Great Central Railway steaming back to Marylebone Station London | Classic VHS Video | Trains

Part of the Steam Era VHS tapes. Volume 3 focuses on the last major London Terminus to be built, Marylebone of the Great Central Railway. Featuring some archive footage from the last days in the 60s and the revival period in the mid 80s with Steam specials with Sir Nigel Gresley, Duchess of Hamilton and Clan Line to name a few.
Sir Nigel Gresley, Flying Scotsman, Duchess of Hamilton, Marylebone, VHS, Clan Line, Great Central Railway, London, Sir Lamiel, Green Arrow, Mallard, Post Office.
Marylebone station is a Central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the Marylebone area of the City of Westminster. On the National Rail network, it is also known as London Marylebone and is the southern terminus of the Chiltern Main Line to Birmingham. An accompanying Underground station is on the Bakerloo line, sited between Edgware Road and Baker Street in Transport for London's fare zone 1.
The station opened on 15 March 1899 as the London terminus of the Great Central Main Line (GCML), the last major railway to open in Britain for 100 years, linking the capital to the cities of Leicester, Sheffield and Manchester. Marylebone was the last of London's main line termini to be built and is one of the smallest, opening with half of the platforms originally planned. There has been an interchange with the Bakerloo line since 1907, but not with any other lines.
Traffic declined at Marylebone station from the mid-20th century, particularly after the GCML closed. By the 1980s, it was threatened with closure, but was reprieved because of commuter traffic on the London to Aylesbury Line (a remaining part of the GCML) and from High Wycombe. In 1993, the station found a new role as the terminus of the Chiltern Main Line. Following the privatisation of British Rail, the station was expanded with two additional platforms in 2006 and improved services to Birmingham Snow Hill. In 2015, services began between Marylebone and Oxford Parkway, via a new chord connecting the main line to the Oxford to Bicester Line and an extension to Oxford following in 2016. As of 2020, it is the only main London terminus to host only diesel trains, as none of the National Rail lines into it are electrified.
Marylebone is one of the squares on the British Monopoly board and is popular for filming because of its relative quietness compared to other London termini.
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[@MrMoriarty100]

The fact that this now derelict line wasn't recommissioned instead of building HS2 from scratch, sums up what is wrong with the modern UK. This line could have gotten the job done for a fraction of the cost.

[@BigBadJohn5358]

I think it was the EU that wanted HS2 built and our 650 MPs didn't have the balls to stand up to them and say "No, this is our country, our transport, not yours", If I had been Prime Minister instead of John Major we'd have been out of the EU before it even got going, 24 years before the referendum we actually had after which the powers that be threw every kitchen sink they could find at stopping us leaving the EU and are now campaigning to rejoin. The people don't get their way - ever - even though we're right!

[@stephencope7178]

It was nice to see Green Arrow in the closing shots...as unique as Flying Scotsman, but it's main line charters have been abandoned. It would be nice to see it restored and on the main lines again.

[@Tom-Lahaye]

Ironically Marylebone station is now larger and busier than it ever has been before, had it been closed the railways in London would have clogged up at some point. Nice to see some locomotives out of active service now, Green Arrow and Sir Lamiel. In a not too far distant future we will be able to take a train from Leicester to almost in Nottingham via the old GCR again.

[@michaelnewman1920]

Thanks for sharing this great film, sadly I missed doing this line more frequently in the 1960s

[@martinross5521]

Growing up in Chalfont St Giles, between Amersham and Beaconsfield, trips to London were often to Marylebone in steam days. One morning I spent a happy few hours after being invited onto the footplate of a shunter at High Wycombe. Very different to a Chiltern Rail journey today! Thank you for putting these films together.

[@ChangesOneTim]

Brilliant footage. I love the uncontrolled slippage on the pull-away from Brackley (13:41) - as if a 'last hurrah' from the driver!

[@patrickjmorgan]

I remember taking my son to see Sir Nigel Greeley at Marylebone . He was about 3 but a Thomas the tank engine had started on tv , so was a fan!

[@stuartrankin]

❤😂😢😮😅

[@gb5uq]

Have this on VHS I bought in a back street shop in Leamington for £1.99 thirty years ago.

[@johnjephcote7636]

I was at school in Rickmansworth and the MET/GC passed our lower playing field and the footbridge near where we played cricket at the ATC hut. The Black Fives from Colwick shed we often saw passing by. I always wanted to see a Scot when they were transferred for a while...but I never did. I often used the GC on railtours, especially the Last Day behind Elder Dempster Lines.

[@alanfbrookes9771]

Ironic that they talked about Marylebone being closed and the remaining trains diverted in Paddington. Instead, with Paddington being overcrowded, some of the Paddington trains have been diverted into Marylebone, particularly the Birmingham services.

[@kevinrayner5812]

Yes how absolutely blinkered and short sighted they were. I even remember one idiotic suggestion to divert the Aylesbury line into Euston at Northwick Park. And to think they wanted to close St Pancras as well. Never sure how that was supposed to work out.

[@user-ob2hl7ec2b]

Great thanks to those who made these 'end of an era' films.

[@BorderlandsLine]

Our pleasure!

[@peterknight6535]

Although Sir Nigel Gresley (the steam loco) is mentioned, in 1988 Mallard was brought out - in steam - to pull a T.P.O. train aroumd the country from Marylebone. This was to celerate the 150th anniversary of the start of the Travelling Post Office, and the 50 years of her breaking the speed record for steam loco, she carried a flag depicting her name on a postage stamp. They went all around the country, Mallard and the T.P.O. Mallard a Drakes Progress is on you tube showing the trip Leeds to Scarborough. Shown in the last few seconds.

[@laurenceskinnerton73]

Brilliant,bring it back!

[@TheMusicalElitist]

It hadn’t closed….

[@kevinrayner5812]

I remember hearing about the bridge strike at Willesden Green by Duchess of Hamilton. The local DMUs has also suffered damage. I am surprised they didn't check the gauge after doing the work.

[@ianmarlow805]

I remember listening to the trains running along near Northolt and Ruislip in the late 1950s while in bed.

[@terryeiss8469]

I used to take the steam train from West Ruislip to Gerrard's Cross, also to Seer Green in the early sixties, and many Americans living along the line took to West Ruislip to work at the US base there or change for South Ruislip to the main base. In 1961 my father, brother and I were returning home to Ruislip and took the then new A stock train to Harrow, when we became aware of a woman waving to from the Marylebone to Manchester train which passed us and were aware it was my aunt on her way to Nottingham, where her dear father had died. We ran around to the front of the train at Harrow just in time to wave and shout across to her.

[@user-bh4qn9yq9d]

Great footage, thanks so much! Reminds of the time when railways were still railways ... and women were still women ...

[@darrenraymond5334]

love this so much thank you

[@timchalk6810]

Love the 17p price on that stamp😂

[@BorderlandsLine]

Ha ha, if only it was that price today!

[@tangerinedream7211]

Straight level and fast in places the GC. Just what HS2 needed , biggest white elephant ever, plenty of groups/companies kept it going and hid the costs as they were doing very nicely thank you at taxpayers expense.

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

The GCR was never a suitable route for HS2. It needs to serve Birmingham and go up the M6 corridor to serve Liverpool and Manchester. Not the tortuous route through Sheffield and the Pennines. They should have demolished and dismantled the GCR route much more thoroughly. Fanboy foamers keep on claiming it should be rebuilt. Pure madness.

[@leeosborne3793]

​@@PreservationEnthusiastIt was never needed in the first place. It was never busy.

[@kevinrayner5812]

@@leeosborne3793 Isn't funny how now the lack of capacity keeps being brought up to justify the vast amount that HS2 is costing.

[@leeosborne3793]

@@kevinrayner5812 The lack of capacity is on the West Coast Main Line, which is not the route the Great Central followed. The Great Central duplicated the Midland Main Line, which still has plenty of capacity on it.

[@kevinrayner5812]

@@leeosborne3793 Well Manchester is in the WCML and Manchester was on the GCR and the Midland and both were closed and now they are complaining about lack of from such places as, well Manchester. Why when discussing the lack of capacity on the WCML is it never mention that the full capacity the the WCML upgrade in the 2000s was supposed to deliver never happened despite coming in vastly over the original budget. Who do the railways think they are trying to fool?

[@BorderlandsLine]

Would help if I could spell Marylebone correctly on the title screen. I will correct this today 😂

[@martinross5521]

I’m told it derives from Marie La Bonne - a nearby church. The Brits were never any good at French! 🤣

[@mosvids4152]

Shame so much was wasted on HS2. Upgrading the GCR would have been a much better option.

[@mrbojangles8133]

Marylebone kept going though

[@richardmellish2371]

It's a pity that it hasn't been possible to upload this with the correct aspect ratio,

[@brianfretwell3886]

Health & Safety would have a nightmare if people were allowed to behave as we did when Sir Nigel was a Marylebone nowadays! Good to see the ETHEL (Electric Train Heating Ex Locomotive), not an assistance diesel in the formation as well on the later Bullied trip. Just a pity the film was in the wrong aspect ratioo and stretched to 16:9 when it should have been $:3!

[@UKHeritageRailways]

During the 1950s my sister and I would stand on that footbridge at West Hampstead, (10.20), and delight in the steam and smoke bursting around us as a train came up the bank from the tunnels.

[@user-mr2bh6xe2s]

The Great Central could have been the start of HS2 how short sighted was BR in its day

[@keith3988]

Why is the aspect ratio wrong in this programme? It should be 4:3. Everything is distorted.

[@johnkeepin7527]

Enjoyable nostalgic footage; it would have been better to convert it in the original format - 4x3, not 16x9, though.

[@peezedtee]

Yes indeed, the aspect ratio is obviously wrong.

[@jamesorkathleenmckee7566]

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that the Marylebone station complex at one time had a 70 foot turntable that is now located at Fort William.

[@BorderlandsLine]

I can recall if Fort William has a turntable, I will have to take a journey up there to take a look

[@landhopper4296]

Some very condescending commentary from 1985! Lovely historic footage though.

[@johncourtneidge]

Crickey!

[@Simon-ui6db]

Certainly not like that now.

[@thoughtsonnarrowboatingwit3882]

A seriously more happier time… now unfortunately, our country is being systematically brought down…

[@nectafarious8842]

Who the heck is 'Terence Cunneo'?

[@michaelnewman1920]

Artist who painted the original locomotives for the stamps