I think you're doing a grand job documenting all this GCR history. I lived at Helmdon 1967 - 1973. Only 8 yrs old the line had just closed, the tracks were still there and I watched them being lifted in 1968. What a fantastic adventure playground it was for us young kids. I've returned regularly over the years only to witness the remains of the GCR slowly disappear. Very soon now it will all be gone, there will be nothing left only your videos and other documented writings and photos. Enjoy your videos, excellent work.

Any update on what is proposed for the bridge at Barton hill farm entrance?

Have a merry Xmas in2023 keep up the good work from a fellow steam buff. Very enjoyable vids.kind regards tim.

The line that goes to Banbury also goes to Towcester then ends at Blisworth it is called the smj.

Thanks for the shout out mate 👍

All that area where the station was was rough land we used to play on. Even the old station was explorable though quite vandalised. This would have been around 1978 ISH for me.

That filled in bridge was not at helmdon but at culworth .I now I'vwalked the bridge at helmdon Still a good video. Keep up the good work.

Brilliant. It was still something you could walk across when I first moved there in 1977. But the walls were low and it was a dodgy and dangerous structure. My late Father was furious when they knocked it down. Great video, thanks.

excellent video👍 and drone footage was this another beeching axe 🤔

Thanks for the video, I was looking on a map to see how you might reach the trackbed at Marlborough and you have answered it!

I am throughly disgusted that this viaduct which stood for 80 yrs and all the hard work in building it was distroyed the chap who brought it and got the money for the blue bricks should be ashamed of himself all for a bypass we need railways not roads for more cars and lorries to go on them people in the video must miss it even though it was demolished in 1978 how many more viaducts are going to be demolished 😠

I’ve lived in Byfield most of my life, and I also love trains and railway history. I’ve walked this path manybtimes over the years, mainly if we’ve walked towards Byfield Reservoir. Having said that, I’ve never noticed those gateposts made from old rails, I’ll have to look out for those next time! I believe that bridge you crossed over was bridging the quarry line, which curved round through the surrounding fields and crossed over the Boddington Road just outside the village, I’ve seen black & white photos of it. If you want to see a more accessible part of the SMJ in Byfield, the Pocket Park by the church is where the station was, and there’s still visible remains of one of the platforms still remaining. In the overflow graveyard, there’s a pile of brixks under a ghedge, which are all that’s left of the station’s goods shed. Great video, and beautiful doggo!

The cutting here was a SSSI

Glad to see somebody keeping us updated on this shambles of a railway to nowhere.

Thank's for this update.

Nice little update buddy. I don't like the state of that railing on the footbridge, it looks well dodgy!

The only potential benefit from HS2 was that express trains would come off existing lines and would free up space on the network for existing lines closed, potentially to be reopened…. fat chance of that happening I know!!

nice video bud keep them coming

Such a shame that HS 2 has destroyed so much of our wonderful countryside, and for what? Just so a privileged few can shave 20 odd minutes off from London to Birmingham. Keep up the good work in filming and archiving our disappearing heritage.

Always informative. Thank you

Excellent clip. It's only when you're next to a "small" loco that you realise they aren't small at all! Nice one mate.

All people are left with now, are gridlocked & pothole covered roads........what a total waste.

Fascinating, great you've recorded it for posterity.

Really enjoyed that Neil, it's such an historic place with so much to see. Apparently the night time runs were fantastic because it was such a clear night, I saw some video and was really jealous!!!!

Excellent job buddy. It's an impressive operation they run... and it's going to be even better when they get the Loughborough Gap done.

Looked like a very nice atmosphere and and not crammed with people as it can often be. Hope they do more nights like this in the near future.

With the re- building of the Varsity Line, re-opening the Banbury to Verney Junction section would have been made far easier and made economic and environment sense, particularly for those near Brackley and Buckingham.

Hello 🖐️🙂 Nice to meet you at the GCR today 🙂👍🚂🚃🚃🚃 Hope you had a good day and got home safely 🙂👍🚂

The overbridge @ 12:08 was, until fairly recently, a beautiful brick arch. Actually, I am surprised to see that this has now been demolished.

The Dognamic Duo back in action again! Bonus points for the Nutty Boys tattoo! That's an impressively deep (and wide) cutting at Thorpe Road.

I was at the bottom of Culworth hill near the bridge going up into the village, we were harvesting in the field when I saw my last steam engine on British Rail running light to Banbury crossing the bridge. It must have been around August 1966 I was12yo. I lived in the village of Weston and if you biked up to Lois Weedon you could see 2 miles across the fields and watch the coal trains on the massive Sulgrave embankment. Such a shame that a great railway was so brutally vandalised.

Great video as always

Hi Neil, good to see you and Austin, that 2.17 older photo you added to the video highlights perfectly how much tree growth has taken place even since the old image was taken, I'd say late 1970s early 1980s as i believe the car is a first generation BMW 5 series. Good work as always thank you 😊.

Nice one Neil. I wanted to walk down the branch towards Banbury the last time I visited the junction site but stopped when seeing the well-kept entrance into the farm house and considered it too private to go there. It was always interesting passing this point and the Junction signal box when firing over the route in it's closing couple of years.

Have tried to add two photos to my comments but don’t seem able to do it.

Spent many hours playing on these steps as a kid growing up in Chacombe, Ralph Watts and Reg Pratt from the George and Dragan pub were signal men there, we also would put old pennies on the line and get them squashed went the train went over them. Happy days.

Thanks for the video Neil. I was born in Gloucestershire and studied the line more that end from Cheltenham towards Cirencester. A fascinating line and history. The only part left now is the stub to the army camp at Ludershall. First time Iv seen the tunnel in the flesh as it were. Time to get my books back out about the line. It was twin track through the tunnel but effectively two separate single lines apparently. Great vid many thanks.

Well done mate, I went searching for that after a competition in Swindon a few years back, but couldn't find it!!!! It's in a hell of a state though, I don't even think the bats will be that keen to use it. I thought for a second you might climb up and have a gander through that large hole, but then realised you've got more sense than that. Next time I go looking for it I'll chat to you first so that I know where I'm going.

A man prepared to ruin his best trainers for his channel is a superstar in my book! 😁 I'm -probably- odd, but I prefer walk videos without a gimbal. But I'm likely in a minority on that.

Wow the history shame to see it like that isn't it. Good footage 👏

Nice one, Neil. Always planed to visit this tunnel but never got around to it. Didn't expect to see it in such a bad state. Savernake station and the branch to Marlborough was still in situ when we worked from Didcot to Westbury from 1964 but the Cheltenham-Andover was gone but you could see the upper station and it's water tank and the remains of where it crossed the Western Region and the ex Wolfhall junction link with the SW&MR where it ran southwards to Andover and I did visit Grafton & Burbage site in the early 70's.

Living as I do in Eydon, I am greatly looking forward to seeing your further videos of this route as you post them. I have walked about as much of this route as is possible (some with permission of local farmers and land-owners). Thank you!

In the 1990s I was on the BR bridge department based in Reading. We used to check the remaining BR owned property. We must have been some of the last BR staff to work on the line. Great video!

Another great video! The bridge identity that's still just about visible on the River Cherwell would have read BBG rather than BRG. It would have either had the number 23 underneath or the mileage (7m 47ch). Well done for making it up there. I did just that myself a few years ago before the vegetation took over.

2.20 I think you mean Birmingham to Bristol main line, rather than the East Coast Main Line!!! Great explore, I've often wondered what if anything remains of this link.

Fantastic video as allways did you know chacombe road halt was actually called chalcombe road halt

Great video - although Austin was noticeable by his absence! 😁Your music choices were sublime as usual. Dunno if it's a processing issue with YT but I couldn't get higher than 480p resolution. Still enjoyed it though.

Most informative video. Shame most of it’s gone now. Eydon Road halt is actually on the edge of Culworth village which would have served the locals more as it’s in walking distance, compared with Culworth GCR station which was much further away.

Spent 5 months in chetwode last year. Beautiful but hs2 ruining it

Thanks for another little historical document. Thanks for confirming the direction at 3:14 - it helps to orient against the old abandoned (and flooded) GCR formation. Great to see progression on the new railway which (despite the controversy) will benefit our country in the decades to come, as the population grows and the motorways cannot be widened. The cleared path to the bridge from 7:00 onwards may be to provide access to maintain what is now a 130-year-old brick structure beneath a public road?? Certainly at 7:37, land at top level has been marked off.