineering brick it is yet another testament to the gcr's striking architectural legacy facing the direction of travel we cross into the county of warwickshire and after four miles we reach our next station braunston and willoughby closed to passengers and goods on the 1st of april 1957 and the station buildings were demolished soon thereafter after briefly running parallel to the oxford canal we do after three miles encounter the great central walk into rugby where the trains now make way for walkers and cyclists [Applause] several of the gcr's bridges are to be found on the route but none more impressive than that carrying ashland road over the wide expanse of ashland cutting as we turn this corner the path ascends onto what was once the platform belonging to our next station built to the standard great central design with the single island platform rugby central served both express and local services regrettably when the line was downgraded express trains no longer called at the station until the third of may 1969 the section between rugby central and nottingham remained open as a self-contained branch providing dmu-operated local passenger services the station formally closed on the 5th of may 1969. today from approximately the same position at the platform's southern end we can make out the bridge which gave passengers access to the station standing on the track bed half mile north of rugby central we find this abutment on abbey street which once held the girder bridge over the west coast mainline and entry onto rugby viaduct bridge number 451 the metal span survived closure but was finally removed on christmas day 2006. following the metal girder bridge a plate girder bridge carried the railway over the oxford canal and clifton brook which in itself was followed by a mighty 14 span viaduct crossing the river avon and its flood plain here stands the abutment of the viaduct's north end but in this remarkable picture we see this viaduct in its magnificent entirety gathering speed trains would strike north as the onward journey continued we find ourselves on the great central walk once more and there are still several bridges to encounter such as bridge 440 and in this recess a site earmarked for a signal box that never was and the splendid three arches of bridge 439 alas after bridge 439 the cutting has been filled and the great central walk comes to an end and in the distance the roar of the m6 which severs the railway's alignment yet for the next three miles evidence of the railways presence can still be found [Music] whilst the gcr's bold and generous architecture is still a thing of wonder one cannot help but think this passage beneath the railway is at the other end of the spectrum and functional for only those of a diminutive stature the twin bridge number 43 signifies our arrival at the next station nearly seven miles after departing rugby central we reached lutterworth [Music] the station was constructed in what is by now the familiar gcr style and was regrettably closed in 1969 [Music] beneath bridge 423 we find what was the station's entrance barely perceptible on track level we find a portion of platform matted beneath rampant undergrowth more visible is some of the iron lattice work the railways northwood course is now closely shadowed by the m1 but three miles after leaving nutsworth hidden from sight we find ashby tunnel officially named dunton bassettal it was known throughout its life as ashby at only four chains long ashby tunnel does not rival catespin length but it is a splendid hidden gem nevertheless upon exiting the tunnel trains would arrive at ashby magna [Music] the station typifies the gcr's attractive design [Music] but nothing of it is to be found today a timber merchant occupies the site and the construction of the m1 saw to it that the goods yard and station masters house were demolished the parapets of bridge 413 carrying station road are still to be found and are among the station's only survivors after three and a half miles what remains of the railway cuts through western golf course on an embankment passing across the green and into the bushes the railway then crossed what is now the m1 for many motorists this is just another bridge on the journey but once trains thundered across [Music] half a mile later the imposing bridge 399 permits the flow of wetsun brook and the path of pedestrians along its banks so we arrive at western like other stations we have so far encountered weston served a sparsely populated area whilst the line at this point remained open until 1969 the station itself closed in 1963 [Music] now housing sits upon the station site the station master's house is to be found nearby but there is little to portray that once the main line was here we continue onwards and cross the line to uneaten via bridge 396. and then overbridge 395 the grand weston viaduct 151 yards in length and comprising 13 arches each thirty fit and span it crosses the river sense and its floodplain save for a few parts of the viaduct the structure appears to be sound here trains passed over the river and deeper into leicester itself much of the track bed into leicester has been turned into the great central way and is now a popular route for walkers and cyclists traveling north by a further two miles and crossing a number of bridges and viaducts still to be found to this day trains reach the next station by far the largest of the stations we have thus far encountered leicester central was in its way symbolic of the railway's ambition with its grand design ornate architecture and tremendous scale effectively built upon a vast viaduct it comprised six platforms in an h-shape island design the station frontage itself had a red brick and terracotta facade to the left of which was an entrance to the parcel's office after years of neglect the ground level of the station has undergone a worthy and tastefully done renovation the story at track level is slightly different where the platform area is occupied by light industrial units but at the north end two stubs of platform endure so we depart this magnificent station and begin the next leg of our journey towards loughborough here on slater street we get a good impression of how the gcr was in effect an elevated railway through much of its course through leicester and on the north bank of the river saw just off abby gate street one can still spot a signal post standing sentinel over the line having crossed the north of the city trains would reach the next station it is difficult to imagine that in its day belgrave and bersel was more of a rural rather than an urban station this delightful picture certainly gives that impression whilst the station has been demolished belgrade of burstal has had something of an afterlife as the southern terminus of the gcr heritage railway from the platform of what is now leicester north we see the bricked-up entrance of the former station which sat below having witnessed relics remains and vestiges of the line one can for the next seven miles be spirited back in time and get an impression of what this fine railway would have been like during its years of operation so instead of looking at a black and white photograph of what once was let us spend a few moments at the beautifully restored rothley station and see what stations such as these were like in full color as is typical for gcr stations one entered the station from a bridge and would take a flight of stairs to platform level the booking office is situated at the bottom of the stairs and the waiting rooms just be on on the gcr even something as lowly as the gentleman's lavatories has a palatial look about it so we continue our journey north and bid farewell to this delightful station [Music] [Music] [Music] so we arrive at the gcr's northern terminus of loughborough although on a larger scale the principles of the island design is still to be found in this delightful station which is a testament to the ongoing hard work of the railway's dedicated volunteers whilst our train makes its run around for the next service back to leicester our journey north continues yet in leaving this superb heritage railway we do to an extent continue along it work is underway to have trains once again traverse the canal then connect with this bridge erected in 2017 which crosses the midland main line and in so doing the gcr and leicestershire will once again be reconnected to the gcr in nottinghamshire forging a link that was severed after the railway's closure permitting trains to thunder across the glorious stanford on saw viaduct and create a heritage railway 18 miles in length it is ambitious but something holy in the spirit of the original great central main line we see structure 314 barnston tunnel in the distance and the line that was singled in the year since closure has remained open for gypsum trains alongside the heritage line services looking north from woodgate road bridge trains would close in on the next station four and a half miles north of loughborough is east league station [Music] this picture paints a delightfully atmospheric scene and it is hard not to imagine that the pace of life here was anything other than unhurried [Music] having seen the finally restored stations on the gtr heritage line this station throws into relief the sense and scale of the role is destruction yet whilst east league is not likely to benefit from restoration the same is not true of our next station opened in 1911 rushcliff halt was built to serve the adjacent rushcliff golf club the station closed in 1963. this photo depicts the station in a rather ruinous state after closure but today the scene is quite different thanks to the work of the gcr nottingham's volunteers notice that here we have something of a rarity and a gcr station which does not follow the island's design standing on the platform we can see the sightings to the gypsum works which still sees traffic from the midland main line to the south after traveling three and a half miles from rushcliff halt we arrive at the next station just south of runnington station was runnington ordnance and supply depot the site of which is now the headquarters of the gtr nottingham ruddington itself followed the same design to be found at corn and woodhouse at rothley but unlike those stations ruddington has long since fallen into ruin here one can glimpse the brickwork of the platform to the right of the picture but bridge 298 which gave entrance to the station still stands and carries clifton road overhead entering the south of nottingham it is pleasing to see rails occupy the gcr's track bed for much of the way now serving the city's famous trams [Applause] at this point trains crossed the mighty steel girders of the river trent viaduct number 289 which today has been reduced to this retaining wall on the north bank the railways route ever deeper into nottingham is marked by the tree at the center of the picture pending the completion of nottingham victoria to the north nottingham arkwright street was for a brief period the london extension's northern terminus situated atop the viaducts which carried the gtr into the city from the south it was one of only two original gcr stations not to feature the familiar island design [Music] with the viaduction station demolished we stand at approximately the station's site here on healy close a bridge of another kind now crosses the midland main line at this point carrying trams instead of trains here was once a colossal 170-foot girder bridge which spanned the railway tracks below with the gtr's customary architectural dominance and luckily on the north side of nottingham station part of the same gcr architecture carries on its work in supporting the tram bridge across the line passengers for nottingham victoria would catch their last glimpse of daylight for the next few hundred yards as they would plunge into the weekday cross tunnel 19 chains in length and completed in 1897 the south portal is now home to nottingham contemporary the art gallery formerly known as the center for contemporary art nottingham so beneath our feet trains would gradually slow as they enter the next station opened on the 24th of may 1900 nottingham victoria represents the final major station on the london extension occupying a 13-acre site with two large island platforms with bays at each end cut deep below street level nottingham victoria offered 12 platform faces [Music] on each island platform were dining and tea rooms together with kitchens sleeping facilities for staff waiting rooms and lavatories large steel pillars held up an enormous three-part glaze canopy measuring 450 feet in length the station had passing loops around all platforms two signal boxes and two turntables the two signal boxes were positioned at the north and south ends of the station capping off the renaissance style station building was the glorious 100 foot club tower [Music] but the railway's closure saw nottingham victoria's fate sealed and the demolition crews were swift to move in the clock tower is now the only survivor of this palatial station and is now hemmed in on all sides by grim and unappealing architecture [Music] so [Music] today customers have replaced passengers and the purchase of tickets has been replaced by the purchase of products here we see the north end of the station the deep cutting in which it was located note the sizeable retaining walls and here the tunnel which would take trains out of nottingham victoria beneath the city towards the next station having passed through the 1189 yards of mansfield road tunnel trains entered carrington the first london extension station to close on the 24th of september 1928. alongside arkwright street carrington was one of two original london extension stations not to follow the island platform design the cutting carrington occupied has long since been filled in and on top of it as its offices having caught a brief glimpse of daylight at carrington trains would enter the 665 yards of sherwood rise tunnel and here is the apex of the north portal which gives one an impression of how deep this cutting was and by how much it has been filled in slightly north of the tunnel portal trains continued through the cutting and into the next station new bassford was not served by great central trains alone the great northern railway used the station also these services kept the station operation for over a year after local great central passenger services ceased goods extended the station's life until 1967. the station has been swept away by housing but here on haydn road the station masters house yet survives a mile and a half later we reach the site of bolwell common by now we are well versed in the story of these stations it followed the by now familiar island design and after demolition and track lifting the area met with a familiar fate but this picture taken from bridge 273 presents the scale of the site's redevelopment these dark bricks are unmistakably those belonging to the london extension and represent a fraction of what was once a 390 yard 44 foot high 25 span viaduct which crossed the river lean this gladed area represents part of the railways embankment and leads us to our next station opened 10 years after the line itself in 1909 bulwell hall halt like rushka fort was built partly to serve the nearby golf course a paucity of passengers saw the halt close on the 5th of may 1930. so it is little wonder that after 90 years nothing of its timber platforms and buildings survive and mother nature has reclaimed the site for herself one could walk this part of the track bed for the next mile whereupon the scene becomes less sylvan and more urban as we enter huckle central opened as hucknall town the station took the name hucknell central in 1923. for passengers traveling north along the london extension this was the final station to barely characteristic island design which we first encountered at calvert but unlike calvert which still bears its weed strewn platforms all signs of huckle central are gone with all the associated platform buildings demolish and the cutting which it inhabited filled in we begin to close in on the end of our journey and the scene becomes more rural in character here trains crossed bridge 248 and into the site of our penultimate station situated between the village of newstead to the west a new state abbey to the east and running parallel to rails owned by the great northern railway and the midland railway was ansley south junction halt [Music] this was not however a station at which the public would board or alight the halt was built for railway workers to reach the adjacent ansley motive power depot no trace of this station nor the giant locomotive works which occupied this site can today be found nor is one likely to find much if any evidence of the vast sightings which comprised ansley yard built chiefly because of the nearby colories this picture shows but a fraction of the innumerable lines and sidings which served the coal industry which was once the lifeblood of the area anne's yard through which the london extension ran is buried beneath millions of tons of sculpted collary waste which now make up the scenic newstead and ansley country park and so at the center of the picture our journey along the london extension reaches its conclusion huddled among the northern entrance to the vast exchange sightings of ansley yard sits holland well and ansley a far cry from the ornate and robust stations which once populated the course of the london extension from here trains would join the great central railways network of lines which serve the north of england including sheffield and manchester but here after 92 miles at the site of holland well and ansi station the great central main line came to an end [Music] some consider the railways closure inevitable citing its apparent duplication of more economically viable routes others consider the railway's destruction an act of wanton vandalism against an essential piece of national infrastructure whilst with the prospect of hs2 not only opening but also using part of the great central mainland's former alignment some question the wisdom of its closure at all yet whatever the arguments the railway has left a striking legacy worthy of exploration i hope you enjoyed this film please subscribe click your notification bell follow and enjoy rediscovering lost [Music] railways [Music] um [Music] you

Channel: Rediscovering Lost Railways

Views: 399,521

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Id: VbFNwYkf5Go

Length: 52min 9sec (3129 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 30 2020