Hooton to Lime Street via Halton Curve

[@BladeRunner21577]

Great video, amazing to actually see Halton Curve being used. I saw it only twice in my lifetime workiing the PWay up there

[@brianyoung5532]

Many thanks for the fine video, I have never been on the line to Ellesmere Port and beyond.

[@BobbyB681366]

The train was nothing special, just one of Northern Rail's DMUs, but the run was celebrating the 150th year of running between Hooton and Helsby. (See my video Hooton to Helsby for additional footage.) The Halton curve is a rarely used stretch of track hence the interest in this cab ride.

[@sw01ller]

Bob Brown was the driver checking with the signaller at the curve about that signal coming off? Looked to me to only come off half mast. All irrelevant now as it has a colour light signal these days.

[@peterwhitaker4038]

sometimes i go Liverpool Lime Street to Frodsham on Transport for Wales to meet a friend and have a drink. perfect for me this route nice scenery love THE bridge crossing and after a good few pints in Frodsham sit back and relax. why would anyone drive if a train can get you there and back?

[@grahamjpjones]

Would have preferred the train sounds instead of the dire music

[@zabadak68]

Nice one Bob and team:-) I'm fairly certain I rode a train with my father to the North Wales coast via the Halton Curve, as a child in the Seventies. Went from Liverpool Lime Street. Can remember it being a hot afternoon and seeing the traffic below on the M56.

[@ericwilliams2122]

great video! the music was good too. very fitting. many thanks.

[@michaelnunnery6394]

It’s great to see the old signal boxes. Thank You for making this video

[@rob11rr]

A great vid Bob, very interesting, I had no knowledge of Halton Curve, a fascinating route, thanks for sharing. 😊

[@skirkh]

Fantastic video. Any plans to release the realtime video without the music? Would love to see that. In any case, one of the better quality cab ride videos out there! Thank you!

[@carlarthur4442]

I worked the original boxs at Hooton North and Hooton South as a Signalman in the late sixties including , Bromborough , Port Sunlight , and Rockferry, every box including James St P S B .

[@ScouseTrainspotter1999]

love seeing ditton train station from that view and the halton curve very good vid

[@CliqueSpace]

I imagine the driver is playing the overlaid music in his head while having the scenery, in going about one's day job in a trance state induced by the music, go past him at four times the speed it normally would. I thought it was thoroughly digable, thank you.

[@thetrouserpressguy603]

Great video. Love the background music. It goes well with the vintage BTF-style end credits.

[@IndiaJim]

love it Bob, well done, you set the standard for Cab Rides

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[@israeljamison5143]

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[@israeljamison5143]

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[@alanmaycock4976]

On the approach to Lime Street, the tunnel names are a bit awry. You missed one out after the Smithdown Lane Tunnel, I think it's called the Crown Street Tunnel. Thereafter the names are one out, so the Russell Street Tunnel appears too early, leaving the actual Russell Street Tunnel, immediately adjacent to Lime Street Station, unnamed in your captions.

[@peterbrown3069]

Service beyond Ellesmere Port to Helsby soon to be resumed when new Merseyrail trains come into service by means of battery power.

[@caramelldansen2204]

We'll see.

[@mikebutler3263]

Don't want music, just the train noise.

[@leathandrubb]

We've got a Sutton next to us here at Askern near Doncaster.

[@kurtarmbruster]

Very enjoyable and interesting; curious, the "neither here nor there" positions of some of the semaphores, and how weedy and shabby-looking even busy mainline stretches appear. I enjoyed the music, too. Thanks for sharing this fun ride.

[@caramelldansen2204]

Austerity and anti-rail (pro-car) politics have ravaged the North and her railways. The sheer amount of abandoned and destroyed railways along this route alone would make your jaw drop. Profit has been and always will be the greatest destroyer of railways, as it is to most things.

[@andrewbrown6786]

As random as the signal placing may seem, it is quite interesting learning why they were placed there. Many semaphores reflect layouts that have long since gone and signals left because it saved cost. As for shabby looking trackside, that is pretty standard all over the country, sad to say. It would be something that could only be managed with a good computer system. Track maintenance is hard enough.

[@BladeRunner21577]

Titles should be edited. Ethelfleda Bridge. Wavertree junction starts 11:38 - 11:40 Downhill sidings start on the left at 11:54, Edge hill Carriage sidings further left but out of shot. The remains of "Viaduct junction" are at 11:59 The joining of the old L&MR alignment start at 12:01 with The Bootle Branch ending and the Tuebrook sidings starting on the furthest right 12:06 left on the screen, ramp starts for "Viaduct junction" further left, out of shot would be the start of Downhill and Edge hill C.S 12:09 left of picture is Gullet sidings, Tuebrook sidings to the far right. 12:13 left of shot Wapping tunnel headshunt starts. Spekeland road good station would have been in the distance, now beyond the treeline. 12:14 starts Edge hill railway station. The worlds oldest railway station that is still in use as a railway station and is still close to its original condition.

[@frankhan8993]

6:33 This railway view is so British that I don't even need to explain it and you will know that I am talking about

[@geezerbigfoot]

i didnt mind the music sorta caffe shop jaz like a book b4 bed slows the brain ok vid i liv near e port station found it of interest thanks

[@6yjjk]

Man, that xylophone player is off the CHAIN!

[@RichardFelstead1949]

The Halton Curve looks like it might have been double track in bygone days.

[@taffboyslim]

Definitely

[@nwguyuk]

It certainly was - With double junctions at both Halton and Frodsham Junction - Railtrack singled it in 1994, as a precursor to closing the line completely. Alas, it is now to be reinstated with junction accessing both directions again at boths ends, but will remain singled....... at least for the time being.

[@neilasher8319]

Yes, used to be double track. I used to travel often from Frodsham to Runcorn or Liverpool LS via the Halton Curve and travelled on the last train in 1975 over the route. It was a real loss. I always knew that there was potential for a service from LLS to Chester via the curve and I'm so pleased it has reopened in 2019 with a good service calling at Frodsham and Helsby.

[@flippop101]

Superb film and greatly appreciated! Thank you!

[@thetraingangs]

is this a regular service or just a one off special, there seem to be a lot of photographers, what loco or unit was it?

[@doodemog]

My horse lives just round the corner from Hooton

[@TIMBOWERMAN]

When l saw the third rail, l thought it was Hooton in Surrey, on the Brighton Main Line.

[@markcf83]

That's Hooley.

[@jimcrawford5039]

Is that 3rd rail electric? Enjoyed the video! Cheers from Australia.

[@Teithio_cymraeg]

Is the full version of this video out there ?

[@michael1967812]

May be should be direct from Hooton station extra platform station to Liverpool Lime Street main line station via Halton Curve through via Ellesmere Port with either Class 150 or Class 195 DMUs or maybe rebuild the new modern classes 101, 123, 124, 115 with four cars compartments 6x6 seaters with fitted table and bin near bottom underneath the window and free wi-fi each corner seats usb and plug chargers in the near future dmus.

[@stevejones4275]

how does the train go without the third rail?

[@joetraynor4396]

Does anybody know what train is being driven ??

[@yamahonduki]

would love to see this at normal speed without the music, cos speeded up and annoying music spoils it for me. you should reupload at normal speed.

[@berniestep]

change playback speed in Settings, then turn your speakers off. job done!

[@deathrider7]

I prefer to have the noise of the train. The music is pretty bad, but each to their own.

[@jerrydowse5061]

Hi bob,nice video.please can you show it in real time.? Cheers

[@dawncook5675]

Hi Jerry, Sorry, not able to download in real time, I no longer have the original footage. It would have taken up too much of my computer's memory. Glad you enjoyed the video, Bob.

[@radiocaroline199]

what a fab video would love to ride halton curve his it just one train are need to change

[@johnburns4017]

How did the train get back? It can't use the Halton Curve. The curve is being reinstated with two tracks.

[@nwguyuk]

The Warrington to Chester route is still accessible via Warrington Bank Quay and the Chat Moss Line into Liverpool, if it was required - However, as the parliamentary service only ran once a week, the train was likely too form another Northern service from Lime Street to elsewhere on the network, as opposed to returning back to where it came from. (The service use to run empty stock via Warrington to get too Hooton / Ellesmere Port in the first place) And there are no plans to double track the Halton Curve - It will remain single, however there will be crossovers put back in at either end at Halton Junction and Frodsham Junction, to enable Bi-direction running once again.

[@JackJolley]

Interestingly new plans to reopen this stretch of railway have been announced and will reopen in the next 2-5 years

[@Bogeyboy-kz8uu]

Nope this year

[@sw01ller]

Bogeyboy3010 nope, next year! Haha

[@SiVlog1989]

Is the Halton curve, with its extremely sparse one direction only utilisation, so rarely used so as to encourage people to use Merseyrail to get to Liverpool?

[@agent_605]

No, it's more likely that it's quicker to use Merseyrail so people didn't use the route through the Halton Curve, hence it's lack of services

[@agent_605]

stephen crowther Actually that isn’t really true. Although TfW will use 100mph trains, they’ll rarely, if ever, use that speed, and will also go the long way round. It takes 20 minutes from Runcorn to Liverpool at the moment, plus another 15 to Frodsham from Chester. The parliamentary service that used to use the line then took another 10 minutes from Frodsham to Runcorn. That’s 45 minutes anyway, which will likely run less frequently as well, and stops at Lime Street, further from the city centre than Merseyrail which goes almost right where you want.

[@agent_605]

stephen crowther I live in Liverpool. I use Merseyrail all the time. Merseyrail stops at James Street and Liverpool Central, which are closer to the main attractions such as Liverpool ONE and the Waterfront, whilst Lime Street is a good 10-20 minute walk away. And if you change on to Merseyrail, you’ll likely get the same train you would’ve got if you went via Merseyrail in the first place

[@FuliCuddlesFangirl]

6:45 yay the class 175 made it in the video

[@steve71p]

Excellent, very informative.

[@jimcrawford5039]

It’s alright, I did’nt wait! Lol.

[@chaturongarchary9773]

This only one has also easy music... Feel good..

[@weepair2]

Kill me now. The highlight was the music change.

[@stephenhoward5959]

All these daft complaints about the music, turn the sound down/off, problem solved ffs.

[@internet123ism2]

Good one.

[@daryl2510]

I love the video - great! But the background music sounds rather like a 70s porn video! ;) lol Nevertheless, an entertaining 'ride' - thanks :)

[@greatbritishentertainmentl5636]

An admission from your past Daryl? lol

[@andrewjames3908]

it remined me of the sort of thing a magician would play during a stage performance

[@robtyman4281]

The soundtrack doesn't go with the film. It's a nice soundtrack but too off-putting in this case with this film. Best to not have any music. Let the footage speak for itself and have captions every so often.

[@foto2011]

You could just turn down the volume. No-one is forcing you to listen to music you don’t like. Only complain if you cannot turn it down or off.

[@dawncook5675]

I guess I'll have to study '70s porn videos to avoid musical blunders!

[@robloxprogamerfnaftvlol9124]

no songs please

[@ElzevereBlock]

No music please Bob, it didn't spoil it but it contributed nothing either. Thankyou anyway.

[@Samuel_Hearfield]

Thanks for the vid dude. I too am making train journeys but I need a few tips to make my vids better. Great vid BTW. If you could check my train vids out and give some constructive criticism that would be great. I definitely could do with your input.

[@stuartadair]

What an opportunity to view an unusual route....Completely ruined with daft music.

[@roytabberer7427]

Nothing stopping you turning the sound down or off.

[@peter-e2q]

Silence would have been better!

[@simonkirkbright5197]

Reminded me of Artdinks A-Train software soundtrack

[@garrybrookes337]

Silence is a selectable option!! I used it.....

[@daryl2510]

A great video - spoiled by corny 1970s porn music in the background!

[@paulbryan6716]

Why is this speeded? Got something against normal speed? Most people prefer normal speed instead of this shit.

[@drwho6229]

Music is TACKY!!! 😠👎 Reminds me of the day when TV had that test card on BBC 1& 2 😠