The Woodside & South Croydon Joint Railway: South London Secrets! | Another Station Another Mile #16

[@bostonrailfan2427]

your passion about the station closed 105 years before is infectious and a shock as it’s one of the best preserved disued station in all of the UK

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Isn't it just?! I'm stunned at how good condition the site is still in to this day, especially in such an urban epicentre as London.

[@cassieSP]

Love how much infrastructure is still standing. Its absolutely beautiful! Thanks for showcasing it

[@JonKirby]

A group of friends and I rode the last train on the line. Moved away now, but it's good to see my old area.

[@KatharineA0203]

My old home town, I lived 5 mins walk from Woodside station as a child and would go from there to Elmers End to go to London for the day

[@stuarthall6631]

Fascinating! Thank you so much for this! I worked at Charing Cross Control Room (as the person working the departure board and making announcements) from 1979-1983. Early on in my tenure (can't remember when this ceased) two of the evening peak-time down trains from Charing Cross to Hayes had a connection at Elmers End through to Sanderstead, calling at Woodside, Coombe Road, Bingham Road and Selsdon. I'm really looking forward to your promised video upon the remaining, abandoned section down to Addiscombe. Keep up the very good work!

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Oh that's awesome! Yeah, the shuttle service by the end on this line was Elmers End to Sanderstead, so that checks out ^_^ thank you very much!

[@alanfinch1718]

I used to live at Woodside in 2015 and regularly used the station when the station building was still open.

[@DJCREDIT1]

I know this Line very well, I grow up in St Peters Street very near to the old Selsdon Station before the line closed, My Mum used to take me up to London shopping via this line, & when the line closed in 83 I walked this old line many times through the mid/late 80s & 90s until the tramlink butchered it after 97 when Addiscombe & Woodside closed. I have now moved away & I am currently living in West Malling in Kent, but I still have fond memories of South Croydon & the old Ghost Line, I still have many photos I toke through the years as well. Well done for the re-visit.

[@alexwild4350]

Spencer Road was a 'halt' in its day and never had anything more than a waiting 'hut', I think constructed of tin. In the back of my memory I think even the short platforms were made of wood, probably old sleepers. I moved to Spencer Road with my first girlfriend, so would have been the early 1980's, long after the halt closed. I took up a bit of interest in the line and saw a picture of Spencer Road halt in a book. I was one of the local lads that used to frequent Selsdon Road station as it closed down. When we didn't have light for our cigarettes, one of us would climb the fence and the Red signal on the approach to the still in use oil depot, as many other commentators have mentioned, as we could just get a light off the Paraffine lamp lighting the signal, by sticking the cigarette through one of the vent holes, as long as we were careful not to drop the darn thing inside the lamp housing. The housing estate in Whitmead Close had not been built at this time and it was waste land, where, as 15 year olds, we used to ride motorcycles and mopeds of questionable origin, and terrorise the local dog walkers, of whom actually, we always tried to be respectful to. One of our clan began his motorcycle career here, mainly founded on a home built 'motorised bicycle' and from this setting went on to have an international motorcycle dealership across the world. For those that remember the occasion of a dumper truck being driven off the Selsdon Road platform onto the railway lines in the early 1980's, we never intentionally did this. We were trying to find reverse to drive it around the yard. We couldn't find reverse and with each attempt it went forward until eventually it went off the edge of the platform on to the lines. The footbridge across the lines from the end of Dornton Road to Whitmead Close, the Dorton Road end had a world war 2 pill box bunker built right under the footbridge accessible from the garden of the last house. Probably its not visible anymore from the foot bridge but I bet its still there. Certainly it would not have showed up on any German aerial reconnaissance photo's and would have come as a surprise to any invading army that got this far. Whitmead Close, all along the side adjoining the old railway line had ww2 Tank traps, when it was a waste land, which were solid blocks of concrete about a metre and half high, and square. We used to take it as it a bit of a dare to jump from one block to the other as they were just far enough apart to make it questionable, and high enough that if you didn't make it, you'd crack your jaw on your way down, and loose your teeth as you went. That thankfully never happened. So this part of the LBSC/ Woodside and Croydon line had been turned into a "strong point" to thwart any invading army during World War 2. Outside No.1 Whitmead Close happened one of my most miserable experiences. When the housing estate was being built, and I had grown up a bit, I was a labourer on the site. The foreman, expecting the boss's, wanted the site cleared up, so I was given a shovel and told to clear all the plaster dust that had overfilled the skip that was outside No.1. The wind was strong and from the south west, so every shovelful of Plaster dust I picked up, which of course was all on the down wind side, and threw in the skip, most of it got caught by the wind and blew straight back at me, to cover me grey, and settle once again on the ground from where it had just come. Looking back over almost 40 years its just possible the foreman had a better idea about who I was than I did ;) I really should go visit the place as much of my adolescent childhood was spent around here with many more memories than I have space to write, even if some of it did get recorded by the local papers and the boys in blue. But then we grow up and the SPG gets disbanded in the Met Constabulary and we all move on. Kids today eh ? they don't make em like they used to :).

[@DrivermanO]

Excellent video. Particularly liked the whiteboard. This brought back a few memories! I used to work in Elmers End Road up by Birkbeck station. In the opening scene, my company bought that carpark in the background from British Rail (I think it was a goods yard), had it cleared and surfaced and used it for car storage. The company is long gone! And when I first came to Croydon to work in 1975, for a time I lived in Birdhurst Rise and frequently used that footbridge at Spencer Road halt to cut off a large corner to visit friends further up Croham Road. Very spooky at night! I remember trains running under the bridge. And if I remember correctly, once the line was closed, part of the line at Blackhorse Lane was built over - you could see it from the road bridge. That appears to have gone now. Also, houses were built on the site of Combe Road station very quickly. They now have trams running much closer than expected - I think the line to New Addington has been diverted slightly to avoid demolition. Another instance of short sightedness selling off railway land.

[@MartinMeadowsEvans]

I lived in the road right next to Woodside station I remember the day it closed as a normal station and then the construction of Tramlink. Lots of memories.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

No way! Thats an amazing memory to have. How different does it look now compared to pre-tramlink?

[@KatharineA0203]

I lived in Cloister Gardens on Woodside Green & remember the Bingham Road branch going over Lower Addiscombe Road, with few & far between trains though

[@johnreynolds3428]

Great enthusiasm, great information and really well delivered! Nice work.

[@David-sv7by]

Thank you for a very interesting video.

[@michellebell5092]

Woodside- the racecourse I read some moved south to the Sussex village of Horley. The racecourse then closed and on the site they built an airport. Gatwick.

[@matttheash1974]

I love the new intro, it has 80s vibes xD

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Exactly what I was going for! Thank you 😊

[@andrewholloway231]

I have really enjoyed this. Thank you very much.

[@musicforaarre]

Keep on being enthusiastic and effusive. That's wonderful. I loved to see the old black stairways; that was a real surprise. Aarre Peltomaa

[@Gregdotgreg]

Just finished watching Jago Hazzard's video of the same line!

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Great minds! ;)

[@lofcmatt]

When you instantly know you’ve watched the same video and then KZbin served this to you first as a suggestion...then you know you’re down the rabbit hole! 🐰

[@briocheoleary5043]

@@HeyItsAJOmega hope you're feeling well. I was delighted to find ur and jago's videos.. a nice alternative to gmarshalls fine fare l! This time can be harsh for everyone. But I friend your videos a real tonic.. and even if there are overlaps. You're all different and equally interesting.. I hope u fancy making many more.. Btw, us the t development of Euston coming along well,? A builder also told me that there is going to b Vs major new interchange just north of Euston called something like Oakwood. Best wishes

[@raphaelnikolaus0486]

Which one was that again, Greg?

[@Karlinski73]

Again, a well put-together video. Good editing, good use of cutaways, good pace to it, good narrative. Fascinating amount of infrastructure still remaining, particularly at Spencer Road! 👍

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Right?! In a world where such things are bulldozed flat and built over so quickly, it stuns me how its all still there. Thank you for the kind words :)

[@michaelgreen1515]

Amazing thank you. I wish I had known. I saw this on the cough anniversary of qualifying as a nurse; I did much of my training in Croydon and I used to walk down Spencer Road to Lloyd park as they were building Tramlink to go to work. I also worked at the end of the line great. I did explore some parts. So I look forward to your videos on the other end of Tramlink at Wimbledon and the Tooting Pear! Which are also surprisingly visable if you take a gander though not to that extent. The Necropolis railway is too without Necromancy: at both ends as long as you don't upset the Monks!

[@101steel4]

I remember a very similar footbridge at Phipps bridge, where the tram runs today.

[@blueskiesabove3950]

The former railways of Tramlink network have always fascinated me. Excellent stuff Adam. Keep going mate.

[@AdrianChips]

Great vid. I like the way you did the buildup to Spencer Road Halt. Can't believe there is so much remaining!

[@VRDenshaOtaku]

I love watching these, we had a line in country victoria that was shut in the 1890's after only 7 years service and some of the piers of the bridges still survive today

[@georgec1720]

Had a friend that lived in Birdhurst Rise used to go to Spender Road Halt. That was 20 years ago, brought back some memories this video. You used to be able to walk about on the tracks then. I believe they look after the footbridge as it helps commuters get to South Croydon Stn quicker.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Oh, thats an interesting thought! And you can still get onto the tracks...if you want to 😆

[@georgec1720]

@@HeyItsAJOmega they used to walk down the line and drink cider on Croham Road bridge. I was never that adventurous. Could be an idea for a follow up episode though. 😂

[@davidpritchard6102]

Cracking stuff, as ever! Part of me misses the old music, but time and tide wait for no man.

[@paulhunter123]

Jamie oliver is a train spotter who knew! great video and research

[@Rule1ModelRailways]

another great video, thanks for the upload!

[@richardlangly4635]

Great video, quite amazing to see so much still intact after over a century!

[@PodgyAsthmatic]

Outstanding again Sir. Fascinating to see that old line still there!! I'm a big Tram link fan so next time I'm over that way I'll pop over there and take a look. Thanks you for this wonderful video.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Thank you very much! That's so kind of you to say :)

[@shauntodd7123]

Absolutly smashed it and good to see you out and about again. I too watched the Jago Hazard final instalment of the fleet line and this followed nicely. Excellent as usual.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Thank you very much! :)

[@shauntodd7123]

@@HeyItsAJOmega just waiting for a 'Tale of two Catfords' now.

[@zachegan1950]

so fascinating! the Spencer road halt station is something else

[@philiproszak1678]

That intro was awesome!

[@Sim0nTrains]

Do love a Disused Railway, some lovely relics of the past that still stand, Did love Spencer Road Halt but it the Croydon Tramlink reminds me off the Midland Metro, most of the tram line was built over the former GWR Paddington to Wolverhampton Low Level main Line. This is brilliant to watch.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Yup, lots of tram lines and metro systems are built partly on old railway alignments and trackbeds - I believe the Manchester and Newcastle Metro systems are the same. :)

[@Sim0nTrains]

Another Station, Another Mile yes, Manchester and the Tyne and Wear Metro were build using old lines

[@CoxallK]

Great video mate, one of the best yet, I reacted the same way when I came across Spencer Road, probably stood there for about half hour imagining what once was. Never got as far as the Selsdon bit. There is a also still a red signal light on the branch just before it rejoins the Oxted line.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

That is correct, I think I remember seeing that signal? Theres a similar one in situ still on the Weymouth Tramway!

[@MrSimonthedude]

Great video, thank you. I live near the Blackhorse Lane tram stop, so I am off to explore the abandoned parts of this line. Thank you!

[@Srevelation]

enjoyed it keep up the good work Aj

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Thank you! :)

[@Wakeful]

lovely still love the new intro too lmao

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Thank you!

[@nathanw9770]

Nice! I really hope that station building at Woodside will get used again. Even if it's used like a small gallery reminiscent of the old Addiscombe railway with some Tramlink branding at the front to give it that train station feel.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

That would be really nice!

[@AzureOtsu]

I was just about to travel to Croydon to walk along the old line

[@dominicnoades8616]

Great video once again.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Thank you! :)

[@PhilipStorry]

I always got the feeling that this line was built for that most excellent of Victorian railway reasons: "We're building it so that nobody else can." Which occasionally pays off, but often resulted in railways that had saw more cows outside than passengers inside the trains...

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Hah! Too much competition, youre saying? 😆

[@dodgydruid]

There was some sort of incoherent plans to create a set of lines that ran in something of a circle in and around London at certain stages like orbital lines intersecting the main lines. It was all rather hit and miss as you would expect with independent private companies not wanting to lose the edge against the competition and they all cooperated like a sack of cats until the big four came into being but even then the big 4 fought tooth and nail at each other over territory and because the GWR, LMS and LNER weren't keen on the orbital lines as much as the SR were, it happened in small parts. The outermost ring was built fairly much in a great part from Medway, down to Tonbridge, across to Redhill and onto Reading but most of it is under utilised and stymied by the Strood/Higham bottleneck caused by silly people not reading the notes as to why the second bridge at Strood was mothballed in the first place.

[@librarian16]

That was the reason for building the Bluebell line, and the others in that part of Sussex. The South Eastern could claim that the area was ill-served, but their real aim would have been Brighton.

[@andrewholloway231]

11:47 Wow!! Spencer Road halt. It looks as if it has just been closed, let alone all those years back. What a discovery.

[@PrograError]

i imagine there must be someone that just keep asking the point of the footbridge over "nothing" might as well path a straight path over the "nothing"

[@intransit9333]

Another good video. Enjoy watching your content. keep up the good work. I preferred the old theme tune though... not sure about the one you used on this video! :-)

[@Roblilley999]

Just rewatched this after watching geoffs updated one, hope you are well :)

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Thank you! I am doing a lot better than in recent months right now, yes. ^_^

[@abgy237]

I used to hate getting that train as a kid from Wimbledon to Croydon, especially if you missed the one train on the line

[@Andrewjg_89]

I’ve been on the Croydon Tramlink and I quite like the trams. As most South Londoners say we don’t need tubes. We got the Tramlink, National Rail including Thameslink and buses around South London. I think Geoff Marshall covered abandoned and former railway lines around London including in South London. Nice video.

[@Andrewjg_89]

I wonder Geoff hasn’t been to Spencer Road Halt where the footbridge and tracks still remains but the station is long gone.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Haha! We never got the tube, and we dont need it anyway 😆

[@Andrewjg_89]

Well except Wimbledon has the District Line and Morden has the Northern Line but yes that is true.

[@neil2428]

The "flat ramp" at Woodside was also used by some Relief Signalman (myself included) to get our motorcycles to the signal box @Woodside when covering there!!

[@dodgydruid]

Hey did you know Keith Watson when he worked relief from Elmers End?

[@neil2428]

@@dodgydruid Yes I knew Keith when he was at London Bridge panel box in the mid/late 80's and 90's

[@dodgydruid]

@@neil2428 Yeah he was on the widowmaker or the platforms panel, its rather ironic in he started his career at North Kent box, worked his way round all over the place to end his time at LB, sadly it was all too much for him in the end and he had to jack it in and got early retired. He passed on a couple years ago from the dreaded bug due to smoking but he did end up running Swanage's signalling and is fondly remembered down there. I did like it if I was running late he would whisper in the ear at the Grove Park panelman to stop a fast Hastings for me on plat 2 which always beat the EPB hands down and a great excuse to ride the 1066's :) You should take a look at what he and his lot achieved down at Swanage leading up to reconnection, they even ran a special train all week for him in memory, all BR gave him was some crappy clock on retirement.

[@dodgydruid]

His heart went out of it with BR when he got the signalling managers job at Edinburgh Waverley and the NUR blocked his appointment viciously, BR did offer him something at Charing X management wise but he was pretty fed up with 'em, I have fond memories of the night shift on occasion when he took me in as a teenager but sadly my own tenure with BR ended with a prank gone wrong when I was TOPsman at Norwood and got the tin tack personally by the AM Eastleigh for causing a major major snarl up all round when I for a joke tasked all BR's class 99's into carriage and safety certification... took nearly a day for someone to work out that class 99's were Sealink ferries but because I put a priority ticket on 'em it caused chaos and havoc down at Eastleigh and my dismissal with a never darken our doorstep ever and some sweary words too :P

[@neil2428]

@@dodgydruid Sorry to hear of his passing. Yes, I was aware of his connection with the Swanage, and I'm glad he was well thought of there

[@dodgydruid]

I remember when 4SUB's used to pull out of the bay platform at Beckenham Jnc for Birkbeck, indeed it was the hapless passengers of such who were inflicted upon by trainee staff at the nearby BR training centre sending out trainee guards, drivers and whatnot on very captive audiences (have to give a shout out to Paul Burton, an old schoolfriend and now senior RMT man who was often at the BR centre) and where I did my training as well. It was an awesome setup with Waterloo's signalling school there, driver school, guard school, ticket and platform training... I used to love listening to the signallers doing their bells and I knew what every one was thanks to me father who did once relief I think C grade between Balham and Shortlands, adding Chislehurst and one of my fondest memories was not Orpington B but Orpington A... I remember him grumbling when he had to walk over to hand tokens to the Birkbeck drivers during an engineering possession and it was foul weather, think that was around the time he caught a third rail flash on his wet clothes leaving him with a massive burn up his leg.

[@OskarOH]

I knew the Tramlink was built partially on old rail lines, but had no idea there was this much left of it. Gotta check it out next time I'm in London.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Go for it, you won't be disappointed :)

[@southerntransport466]

Yes finally one of my nearest abandoned railway lines thanks for doing/covering this I have this line gets preserved and back in operation or gets used as an extension for something for e.g the Merton ,Croydon and Southeast London Tramlink

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

A Tramlink extension would make a lot of sense tbh!

[@southerntransport466]

@@HeyItsAJOmega yeah

[@southerntransport466]

Also connect up the Elmers End and Beckenham Junction branches with the New Addington branch

[@goodwood-rc4nx]

is cool that you focusing on stations in bromley as lived in the bourgh

[@dodgydruid]

I often talk about my growing up in Sundridge Park (David Bowie's hometown) on my channel hehe

[@whyyoulidl]

Hey, this has got to be one of yr best finds yet; I shared yr enthusiam, so big thx. An F1 and disused/current railway nut like me. Keep 'em coming pal. Thumbs up!

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Haha, thank you! The crossover of train nerds and racecar fans is growing :D

[@bradleywelch9201]

i used to take the train to school from elmers end and over the years i worked out that it used to have 4 platforms with the additional platform in between platform 3 and the tesco carpark

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Oh really? That's interesting! So would it have been next to what is now the tram platform?

[@bradleywelch9201]

@@HeyItsAJOmega I think that the selsdon line would have used the tram platform and the adjacent south eastern platform and then the hayes line would have used the other 2 platforms but I'm not certain

[@grimpeursdusud1533]

I did the line on a 2-EPB (I think) a week before it closed. Only one way, did the London Bridge to Sanderstead outward journey in style, behind an East Grinstead bound class 33

[@annescholey6546]

Actually there's a video of it's last day of services in 1983 with quite a turnout. The route closed as part of the alternative to the 1982 Serpell Report that closed the Kilmacolm branch in Strathclyde and nearly the Barmouth to Pwllheli coast line.

[@craiglogistics2092]

Very interesting AJ, you can just about make it out on Google maps, keep up the good work mate

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Thank you! Yeah, I find it fascinating how much of it is still on google maps itself?

[@jonahturner6389]

George Russel this time I see. Just an overall British driver fan? Great video btw

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Haha! Thank you :) not particularly, just so happens my two favourites in F1 right now are Lando and George :)

[@raawrsome]

I feel like I want to check out the route myself.. 👀 Especially Spencer Road Halt!

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

I mean, I'm not biased or anything, but you totally should :)

[@wiltaylor]

Nice job mate used to live around there. I am now watching from Vancouver Island Canada lots of abandoned railway out here...unfortunately.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Oh really? That's a shame, but also sounds fascinating in its own way. I guess like many abandoned railways!

[@wiltaylor]

@@HeyItsAJOmega Yes there was an Island railway from Victoria to the top of the Island. Lots of abandoned railway trestles reminiscent of "Stand By Me." Some have been remade into trails. Here's one I visited yesterday visitorinvictoria.ca/railway-trestles-around-victoria/

[@mattbuck4950]

15:50 - Ever been to Mangotsfield? That has a similar feeling.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

I've just looked it up - definitely one for me to visit in the future! :)

[@grimpeursdusud1533]

Selsdon Oxted line platforms closed long before 1981 it only had trains on the Woodside line platforms when it closed and you had to change at Sanderstead for onward connections. Selsdon was kept as an oil terminal for some years after closure and the pointwork (and even shunting signal complete with working red light) was still there up until recently.

[@wharpblast264]

Lived in the this area for a while in the 1980s. Bingham Road was my nearest station for while, then later Addiscombe. Never even thought of using either station, East Croydon was so much better served and withing walking distance. The route might have been used to add capacity to the Brighton line. Will never happen now.

[@danieljones8737]

The Woodside station building is lovely and there have been hopes to bring it back into community use for years. I think it's owned by TFL and the interiors actually been refurbished into office space which I believe was used by contractors when they rebuilt the nearby bridges at Blackhorse lane. If you search 'woodside station croydon' into twitter one of the top results will be a a councillor showing some pictures of the interior, including some nice images onto the track from the station windows.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Oh that's good! Nice that there seems to be motivation to continue using the building. :)

[@annescholey6546]

There's another closed Southern line that joined the Brighton main line north of Haywards Heath at Ardingly.

[@dodgydruid]

Yes, it is the Bluebell Railway and every year they get closer to connecting to Haywards Heath and are now eyeing in earnest at moving towards Lewes.

[@alanwyatt3020]

I think Anne means the spur line from north of Haywards Heath that ran south of Ardingly to Horsted Keynes, which is on the Bluebell Line.

[@grimpeursdusud1533]

@@alanwyatt3020 it was never part of the Bluebell railway despite being its only connection to the national network from 1960 to 1963 when it closed. When the Bluebell line was open as part of BR it used to have through rush hour trains from London but ended life as a Seaford- Horsted Keynes shuttle and survives as a short section for stone trains to Ardingly. The Bluebell do indeed own all the old section of line beyond Ardingly but to connect to Haywards Heath would require getting through the stone depot and also having their trains certified to use Network Rail. Plus the small matter of replacing the viaduct at Horsted Keynes which was demolished,

[@RSDonovan]

Excellent!

[@sebhoward6674]

The railway brige that crosses croham rd just before derelict Selson staion is still there lol

[@nbc_uk]

With a station at each end it would certainly be a winner as a heritage line, but the fact it is being kept as is really suggests that there is a back-room plan for it.

[@bazza945]

Fascinating, thanks.

[@ProjectUnsoundDineen]

the old buffers are still there if you keep going down towards lloyd park

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Oh is that true?

[@Roblilley999]

Jumps straight on after notification

[@Roblilley999]

Another amazing video. Always loved the way this line sort of still is here so many years after closing.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Thank you very much! :)

[@stevieinselby]

The irony being that although that line is still relatively clear ... at least, up to Coombe Road where it turns into Tramlink ... there really isn't much reason to reopen it. Croydon is a major destination in the area, and so a line that bypasses Croydon would have little value ... and it would be of limited use in converting it to Tramlink, because it so quickly hits the Oxted Line.

[@stephenholt4670]

You say there's little reason to bypass Croydon, but in fact Croydon has long been regarded as a major bottleneck on the Brighton main line, limiting overall capacity. There's a major plan afoot to remodel East Croydon and the Selhurst junction: carsconsultation.com/east-croydon-station. Previously I'd heard that a new line linking the BML and Hayes might be built, to provide an alternative route into London avoiding Croydon. Our line here would also potentially achieve that, although the presence of the trams and other paraphernalia do mean it it's a nonstarter I guess.

[@stevieinselby]

@@stephenholt4670 It's all very well saying that East Croydon is a bottleneck, but it has 2½ times as many passengers as *all* of the stations on the East Grinstead and Uckfield lines *put together.* A significant proportion of the passengers from those lines will be travelling to Croydon , so bypassing it could disadvantage a lot of passengers. And is there really enough traffic coming through Sanderstead to justify the cost of building a Croydon by-pass (given that the interface with Tramlink would not be trivial) - don't forget there is no access from the Selsdon branch onto the Brighton Mainline. The remodelling of East Croydon and the Selhurst Triangle should resolve most of the capacity problems for some time to come.

[@johntcashdown1363]

@@stevieinselby The BML connection that was planned nearly 50 years ago was supposed to have cut across where the light industrial units are and some of the allotments but they never built it, thus weakening the railways business case further after the Ashurst spur to Tunbridge Wells was removed and Uckfield was truncated in 1969. BML2 had proposals to re-route Tramlink and then to use that old section in its entirety more then ten years ago, but they instead changed their minds for an ambitious tunneling scheme under EC station in which the then rail minister Paul Maynard (unsurprisingly) turned down flat, favoring the BML upgrade instead.

[@rapideyephotography9782]

Please bring back the old intro music. Great video. Thanks.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

The old music isnt coming back, but I will find ways to keep using it ;) thank you!

[@Lmsvideo112]

A brilliant informative video well done Are you coming up to the east lancs railway in the near future again ,have a look at the new Lloyds bank advertisement was taken at irwell vale Station with the flying scotsman always remember you waiting there for a train for a couple of hours Can't wait to see your next adventure keep up the good work

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

I have an invite from the ELR to come back, and I shall once things have calmed down a little! I really want to go back, I loved my time there :)

[@Lmsvideo112]

@@HeyItsAJOmega well I hope to see you soon If or well you do come up here again give us a shout and if you need anything ie,a lift or running about anywhere i live in bury and know the area well ,and even a few disused lines still with lines intact

[@johnsamu]

Just found your channel. It's a bit like Jago Hazzard's videos, equally interesting because London has so many hidden old gems with unknown histories. Maybe I'll visit London again in the future but Corona virus and Brexit haven't made things easier.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

I hope you get the chance to come and visit London in the future, either way :)

[@pigsrsocute9284]

We have a similar one that runs the Sheffield to Parkgate its a tramtrain so runs on tramtracks and also the national rail line between Tinsley South and Parkgate, via Rotherham

[@Lostforgottenstudios]

They actually rebuilt the footbridge and if you hope the fence and follow the tracks it leads to a bridge that’s above coombe road.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Correct!

[@TheWirralChannel]

We had Woodside station. It was a terminus station until beeching.

[@annescholey6546]

Which was completely bulldozed after closure

[@annescholey6546]

Actually that was Coombe Rd.

[@TheWirralChannel]

@@annescholey6546 Was referring to Woodside station on the Wirral Peninsula.

[@zachmakesstuff9866]

I can really see tfl reusing the line to extend the trams to coulsdon purley and maybe redhill along the Brighton main line

[@dr.emerald]

Amazing video(as always), But we still need to connect this to the Northern City Line😂😂

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Oooh! Good call! Hmmm...it was part of NSE like the Northern City Line? Hmm, Ill get back to you on this 😆

[@dr.emerald]

@@HeyItsAJOmega Thanks mate, appreciated😁

[@raphaelnikolaus0486]

Rambles - or Waffles as they're sometimes also known - are a good thing. And: who doesn't love Waffles? :D

[@marielundi]

Fascinating video + cool T-shirt! (waiting for some fckin points tomorrow or at least this year)

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Thank you! I cant tell you how gutted I was after the Tuscan GP finished :'(

[@marielundi]

@@HeyItsAJOmega IMOLA IS A CURSED TRACK

[@kasumikat]

I walk passed the Woodside Railway station to head to church and I always wondered what is inside there and what the railway used to look like

[@ryanworthvalley]

Great video man will there be another video on this channel soon. Also what happened to your twitter. Hope your doing ok.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Thank you! Yes, regular uploads should be returning next week ^_^

[@pikeywyatt]

o dear born in a prefab at Elmer's end in 1946.went to woodside j,school,and lived in Addiscombe for meany years.

[@MARTINEDWARDSVIDEOS]

Love your videos but only one nag is the smokey filter thats been added it bleaches out your great videography.

[@EssArrB]

I agree, contrast turned down and black level raised, makes it look flat and lacking detail with some crushed whites too. I don't like it.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Interesting you mention that. Ive been experimenting with color grading, and with a new camera thats also thrown more variables in. So Im figuring things out as I go a little bit? Thanks for the feedback though. 😊

[@infohound41]

They should extend the tram down to Sanderstead via Selsdon

[@michaelcampin1464]

Not only Jago Hazzard but also the Londonist

[@Andrewjg_89]

Michael Campin And Geoff Marshall

[@johnsamu]

Always wondered why it's called LIGHT railway, so it's because of the railway foundation? I was thinking because of light/bright 😉

[@AFCManUk]

Word of the Day = 'Extant' :)

[@randomclass4653]

11:50 i saw Tracks!

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

😊

[@andrewholloway231]

12:25 now I thought 1983, but 1915??????

[@mattbuck4950]

Ah a George Russell fan.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Yes, we do exist! xD

[@Leveybugden]

It’s actually called King Henry’s Holt

[@sebhoward6674]

Remember Addiscombe station. The Shitty shuttle service to Elmers end 2 stops then back again! Place was F##kin creepy then found out it was haunted years later. Now its houses and flats!!!

[@JacobOhlssonBudinger]

The new intro is cool but the music to old one was really good, does anyone know what it is

[@hypercomms2001]

How about some-one do a video series about the trams of london.... everyone seems to tripping over themselves to create youtube videos about the London Underground... but very few are investigating the once extensive london tram network. I used to live in Sutton, and I was surprised to find that there was a tram out to there via Carshalton.

[@JRJUK]

We will find a way this links to the NCL

[@ewaldschroder1292]

Great stuff Andy. For future possible use of Selsdon to Woodside railway look up "BML2" eg "East Croydon has been described as a ‘bottleneck’ and a ‘major barrier to growth’ by Network Rail. That is why the project originally proposed routing some services to London via a reopened railway between Selsdon and Elmers End." www.bml2.co.uk/

[@daveherbert6215]

Enjoyed this video but in the age of Covid-19 do we really need old railways to be reopened. Aren't people working from home. TFL is facing a funding crisis due to the decrease in the number of passengers using it during rush hour. Ultimately would it not be better to end the mad rush into the city every working day

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

You know, fair point for right now!

[@ballyhigh11]

But this line doesn't/didn't go into the city. It served the outer suburbs, which is hopefully where more people will be working and shopping in a post Covid world.

[@djpuffthethird]

South Eastern and Chatham Railway Preservation Society should bag it. Seeing as we failed to Secure the Addiscombe Station . 1997 it was closed. Railtrack burned their own Property to the ground to accelerate the closure of the line . Then thrg had to have a Pilot man or woman on the Notworker to get to Elmers End , only using the one track . Addiscombe Station and the Carriage She'd were coming down by 2001 . A travesty for all of Croydon/Addiscombe , the SECRPS and myself , as I was with them . But Fitzsimmons and FitzPatrick had other ideas.

[@southerntransport466]

Also as I can tell this video was filmed during the time Elmers End was having its footbridge re-constructed

[@djpuffthethird]

Yeah that's all done now. Schweerbau machine sitting at the end of the Tramlink platform .