Clapham Junction's Hidden History

The busiest station in Britain has an equally busy history.
Plainly Difficult’s video: • A Brief History of: Th...
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[@mackan-kf4tg]

That day in December 1988 I was working in a bank in the City, one of the girls in our department came into work late with her shoes, legs & skirt caked in mud. We’d heard about the crash on our radio in the office but didn’t know how serious it was (it was described as a ’derailment’ at first). Her carriage had been evacuated and the commuters had to climb a steep, tree-lined bank to get up onto the road. From there they all just made there own ways, in robot mode, to the nearest method of transport (bus or tube) to get into work!!! She was clearly in shock, we contacted her husband and the bank paid for a taxi to send her home. She was off work for 2 or 3 weeks👍🏻Absolutely amazing how her mind told her that she had to just fight through it all and get to bloody work!!😳

[@pulaski1]

I was living in Wimbledon at the time and had a job interview the next day, or the one after that. With all the fatalities and serious injuries suffered, the inconvenience I suffered was negligible, having to allow extra time and take the District Line into the City.

[@Ealsante]

Wow. These days they'd probably have reprimanded her for coming in late and had her get on with the day's work.

[@simongleaden2864]

Your account puts me in mind of how people just kept going as best they could during the Blitz. By carrying on as far as they could with their normal daily routine, they clung to a perceived normality that helped them to cope with the trauma they were suffering. A kind of self-preservation response to keep things manageable in one's own mind.

[@monkey7431_]

@@Ealsante No they wouldnt

[@louiseogden1296]

You just do first and think later. It isn't close to what happened to your colleague, but I was in London the day of 7/7 and I was just too focused on getting from Paddington to Victoria in time for a coach to know exactly what was happening. I also poured hot coffee all over my hand in an incident with one of the old style polystyrene coffee cups with no lid. I tried to go back to work but my hand was too scalded to be able to type. The first aider sent me home. There were coffee cup lids in the break room the very next day, and I really like how now the cardboard ones with the proper lids through which you can sip the drink have replaced the older designs. My hand healed very quickly and I was back at work to see the new cup lids debut, but I scaled back my coffee habit after that and always, always use a lid. But yeah, I completely get why you might just act that way.

[@Wasserfeld.]

I love Clapham Junction - absolute chaos but 95% of us know exactly where we're going. It also speaks about how different South London's rail transport is to the rest of London and the uniqueness of the Southern Region. First I've heard about a rebuild though, looking forward to seeing those plans - same for Stratford.

[@francesconicoletti2547]

I do love it when Victorians decide to get sarcastic. It like getting mauled by a dressage horse.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thanks for the mention!!

[@JagoHazzard]

No worries! Thanks for covering the topic better than I could!

[@marymoor935]

Plainly Difficult and Jago Hazard on the same comments page, I am in heaven. Love both of your channels.😁❤️🚂⚛️

[@highpath4776]

@@marymoor935 never seen Plainly Difficult. sorry, life is short

[@marymoor935]

@@highpath4776 Yes, but Plainly Difficult do short documentaries, so it should fit in to your life. It's an amazing channel.

[@robertwilloughby8050]

Ah, Jago and Plainly Difficult. Wonder when Jago will thank and mention Fascinating Horror?

[@thamessitter]

As my first job out of school, at the tender age of just a few days into being 15, I was a porter on platforms 3 and 4. I think my pay was £1 something a week for my 6 to 2.30 shift and £2 something for 1.30 pm to 10 pm shift. But not only did I have to deal with the trains, but on particular I had to keep the fires going (it was winter) in the two waiting rooms, help unload a parcel train on platforms 4 &5, clean all the windows on the signal box that dealt with the freight side of things one day, and polish the floor the next day. As well as this I had to ensure I always kept the white line on both edges on the platform painted, all the windows on the platform cleaned plus of course, sweep the entire platform. After three months, I told them to shove it and got a job for £5 a week as a plumbers mate.

[@tombaxter6228]

One abiding memory of 'Clapped Out Junction', was sharing a carriage with some, already refreshed, rugby fans, travelling to Twickenham. We stopped at Clapham Junction, and as they got up to depart, a member of the party pointed out a couple, crossing the platform. He sported David Beckham's latest hairdo, and an approximation of his dress sense, whilst she was trying gamely, but unsuccessfully, to channel Victoria. "Oh look." The wag remarked. "David Peckham and cut-price spice!"

[@ovig8917]

cut-price spice...lol! that was genius.

[@chriswareham]

Becks and Posh, or Thick and Thin as I memorably heard them described.

[@tombaxter6228]

@@chriswareham That made me spit my coffee out! 😂😂

[@kiwitrainguy]

When she was going in to Harry and Megans wedding she looked so miserable.

[@julianaalcantara2155]

@@tombaxter6228 c

[@PlanetoftheDeaf]

We probably should be grateful that the rail companies actually got together for once and created this monster interchange, rather than having the competing lines to Waterloo and Victoria sailing past each other with no connection!

[@David-sv7by]

Like happened at Willsden Junction, that could have been a northern Clapham. With GWR and LNWR trains.

[@mar07in]

@@David-sv7by I guess that's partly happening with the future monstrosity at Old Oak Common for HS2 and Crossrail.

[@garrybarry2268]

Doesn't it go to London bridge aswell?. That's what I thought

[@halflink]

@@mar07in Last time I checked the plan, if I remember correctly, there is going to be an interchange (on different levels).

[@stuartmcconnachie]

4:58 I do love that an abandoned platform for some reason requires a safety railing, whereas a live one does not!

[@AtheistOrphan]

It would make it rather difficult to get on and off the trains!

[@stuartmcconnachie]

@@AtheistOrphan Yes, but far more dangerous to fall on a live track… I obviously wasn’t proposing safety rails on all platforms (although the underground is going that way).

[@chrispayne523]

@@AtheistOrphan You say that but a number of tube stations have screens the full length and the trains have to line up with the doors.

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

and yet, even not all bullet train stations have full barriers.... that is, in some parts of Tohoku trains can pass a barrierless platform at upwards of 270mph!

[@johnmurrell3175]

However Norwood Junction has an almost abandoned platform where you could not see the trackbed due to the height of the weeds. However it no safety rail. I heard that one day in the future it may be reinstated as part of some expansion scheme.

[@jerribee1]

I'm intrigued to know why a video about a railway station would get taken down.

[@CallieMasters5000]

It was filthy?

[@farmerjohn6192]

Correction. There were passenger services on the West London Line before the 1990s. Every day from 1986 to 1990 I used to get one of two trains. There was a DMU 2 car shuttle service from Platform 2 to Kensington Olympia, forerunner to the Overground . Also there was a daily Cross country service between Manchester and Brighton on platform 17 which I sometimes used instead of the shuttle.

[@christopherlawley1842]

Me too. It seems a highly unlikely event

[@christopherlawley1842]

I suppose it might have been removed for remodelling. Kinda like the station

[@allenwilliams1306]

@@farmerjohn6192 Yes: the Manchester-Brighton (via Oxford and East Croydon) service was very useful.

[@stephenphillip5656]

Yay, another Jago masterclass on London's rail system. Packed with useful info and wry humour -"I commend it to The House".....!

[@Rog5446]

So, the Luftwaffe tried to get involved in the remodelling of the station, in their old established role of London town planners.

[@Boypogikami132]

Using boom-booms?

[@barneypaws4883]

Obviously the pilots had previous experience of travelling through there pre war

[@henrybest4057]

Another part that 'itler knocked about a bit.

[@1258-Eckhart]

rather inconsiderate to leave unexploded bombs around, though.

[@henrybest4057]

@@1258-Eckhart Even more inconsiderate to have them explode.

[@MrBillmcminn]

In the summer of 1988 on a vacation in Britain I remember interchanging at Clapham Junction a few times. I remember an odd smell in the air like canned luncheon meat being fried, I started calling the place clap-spam junction.

[@jimbegin6554]

Probably a whiff of Young’s Brewery. Fermentation.

[@borderlands6606]

The environs of Albert Bridge smelt like burnt coffee. Often wondered if that was a brewing process.

[@TheAndrewJBaker]

That’s true. I used to change there on my way to Balham every now and then in the late 70s and on a hot day the meaty smell was overwhelming. I didn’t realise it was the brewery.

[@MrDavil43]

Three abiding memories of Clapham Junction...watching Churchill's funeral train steaming through, and getting on the Kenny Belle after an obviously disbelieving chap in the ticket office - "Work for the P.O. do you?" to the 15 year old me - actually sold me the bit of cardboard that got me on the steam hauled journey and return. At the end of southern steam I also recall photographing the various workings in the pouring rain with some pals.

[@davidgandar2021]

When I become aware of the Kenny Bell, I Bunked of school at Spencer Park, and had a few return trips on it.

[@pjf_nn1]

Clar'm, blessed Clar'm! Jago venturing in where Betjeman feared to tread. Like Crewe, they're both essential,falling to bits, and frighten off the rebuild projects because of their complexity.

[@chrissaltmarsh6777]

Fascinating. I used to live there. Not on the station, just up the road. The commute to London Bridge in an old slam-door was deeply horrid unless I could get in the baggage car.

[@marcelwiszowaty1751]

Ah, I too lived just down the way in Northcote Road from October 1979 to June 1980, sharing a rather crummy flat above a chippy. The Falcon on the corner near the main station entrance was our favoured drinking place. Back then the gentrification of the area had already begun... we used to refer to it as "South Chelsea". Anyway I still pass through the station on occasion and also alight there... still, have a great fondness for it too, lumbering and confusing though it is. 😉

[@mrrolandlawrence]

last time i was at clapham junction ... a tornado ripped though it at speed!... peppercorn class obvs.

[@michaelwilson6584]

Every working day for many years. East Finchley to Waterloo, Waterloo to Tolworth - that bit opposite to the rush if I survived Waterloo and, yea, free discarded newspapers. Clapham Junction always a point of interest to see what was passing through…

[@edwardoleyba3075]

Blimey! That’s some commute!

[@johnmurrell3175]

I remember traveling on the Clapham Junction - Olympia service during one of the underground strikes - the only way to get to West Kensington. Very limited service. Clapham Junction also had a service originating in Brighton that went via the West London line to Reading and then Oxford and made it's way via lots of stops to Glasgow & possibly Edinburgh. It was a useful way to get to Oxford if you had suitcases as it saved the cross London Underground marathon. When I traveled on it there were few other passengers until we got to Reading.

[@justme9466]

Stopped at Slough as well, used it a couple of times.

[@simon_wolf_]

Lots of memories of years of commuting through Clapham Junction when I lived in Wandsworth. It was easier to get the bus to Clapham Junction than to try squeezing onto trains at Wandsworth Town and then do the dash between platforms as trains were delayed or cancelled. There was also the bonus of having a Blockbuster there for weekend video rentals.

[@scootbenet]

I remember the opening of that Blockbuster's. They had an actual Back to the Future DeLorean outside. By 2015 it was a sainsbury's local.

[@calimero6356]

I also did that, got the bus from Wandsworth to Clapham but sometimes the train to Wandsworth on the return from work, God those years 1996-97.

[@samskidoodle4768]

Marvellous posting. I always enjoy seeing ‘Up The Junction’ (1967) so I can glimpse the Station Approach as was. Thank goodness Talking Pictures have it on near-constant rotation. And who can forget those old Capital Radio ads from the 70s/80s? “Two thousand trains a day stop at Clapham Junction, for the store full of bargains that’s Arding & Hobbs.” A high street mourns.

[@meijiturtle3814]

Ah, the old station approach. Many a Saturday spent there buying records and browsing.

[@1963TOMB]

'All coppers are.....' was also filmed around the area

[@SamuelFurse]

No other station more worthy of the familiar soubriquet ‘the junction’ than this :)

[@kavorkaa]

Aah,Clapham Junction,the glorious Gordian knot of railways

[@sirmeowthelibrarycat]

🤔 Indeed - but who is the modern Alexander the Great to sort out this tangle? Credit to the staff at Southall County Grammar School for my Classics education.

[@cncshrops]

@@sirmeowthelibrarycat Well, the Luftwaffe would seem to have auditioned for the role.

[@baileyanderson6824]

“I never thought it would happen With me and the girl from Clapham”

[@AtheistOrphan]

Squeeze!

[@Tevildo]

@@AtheistOrphan Famous for not having a chorus or a middle 8.

[@Aengus42]

@@Tevildo Aaargh! You beat me to it! One of my favourite Squeeze tracks. Back when Jools Holland was cool!

[@highpath4776]

I always found the Clapham girls to be rather well heeled and attractive beyond my station in life

[@armorer94]

I never thought it would happen With me and the girl from Clapham Out on a windy common, That night I ain't forgotten...

[@ShedTV]

When I used to travel though Clapham Junction in the '90s there were faded Network Southeast signs on the platforms proclaiming 'Busiest Station In The Universe', or something. Strangely I've never had the urge to go somewhere on the basis that it is the busiest. Probably why I never got off there.

[@ianhelps3749]

Believe it or not, I used to get off at this station to visit someone who lived half a mile away. Used to be a great place for trainspotting, of course. I remember seeing the Kenny Belle which would be a couple of Mark 1 coaches hauled by a Class 33. Still like the station. I would prefer a sympathetic restoration to a total rebuild. The wooden overbridge with all the coffee outlets is quite an attraction.

[@pulaski1]

My trainspotting days were over by the time I commuted through Clapham Junction in the late 80's and early 90's, but by 1994 I was using the station entrance after using the bus to get to/from my home in Wandsworth. In 1996 I reverted to only passing through, or very occasionally changing trains there, after buying my own place in Raynes Park.

[@roderickjoyce6716]

I'm so old I can remember seeing the steam-hauled Kenny Belle every morning on my way to school.

[@LolLol-xy4rh]

I would love to see a photo of that very strange train just sitting at the station platform

[@steves9905]

I pride myself on a passive aggressive tendency of paying close attention to the details in a presentation so that I can catch the presenter in inconsistencies. But I. Can. Not. Keep. Up. with the amazing layers of detailed intricacies from Mr. Jago...hat's off to him for keeping it all straight, and entertaining.

[@davidsummer8631]

My secondary school was in South West London and I remember a few teachers not able to come in the day of the rail crash because of delays to the rail system

[@General_Confusion]

Bloody Luftwaffe, they did the same to my Granddads shed.

[@SBAK4444]

3:58 - why indeed? Over the decades, it seems people, [and estate agents, from what a colleague told me], do not seem to realise that the area around the station is Battersea. People seem to think that the area IS Clapham.

[@abbasraza5254]

Insufferable people trying to cash in on property prices in Clapham. Having grown up on the estate behind the station it will always be Battersea or Clapham Junction. Never Clapham

[@cr0nin]

And for anyone who needs more convincing, Clapham Junction is situated in SW11 (Battersea). Clapham’s postcode is SW4.

[@Pano1]

@@cr0nin Essentially, Clapham Junction is in Battersea.

[@cr0nin]

@@Pano1 and to make matters more confusing Battersea Power Station is in South Lambeth (SW8)

[@Pano1]

@@cr0nin Well, borough borders state that all of Nine Elms are a part of the district of Battersea, however the postcodes and misinformation makes it confusing.

[@AndreiTupolev]

Those hand-drawn Railway Clearing House maps like the one at 3:00 are real works of art

[@Rogar0]

Yep, I remember it well Jago, having been born in Wandsworth in 1941, with V1’s & V2’s raining down on our heads; “Clapham Junction” was our ‘go to’ station! And I remember to as a strapping lad going down to the station to see the Golden Arrow and other such like nostalgic Steam Locs to note them all in my train spotters book! Memories of yesteryear! Thanks for that! 🚂🦉👍🤔😎

[@keepingitrealandtruthful.5081]

Thank you for this remake and the all content you provided for us the viewers.

[@annstewart4731]

Very interesting! This was my commuter station when I started work and I remember seeing my last in service steam engine on the west London, post office train. I am now a rare visitor so it was good to hear the recent history. Once again oh there is a JH video, must watch before doing anything else. Thank you so much for this very interesting video that brought back so many memories of youth.

[@bob56gibson]

You don't mention the amazing station master's house just tucked away behind what was the local Granada. It had at one time a connection to the overhead walkway.

[@frglee]

Interesting, thank you. When I lived in West Ken up to the late 80s, I used to travel on the morning or evening 'Kenny Belle' services from Kensington Olympia to Clapham Junction sometimes, usually three or four scruffy old coaches dragged by an even scruffier class 33 or 73, having breaks from goods work presumably. We also had irregular cross country loco hauled services running through from Brighton, Eastbourne and Kent to points north and west. The Motorail services had gone by the early 80s, but the station had gained a nice modern waiting area and ticket office as a result, done up again in the mid 80s. Nowadays it is busy with Southern through services and the Overground. So yes, I'd say Kensington Olympia well deserves the Jago Hazzard treatment, having a long an interesting history from it's early Addison Road days

[@williamlekstakaj5892]

Bit ill, but a jago video does make the morning.

[@Mitch-Hendren]

Hope you feel better as the day goes on

[@ReubenAshwell]

Clapham junction sure is a huge station.

[@mikedyble3648]

Used Clapham Junction station during my teen years in the early and mid 70's. In those days it was scruffy, the repairs after WW2 damage were hasty and showing their age. The station is still recognisable but the surroundings outside have changed. Used the Kenny Belle once, seemed to remember carriages which even for southern region were old. Moved away in 1980 and have only been through it a couple of times since.

[@nirgunapa56]

"I'd like to thank my supporters on Ko-fi and Patreon" - smug mode on! Excellent work again Mr Hazzard.

[@tomcroucher]

My local station... Always amazed by the connections here. Underground would certainly be welcome!

[@okaythisisepic6196]

Fantastic video as always. The mention of the railway crash provoked memories of reading about the devastating one at Harrow and Wealdstone. As I recall there was a lot of speculation as to what actually unfolded and caused the crash, and there's certainly no shortage of material published about it. It could make for an interesting video in the future should you want to cover it.

[@PaulElijas]

Your videos are amazing! Spent a night watching many of them and your style is unique, humorous, yet entertaining. Greetings from a big London Underground fan from Germany

[@danielebowman]

I spoke to an engineer on the Nine Elms extension and apparently the Clapham Junction tube line extension is dug, it's just not yet planed for use as there needs to be a plan for how Clapham Junction can handle even more travelers changing. It was dug as it was more cost effective to do it with the new extension. So, yeah, when, not if, is the question there.

[@buzzofftoxicblog791]

Long walk from Clapham Junction to Clapham Common with the old black wind pump. Crazy station. Thank you so many lovely memories 😊

[@1258-Eckhart]

The Northern Line extension to Battersea Power Station Station (sic) can only be joined up to Clapham Junction after they have completely rebuilt Camden Town Station. That needs to be able to cope with many more trains per hour in order to satisfy the demand caused by transfers at Clapham Junct. Currently, it's a bottleneck.

[@GustavSvard]

iirc the easiest way to do that would be run the branches as separate lines? that way the trains per hour is already not a problem - but the new very much increased numbers of passengers transferring between the two "new" lines would mean having to rebuild the station so it could cope with it! (all from reading articles in places like London Reconnections - I've only personally been to the station once). And a tube station at Clapham Junction would have to be placed so it works well with both the station as it is today and as it would be rebuilt after Crossrail 2 is completed. i.e. plan for the future that might be a decade or three ahead of us, while still connecting to the current station in a way that makes sense. Not an easy task.

[@1258-Eckhart]

@@GustavSvard The separation of the two Northern Line branches into two LU lines is indeed in the offing, but whatever happens, it will still be necessary to remodel Camden Town to allow greater throughput of trains.

[@TadeuszCantwell]

Great use of maps Jago, it really helps to get some context on the area and the changes.

[@iankemp1131]

A king-size video (by Jago's concise and efficient standard) on a king-size station. Let's hope the station's remodelling is as successful as the video's. The station's potential as an exchange hub has not been fully exploited till the last 20 years, particularly by the South Western lines, whose long-distance trains still don't stop at rush hours when they would be most useful to allow workers to get to offices in South and West London.

[@andrewmarch7891]

Thanks for this, I used to travel often to Aldershot through CJ and was always fascinated as to the number of trains at any one time on the move. The signalmen (and women?) really had their work cut out.

[@neilbain8736]

It's great to see this updated version. After the last one, I ended up in a rabbit hole about the partial collapse of the signal gantry. There's some interesting stuff on it. The strange roof was actually covered and was a WW2 device to deflect incendiary bombs. Ever since a Flanagan & Allan film, I've always thought of it as Clapham Conjunction (the one where they get Neville Chamberlain mixed up with his dad, Joe, and end up in Alaska). Kenny Belle :)

[@brettpalfrey4665]

Another classic Jago video..I used to travel through here many times, and never got out of the station..only changed trains once,so its nice to get some more insight to it..

[@tobys_transport_videos]

Thanks Jago for another interesting tale of London's railways! The scenes of Clapham Junction station and surrounds bring back memories of my first trip to London back in 2018! (It seem so long ago...) I noticed when I initially started to study the Tube map I noticed that Clapham Junction isn't on the Underground, only the Overground, and showing as an interchange within the Overground network. When I got there I learnt why - voltage change mainly! Tales like this are so, so much better than horrid, nightmare-creating "Christmas Cards" from 140 years ago!!!

[@AcornElectron]

Always interesting and informative. Keep up the good work fella and stay safe! 🚇🚂

[@andyjay729]

Aren't most of the Netherlands' famous windmills actually wind pumps? That is, weren't they built to drain the below-sea-level areas (polders)?

[@LeafHuntress]

I just looked on wiki, but the list is so ridiculously long that i do not have a definitive answer for you. Of course there are many 'poldermolens' & 'boezemmolens' for keeping the water out of the polders. In other watermanagement it's good to mention the 'tjaskers', the Frysian poldermills. There are very very very many 'korenmolens' corn mills or grist mills remaining, perhaps those were still profitable while the others weren't anymore? Some of the most famous ones are 'zaagmolens' saw mills. Around 1720 there would have been 600 saw mills in function at the same time in the Zaanstreek, a early industrial area where ships were mass produced. But windmills were for any industry that needed power. You have hemp & you want oil; (hennep)oliemolen. Got tobaccoleaves & the public demands snuff; snuifmolen. Producing paper: papiermolen. Loads of mills were used for the paintindustry, for chalk; krijtmolen, or lead; loodwitmolen or other colours often quite poisonous like quick & sulfur. That last one is also handy for warfare, a powder mill; kruitmolen. The bark of oak produces a substance called tannic acid, used to tan leather; eekmolen. With mustardseeds you can make mustard; mosterdmolen. The city i live in has one last oliemolen & an eekmolen. But others nearby that i've been to are for spices; specerijmolen & loads & loads of korenmolens. But like i said, i haven't found the answer. It might be that it's just a reflection of what's still here & that poldermolens simply lasted longer. Like, you know it's handy to have them as back-up if the steam/diesel/electrical pump fails. And that many of the original industrial mills where simply demolished to make way for more modern industrial mills. I think that would have happened in the cities. With a windmill you need wind, which puts a stopper into building high nearby. Replace that old thing with the new-fangled steam engines & shove the "hands" in tenement buildings; woonkazernes = rental barracks. Makes you money by paying a pittance to the workers in your factory & squeezing the money back in high rents for substandard livingconditions. It could be that there were actually more poldermolens built. Personally, i don't think so, the Netherlands is bigger than just 'de Randstad', there are 12 provinces, not just Noord-Holland & Zuid-Holland, so the windmills in the other provinces are more likely to have had other functions than watermanagement, the Frysian tjaskers not withstanding. But i don't _know_. This is a rather frustrating rabbithole to have been sucked into. Knowledge is good though, the amount i learned about Golden Age paint... (^.^)

[@robertfletcher3421]

Another informative and entertaining episode. Thanks, Jago.

[@Gordons1888]

I wonder what's mentioned more in Jagos videos, the war or Charles Yerkies

[@andreww2098]

Both of them were major disasters that are still causing problems to this day!

[@tr0nt]

Don't forget"the Biggie and 2pac of the victorian railway scene" in Edward Watkins and James Staats Forbes

[@Leonard_Smith]

Great explanation of a complicated subject.

[@panop8726]

A bit of trivia for you. On the southside of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia there was a large rail goods yard where freight from the standard gauge New South Wales railway was either unloaded or transshipped to the narrow gauge Queensland system or vice versa. It was especially busy during World War II as there were a number of munitions factories close by plus a large garrison of US military forces - Brisbane being the HQ the US forces in the South West Pacific. Being a busy and complex place it acquired the nickname and later the official title of Clapham Junction. There are a few interesting preserved railway buildings from that era on the site including the old accommodation buildings used by visiting long distance rail crews. It is no longer used for those purposes but is currently being redeveloped as the new train depot for the new Cross River Rail (underground rail) line which will call it Clapham Yard.

[@ollie-t7862]

I use Clapham Juntion nearly every week changing from Guildford to get the Overground to Shepard’s Bush to watch QPR. Like many I’ve never actually left the station so it’s very interesting to watch this video. Maybe I’ll use the exit gates and have a look around next time

[@shaunwest3612]

Great video jago very interesting facts, always a brighter Sunday watching your video, thanks. 😀👌👍

[@tomcarr1358]

Great delivery. Many fine illustrations of the points you raise. I think that there was a tram ( No 45) via Clapham Junction from Beaufort Street , Chelsea to south London and then to Kingsway.

[@adamcrofts58]

always love your shows. Thanks again

[@chuff112]

My father was a sapper during the war and dug up many bombs dropped around Clapham junction the Germans tried many times to put it out of action as it is the connection between the south and the rest of England, he knows of six bombs that were never recovered because they were more than 10 meters deep and so far they are still there. he said they were too deep to cause any great damage so got left.

[@scootbenet]

Lovely video. I grew up a stone's throw away in the 80s and 90s. I went to Highview primary which has a high view of the station. I remember the IRA bomb and the rail disaster well. Great video.

[@stuarthall6631]

I have left this comment previously, Mr. Hazzard (sorry!)..... but, I do feel that there would be a market for your producing longer, combined D.V.D.'s of around 90 minutes' playing time. This would suite complex subjects where currently you have to post cross-references. I would definitely buy these.

[@DuskHorizon]

Circular media? Can we order them by fax?

[@Dave_Sisson]

Umm, I don't think anyone under 40 knows what a DVD is. Personally, I'm on the wrong side of 50 (but still in denial of the fact), and after my old DVD player died about a decade ago, I never got round to replacing it. So even if people were interested in buying a hard copy of Jago's stuff, not many of us have the equipment to play a DVD,

[@JennyMingClarke]

@@Dave_Sisson This Laptop I watch them on does, That's why I bought it.

[@MrGreatplum]

A railway station that I have travelled through and changed at hundreds of times. But, I have never left the station by foot! Great video!

[@Roblilley999]

Travelled through Clapham Junction many a time without really thinking about history and actual location of the station. Great information terrence

[@Boabywankenobi]

Great video as always! The Kenny-Bell obviusly needs a video.

[@damedavidfrith55]

Boy what a busy place with such a history thanks for that insight

[@davespagnol8847]

This station is another memory for me, as I used to have to come to Clapham Junction for meetings of my trade union, the PCS (I'm retired now). As you go through the ticket barrier, there is an exit to the left into a tiny station car park, and just beyond that is another car park and the PCS building. Obviously we referred to the building by the name of the station, though such were the shenanigans between different members of the "leadership", it was often referred to as "Clapham Injunction". Although a shorter journey time, it was a pain in the ar53 to travel through London. As, by the time I retired, I lived in Barking, and it was much more pleasant to use the Overground via Gospel Oak and Willesden Junction, particularly when they started cleaning the trains! But that was only for a short time at the end of my employment.

[@uioplkhj]

As a kid I remember the height between the platforms and the trains was huge. Scary times for a kid.

[@jimbegin6554]

Some, I believe, still are!

[@paulbennett772]

Bearing in mind its vital strategic importance & its messy history, it's a modern miracle that it functions as well as it does.

[@tallslimguy]

My head is spinning - so much information and complicated too - my overriding impression is that everything needs a coat of paint 😳

[@highpath4776]

Worth doing videos on assorted Granadas and Palaces of the SW london area.

[@louiseogden1296]

When there was a lot going on at home -- phones ringing, dad wanting something, us kids wanting something, timers going off etc etc -- my mum used to complain 'It's like Clapham Junction in here!' And that was before the 1988 accident. I later moved to Basingstoke, for which town the CJ accident was a legitimate tragedy. One of the trains was the main service between us, Woking and Waterloo. My husband had no friends or relatives involved but he still marked the anniversary every year before he sadly passed away from cancer too. He himself used the phrase 'It's like Piccadilly Circus in here' -- unsurprisingly I could never get him to use Clapham Junction. He did say 'train of thought derailed at Woking', though.

[@elizabethspedding1975]

Great lesson. Thanks.❤️

[@darylcheshire1618]

West Wyalong, (NSW) is interesting where the town grew around the junction siding but the main station Wyalong Central had a building and a station master (even up to 1983) but was in a relatively unpopulated part of the town.

[@johnmc3862]

Good evening, thanks for the video.

[@lapiswake6583]

A very interesting video. I didn't know about the abandoned platform, or the proposed tube line. I've spent probably 3 hours there trainspotting, but not once have I left the station on foot. Can't remember if I've used the station to board or alight a Southern service, but I definitely have used it for SWR services on the main through section, on the Richmond side, and on the Overground.

[@DavidShepheard]

If you leave Clapham Junction via the London Overground trains that go from Platform 2 towards the old East London Line, and look out of the left side of the train, you can see a TARDIS in one of the gardens between Clapham Junction and Wandsworth Road.

[@madunwagbo4769]

I was 17 and supposed to be heading to Richmond college, starting from Earlsfield which is the next station down. Now, as Twickenham station is on the Kingston loop, you can get there one of two ways: take the London bound train towards Waterloo and change at Clapham Junction or get a direct train (2 an hour) heading towards Richmond via Kingston (which is a little less crowded). Anyway, the morning of the crash, I got to Earlsfield and Ken, the guard who I’d known since the 1970s was at the station entrance saying there were no trains. This was probably about half an hour after it happened and there were no need reports yet, plus we didn’t have the benefits of phones like today. All you could see were pissed off commuters trying to work out how the hell they were going to get to the office. I had no idea how serious things were until I actually made it to college (I was over an hour and a half late), and my tutor told me that my mum had been calling hysterically because she didn’t know whether I’d been caught up in the crash

[@eggyboy123]

Very good & interesting. Waiting for a Victoria video, as that would be very interesting !!!

[@madunwagbo4769]

So that’s why that road by Spencer Park is called Windmill Road. Interesting.

[@Ensign_Cthulhu]

It's all very complicated. Have you ever ready the short science-fiction story "A Subway Called Mobius"? So much of the station architecture reminds me of stations I see in and around Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. I'm pretty sure this is no accident, and it is completely unsurprising. Do you know if there's anyone who covers Australian rail history the same way you cover Britain's?

[@eekee6034]

I read that this morning, funnily enough. It's quite well-written, certainly well-paced, but I felt like I don't quite know enough math to understand why I was supposed to be suspending my disbelief... if that makes sense! Do I need to brush up on extreme knot theory or something?

[@charlesmartin623]

I think it was 1986 London Tube, a male with a briefcase forced his arm in the closing doors. His look was pain and the doors opened, he go on. Montreal Canada newspaper of people forcing doors for more passenger, cause delays daily. Public transport cannot guarantee breaks even for the water closet (WC).

[@CallieMasters5000]

Spent a lifetime at Clapham Junction. Never got out.

[@chrismitchell4808]

02:27, across the left side of the bridge, I stayed in Chelsea barracks between April 2005, to July 2006, got posted to Germany BFPO17

[@rayfisher3921]

Before the Southern took over the LSW and LBSC parts of the station had separate platform numbers. Thus there were two platform 1s etc. To add to the confusion, the LSWR literally numbered their platforms while the LBSCR took the more familiar approach of numbering the platform faces. On Sundays trains to the West London line went alternatively from the LSW and LBSC parts of the station. Integration Victorian style.

[@nnmmnmmnmnnm]

Great video, really interesting. Do you know anything about Loughborough Junction? Went there with the family recently and we were struck by all the old station style buildings/old platforms that seem to hint at a greater past. Would love to know more.

[@luisstransport]

Great video Jago

[@cargy930]

Top video, Wrighty! Clapham junction: More lines that a 1980s yuppie.

[@rjjcms1]

We went to see George Melly,and when introducing the members of his band,John Chilton's Feetwarmers,one by one he described one of them,who was in pinstripey attrire (I think it was the pianist),as having had his suit designed using an aerial photo of Clapham Junction.

[@gfuentes8449]

many of which come from the nearby Winstanley estate and area

[@Bavvo69]

Interesting stuff. Spent a huge amount of time there when I was commuting in my younger days. 1:04 Minor correction, the first line built was by the London and Southampton railway, not the LSWR. It later renamed itself to the London and South Western Railway as it expanded.

[@vinniewinnie7]

Super interesting video thanks! May I suggest adding graphical animation to the video in order to see in a simplified way how the jigsaw was put together over time? I understand this may be difficult and time consuming for an already excellent video however I think it would help.

[@seanbonella]

very nice Jago

[@marvintpandroid2213]

Good morning Mr Hazzard, and what a wonderful morning it is.

[@jaydavies3758]

Can you please do a video on why Beckenham has so many train stations? Three I think for a small town?

[@guss2099]

“Arm stuck on the door… “😂😂😂

[@RogueWJL]

Superb video.

[@miguelbarreira5005]

Two months ago I got on a bus from Battersea PS (had to visit it thoroughly, I love Pink Floyd) to Clapham Junction, because I read that it was the busiest station in Britain, and I also wanted to try the Overground (to Shadwell). I have to say I did find it underwhelming, I was expecting something grander, but then I realized Clapham Junction is peculiar, just like you said. Lots of trains, lots of exchanging between trains, but few in-n-outs

[@melchestermodelrailway]

Very interesting, quite a complicated history.