Colwall - Least Used Station In Herefordshire

Time to tick of another Least Used Station! This time, I drove all the way to Herefordshire - which only has 4 railways station in the whole of the county - to go and visit Colwall, and meet up (at a distance) with a familiar face ...
Paul Whitewick's Channel (Abandoned Railways) is here: / pwhitewick1
The ORR Estimates of Station Usage Statistics are here: dataportal.orr...
You can download my Least Used Station Map here: geofftech.co.uk...

[@pwhitewick]

Well thanks for having me along. A great day and a pleasure meet and help Steve whilst we were there too.

[@joesos]

ha!

[@murdelabop]

What was that app you used for side by side maps?

[@pwhitewick]

@@murdelabop no app as such, just go to your browser and type in "side by side maps", it's a feature on National Library of Scotland Maps.

[@murdelabop]

@@pwhitewick : Thanks.

[@paulwayman4579]

What a great surprise 😀 I subscribe to you and the KZbin algorithm brought this up. For once something interesting.

[@johns1894]

Thank you for this video Geoff! I was actually in this area last year (I'm 17) because Ledbury is the twin town of my city in Sweden. We walked Malvern Hills and got to Ledbury by train from Paddington station in London. I didn't even realize we went through this station but it is so cool too see a station that I've actually passed through considering I'm from another country and only been to England once. (I have been an avid watcher of your channel for about 2-3 years now and I love your work!)

[@caw25sha]

Hope you can come back in better times.

[@khemabandhu]

Hur ofta kommer folk från Strömstad till Ledbury? Jag bor strax utanför Ledbury och det skulle vara coolt att träffa ett gäng svenskar i den här delen av världen.

[@johns1894]

@@khemabandhu Beror lite, hade en lärare på högstadiet som är väldigt engagerad i vän-stads relationen mellan Strömstad och Ledbury så hon anordnar en högstadie resa cirka vartannat år, i år skulle ett helt gäng åka med buss till England för att fira 20 års jubileumet av twin town association men de blev ju inställt nu på grund av corona.

[@Crampsam]

Ayy Stromstad fam!! I’m from Ledbury and always wondered if some of you folks have ever been here

[@philipschloesser]

'Hello, *I* am Geoff, and this is Paul... And this IS THE PARK BENCH' oops, wrong franchise...

[@nicholashoi3155]

lmao

[@brumsgrub8633]

That's funny ha

[@grumpy989]

Weirdly enough because Geoff covers so many random rail facts he could still end his videos with the words "...and that was something you might not have known"

[@matthewamosvlogs936]

lmao seems matt and tom have been replaced

[@carolinegreenwell9086]

That final drone shot of the train being eaten up by the tunnel was ace

[@Brynbo]

I get a train from this station every day!!!!

[@katesmith5767]

Lovely to see you both in this video. And thank you for buying lots of biscuits for the food bank... often so much more appreciated than tins of tomatoes.

[@paddym6778]

Shame that there used to be over 50 stations in Herefordshire, but most got shut down

[@paintedpilgrim]

I think there could be potential for 3 or 4 stations in the county, but they are way down the list when compared to other potential stations on open lines and with higher population.

[@mclj10]

Ross and Bromyard at the least could do with stations again. Especially considering how naff the bus service is now.

[@JamesTilsley1]

With the greatest respect the county is mostly fields and orchards.

[@Stephen_Lafferty]

This was a double treat for a sunny June Friday afternoon - a least used station and a channel combination, too!

[@joesos]

in normally sunny california its quite foggy how coincidental

[@philjones1432]

I know the Hereford - Worcester line very well. As a child my Grandad would take my brother and I every summer on the train from Hereford to Great Malvern to walk the hills. In those days we travelled on a first generation DMU so we could sit behind the driver, it was always fun going through Ledbury and Colwall tunnels watching the white dot at the end getting bigger. Of course Ledbury tunnel has a tight bend at the end. Once on the hills we would sit on top of the Worcestershire Beacon (the highest hill). From there you can see the trains emerging from Colwall tunnel heading for Worcester. You can follow the trains for miles from that point.

[@LewisCollard]

I went NUTS at the intro with the collaboration of two of my favourite train KZbin people!! Thanks for bringing some positivity Geoff and Paul, we all need it in these times.

[@kumatoni5245]

That impression was uncannily good!

Pleasant distraction was indeed very welcome. Thank you!

[@jamesballantyne8349]

Thank you both, this is such a good video, love how you donated and helped out the local food bank

[@Paul-iv9en]

Random fact - the foot bridge actually came from down the line at Malvern Wells Station when it was demolished

[@AndrewMartinIsHere]

Well done guys. Really confused me for a moment, but a joy to watch. Thank you.

[@Menticknap]

I love it when you guys get together. It's like watching Dr Who when two Doctors meet each other. They shouldn't, but they do!

[@joehitchen9311]

As a local, I'm amazed you got so much content from a station where everything of interest is within a 5m circle

[@michaelsanderson6968]

Excellent stuff. Thanks Geoff and Paul. And a lovely drone shot at the end - this is what the public needs.

[@robertmorris3152]

I've been waiting for this video for a couple of years being just down the road in hereford. Great to see you doing a video from my county

[@Phleeper]

A Chain is 22 yards , the same length as a cricket pitch. Which leads me onto, I've visited Colwall. The local cricket club is next to the line. I had one eye on the game, and another on the 172's and HST's that were passing every half hour or so.

[@JohnSmith-bx8zb]

Beat me to it!!!!

[@jonathanbeale3978]

The shot of the 2 of you on the bridge looked like a album cover of a “boy” band. “New Tracks”

[@chrishuneke6764]

So happy to see Herefordshire! Such a lovely place. Missing my family from there as I'm from the US & couldn't visit them this year.

[@markjones4704]

i was born in hereford im going there soon i will say uello to the whole county for you !!

[@iansmithfootball]

Great video and I'm admiring the edit (and the drone footage) of the train in the tunnel at the end. Superb work Geoff.

[@timtube1663]

I used to be a Guard on the North Cots Line. Colwall used to have a Permit To Travel Machine until very recently. I always thought the PTT machines were an NSE thing so quite surprised to see them here. Always remember making sure I only open 4 coaches on the HST.

[@alexhandy5108]

Thanks Geoff, great Video. Im actually from Ledbury and use the train between ledbury and colwall often. Was awesome to see it getting some credit for being a rather beautiful Station. Let me know if you're ever back in the area, as there are a number of intresting facts about the line, and what is used to be.

[@rosiefay7283]

Thanks, Geoff and Paul, for collaborating on this one. Paul -- your info about what used to be at the station helps put the current situation into context. (The line is double track as far as Great Malvern, then there's a single-track bit that includes Colwall, as you showed, but is double again at the Hereford end.) And lovely to see my beloved Malvern Hills, albeit from an unfamiliar angle.

[@AdeDee1]

I visited this station once around 25 years ago. It was a bizarre experience that I had almost forgot about until seeing this video. My friends and I were doing a school project where we had to interview people from different towns. We got on the train at Worcester and stopped at various places. When we stopped at Colwall we ran in to some trouble with some local kids. They didn't like us being at their train station and ended up punching my mate! I think they just hung around the platform causing trouble as something to do. The station was so quiet that it made us easy pickings. Anyway, just thought I'd share my one and only Colwall experience! Great video as always.

[@davidsturmer3646]

More Paul and Geoff vlogs please, great energy and fun to watch. Subscribed to both.

[@businessbuilding1]

The best duo since Jordan and Pippen! Great to see you guys together ( Socially distancing of course). Great video!

[@richard99cookify]

That map website is absolutely terrific - thanks to Paul for letting me (and all of us) know about it!

[@chriswilkes236]

Very nice video, Geoff, and very kind to contribute to the Food Bank. Much appreciated the work.

[@3kimcarter]

Absolutely brilliant, you make a good double act,you must do more with Paul.👋😂

[@HenrysAdventures]

Brilliant video Geoff Whitewick and Paul Marshall! Look forward to seeing Geoff at leased used abandoned station!

[@donsharpe5786]

1 chain was traditionally the length of a cricket pitch. My brother, who worked for the railways as a civil engineer, still talked about curves being a number of chains in the early 1970s. 1 chain is 20.1168 m. As children in the 1950s we learned a table of lengths. 12 inches one foot, 3 feet one yard, 22 yards one chain, 10 chains one furlong and 8 furlongs one mile.

[@grassytramtracks]

Ahh the imperial 'system'

[@OneKnifeYeHand]

Great video as always! But what I find ever more fascinating is the level of education and sophistication in the comments. On a few other British channels I follow, also doing partly or mostly train stuff, the comments are filled with stuff like "No, you fool, stay home in lockdown!!!" and "You should not be travelling now. I'm gonna report you!!!". But on here, everyone is just as friendly as always :)

[@CallingAllStations]

My head just exploded. 🤯 great work both

[@cleohadagreathairstyle]

The station and the track were built by the engineer Stephen Ballard who lived in Colwall at The Winnings ( there is a plaque fir him there). There are photos found at his house at this website. Hherefordshirehistory.org.uk/archive/herefordshire-images/herefordshire-railways/the-building-of-the-hereford-and-worcester-railway Ballard, who was born in 1804 and died in 1890, was a member of a well-known Colwall family and among his enterprises in and around the village were a vinegar works, a farm, an ice works and a fruit cannery. He also created Jubilee Drive on land he owned, linking the Wyche and British Camp with a scenic route for the public to enjoy. Regarding land he pretty much donated his land to get the railway built. 'Take it at your own price'; and to those who feared that his generosity might be to their pecuniary disadvantage, he declared that so sure was he of the benefit that would ultimately accrue to all by its construction, that he would not hesitate to make a present of his land rather than that the project should not be carried out. He did a lot of railway work, very interesting local man.

[@Sim0nTrains]

This was (bleeping) amazing! Video didn't disappoint Geoff! love the Collab with Paul Whitewick and the start of the video was funny as well.

[@davidmiller6728]

loved this. one of your best Geoff and really looking forward to the Whitewicks

[@olly5764]

One of my favorite Walks / Rail journeys os to get the train from Hartlebury to Colwall, Walk over the hills to Malvern Link, then train back to Hartlebury

[@davidstockwell7874]

Thanks Geoff and Paul. I have loved all your work Geoff. Massive fan and I hope to offer you a cup of tea and Jaffa cakes one day!

[@mclj10]

Hereford-Birmingham trains are hourly, they're normally scheduled to leave Hereford at 39 minutes past the hour in the afternoons. Been far too long since I've sprinted down the street at 15:37 to catch the 15:39 to New Street lmao

[@jonathandriver3415]

From feeling fairly miserable today, now big smiles, really enjoyed the video for many reasons, thank you. Is there going to be a 'Semi-abandoned Railways' channel? :)

[@TheLowerman]

What great surprise to see Paul. Excellent!!

[@emilycollison8129]

Yay, my two favourite railway enthusiasts presenting together! Loved it, you guys should do more 😄

[@Lulu-jl5zd]

Very well done Geoff... the Whitewicks walk very very fast. Great channel collaboration :)

[@666Pixs]

The only good thing to coming out of today THANK YOU

[@SouthernTransportFan]

Really good editing with that shot at the end

[@Ash_Dean]

Genuinely love the videos. Keeping me sane!

[@paulrushtie6826]

That was brilliant, recently found Paul's channel through yours. All good n thank you both for your content during these weird times

[@leewarren5801]

Hi Geoff. I live in Henderson, Nevada (born and raised in Pudsey, Leeds for 30 years) and I just love your videos. A part-time rail enthusiast, I do look forward to watching your videos!

[@simonagevans66]

Keep the good work up on distracting us from what's going on out there cheers my friend I appreciate your video. 😀😎☀️🌧️🌩️

[@davidsimister7454]

Love the intro!

[@BibTheBoulderTheOriginalOne]

Blimey Paul, the wife is looking a little rough in this one....

[@redbeard2474]

Watching these is a welcome distraction. Thank you!

[@hephzibahcole8858]

Thankyou for doing this video, it’s one I have been waiting for for over a year now as a Herefordian!

[@andrewholloway231]

This was a really good video. Wonderful. Thank you Paul, thank you Geoff.

[@mob5350]

The collab we’ve all been wanting!!! Thanks so much!

[@benjamintery7847]

Wow Geoff nice beard

[@geofftech2]

It's the lockdown. I haven't shaved for *weeks*

[@innocentbeautytreatments3287]

XD

[@TheFjmtb]

Unprecedented

[@pclayton5063]

Thanks for not forgetting the tunnel shot at the conclusion! ;-)

[@michaelpilling9659]

A superb video - great fun. Thanks guys. Lovely to see Paul - what a pity he didn't bring Rebecca along with him!

[@jeremysmith4437]

Really loved this video hopefully the start of many more

[@davekirwin]

Nice job lads!

[@zeph2312]

Only just discovered this. I lived in Colwall as a child in the 1960s. Yes, it was double track with a Victorian wooden station building including a waiting room complete with fireplace and a three-legged station cat!

[@praiserdusty]

Officially my favorite video out of everything you've made just for the donations.

[@robertkusek4407]

Great video! brought back many good memories of my grandmother and aunt who lived in Colwall, visited this station numerous times, the last in 1984. I live in the USA

[@maddibee8498]

Fab! Arguably one of the prettiest 'least used' too!

[@raphaelnikolaus0486]

What a lovely video! Definitely wasn't expecting that. Especially Paul. Hi Paul! :D

[@spottyskunk1898]

Brilliant, guys - and the whole quietude and scenery made me think of some of the little trail-side stops in places like Alaska.`

[@ianmurray250]

* Line opened from Malvern to Hereford in September 1861, so 1859 may have been the station build date - the original tunnel took two years longer to build than expected due to the strength of the rocks and cracking when explosives were used and so was cut by hand. Minecraft players may like to know that the rock is a type of Granite called Obsidian. * Spot the 4 movement sensors in the 4' (when measuring platform length) these phone home when movement is detected. There was a problem here a few years ago. * Original tunnel - cracks started to appear so a new tunnel was bored by machine, opened 1915 (I think), Old tunnel stored torpedoes during WW2 on racks (Colwall is about as far from the sea as it is possible to get) presumably the warheads were filled with explosives in Hereford. Tunnel now houses a bat colony, so metal grills at both ends and padlocked doors to keep the bats happy. * Spot the green/black London Midland 'Way Out' sign, that someone forgot to replace when West Midland train (Orange / Purple signs) took over.

[@Crampsam]

I’m from Ledbury, the next town over from Colwall. This is honestly quite a surprise to see. I used to catch the train from Ledbury to Worcester every day for uni and there was always at least 15 people every morning at Colwall station. Most of them going to Worcester or Birmingham for work or uni.

[@lawrencepaulson473]

That's my dad climbing the bridge at the 10.23" mark! He's a train history nerd - I wish you'd spoken to him, he'd have given you all kinds of facts about the station and railways in the area. He might well have been hanging out with Steve (at a safe distance) as he also attends St Stephen's.

[@paulpearson1855]

My, "Go to", station for walking The Malverns.

[@rosiefay7283]

Gt. Malvern station's also quite close. And Malvern Link, too, for the northern end.

[@jamesmorris4754]

Same great walk station. Over British camp and the Malverns ending up at great Malvern station then train back to Brum

[@paulpearson1855]

@@rosiefay7283 Not yet managed that route. Tried it one beautiful autumnal day a few years back. But fell over (or in to) The Nags Head.

[@wilfbm9067]

Two of the best railway video makers in the game in one video, fantastic!

[@marthaanderson2656]

these stations at or near Nature Reserves are a great resource. I have not checked in to it on National Rail site but as a tourist knowing these stations for planning would be great asset

[@crashboxnat545]

22 yards = 1 chain 20 chains = 1/4 mile 80 chains = 1 mile 100 chains = about 2km

[@GuyArab]

On the back cover of exercise books were many conversions (and learnt in school) including: 12 inches = 1 foot, 3 feet = 1 yard, 22 yards = 1 chain, 10 chains = 1 furlong, 8 furlongs = 1 mile.

[@tinglestingles]

@@GuyArab I'm sure there's a 'rod' in there somewhere?

[@GuyArab]

tinglestingles For simplicity, I left out rods, poles and perches

[@arfski]

I only know how long a chain is because it's the exact length of a Cricket strip!

[@hart-of-gold]

@@tinglestingles If I remember correctly a rod is a quarter of a chain. In surveys, rods were used in the vertical and chains in the horizontal generally.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

A footbridge? I know a certain station that starts with a P that would love to have that footbridge

[@cragoolia3782]

Ppppp…. Pilning?!

[@crogan333]

Avery the Cuban-American Polesworth?

[@SK_3PT1]

poppleton?

[@benjamintery7847]

Paris Austerlitz?

[@caw25sha]

The only station in the US I can think of beginning with P is Pennsylvania Station at a quarter to four.

[@qwertyTRiG]

The Abandoned Railways channel is a treat. I've been subscribed for a while.

[@michaelocyoung]

I used to have the dubious pleasure of working the 17.22 PAD-HFD HST numerous times a week back in the day. We ALWAYS got delayed at Colwall tunnel because the London Midland as it was then coming the other direction was always late.

[@ade9685]

Great video. I watch Paul and Rebecca and found you from them. Love the content bit of fun and a terrific end shot.

[@paullowe2807]

Have got a train from Colwall to Great Malvern station once or twice with the ramblers and walked back over the Malvern Hills to just below British Camp and along the Worcestershire Way footpath back to Colwall station from there. Great way of using public transport for walks.

[@manthapritchard245]

There's an interesting connection with Lady Foley and our station in Colwall. She refused to go through the tunnel and so arranged for a road to be driven through the Malvern Hills - Wyche Cutting, so she could stop at Colwall Station, take her carriage over the Malverns, and wait in her private sitting room at Great Malvern Station for the train emerging from the tunnel.

[@robnorth480]

Colwall used to have a racecourse which raced up to 1930s. I believe there was an entrance into the course off the station exit. You can see the racecourse marked to the south on the map you showed. There are some photos of the course displayed in the hotel near the station.

[@timatthi6195]

An awesome and very welcome video. Thank you :)

[@LisaMarli]

Ok, yes, driving to Least Used Stations. That might be useful to for the stations that only have 1-2 trains stopping each day. And yes, I recognized Paul immediately. His channel is fun. Both of you take care over there.

[@TomOConnor-BlobOpera]

Woo! Finally, a station I've been to, and caught a train from. I suspect there's a peak in their usage around the time of EMFCamp.

[@paulyh4531]

Very good , must be nice to be getting out and about again. 👍

[@RichardWells1]

Great fun! Good to see you two in one video.

[@TheUphillracer]

With relatives nearby I used to travel to and from Colwall in the days of steam

[@cleohadagreathairstyle]

Thank you for this video as used this as my starting point station loads of times as a teenager when you didn't have to plan your journey and could just jump on a train and work out a route to your destination as you went along.

[@crowmigration8245]

I love these. They're not abandoned but might as well be.

[@RandomRailways]

A chain is 66ft. (20 metres) Surveyors used linked lengths of metal that looked liked chains for measuring

[@matthewalker]

It's also the length of a cricket pitch, and at least where I live used to be a standard street width.

[@carefordclan7865]

From Hereford, is normally just used as somewhere to park when going up the malvern hills

[@joshbest24]

Interesting about the Colwall stone, in my town there is a Stephen's stone that was supposedly thrown by a giant from one side of the forest to the other

[@freeman10000]

What a lovely looking place.

[@biggles50405]

The Geek streams have crossed argh!!. Great vid with the two of you, would be a great double act.

[@bradpalmer2914]

Might be a bit late but a Chain is 22 yards (66 feet) The exact distance between the wickets on a cricket pitch

[@TomOConnor-BlobOpera]

If you visit again, you can actually walk up the Malvern Hills and follow the path of the tunnel through the hills, then do a video on the most excellent Great Malvern station, with its disused passenger tunnel, and beautiful victorian ironwork.

[@Geeoorggee]

Oh my looks gorgeous!!

[@TheLandOfJonny]

Didn’t realise it was single track too! I usually get the single track from Pershore to London :) Forever wishing it was fully redoubled to reduce delays.