A tour of some of London’s diesel depots in the early 1980s including Hither Green, Ripple Lane, Stratford, Finsbury Park, Old Oak Common and Cricklewood
Many thanks - like you I have mixed emotions. Really pleased I captured all these depots as a teenager, but regret that I didn’t capture more. I have a few other videos/films taken at the same time uploaded to the channel if you’re interested
I use to go to all these depots in London on weekends it was a little bit easier to get around between 1976-1983, Stratford was the ultimate depot with the Repair Centre which was a massive Bonus, one weekend there was a Class 55 Deltic inside there undergoing maintenance, When I use to go to Finsbury Park the Deltics were still working out of KX & always found 4-5 on shed. Diesels Galore in them days, now it's just DMU/EMU, I passed Willesden on the main line last week & its full of Electric Multiple units nowadays in the 70-80's it was full of Electric Loco's Class 86 & 87's. Those were the days, Great Video brought back loads of memories.
Myself as a 15 Yr old would go to Landore diesel depot every Saturday in the mid 70s and so excited to see what locos were there. MY Personal love was for Westerns. MANY a Saturday was spent in on and around these incredible locos. I took photos on a kodak instimatic camera before in later years moving into 8mm cine. 40 ODD years have passed and I still look back at what I recorded. MY ONLY wish was I had paid that lol bit extra for kodak film with sound. WHEN it comes to these GREAT Beasts sound is everything. 😢
Thank you Stuart, somehow, Finsbury Park devoid of Deltics is a sad prequel to what would come. I used to try to save enough money to do the London shed tour twice per year in those days, ...a paper round not being the most lucrative of jobs!
Thank you so much for sharing this, this gave me the warm and fuzzys, life was simpler back then, railways where way more interesting than they are today :)
Excellent welldone I remember wandering around Old Oak with hymeks and westerns round the table, And also Toton full of 44s 45s and 46s good days long gone only in my memory now thankyou again.
How on earth did you manage to get round Toton? Oh Lord, trying to get round Toton was like trying to break into Fort Knoxs.... An impossibility.. Old Oak Common was very good as well as Ripple Lane.... Fantastic video, which took me back to my youth..
An enjoyable video. I used to travel to London from Lancashire with my brother when we were both in our teens. We did depot bashing. Couldn’t get in Willesden but virtually always got round Old Oak. Not the HST part though. Then onto Stratford. Mainly a NO, but got round once. Then Stewart’s Lane and despite the third rail used to get around there, 33/73 heaven! Spent half an hour on Clapham Jnc for units, Paddington for some 50’s then back to Euston for our train north. All in a day and most excellent!
Wow. Found SL easy....they even gave us a BR hi-vis jacket to wear and keep. Still have it now. Helped me get round Eastleigh TMD and Doncaster TMD without asking! Jacket on....walk around like you know what you’re doing....don’t get challenged LOL. Btw, that tunnel from Stratford station to the depot was just ace! I wonder if they’ve filled it in now?!
@@philwignall6714 I used to spot from the mid 70's to the early 80's. I'm from Lancashire too (Preston area) and remember going to London a few times on the 04.08 sleeper from Preston arriving at Euston around 08.00am. We used to work our way around the stations & depots via the tube mostly, and always got back to Euston for the 7pm (or so) return to Preston thus giving us 11 hours or so in London. Very long but very happy days..................!
@@spongebobgrumpypants6862 hi, thanks for the reply. Yes indeed they were happy days. You appreciate them more now they have gone and cannot be repeated. I still enjoy the railways, but childhood memories of the locos and depots that are no more are priceless.
Me and my mate would train into Victoria (from N Kent) then round to Paddington for a spell. On to OOC and WJ; OOC was usually OK, WJ could be hit and miss. Train into Euston, quick dive into St P then on to KC for a spell. Would try Stratford if we were feeling lucky; found some Baby Deltics there one time. Wind up at Liverpool St then home. God I miss those days.
Just as I remember it too. All of the Midland in the 1960s and 70s is beloved to me; the film elsewhere on this website of a DMU journey to Luton instantly brings back 50/60 year old memories
The fuel lane which the 47 stands on was next door to the last HA's of Hither Green that lingered for so many years til one day my dad told me he had signalled them through from Stewarts Lane onwards via Wimbledon A so obv on way to Eastleigh and the cutters torch. Quite a lot of the old catenary equipment was still visible in the 70's at HG as well as two water towers at either end one for Grove Park sheds and I do believe the turntable is now buried under brush if its still there but that may have been filled in. Nice to see a "slim jim" at HG, after all the line onwards to Hastings was their "patch" hence their slimmer profile to work the Hastings line alongside the 201/202 DEMU's which were awesome trains. If I was late for my commute from Grove Park I shamelessly used the plat 3 signal fone and said if me dad wasn't on panel "Hey its Keith's son, can you stop a Hastings for me?" and off over to platform 2 I would go waiting for the train to stop and smiled smugly at the peeps waiting in frustration. Handy too as the buffets were still going so nice cup of "staff reduction" tea, 2 tea bags and strong as creosote and saunted off at the east to wander down for the days work.
I’d forgotten about the HA’s being there until you mentioned it. HG was always one of my favourite depots to visit. I think I saw my first class 60 there tucked in the shed
Wow. What an experience. It would be a dream to travel back to this bygone era of british rail. And the 30s railways is one i would love to explore too. By the way what is the song called on i movie?
sorry to be so offtopic but does anybody know of a method to get back into an Instagram account?? I was dumb lost the login password. I would love any tips you can give me.
@Mauricio Marvin Thanks so much for your reply. I found the site on google and I'm trying it out now. I see it takes a while so I will get back to you later with my results.
As a 10yr old Kid, I could get the Bus to Springs Branch nr Wigan for 2p, walk right in the Depot, ask the Foreman could I walk around and take the numbers, and he would just say 'Go ahead, no problem' and leave me unattended, and all alone to take numbers and peel code stickers off..........All seems like a dream now doesn't it? What happier, simpler times we all had.
I saw Rainbow there must have been mid to late seventies, all the station frontage is now almost unrecognisable although the Rainbow was still there last time I was there but it is no longer a music venue, some sort of church I think as you say all signs of the MPD have completely gone.
@@philnewstead5388 with Dio I would guess. Graham bonnet didn’t stay long. I rate “down to earth “pretty highly It was joe Lyn Turner by the time I saw them, 81? And tje
@@highdownmartin I saw them at Deeside leisure centre, Feb 1980 I think that was just before Graham Bonnet left. The Fog was that thick, we could hardly find the place.
Not a criticism, just an observation from the many videos out there.....The Midland Main Line always seems to be the forgotten line. Barely 13 seconds of Cricklewood. Nonetheless, thanks for posting....
Got chucked out of Stratford as a young trainspotter in the 60s. Me and friends had gone to cop the Class 2 Birmingham D5300s and got caught by cops. Names and address and kick up the ****!
@@stuartchapman5622 Eastern Region Depots were hard to do sheds but Kings Cross was great and friendly depot. Managed Cambridge 31A as in 1962 The Birmingham Class 2 stopped there before moving to their depot locations
All are closed and most have completely gone. I think Hithergreen is used mainly as a maintenance yard but does see the odd locomotive. Cricklewood is used as an EMU depot but no locomotives. Stratford became the Olympic Stadium and Old Oak is on the route of Crossrail and HS2. Finsbury Park and Ripple Lane are long since closed
Stratford is now under part of the complex the hated West Ham prance about on, Stratford was considered the "Rolls Royce" of all the depots hence why any engine they worked on was given a silver roof to show it was a Stratford engine. Quite a lot of people put up a brave fight to stop them property maggots but of course we find out later most of it was dirty bung and dodgy handshake that saw the land stolen pennies on the pound from the taxpayer putting so many out of work grr
Really atmospheric video, I miss these times.
This is like watching an old home video of family members who have long since passed. Very beautiful (in its way) but also very sad.
Many thanks - like you I have mixed emotions. Really pleased I captured all these depots as a teenager, but regret that I didn’t capture more. I have a few other videos/films taken at the same time uploaded to the channel if you’re interested
I use to go to all these depots in London on weekends it was a little bit easier to get around between 1976-1983, Stratford was the ultimate depot with the Repair Centre which was a massive Bonus, one weekend there was a Class 55 Deltic inside there undergoing maintenance, When I use to go to Finsbury Park the Deltics were still working out of KX & always found 4-5 on shed. Diesels Galore in them days, now it's just DMU/EMU, I passed Willesden on the main line last week & its full of Electric Multiple units nowadays in the 70-80's it was full of Electric Loco's Class 86 & 87's. Those were the days, Great Video brought back loads of memories.
Myself as a 15 Yr old would go to Landore diesel depot every Saturday in the mid 70s and so excited to see what locos were there. MY Personal love was for Westerns. MANY a Saturday was spent in on and around these incredible locos. I took photos on a kodak instimatic camera before in later years moving into 8mm cine. 40 ODD years have passed and I still look back at what I recorded. MY ONLY wish was I had paid that lol bit extra for kodak film with sound. WHEN it comes to these GREAT Beasts sound is everything. 😢
Thank you Stuart,
somehow, Finsbury Park devoid of Deltics is a sad prequel to what would come.
I used to try to save enough money to do the London shed tour twice per year in those days, ...a paper round not being the most lucrative of jobs!
Thank you so much for sharing this, this gave me the warm and fuzzys, life was simpler back then, railways where way more interesting than they are today :)
I feel so old I remember this
Excellent welldone I remember wandering around Old Oak with hymeks and westerns round the table, And also Toton full of 44s 45s and 46s good days long gone only in my memory now thankyou again.
Thanks for your comments - wish I had visited when there were westerns and hymeks
How on earth did you manage to get round Toton? Oh Lord, trying to get round Toton was like trying to break into Fort Knoxs.... An impossibility.. Old Oak Common was very good as well as Ripple Lane.... Fantastic video, which took me back to my youth..
An enjoyable video. I used to travel to London from Lancashire with my brother when we were both in our teens. We did depot bashing. Couldn’t get in Willesden but virtually always got round Old Oak. Not the HST part though. Then onto Stratford. Mainly a NO, but got round once. Then Stewart’s Lane and despite the third rail used to get around there, 33/73 heaven! Spent half an hour on Clapham Jnc for units, Paddington for some 50’s then back to Euston for our train north. All in a day and most excellent!
I used to be the same as you although never got into Stewarts Lane other than an open day. Old Oak and Stratford were always the friendliest.
Wow. Found SL easy....they even gave us a BR hi-vis jacket to wear and keep. Still have it now. Helped me get round Eastleigh TMD and Doncaster TMD without asking! Jacket on....walk around like you know what you’re doing....don’t get challenged LOL.
Btw, that tunnel from Stratford station to the depot was just ace! I wonder if they’ve filled it in now?!
@@philwignall6714 I used to spot from the mid 70's to the early 80's. I'm from Lancashire too (Preston area) and remember going to London a few times on the 04.08 sleeper from Preston arriving at Euston around 08.00am. We used to work our way around the stations & depots via the tube mostly, and always got back to Euston for the 7pm (or so) return to Preston thus giving us 11 hours or so in London. Very long but very happy days..................!
@@spongebobgrumpypants6862 hi, thanks for the reply. Yes indeed they were happy days. You appreciate them more now they have gone and cannot be repeated. I still enjoy the railways, but childhood memories of the locos and depots that are no more are priceless.
Me and my mate would train into Victoria (from N Kent) then round to Paddington for a spell. On to OOC and WJ; OOC was usually OK, WJ could be hit and miss. Train into Euston, quick dive into St P then on to KC for a spell. Would try Stratford if we were feeling lucky; found some Baby Deltics there one time. Wind up at Liverpool St then home. God I miss those days.
Some wonderful shots of the common. reminds me when I started my train driving life, almost 37 years ago.
Thank you for uploading the video.
Thanks for your comments - I used to love wondering around Old Oak such a fabulous place
My beloved Cricklewood shed at the end, there! Thanks for uploading!
Just as I remember it too. All of the Midland in the 1960s and 70s is beloved to me; the film elsewhere on this website of a DMU journey to Luton instantly brings back 50/60 year old memories
Some great footage there give me the old diesel trains anyday👍
Many thanks
Magic stuff. From a time when we had proper Depots and not the soulless places we have today.
Thanks - used to be a very different experience back then - wandering around the depots in London.
Great days
The fuel lane which the 47 stands on was next door to the last HA's of Hither Green that lingered for so many years til one day my dad told me he had signalled them through from Stewarts Lane onwards via Wimbledon A so obv on way to Eastleigh and the cutters torch. Quite a lot of the old catenary equipment was still visible in the 70's at HG as well as two water towers at either end one for Grove Park sheds and I do believe the turntable is now buried under brush if its still there but that may have been filled in. Nice to see a "slim jim" at HG, after all the line onwards to Hastings was their "patch" hence their slimmer profile to work the Hastings line alongside the 201/202 DEMU's which were awesome trains. If I was late for my commute from Grove Park I shamelessly used the plat 3 signal fone and said if me dad wasn't on panel "Hey its Keith's son, can you stop a Hastings for me?" and off over to platform 2 I would go waiting for the train to stop and smiled smugly at the peeps waiting in frustration. Handy too as the buffets were still going so nice cup of "staff reduction" tea, 2 tea bags and strong as creosote and saunted off at the east to wander down for the days work.
I’d forgotten about the HA’s being there until you mentioned it. HG was always one of my favourite depots to visit. I think I saw my first class 60 there tucked in the shed
wow,awesome !
Brilliant. Thank you
Thanks John - so glad I took the footage as almost all locations have now gone
@@stuartchapman5622 yes footage of 14A is really rare so thanks again. Brought back childhood memories. 👌
Thanks for sharing.
very cool
Wow. What an experience. It would be a dream to travel back to this bygone era of british rail. And the 30s railways is one i would love to explore too. By the way what is the song called on i movie?
sorry to be so offtopic but does anybody know of a method to get back into an Instagram account??
I was dumb lost the login password. I would love any tips you can give me.
@Collin Jamal instablaster =)
@Mauricio Marvin Thanks so much for your reply. I found the site on google and I'm trying it out now.
I see it takes a while so I will get back to you later with my results.
@Mauricio Marvin it did the trick and I actually got access to my account again. I'm so happy!
Thanks so much you saved my ass !
@Collin Jamal Happy to help :)
As a 10yr old Kid, I could get the Bus to Springs Branch nr Wigan for 2p, walk right in the Depot, ask the Foreman could I walk around and take the numbers, and he would just say 'Go ahead, no problem' and leave me unattended, and all alone to take numbers and peel code stickers off..........All seems like a dream now doesn't it? What happier, simpler times we all had.
A refreshing look at the old MPDs by the way where is the background music from thanks
Many thanks. The music is just one of the standard soundtracks on iMovie
Saw Ritchie Blackmores Rainbow at the Rainbow. Next to Finsbury Park Sat in Deltic cabs there a few years before.
All flattened and gone.
Yes remember it well - a classic music venue - right near the depot
I saw Rainbow there must have been mid to late seventies, all the station frontage is now almost unrecognisable although the Rainbow was still there last time I was there but it is no longer a music venue, some sort of church I think as you say all signs of the MPD have completely gone.
@@philnewstead5388 with Dio I would guess. Graham bonnet didn’t stay long. I rate “down to earth “pretty highly It was joe Lyn Turner by the time I saw them, 81? And tje
@@highdownmartin I saw them at Deeside leisure centre, Feb 1980 I think that was just before Graham Bonnet left. The Fog was that thick, we could hardly find the place.
Ahh OOC, the memories
I agree - you could spend ages looking around the sheds and the staff never seemed to mind
I was a secondman and a relief driver at OOC, remeber using the turntable
Not a criticism, just an observation from the many videos out there.....The Midland Main Line always seems to be the forgotten line. Barely 13 seconds of Cricklewood. Nonetheless, thanks for posting....
Al down to the fact that I never managed to get into Cricklewood so had to settle for the passing shot.
Got chucked out of Stratford as a young trainspotter in the 60s. Me and friends had gone to cop the Class 2 Birmingham D5300s and got caught by cops. Names and address and kick up the ****!
Used to get into the depot every time but it was the 80s
@@stuartchapman5622 Eastern Region Depots were hard to do sheds but Kings Cross was great and friendly depot. Managed Cambridge 31A as in 1962 The Birmingham Class 2 stopped there before moving to their depot locations
The end of an era.
are these London diesel depots still there ?
All are closed and most have completely gone. I think Hithergreen is used mainly as a maintenance yard but does see the odd locomotive. Cricklewood is used as an EMU depot but no locomotives. Stratford became the Olympic Stadium and Old Oak is on the route of Crossrail and HS2. Finsbury Park and Ripple Lane are long since closed
Willesden Depot, although not shown in this, still exists as a unit depot now. Very few loco sheds still around from the ‘80’s 😞
Stratford is now the Westfield shopping centre
Stratford is now under part of the complex the hated West Ham prance about on, Stratford was considered the "Rolls Royce" of all the depots hence why any engine they worked on was given a silver roof to show it was a Stratford engine. Quite a lot of people put up a brave fight to stop them property maggots but of course we find out later most of it was dirty bung and dodgy handshake that saw the land stolen pennies on the pound from the taxpayer putting so many out of work grr
@@dodgydruid No it isn't the stadium is on the other side of the running line of the route from hackney Wick. Nowhere near the old depot site
Wot? No Deltics??
Sadly no, by the time I visited Finsbury Park they had gone :(
@@stuartchapman5622 too bad... they were such a big part of visiting the ECML....
Shame you cant hear the engines.
Yes unfortunately my basic cine camera didn’t have sound. I have dubbed sound on a few of my shorter archive videos