Kensington (Olympia) - End of the Line Ep.28

[@geofftech2]

I also can't not mention the brilliant '1S76' website which tracks old Intercity services through London, i've mentioned this before in a previous video about Guildford, but all these trains passed thrugh Kensington Olympia as well ... www.1s76.com/

[@petervaughan6854]

Would love to know more about that!

[@rachelstanford9681]

Hi geoff

[@jonathanbird1197]

Thanks for that website. I was a student living near Ken Olympia, and my parents were in Bromley. I deliberately got the one intercity train a day from there to Bromley South. The conductor was confused about someone getting on, but gave a little nod to me when he saw I had a valid ticket!

[@ajs41]

Hi Geoff, sorry to go off topic, but I did the Random 15 tube challenge on Saturday, and I was just wondering whether you ever used to do it a few years back? I've only been doing for a couple of years. I bloke called Tangy is in charge of running it. Apparently it's being going on since around 2006. Wish I'd discovered it earlier when I was bit younger! Regards, Andrew

[@davidbull1914]

The "Sussex Scot" 1S76 was always the highlight of an early turn at East Croydon, a proper train after hundreds of EMUs. Except when it broke down and then it was a bit of a nightmare!

[@jasonuk8333]

Travelled to Kensington Olympia three or four times for the Great British Beer Festival. Memories of travelling from there are somewhat fuzzier.....

[@actua99]

Sounds like the memories I have of Bodegraven station (in Holland). Quiet station in a small rural town on all but two days of the year, when Borefts beer festival happens.

[@petebrothwell2998]

Those were great days.

[@cjstephens10028]

@@jasonuk8333 "It takes me ten minutes to walk to my local bar, but it takes me forty minutes to walk home. The difference is staggering!"

[@ajs41]

Do they still put on a weekday service for the British Beer Festival (assuming is still takes place)?

[@ChrisLynham-g4k]

Me too! When Geoff showed the District Line platform it brought memories flooding back of sweltering Fridays at the Beer Festival

[@tomburnham5119]

I travelled on one of the unadvertised steam trains from Clapham Junction to Olympia in about 1965. The big swings in service provision at Kensington Addison Road/Olympia over the years are mind-boggling!

[@DavidShepheard]

There was a plot to run down the services on the West London Line and try to get it closed by stealth. It's amazing to think that it survived, while the Snow Hill Tunnel Line (now Thameslink) actually got fully sabotaged and closed. The West London Line is a super-useful railway connection. Once HS2 opens and the InterCity trains into Euston switch to using the new line, there should be a lot of capacity release between Olympia and Watford and it should be possible for the 1 per hour train to be increased to the sort of levels we see through the Thameslink core.

[@robertwilloughby8050]

​@@DavidShepheard I'd like to see the Liverpool/Manchester - Brighton cross country expresses again, and the Kenny line would be perfect for it.

[@kevinrayner5812]

@@DavidShepheard The one train per hour is a real bind but not sure a Thameslink frequency would be warranted. But the lack of through trains could easily be fixed by re-instating platforms on the main line at Willesden Junction. If there is actually capacity on the North/West London line trains I have no idea. Yes I do know the lines have new name. I don't know what they are nor do I particularly care what they are.

[@Ruscombephotos]

The first time I went to Kensington Olympia was by the District Line in about 1972 to see something at the exhibition centre. We started our journey at Ealing Broadway. Subsequent times at Ken/Olympia were when we were going on family holidays to Devon in the 1970s, and we used Motorail to Totnes. I remember the excitement of the first time of sitting in the dining car, eating a cooked breakfast, as the train slowly pulled out of the platform, waited for the points to change and reversed back onto the flatbeds carrying the cars. It made a refreshing change to getting stuck in horrible traffic, near Exeter, waiting for the Countess Weir Bridge to close, before the M5 and A38 bypassed Exeter.

[@oohkumar]

8 years old, Olympia to Fishguard with the car on the back of the train. Thanks for bringing back those wonderful memories Geoff.

[@_rlb]

It was nice to meet you last Monday night. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me (Dutch guy) 👍

[@geofftech2]

hello!! ah, you're welcome. it was fun to chat to everyone!!

[@ollyshighlightreel6530]

I read the video title and have fond memories of watching a very old video on this channel. It's a video about how many times Geoff travelled from Kesington Olympia to Earls Court (and vice versa) in one day, and a slightly erratic taxi ride....

[@geofftech2]

Ha! Well remembered. Think I did of that, maybe, five years ago !?

[@jtsholtod.79]

​@@geofftech2it's still in my favourites play list. My paternal cousin (once removed) used to have a flat just by Olympia, so the station and its service always fascinated me. She just moved after 40 years of being there, so sadly I likely won't visit it again.

[@ollyshighlightreel6530]

I'm not entirely sure, I think the video had a December 2018 upload date? That informative (yet witty) video made me a subscriber! I have a few fond memories traveling to Kesington (Olympia) from Euston for the BETT event held at the Olympia venue. I was always curious why the District Line service didn't run more frequently, and, that video answered that question.

[@mikegillard7283]

I have watched that so many times, coffee thief, platform 4, dodgy taxis and empty platforms at 5.30!! Good times!!

[@TSCappuccino]

I’ve been waiting for this episode for ages! Kensington (Olympia) is my home station, and I actually took the district line once to Earl’s Court and headed to Wimbledon.

[@londonerwalks]

When I was a teenager and lived in Wembley, I used to go to Olympia exhibitions from Wembley Park and do the whole Metroplitain/Circle/District line thing which took ages. Then one day I found out about the service that ran straight from Wembley Central to Olympia. I can't tell you how thrilled I was to find that out!

[@garybutler3256]

Geoff, I remember as a spotter in the 80s that for most of the early part of that decade (and the 70s no doubt) the only regular normal services (not motorail) were 2 peak hour services from Clapham Junction in the morning and the same in the evening which was know as the 'Kenny Belle'. As there was no tube service at all at the time (except on exhibition days), these were the only services you could catch from there. In 1987 (I think) cross country services running to Brighton and Dover were stopped there, hence the station becoming a InterCity one and tube trains started running to connect to them. I visited the station once to take the tube to Earls Court, though I could have walked there quicker as the tube laid over for 10-15 mins...

[@mikkoistanbul1322]

Those trains were primarily for staff at the then nearby Post Office Savings Bank.

[@rayob9131]

Gary, dead right about the Kenny Belle. It used to produce a variety of stock including a Class 33/1 and 4 TC and even an Oxted unit or similar.

[@pnwlion9337]

I used to work in Hammersmith and live in East Croydon. I used to time my journeys sometimes from Kensington Olympia to get the old Edinburgh Brighton train. Loved having a cuppa in the buffet on the way back home from the gym

[@willwhite1575]

I used to commute from Olympia to Sloane Square for a couple of years in the late 90s. You always got a seat.

[@briangentle5515]

At the risk of sounding like many others, I too have memories of coming to Kensington Olympia station on the District line with my parents in the 1960s, I think to see Bertrand Mill's Circus in Olympia. It's all a bit of a blurr now, but I had the feeling even then that these trains were somehow special, as they only seemed to run for one station, from Earls Court.

[@kevinrayner5812]

I remember that too and special trains from the Southern Region with Bullied pacifics, but earlier on in the 60s.

[@nickbiskinis4854]

I loved when Clapham High Street had a Parliamentary service to Kensington Olympia back in 2011!

[@depmil1]

I remember travelling on one of the Class 47-hauled InterCity trains from Dover Western Docks to Olympia on one of the brilliant Network Southeast Days (anywhere on NSE for a fiver - unbelievable value). Fascinating threading its way through the maze near Clapham Junction. Then there were numerous visits to the GBBF at Olympia by District Line, Silverlink and the Overground.

[@paulbaker654]

In the event of a nuclear war, it was the departure point for thousands of Civil Servants to go by special trains to Warminster and then by road to the underground war headquarters at Corsham. There were detailed plans for London Transport (as was) to pick them up at various points in central London and transport them to the station.

[@ADAMEDWARDS17]

I was on an InterCity which stopped, back in I think 1986 when there was a daily Manchester Piccadilly to Newhaven via Gatwick Airport connecting with the ferry to Dieppe and the train to Paris. A sleepless way to travel I recall! It was fun hearing the announcement at Manchester for the train to Paris.

[@reptongeek]

Yay, you actually did it! Never clicked on a video so fast Have the District line services on the Sunday changed?. I managed to get a morning service to the station on the day before my failed Tube Challenge attempt. I was researching platforms at Earls Court and to my surprise and delight I saw one on the board so I immediately got one - at about 11:22 if you're curious This was my second visit to Kensington (Olympia). The first was the previous week on a Southern train that was packed to the gills because two Overground services had been cancelled On the subject of Tube Challenge, if you are using Labryinth it's better for you to get a Metropolitan line service from Rayners Lane. This allows you to choose to either arrive or depart from Kensington (Olympia) depending on how your trains fall, because after this station, you do the Hammersmith loop next. In the traditional Labryinth route you can only arrive at the station as your next train is an Overground to Shepherds Bush

[@flightsimmer9809]

on a saturday and sunday they run every 15 minutes between high street kensington - Olympia.

[@bganonimouse2754]

Even back in the day Olympia was a bit of a weird in between area. There are some residential buildings are about, but Ham Rd / Ken High Street has excellent bus services and those kinds of flats / houses in the area are likely to be car owners. I grew up in West Ken and used to walk or bus past Olympia in a 28 every school day. Happy days!

[@rwardel]

I was hoping that you'd reference the old Motorail terminal, and by finding the British Pathe clip you went above and beyond! When I was a kid my family would take the Motorail to and from Carlisle and Perth, first in a Morris Traveller and then in an Austin Wolseley. One time we arrived at Kensington Olympia every second car had a smashed windshield, as hooligans would drop rocks from the overhead bridges en route. That's when they introduced covered car wagons.

[@fsr170409]

I lived in a flat share that looked onto the old motorail services back in 1974 until 1976.Double headed 47,s on the sleeper trains and a very low frequency on the district line back then.Exibition days only as far as I remember.

[@markstramtrainbuscapades1729]

Got the District branch in the book some years back, when the service was more regular. Even further back, in 1987, a friend & I caught one of the short lived Inter City Dover-Manchester trains from Olympia to Birmingham New Street, hauled by Class 47 to Willesden, from where a Class 86 took over!

[@EssexWolf1993]

An InterCity service called The Sussex Scot used to call at Kensington (Olympia) from Brighton, en route to Glasgow and Edinburgh.

[@deathpod1975]

My Dad was on the trains ( conductor ), he used to rumble through here on the Gatwick to Rugby services.

[@smjrn63]

Those services would be confusing for visitors. That was a concern for me when I visited in 2022. I did not take into account that there might not be a train when I wanted it. It occurred to me when I walked back to Hever station. Thankfully there was a train so I did not have to sleep with the sheep lol! 😂

[@sjbeard2941]

Back in 2009 you could get a Cross Country train from Olympia, in one direction down to Brighton and in the other up North (can't remember where). I decided to take it one day just for the hell of it and it also gave me an excuse to take the District line there. I'm glad I did!

[@chriskeene]

Brighton to Manchester, twice a day

[@matthewjburt6482]

Must say that the border between Kensington & Chelsea borough and Hammersmith & Fulham borough is actually marked by a river, as is the case in a lot of situations. That river is Counters Creek. The river is now under the railway line. Originally the river was dug out to become a canal. Over time the canal was filled in, the river itself culverted and the railway line set in its course. The river still flows into the Thames from its source near Kensal Green Cemetery. As always, love the videos Geoff and look forward to them all, no matter the subject.

[@galaxy98765]

Interesting video. Thank you! I saw Olympia on my tube map when I was there in London last year. I live in Olympia ..... in Washington state, out by the Pacific Ocean. 😂😂😂

[@andyf750]

As a kid in the 1970s i remember family trips to Scotland by Motorail/Inter City Sleeper. We would leave Kensington Olympia in the evening, arriving at Stirling in the morning. I think a diesel engine took us to Willesden Junction after which an electric would take over. The beds were made up military style with stiff tartan blankets. We'd leave the little sliding window open and drift off to sleep to sounds of the train. Great memories!

[@caw25sha]

I have very similar memories. I think it might have been a Deltic as I have vague memories of my dad pointing out their distinctive sound.

[@rwardel]

Me too!

[@brettpalfrey4665]

The first time I went to Olympia, was on the exhibition service from Earls Court, in early 1971..I remember it being incredibly slow and bumpy....Might have been quicker to walk!

[@steverose1]

Used Motorail back in the 70s to travel from Olympia to Scotland. Brilliant!

[@customtransport2777]

I find it so interesting that I live in a London borough which is just three stops away from the least used station served by Underground trains and at least the good thing is, I’ve managed to catch a direct service towards Olympia from my local station which is somewhere within the city, as the District Line trains usually runs there as a small shuttle from High Street Ken

[@hendrikharryg]

Other Mode End of Line Confirmed!! Yay. Thanks for going Back to Ken-O. It's nice to see it in Daytime Shots (as the last time was nighttime). I think it was worth it for that.

[@bensonby]

There are also more District Line services during disruption: they terminate services short, there to turn them back towards the city.

[@chandlerbstransport422]

This one feels more like Secrets of the Underground than End of the Line. That just makes it better. Well done again, Geoff!

[@damianharris2167]

Nice one Geoff. Paid my first visit here by tube a couple of months ago. Much easier on a Saturday. I think I’m right in saying that the tube challenge rules dictate that you cannot attempt it at weekends and you must arrive or depart by underground train. That means catching one of those rare weekday services. Tricky stuff. I also spotted that sign in the undergrowth.

[@geofftech2]

Yes, can’t do a Tube Challenge on a Saturday apparently! Only on a weekday …

[@adamseecbrown]

The last time i went to Kensington (Olympia) on the District Line was back in 2008 for the event in Olympia and now I use the Overground from London Stratford for Hyper Japan Festivals every July. Plus it saves me money by the the Pink Card Readers as you did in a video in the past and it really saved me money for this. With out the Pink Card Reader I would be spending more of my money to get to Olympia.

[@koputai]

Thanks

[@andylaws4247]

There were two bay platforms on the south-eastern side, mainly used by services to/from Clapham Junction. These platforms were removed in 1983 and the track was lifted; the space was used for an additional car park for the exhibition centre. One of the former platforms is now Olympia Garden, a community garden with 89 vegetable plots. The station was part of the London Station Group, accepting "London Terminals" tickets, until it was delisted in May 1994.

[@kevanhubbard9673]

In the 1990's a XC use to stop there which I think was the Brighton to Glasgow pulled by a class 47.I believe that that train was cut back to begin at Slough at some point before ending altogether.

[@roderickjoyce6716]

GWR 6000, King George V, was stabled on exhibition in the Motorail terminal for a few days in 1971 while on tour with the first steam-hauled train on BR since the post 1968 steam ban. It was kept in light steam, and I went to see it one evening - although I can't remeber how much the admision ticket was.

[@pedanticradiator]

I remember seeing the Motorail trains leaving Carlisle around 3pm in the early 90s and the signs all around the city centre directing you to the terminal at the back of the station. The service vanished at the time of privatisation

[@catherinetonry]

As someone who until recently ran a large event at Olympia (Great British Beer Festival). Sadly the extra services on event days stopped several years ago. One of the many reasons we have moved on to the NEC next to Birmingham International next year.

[@johnrafferty8087]

Worked on those Lovley station for about 4 years 2009 to 2013. Was always fun. The Full District Line service using train number 151 and 152. Often one would get poaches to run to Wimbledon Ealing or Richmond. . But then often got unexpected trains being Diverted into Olympia to ger back on time or due to a problem elsewhere. We also jad the pleasure of specal Trains on the Main Line.( including the one that lives in Wolverton) and many a steam loco

[@alanbudgen2672]

I used to go on the District line to the Beer Festival. The Sussex Scot service used to stop there in its long trundling route north.

[@chriswade7470]

Intercity Cross Country used to serve Kensington Olympia ( through trains from the northwest of the U.K. to Brighton and Dover Western Docks) Historically pre WW2 there was a service called The Sunny South from Manchester to Brighton.

[@clivemay6877]

Used to come back through Olympia to CJ after seeing my grandad in Northampton. I'd change at MK Central for a cross country service and then we'd have to sit for 10 mins near Old Oak somewhere while they'd switch the 87 for a 45. Happy days 😀

[@anianii]

Been there this year thanks to your video about the limited service! Of course got the district line on a weekday there 😉

[@nautilusshell4969]

I remember the 'regular' (3 trains an hour) service between High St Ken and Olympia. However it always appeared to me, standing on the westbound platforms in the evening, tired and waiting to get home to Parsons Green, that the Olympia trains arrived from High St Ken every 5 minutes rather than every 20 minutes.....must have been a trick of the mind.

[@john1703]

Humber Hawk/Snipe, Mk 3 Zodiac, Austins Westminster and Cambridge, Triumph 2000, Morris Minor van. Oh happy days!

[@t.p.mckenna]

My brother took me to some big show in about 1974 and we used the Olympia extension. The Blue Mallard was there, but not the Flying Scotsman which had been advertised.

[@srfurley]

Some trains were diverted to terminate there during the rebuilding of Euston. The rush hour Clapham Junction trains were the last steam service in London. Bertram Mills circus loaded up in one of the old North East bay platforms on at least one occasion many years ago.

[@ICryOverSpiltMilk]

What me and my friends do is central line to Shepherds Bush then switch to the overground to Kenny O. All underground lines have a way of transferring to the central line so we just do that. Last time we got DLR from East India to Bank and then central line to the Bush, nice, easy and quick

[@rwm2986]

Thanks Geoff. The only time I have been to Kensington Olympia was by the Tube when there was an exhibition of some sort 'next door'!

[@georgerutherford24]

The Clapham Junction to Kensington Olympia( only ) train used to be very rare,Remember in 70s getting up at crack of dawn on holiday to catch one.

[@steve.b.23]

I've been to Kenny O once for the Music Fair, some time in the early-mid 90s. We got on the District Line at RIchmond, but I don't remember where - or indeed, if - we changed trains.

[@musiqtee]

I’m old… Because I took a normal service to KO for a 1991 pro audio exhibition. As a foreign visitor before smartphones; paper tube map, signs & boards, vending machine, magnetic ticket at the gate, boarded the train… it totally worked! Three days in a row…😅

[@PointARail]

Nice video and I love the mention of Motorail. Back when I was here I didn't realise it was the Motorail terminus until I went back home and did some research; I thought it was just a goods shed at first. I did notice the old southbound platform though!

[@gregmichael8473]

I was in the UK in 1998 and rode the Underground service to Olympia from High St Ken. which was a Saturday. Whilst there, a Class 47 on a passenger service stopped there, plus some electric services. The previous day I had passed through there on a service from Rugby to Gatwick, Class 319, and saw a Eurostar.

[@jackreed4271]

Been through Kensington Olympia so many times but is interesting to know that it does see some services in the peak on the District line as I always saw them on a Saturday and also the station use to have direct service to Brighton with Southern before being cut back to East Croydon and it did have as you mentioned InterCity services and later Virgin Trains the Cross Country to Brighton and to Birmingham and Manchester and that stopped in the late 2000s I think but it had a lot back more back then

[@yorkshirewanderer6176]

Visited here as part of your book 50 things to see and do catching one of those early morning services on the district line. If it wasn't for that I doubt I'd have made the trip there as most exibitions now I attend in London seem to be at the Excel.

[@sunjamm222]

i did the service in the 1980s that ran via Olympia, then over the West Coast mainline. Olympia was not a fully listed stop, but it was useful to know that with the old slam door you could jump off and get on. Plus I did use the shuttle service for Olympia exhibitions

[@casper8969]

Used to be a milk siding where tankers were unloaded or redirected to Unigate or Express Dairy processing plants.

[@Photoline1]

Thanks for that very clear explanation, Geoff. I have stayed in the general vicinity of this station a few times on my visits to London over the years, but never used it. The Circle & District Line notices at Earls Court about this destination are right there at eye level when using or changing trains. On my last UK visit, I had a virtual window seat from a rented flat overlooking the Overground Line, not far from a certain well-known shopping mall. Rumbling DB locos? Freight trains? Wot? Only a signal box could have offered a better view. The nearest experience I've had to it is being on an overnight passenger train as it stood by while opposing trains passed.

[@iandron7119]

Well that brought the memories back. Perth to Kensington Olympia by Motorail. I think it was 1971.

[@johnstilljohn3181]

Fascinating as usual. As an aside, I occasionally deliver mineral water to the Lillie Bridge depot - it's massive in there...

[@robbiemorrison7085]

Fort William station still has the old ramp for Motorail

[@guillaumemaurice3503]

Thank you for the video Geoff, it was very, very interesting. I have been to Kensington Olympia a few times to attend the Body, Mind, Spirit festival which is every year. From where I live in Hertfordshire I would take the overground train to London Liverpool Street then take the Circle Line to Gloucester Road, then from there take the District Line to Earl's Court and lastly take the other District Line to Kensington Olympia. However, I just realized that there is a more convenient route: take the overground train to Stratford then from there take the overground train to Kensington Olympia. Yep! Certainly easier that way.

[@richardmccarthy9580]

40 ish years ago not only rode district line when there was a real service but also Dover to Manchester direct Intercity !

[@robh8814]

Its an Overground Station & has been for quite some time. Before the Overground then it was a North London Line Station. Olympia is used to reverse late running West - East District line Trains during the day & also used to stable Trains when there is problems on the Westbound.

[@DavidShepheard]

I've actually been to Kensington (Olympia) more times than I can count. As someone living on the Wimbledon branch of the District Line exhibitions at Earl's Court 1 and 2 and Olympia 1 and 2 were things I used to visit while I was growing up. You could often get free tickets, if you worked for a business (or pretended to own a business) and you could often get free things to take home from the various exhibitions. So off I would go to Earl's Court and instead of getting a train into "proper London" I would either go down the secret tunnel to Earl's Court's built in Underground entrance or cross from the Eastbound platforms to the Westbound platforms to get the Olympia service.

[@kevinrayner5812]

Not "the" David Shepheard?

[@davidgrainger5378]

I went through on a rail tour earlier this year. There used to be one train per day from Birmingham New Street to here but I never managed to travel on that. Back in 1985 I was on a train from Gatwick Airport to Birmingham through here. Way back in the 1960s as a teenager I had read about unadvertised trains running from here to Clapham Junction so I managed to get on one.

[@watchmakersp9935]

Appeared in an episode of "The Sweeney" - came off overbridge ;waiting in a car. also North Pole junction/depot was named after a very old pub.

[@NewCityMedia]

The station has an interesting history. Back in the 90s BR days, they used to run 'Summer Saturday' InterCity services through it from eg Dover to Birmingham. It was a rare treat for us who lived in Kent at the time.

[@SB-km6fp]

I remember in the 90s or early 2000s getting the tube to Olympia and going to the Commonwealth Institute to have an explore. Sadly that has now closed.

[@FoodDog]

Hi Geoff, I believe there is a sign on the western side of the station that mentions it does not count as a london terminus, also fun fact that back when southern removed the few trains to hemel hempstead, they mentioned about roughly how many people used those rare trains (around 90 iirc)

[@highpath4776]

More would have used had it been a reliable service

[@bobsteryt]

Farringdon and Shoreditch also have the "not a london terminal" signs

[@caw25sha]

When I was a small child in the 70s we took the Motorail to either Edinburgh or Aberdeen but I had no idea it went from there. I'd have assumed it was from King's Cross but thinking about it there were probably no suitable facilities.

[@geofftech2]

i think that's why there used Olympia .. yes. Space for the terminal facilities, but also perfectly connected to the InterCity network! such a shame i never rode (drove!) it ...

[@Vanmanyo]

I went a few months ago on the Saturday during the Notting Hill Carnival (completely by accident!) so got to go on the tube then to Kensington then! Rather odd service but I am not surprised that TFL cute tube services seeing as they were definitely underused!

[@James_smith940]

Somewhere on KZbin there is BR footage of Olympia being used as one of the alternatives to Euston. This was done when they rebuilt Euston in the 60's and had to divert trains during closures.

[@stuartscott7097]

I remember going on holiday to Cornwall from here in the early 1970's by Motorail

[@chrisbailiss7309]

I used to live on the Wimbledon branch and it was ever frustrating waiting at Earls Court for a Wimbledon branch service (which was always busy/packed) and being delayed watching endless almost completely empty trains (even at peak times) shuttle up to Kensington Olympia. TfL made the right decision.

[@radagastwiz]

The Motorail concept still exists elsewhere, mainly in Europe, but the one I'm most familiar is Amtrak's Auto Train. This has termini in the Washington, DC, area and near Orlando, Florida; it saves vacationers a long interstate drive down the coast.

[@andrewyoung749]

to be honest its been dying in europe. in the late 90s my parents would pack us up into the car, drive to dover, ferry then at calais motorail terminal (which was the old steam loco depot which had closed in about 1970) put the car on the motorail service (well an sncf lackey drove it on anyway). then we would walk to calais ville and boarded the train and settle into the sleeping car. the train then drew forward and backed down onto the car carrying cars. then the whole lot would set off for south france/spain/italy where we drove off. but by the mid 2000s the train was split into 2 sections one for pax and the cars went separately. then the whole lot stopped. there may i guess be a few clinging on but just like continental sleepers it fell off a cliff...

[@nigelkthomas9501]

Great video! I do seem to remember a small handful of what would now be XC services operating from Scotland and the north west via the WCML and Olympia to the south coast and the Channel ports; i.e. Folkestone, Dover and Ramsgate. I wonder why they were axed.

[@pedanticradiator]

When Virgin lost the Cross-country franchise to Arriva they stopped using the WCML north of Manchester

[@meijiturtle3814]

If you read FM Alan Brooke's WW2 memoirs, he mentions catching a train from Addison Rd to, I think, Cornwall, one evening.

[@smdhomeworkhelp]

Great memories of Walk the Tube 2016 which we started here at about 5.30am in the morning. Cheers Geoff!

[@owencarlstrand1945]

Used to go to Olympia often when I was nobut a lad. Remember the Q Stock trains in the late 50s and early 60s, some even with clerestory roofs. Also remember the steam locos in Lillie Bridge and the coal yard at High Street Ken. In later life I ran a project to locate the 3000 strong LUL Engineering Directorate and the Jubilee Line project team to Canary Wharf and used to walk through Lillie Bridge Depot from Earl’s Court to the LUL offices at West Ken. All rather different there now.

[@thepanamahat]

Used to live on Russell Road, absolutely adored Kensington Olympia station.

[@gamersilviogg9664]

I used to visit my cousin in Sinclear Road all the time . Back in the early 2000's when it had several underground trains an hour. Fun fact in those days the foot bridge extended across the street at the side of the exhibition hall. They took it down later on.

[@Sim0nTrains]

Ken Olympia.... never heard that phrase before, heard of Kenny O, But it is a good trainspotting location for freight trains passing through but Southern did had a 'crowd buster' train which started at Kensington Olympia that went to Clapham Junction but these were extra services during evening peak and remember once that a Southern Class 455 was operating this shuttle. Great video Geoff

[@chrislambert-shiels5291]

Sounds a bit like what was I think called the "Kenny Belle", an unadvertised 2 or 3 trains each way each day in morning & evening peaks - to/from Clapham Junction. It was for the benefit of Post Office Savings Bank employees whose HQ was nearby (Blythe House / Charles House).

[@johnanstey7152]

@@chrislambert-shiels5291 I used to commute from Clapham Junction to Olympia when working at Charles House using the Kenny Belle from 1973 to the 1980s. In the early years, it was a 33 with a couple of coaches, rural branch-line approach to operations and if someone arrived on the platform as the train was starting, it would stop to let the latecomer on. Latterly, it was a 33 or 73 with a 4TC rake, departing 0807 and 0837 towards KO, then, I think, 1636 and 1706 towards CJ. The most interesting journey was when overrunning engineering works meant the loco was a shunter with a single coach, leaving CJ from platform 6 and going via Kew East Junction, North London Line to Willesden Carriage Sidings, then onto the West London Line to Olympia. As it was one-way only in the peaks (like the SL6 bus), there was no return journey. I assume the train made its way back to CJ by some other available route - I didn't stop to find out as I was already over 30 minutes late for work! When it didn't run or I was late leaving work, the best alternative was always a walk to West Kensington, District to Victoria then Southern.

[@holdingpointaviation]

It would be cool if more Motorail type services were to operate, pity we only get it between Folkestone and Calais on the Eurotunnel

[@aaronsmith9209]

Motorail is such a good idea, shame we didn't stick with it. Would make a lot of sense for London to the Scottish Highlands. Apparently America still has such a service from just outside DC in Virginia to Florida which really surprised me.

[@christopherwright8388]

True. I've used it twice, as recently as this year. The service is pretty basic, expensive if you want an actual bed, and prone to delays. But it cuts about 10 hours of driving from the typical East Coast to Florida road trip and skipping a hotel night and petrol pumps helps defray the expense.

[@AllensTrains]

I went to Kensington Olympia many years ago to visit the Personal Computer World show. It struck me then that it was a rather surreal station in a semi-dilapidated state! I think BR had wanted to close it, but they knew if they did that London Underground would take it over. Thanks for uploading.

[@ClydebridgeStation]

Worth mentioning Geoff, when the Eurostar used to leave from Waterloo, Olympia was a standby terminus, if Waterloo was unavailable. And for many years, the UK border agency maintained a presence at Olympia, should such an event happen. With the move to St Pancras, I'm not sure if they still do so. I suspect not, as the 3rd rail shoe gear has been removed from the eurostar sets, with HS1 opening, and the move to St Pancras, and there's only 3rd rail going through Olympia on the through lines.

[@geofftech2]

that's some brilliant knowledge ... Uk Border at Olympia! did not know this!! thank you

[@AsahelFrost]

I remember those red warning signs. They used to be very common on the underground.

[@royce_hunt]

Kensington (Olympia) is one of my favourite stations, thanks to many an August afternoon hanging out at the top of the Grand hall fire escape, spotting. I hoped you would mention the rumoured but sparsely sourced info that Ken Olympia not only had Eurostar services pass through to North Pole but maintained full passport control facilities in case a train had to divert if Waterloo was out of action. If you have some good reading material on that, let me know!

[@owencarlstrand1945]

There were certainly Eurostar services. I tried to get on one at York to get off at Olympia as I lived in Hammersmith and it was quicker than waiting for an ECML train. I wasn’t allowed on as the trains were sealed to allow passport control to happen in Paris I believe. However remember we were in the EU so passport controls were considerably lighter than now. I also worked on the project European Passenger Services North of London which fairly quickly went nowhere.

[@HenrysAdventures]

I've always enjoyed going to KennyO as we used to call it, ever since I was a child and the Model Engineering Exhibition was held there. (Going there by tube was all part of the fun!) Talking of some of the other trains which pass through. Last night at approximately 23:00 I passed through on a steam hauled charter train from Cardiff Central to London Victoria hauled by Black 5 No. 44871.

[@andthanks.forall.thefish]

This morning I landed in LHR and rode the Purple Train with Prince in my ear, then an hour ago I rode the Overground through Olympia and had to think of Geoff's early bird videos. Now back at the hotel and what do I see on YT? The latest video about the Olympia. Mr Marshall, you're chasing me! 😜 Oh yes, on Monday I'll probably take a look at Station Station, I'm curious what surprises await me there 🤔🤣

[@MrGreatplum]

A station that I doubt I’ll ever go to but you told the story well! Wish we still had motorrail!

[@cmacca9109]

I used to live just near the station and used it and the Southern service to commute to Wembley Central. It’s an underrated station, and fills a good gap between HSK and Hammersmith. That said, in the 3 years I lived there, I think I only caught the tube 2-3 times (one of which was just to say I’d done it). Certainly much more useful as an overground station

[@BarnabyMarder]

There haven't been Inter-City services to Olympia for a long time. However, not many decades ago you could get trains to Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow & Edinburgh direct from here, and they went in the other direction terminating at Brighton.

[@rgpeters]

This is the only station in zone 2 I’ve not been on the underground, been there many many times on the Overground & SW