“It’s The Cutest Train I’ve Ever Seen!” - Episode 23, Day 39 - Birmingham to Rugeley
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- čas přidán 19. 06. 2017
- It's the 14th June, and we're on the first of a few days in Birmingham into the sunny Midland shires, where we discover an unusual little train, visit a chocolate-box village, and talk to a London Midland conductor ...
Thanks to Phil Tonks on the Stourbridge train, who is on twitter here: / philtonks2
Download the All The Stations theme tune from iTunes here: itunes.apple.com/gb/album/all... (other stores are available....)
Geoff and Vicki are visiting ALL 2,563 national railway stations in Britain - view the progress map and loads more information about the project on the website at: allthestations.co.uk/
ROUTE: Birmingham Snow Hill, Stourbridge Junction, Stourbridge Town, Stourbridge Junction, Kidderminster, Droitwitch Spa, Bromsgrove, Redditch, Bournville, Four Oaks, Lichfield Trent Valley, Rugeley Trent Valley, Walsall, Birmginham New Street
I've been on the cutest train in Britain so many times. I live in Stourbridge
Tom Fisher I used to live in Kidderminster for a long time, Stourbridge Junction to Stourbridge town is a unique little line 👍
Tom Fisher
I live not to far from Stourbridge I live in Dudley
wow, I once dreamt that I was in Stourbridge train station (one of them, I don't know or remember which) because my dreams are boring/exciting depending on your outlook..
Lucky! I live in portsmouth but one day maybe i can go on that train..
I live in stourbridge
The gold signs were for Rio 2016 gold medallists. Sutton Coldfield is for Laura Unsworth, part of the women's hockey team.
lcmortensen I noticed Kidderminster and Bromsgrove had gold signs as well. I've seen them also at Hemel Hempstead and Leighton Buzzard.
She also won bronze at London 2012
Womens hockey team player Laura Unsworth
Max Whitlock and Jessica Stretton.
Denise Lewis (Gold Heptathlete Sydney Olympics) was also from West Bromwich (just around that neighbourhood)
Your comments on New Street Station and how it is so "passenger" unfriendly is so true. It is a commercial development with a hidden station somewhere inside. As an example I was recently in the Bull Ring with my twin Grandaughters, 14 years old and very savy, and asked them to find New Street Station. They had to resort to their phones and concluded that it was in their words "....a silly place to hide a station......don't they want anybody to find it...".
The last time I was there I went up the escalators to change platform and found I could only change to some of the platforms without going through ticket gates. I've never come across a station before where you have to go through ticket gates just to change platforms. In fact I think it might be that if you used the escaltor at the other end of the platform you don't have to. But what a mess it is. A shopping centre with a station hidden away is so true.
It doesn't help that they have a big sign saying "Grand Central". Like what are we in New York now? Is this Grand Central Station?? Did you change the name?? Where the hell am I??? I want to go home.
If your from the north you would understand how it works. We dont run into closing doors. As we know theres a train shortly after. Also were not in a rush to get places so we take more time to look for things and directions, and not have big neon signs telling us. We enjoy a slower pace of life in other words
Well yeah at New Street you have to use the escalators on the B end of the platform to change without going through ticket barriers (or the concourse at the C end). Going that way is really quick. Using the A end it splits on ground level so you only get to change to adjacent platforms.
Cardiff Central now has a Platform 0, remote from the rest of the station, you have to exit through the barriers to reach it, step-free access has been provided using the lift to the car park though. There was, of course a shopping centre above Birmingham New Street station before "Grand Central," called "The Pallasades," but the signage was never as prominent, and certainly didn't distract from the station name, as now.
Geoff, if you want to do All The Canals, I live on a narrowboat and have a spare double bed. It can be arranged... #Allthecanals
Harry Smith I searched up all the canals and I find stuff about teeth instead
Do canals exist in the same way outside of Europe? (They're ditches originally used for carrying heavy freight long distances) They were superseded by the railways, so there is a friendly joke rivalry
Harry Smith Yes, there were/are such canals in the USA as well; for example, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (www.nps.gov/choh/).
Harry Smith Canals exist outside the UK but not on nearly the same scale. The canals in the US were mostly built to connect two other waterways.
The USA has a number of canals, but there wasn't a major spurt of investment until 1825, after the Erie Canal opened to wild success. That's very near when locomotive powered railways became an option, and so a number of projects initially proposed as canals were completed as railroads instead.
Vicki's 'hatch woman' voice was the best
Spot on for the woman that used to run snacks on tracks.
Used to? Have they sacked her now, after the publicity?
I love Vicky's excitement seeing the shuttle at Stourbridge for the first time
Yeah she's the cutest haha
5:10
Vicki: "That would put it fairly, sort of solidly, on the quaint scale."
Geoff: "If you say so."
Hrumph! I hope I am not detecting a bit of uncertainty on Geoff's part. Vicki knows "quaint" and her authority is not to be questioned.
@JosephR1307 Still better than muslim area dude!
Laura Unsworth who played in the GB women's Olympic Hockey team is the reason the station sign at Sutton Coldfield is gold. She was born in Sutton and went to the girls grammar school there
I used to travel on the Parry every day on my commute to work. Loved it :)
The cutest couple since my wife and I. Bless! I love it! And the train is gorgeous.
Unfortunately they are no longer together.
@mirzaahmed6589 I've been wondering why, they seemed like a great pair 😮
The best bit of this video is vickies impression of the old woman in the café
Although Viki claims that the Pacer (Class 142) is her favorite, her reaction to the Parry People Mover 60 (Class 139) definitely puts it in contention for her love. Not only that, but it has (one of?) her favorite moquettes.
A pacer is definitely better than this. More capacity 100 vs about 30 and much faster 75 mph vs 20 mph.
@@fightforfreedom5292 Yes but nobody said better. And a Pacer just isn't anyway
@@GryphLane Subjective. The pacer is my favourite train (no joke).
What a nice person who got your glasses back. 🤓👍🏻
I could smell chocolate throughout the end of this video
Cadbury!
vicky and the chocolate factory!!!
they should add music from charly and the chochate factory behind the peace o about the Cadbury factory
There's no earthly way of knowing
To which station we are going
Victoria and the chocolate factory
The door chevrons or 'teeth' started on London Underground Victoria Line new stock to reduce the amount of trapped items in the doors...and was suitably adapted on the mainline...if i'm right started with TransPennine Express largely and to a lessor extent Northern
"Next year were doing all the canals" - Can't wait!
"Droitwich Spa is trying to be quaint" what a great description of my town
It would definitely be a stop-off if they decided to do a series about interesting things to find within 10 minutes of a railway station, given the canals, salt works, museum (detailing nearby Wychbold), spa, modern roads on Roman alignments (the old A38, B4090 to Alcester) and the subsided bit of the town centre...
And probably not Geoff and Vicki, but anyone doing a series about roads could mention the bypass, which starts inconspicuously at a set of traffic lights, misses a flyover, finally gets going with a grade separated junction on a corner, then loses the will to live and peters down to a single carriageway for the Southern section.
Enjoyed seeing you guys travel on some very familiar lines here in the West Midlands. Went out for a jaunt on the Parry People Mover today for the first time in ages. It's quite fun.
Yay! Sutton Coldfield and Four Oaks make an appearance!
Philip Cobbold I
“Dont you dare quote me on that CZcams” -Geoff Marshall, 2017
If memory serves there are no pubs in the Bourneville area. The Cadburys where Quakers and hence no were sells alcohol to this day!
errrm i know the story is originally true but i doubt it holds true today
edit quick google search theres a handfull including a working mans club and a couple other small ones all pretty much on cadburys door step
+Sarge That pub is in Stirchley not Bournville. It's close by but still in a different district. But there is an offlience now. But still no pubs which that I'm seen around Bournville.
There are a few places to buy alcohol in Bournville if you are in the know, and there's a pub on every exit. I never had a problem with it, it was a nice piece of local history.
@@IAmTheBeckett Most of those shops are on the outskirts. Interestingly, even the Tesco Express isn't allowed to serve alcohol and not because it's a garage.
@@EdgyNumber1 I used to live there, I remember the debate about Tesco. The Pavilion sells alcohol, Bournville Working Men's Club does, as does Mary Vale News, The Cadbury Club.
Smethwick Galton Bridge which you went past in the beginning of this video from Snow Hill to Kidderminster line is also a high and low level line. Not a big station but does have the levels.
Kashif Akhtar And also Tamworth, Glasgow Central and Queen Street both have low level platforms (through lines as opposed to the terminal platforms above), and East Grinstead used to have a high level until the Three Bridges - Tunbridge Wells line closed.
Also Willesden Junction, Shotton and Retford.
You missed out! The clock tower in the Stourbridge junction car park whistles like an old train every hour.
Reminds me of what we used to call "Schienenbus" in Germany which literally translates to "bus on rails" :D
We had those bus train things here for many years, called "pacers". They have recently gone off service after a very long life. Kept many smaller lines operable, but were a "love it or hate it" type of train. And with changing regulations to make trains more disability-friendly, those and some other older trains had to go.
I'd say it's more a modern version of the 1950s railbuses than a Pacer replacement. I'm aware Communist era east Europe had railbuses as well.
Worst part of New Street station is the fact that Birmingham is supposed to be a huge bustling city and yet the last train to Northampton on a Friday night is just after 11pm, and if you are running late after a gig or a show and then have to navigate through the mess of random ticket gates etc, its a race against time or risk waiting until 6am for your next train.
So they can be congratulated for visiting many stations. I have only 50 or so left, all visited via train with a stop off (not jump back on). Covid caused a delay - but the project will be completed before I'm dead!
That cute little train seems to be (just) a modern version of the old "rail bus" -- a bus body on train wheels. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_railbuses
Yay, all the canals!
nidostar2013 I'd watch!
Hello from Melbourne Australia. I have been to the Australian version of Cadbury world.
Not many exciting things happen in Stourbridge much, so when me and my friend found this series we were really excited
I'm gutted I missed Vicky and Geoff in Birmingham! ☹️😂
Pauly D same!
It's not that hard to miss them, good luck finding anyone (or anything) at New Street station lol
KasabianFan44 once you get used to New Street Station and Grand Central its not that bad.
KasabianFan44 I use new street station 10 times a week I could walk round it with my eyes closed lol
Same. It's a 10 - 20 minute train from me.
The cutest train has a very bumpy ride 😂
Much like Vicki, I like Birmingham too. It's a lovely city, and I do love the Brummy accent.
WOW! They went to all the UK stations by train? They must be trillionairs!
Legend says they used a time machine because Southern was delayed 8 years
@@asheiou Another legend states they 'forgot' the Isle of Wight...
Its funny she said cutest, and i can understand. To me it looks like an old express dairies electric milk float.
Probably very practical though.
It should have a smiley face on the front
Stourbridge junction is the best station in my opinion I live near cradley heath that's the stop after junction. And the people move is just cute
#Samuel I'm gay I live in Cradley Heath too, I may have to visit Stourbridge junction now, just on your recommendation. I’m not a train geek, I just enjoy exploring with Geoff.
I found Geoff's channel by mistake recently and then found you did this and so far I have watched every single video from the start and so far up to this one. Boy oh boy is it taking a long time but I am enjoying it :)
So it's the new generation of Pacer! 😂
The legend that is.........Phil Tonks!! At least you've met Geoff and Vicky, I think they're avoiding Evesham!!
Nice I've lived in Sutton Coldfield grew up in four oaks and currently live in Lichfield right next to the Trent Valley line I hear them dam trains all night long although I'm used to it now.
Is it weird that going on the parry people mover is one of my life goals?
no. cant be. its one of mine.
Your channel is good pandemic cabin fever tonic
You were at Bromsgrove and did not mention The Lickey Incline which is the steepest sustained mainline railway incline in Great Britain. Also, the shopping centre above New Street station is called Grand Central
a 139, well many years a go, they ran a single car unit, to Stourbridge Town, again it was a unit powercar body with two bus engines to power it. A cut down class 101, yep a gearbox too! Good luck you too
So after a bit of research I found these interesting links regarding the units that used to run on the branch line.
www.simplonpc.co.uk/Stourbridge.html
This page shows images of the
Stourbridge Junction to Stourbridge Town Branch, with images of
the current Class 139 Parry People Movers plus some earlier
'heritage' DMUs. Modern images of other West Midland connecting
services are also shown, including London Midland Class 172s in
their first month of service in the area.
The Stourbridge Town Branch Line is a 0.8 miles (1.3 km) railway
branch line, in Stourbridge, West Midlands. It is claimed to be
the shortest branch line in Europe, and many miniature railways
are certainly longer. Now used solely for passenger traffic, it
was originally constructed to allow trans-shipment with the
Stourbridge Town Arm of the Stourbridge Canal.
The passenger service along the branch is presently being
operated by Class 139 Parry People Movers. Replacement buses ran
from December 2008 until March 2009 due to the previous Class
153 being reallocated from December 2008, this being the date
the Parry People Mover was originally intended to start working
the service. However due to customer feedback, the Class 153 was
re-introduced from 15 March until Mid June, when the Parry
People Mover finally entered full service. For the first time in
many years, a Sunday service is operated.
www.miac.org.uk/stourbridgetown.html
Class 122 single car unit No.55012 was photographed at
Stourbridge Town Station in June 1982 at a time when the
minimalist single platform was on the west side of the line. When
the station was later rebuilt the platform was moved to the other
side of the train and proper passenger facilities were provided.
Photograph by Andrew Smith.
The station was again rebuilt with finance provided by Centro
(West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive). Centro built the
current station as a key part of an integrated bus/rail
interchange to serve Stourbridge town centre and fortunately on
this occasion specified the design to a high standard. The new
station was opened on 25th April 1994.
Phil Tonks is an absolute legend and I'm proud to class him as a friend!
I love the PPM 139s. I think there is definitely a use for them. Aparantly the company who made them designed them to be scalable to an 80 pax varient, so they really could do well if they had a chance - great idea :)
Look more like a modern version of the 1950s railbuses than a Pacer replacement.
I really feel like All The Canals should be a thing. However that would miss out all the navigable rivers and drains in the UK so how about All the Navigations?
Would be a fun way to spend a couple of years ;)
Amen to that mate
wonderful series great story line thanks for sharing .
I'm so happy that you visited my home town of Rugeley! There isn't much to do, but hey, we try make the most of it...
ScottAbles bugger all in Hednesford as well
At least they didn't try to pronounce Hednesford
ScottAbles As another Rugeley person, I do have to question why he actually wanted to find out about Rugeley
ScottAbles good for you
I’m a rugeley boy too stottables
..Vicki..you really should try and stop off in Saltaire - Aire Valley Line, West Yorkshire - when you're up..Titus Salt was not quite up to Cadbury but the village is a stunner..
rossmagpie And the Leeds-Liverpool canal runs through it. Double prizes
Have taken the bus through several times. It is indeed very attractive.
Great video. Love the interviews and history facts.
I live in Phoenix, Az and love watching these videos!!
Thx for coming to birmingham my main city but I live in dudley but thanks respect
I remember the old rail buses where the driver had a (jerky) manual gearbox. If there had been nice railcars like this in 1964 we could have told Dr. Beeching to s*d off and we would still have a decent integrated rail system, and not need so many cars.
That’s why the pacers were introduced in the 1980’s to stop more lines from closing and a cheap solution to replace old rolling stock. It was unpopular with passengers though.
"It's the Cutest Couple I have Ever Seen!"
I’m sure a shuttle like that would be ideal going from March to Wisbech
"All the canals" please! Just do it! :-)
Hi, Just to say that Network Rail are upgrading the line to renew the track, which is currently ongoing. Their upgrade has however resulted in the cutting down and removal of the vegetation (including trees to their stumps) along most of the route and to show the very poorly maintained portacabins used for maintenance (apparently belonging to Chiltern Railways) . Your travel between the stations is not as you would have previously seen and it will be many years before it gets anywhere close to what it was, and the effect on the local wildlife is also significant. What was a nice little journey, is now one of visual destruction. It may be the shortest journey between stations, but it is now, not the most visually pleasant.
I'm down with all the canals! And cheers to the good people who returned your glasses!
ALL THE CANALS!
This one keeps popping up on my feed, so I just watched it again :-)
Yay! We adopted Bournville station. It is a great place. Glad you enjoyed it.
I always find myself replaying the intro! Loving the series! Shame you're not coming to Ireland but I can't blame you as although there are some beautiful routes trains are VERY infrequent in some areas. Anyways, thanks again for such a great series!!!
Luke McCormack that aged well
I love Vicki's Deathly Hallows earrings.
WOW, I RODE the Stourbridge shuttle in 2010 with my friends. It is the shortest branch line in Britain at less than ONE MILE! Totally amazing that it survived the BEECHING axe!
Haha, so exciting to see places I recognise on this channel!
I absolutely love that train as I use it every weekend to commute to the bus station
Can belive I missed you guys in my hometowen,. I hope you had a great time in Brum :)
Love the videos!
I went on the 139 yesterday and you two are on the history inside
I went on the prototype around 1998 outside the parry manufacturers in Cradley heath, we'd go into reception and they'd send a guy out to take us on a ride.
Finally! I have been waiting for the 139
All the canals, yes Geoff hehe
I've had a cab ride on the 139 before as well! Its amazing
That cute little train - Love it !!!
Enjoyed seeing you on BBC breakfast recently.
Well done
This should become part of the West Midlands Metro.
Hi Geoff, when you go to Port Sunlight on the Wirral Line on Merseyrail please note it is similar to Bourneville because it is a village built for the factory workers too and has much history behind it
Port Sunlight was built by the Lever Brothers (now Unilever). Whether it had anything to do with your laundry I don't know.
The area round Kidderminster and Stourbridge may cute and quaint and picturesque, but it's where one of Britain's most infamous unsolved murders took place: the case of Bella in the Wych Elm.
what do you think of the pedestrianisation of norwich city centre?
N Class 468 keeping the wolf from the door
N Class 468 oh that is first claaarrrs!
Happened to Blackpool too
All The Canals, coming to CZcams never!
Richard Aspden all the canals would take years.
@Universal Link ehhh depends if you like canals or not
Cruising the Cut is already close to this.
czcams.com/channels/6SNxiLzSlh8e0yjndE9o_A.html
The Stourbridge shuttle is a superb idea.
It's great with Geoff and Vicky!
I love watching your videos they are very interesting to watch 😍😍😍😍😀😀😀😅😀it must feel tiering 😴!
The PPM depot at Stourbridge Junc. is built entirely from Parry's own lightweight bricks and tiles. They export the moulding/vibrating machinery across the world. There is a narrow-gauge test track for PPM vehicles circling their premises in Cradley Heath (which I've visited).
Another delightful episode of All the Stations. What will I watch in the morning while I eat my corn flakes when its done?
All the canals coming next year with Geoff and Vicky. may just take a bit longer that three months though 😀
Keith Flockhart Coming soon to GVTV
Semaphore signals... Always a bonus, until they get frozen in place and cannot move!
Part of the reason that the Class 139 was used on the Stourbridge branch is that the line has some very tight curves, meaning that two-car units can't be used because they don't have enough clearance between carriages - which is why it was previously run by a class 153 and before that a class 121.
It works well because the short distance means it can run a frequent service with a single vehicle on single track - with a maximum speed of 20mph, on a longer line you would really notice the slow speed, and if you were limited to 20mph for the whole journey from Braintree to Witham, as someone upthread suggested, would go up from 16 minutes each way to around 25 minutes. You would also need to install several passing loops in order to run trains more frequently as there's no way that a single Class 139 would provide enough capacity for the branch.
I can't ad enough upvotes👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 ps we've got a cadbury factory here in Hobart Tasmania. It's village is Claremont.
Best episode
that snowhill place looks like Southern Cross (pillar wise.) - except that's at ground level. Good to see your glasses were found!
Geoff, if you like Semaphore Signals and old signal boxes, you'll love the Furness Line, Cumbrian Coast Line and the Leeds to Morecambe Line! (Carnforth to Settle is the longest unsignalled section in the country!)
Can’t wait for my stations! (Falkirk high and grahamston)
Nice view of Lichfield Trent Valley. Hope you spotted the unique three spires of the cathedral as you passed through Lichfield City.
Would have been nice to see the cathedral!
Between Rugeley Trent Valley and Birmingham New Street, you pass through the remains of a disused station between Cannock and Landywood - the platforms are still there - Wyrley and Cheslyn Hay (formerly Wyrley and Church Bridge). This is the Cheslyn Hay mentioned by Flanders & Swann in "Slow Train". I remember the "Chase Line" opening - some 24 years after the previous services ended - it happened a few weeks before my 16th birthday. I had been involved in the campaign for its reopening for around six years by then. I remember the days of "pay trains" on the line, and the occasional difficulty ordering long distance tickets. Oddly, Chesterfield was a popular destination - I can remember not being the only person on the train buying a Chesterfield ticket once - and there was disruption that day that led to us having to make an additional change at Derby.
Man i didnt know you were on the Cross City line, i would of come to meet you guys
Alas i have only just found your channel
the guy yelling yaaay at the end is hilarious
Yes! All the Canals! And don't forget the Croydon Canal. There's still a few yards of it left.