London's Lost Railways Ep.12 - Uxbridge High Street

We're up to Episode 12 of London's Lost Railways, and I've returned to Uxbridge which had another station - Uxbridge High Street - many many years ago, with the alignment to the mainline now being turned into a delightful nature trail. This one is a wonderful walk amongst nature ...
Download the London's Lost Railways map here: www.geofftech.co.uk/downloads...
Here's a PDF showing you the walks you can do around Frays Farm and Denham Lock Woods: www.colnevalleypark.org.uk/wp...
Henry's Adventure channel also has a nice video on the Lost Stations of Uxbridge: • Lost Stations of Uxbri...
More station info:
Uxbridge High Street : www.disused-stations.org.uk/u/...
Many thanks to illustrations by David Kirwin

[@clairejordan6506]

Nice to know all the places I used to bunk off school and drink cheap cider haven't changed much

[@raindancecru]

haha yep!

[@kake_dnb1422]

😂😂😂😂

[@kake_dnb1422]

The graffiti just makes it the perfect environment

[@madmuppet8039]

Yep me too, and riding my skateboard down the old curly wurly bridge 😆

[@dazzlingdaz187]

I hope when this series ends it will morph seamlessly into London's Lost Canals

[@RatelHBadger]

I'm still waiting for Jay Foreman to make a cameo appearance doing an "unfinished London" piece.

[@JeMappelleFrikandel]

London's lost bus stops.

[@vsurfinbirdv]

London's Lost Shopping Trolleys

[@llwyde1104]

London's newest craze... allotments...

[@cesariojpn]

@@RatelHBadger Think he's busy with Map Men.

[@Nick-kz6dg]

Geoff walking through a nature reserve. Jay Foreman jumps out of the bushes: "And this nature reserve I'm currently... oh, wrong video..." MAKE IT HAPPEN GEOFF!!

[@TheCaptScarlett]

Geoff, you bring an almost Attenbourough-esque enthusiasm to finding rotten railway sleepers and rusty track pins "And yet here, down among the leaf litter, we find a sleeper in its natural environment"

[@marthaanderson2656]

plus that old tie was acting as a nurse log for mosses and small green plants.

[@supernick345]

4:41 - Those imagined steam trains sound slightly like US Freight Locos! Anything possible in your imagination of course!

[@kevelliott]

I thought exactly the same thing!

[@MrDavil43]

Weren't there a few USA 2-8-0 freight locos on the mainlines around here after WW2?

[@Sim0nTrains]

The only thing that disappointed me that there was no shopping trollies and allotments lol but other than that, the video wasn't disappointing. This was brilliant to watch, honestly cannot wait for the Parkland Walk!

[@sabinebogensperger1928]

There was a shopping trolley! I walked the route today and there's a very overgrown, upside down one barely visible! 🛒

[@JamesTheBell1]

Has anyone else noticed that in the opening title cards for this series the bird(s) is/are in a different place every time? A nice little touch.

[@MrDanmjack]

I spent my childhood playing around there. Can’t count how many times I’ve walked along that old railway embankment. Thanks for the vid.

[@fyshfysh]

kind of incredible and chastening to think about how much of london i never saw despite living there for 15 years. this is a fantastic series.

[@angelamillgate9847]

It’s interesting how the Ciltern main line and the grand union follow similar routes and end up very close together through the outskirts of Birmingham. Really enjoying this series.

[@peterbrown7092]

I can remember walking up the embankment onto the alignment (near your Drone shot) when I was a kid and finding the overgrown tracks still in place. Had great fun playing pretending to be a western-style damsel in distress. Then I went up a few months later and they were gone! Must have been about 7. That has always stuck in my mind. Thanks for taking me back,,, and to the Pony-Trap bridge on the canal.

[@paulinehedges5088]

So pleased you found those sleepers! Proof indeed. Really enjoying these.

[@yeetsmate4037]

Nice video! I never knew this much about London's Abandoned Railways even though I love railways and have lived in London my whole life.

[@f1stc47]

Would love to see a "London's Lost Waterways" series, or even another series on the current canals in London. I also agree with Geoff, canals may actually be better than railways, in my opinion.

[@marthaanderson2656]

This is my favorite use of old rails; Rails to Trails are so vital in keeping a bit of nature in urban and suburban places

[@robertbutlin3708]

Wren singing lustily at the start.

[@robertbutlin3708]

And Chiffchaff at 2:10.

[@geofftech2]

@@robertbutlin3708 I love how your naming the birds just from the sounds!! 🐦

[@robertbutlin3708]

@@geofftech2 Chiffchaff is quite simple. It sounds like it says on the tin. But like lots of things a bit of practice is needed.

[@winstonsmasterplan]

Please do a canal series, there is so much history to be told on the canals

[@sabinebogensperger1928]

Geoff, I walked the Uxbridge High Street route today (a slightly different way between the A40 and the Frays Farm Meadow a little west of the alignment) and you have missed the upside down, much overgrown shopping trolley in the nettles, just opposite from the steps down by the foot passage at about 2:22 minutes!!! 👍🛒 The embankment running through Alderglade nature reserve offered a few bits of ironworks (track) so we spotted some railway paraphernalia here although we didn't see the sleepers past the A40 due to our detour! 👍 A great video and a lovely walk this morning, thank you for the inspiration. 👏🥾

[@RandomHuman4022]

I love the phrase "railway paraphernalia", I need my fix of old sleepers and bridges!

[@Jimyjames73]

Very Good Geoff - Lovely views 🙂🚂🚂🚂

[@collectivelyimprovingtrans2460]

I looked on Google Maps and I found it instantly. It is indeed a nature reserve and these railways are good at being seen

[@LeoStarrenburg]

Try maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=14&lat=51.56742&lon=-0.47640&layers=10&b=1 to travel back in time.

[@katherinebirkett4706]

2 mins 7 seconds - lovely recording of a Chiffchaff singing.....

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Cannot wait for Lucky 13!

[@Pwizz8]

Went through the road I grew up on ( braybourne close) most my childhood I found most of these old tracks through the woods. Mixture of country forest one side and the Urban high street on Uxbridge the other.

[@arjansandhuynwa9117]

Nice piece of history

[@timsully8958]

Interesting stuff Geoff. I have a couple of old stills of High Street and nothing more so this is all good stuff! I do like how once you have half an eye for it, railway works on Google maps become a doddle to recognise, if not always to find necessarily! 😜 That spot with the two lakes look idyllic! 😎 Glad you found some crumbly remnants and rusting infrastructure, as that must always be a real bonus 😎👍 Cheers mate, have a great weekend 🍀🍻

[@rajjy1976]

Greg???

[@timsully8958]

@@rajjy1976: haha, well spotted. Amended accordingly. Brain fart #2748😜

[@grahamkent2868]

As always thoroughly enjoyable, when I'm in London next I'll be using these video's as reference, tracing the canals would be a great chapter2, cheers.

[@SomewhereInIndiana1816]

Beautiful scenery 😍 enjoyed the video 😊

[@roderickmain9697]

Ancient infrastructure is always interesting. Sometimes railways get resuscitated into "heritage" lines, canals too get refurbished and reopened (allegedly, more canal boats on the canals today then when canals had their heyday) and the occasional airfield...well not that I've seen reopened but... Triangular railway connections are always interesting after I found out a few years ago that if a terminus couldnt afford or didnt have the space for a turntable, then a triangular junction could be used for turning your steam engine around. Once you know that, you start finding these sorts of junctions everywhere.

[@amethyst7084]

Learning so much all the time with each one of Geoff's videos on London's lost railways. I'd always assumed that Uxbridge was really far-flung to have an abandoned railway, but this video (as with Geoff's others) proves history provided different settings. Another extremely interesting video. **Thanks again Geoff!!** 🚉 👏🏾

[@steamsearcher]

3;52 GREAT WESTERN SLEEPER from underneath. Unusual shot but we have a chair with the 2 bolts from the Radstock branch!!! David and Lily Reading.

[@arcticbeak]

I hadn't thought London were so rural :D

[@Danburybeeches]

So glad you like canals as well Geoff!

[@johnburns5424]

Geoff. Thanks for doing this. Brings back memories of when I used to walk from Uxbridge to/from Denham Court where I was living there in the early 1970s as a pre-teenager - that may be the "sports club" you mentioned - now a Golf Course next to now what is Denham Country Park. The under the A40 structure I had forgotten about - it never had graffiti on it then. Even the bridge over the canal at the end brought back memories of the walk alongside the canal as used to go over it to get to the other side as the path ran out.

[@geofftech2]

You’re welcome John! Thank you, lovely comment. 😄👍

[@robertwaltz1040]

Hi Geoff, I walked throught that reserve with some rail buff friends of mine a few weeeks back. About halfway from the Braybourne Close entrance towards that "tunnel" we found more evidence of the railway in the form of some abandoned railway lines complete with chairs attached, half buried in the undergrowth.

[@ealing_lad]

The Uxbridge galleries have been litter picked over the last 12 weeks by Hillingdon Litter Pickers (Facebook group), over 1,000 sacks of ancient rubbish have been removed. Good news is that the artists are now able to keep it clear themselves. Thank you to all involved!

[@peterobrien7179]

I remember this line well, the local coal merchant was in the goods yard. The station was made of wood and just rotted away after closure. I have a sign from the station and other stuff picked up when I walked the line after it was closed.

[@MrSammotube]

What this series shows is how much nature and greenery is available throughout London (not just the big parks).

[@damianknight8064]

I will have to do this explore myself as its local to me.

[@gregf9160]

That bridge (and the Canada Geese) are the most beautiful things 🤗

[@geordieal]

Canada geese can not and should not ever be described as beautiful things.. They are evil, vicious, noisy psychopaths with wings...big painful wings 🤣

[@sabinebogensperger1928]

Thank you for another fantastic video! I may have to go on another walk inspired by your video soon! 👍🥾

[@LKBRICKS1993]

Love this series very interesting.Your videos have kept me entertained.

[@danrkelly]

Inspiring me to get and explore as ever. Cheers.

[@cheesedoff-with4410]

At 4m19s I thought, it's over. He's going to stumble upon the little known Bridge Top Allotments. But no! The secret is safe.

[@MrGreatplum]

Who knew there was such demand to get railway lines into Uxbridge? Another excellent video! 👍🏻

[@andyh444]

I love this series. Informative, it captures a sense of beauty sometimes, a sense of loss other times. The enthusiasm is really great to see.

[@JulieBCrafty]

Love your use of the word 'chuffing'! Am really enjoying this series (even if I am a bit late to the party!).

[@tonywallow964]

Nicely done

[@Mullet94]

I did this as part of walk this weekend, I managed to get up on the bridge that crossed the River Frays hoping there would be some track, it was heavily overgrown, no track but there were some old sleepers on the bridge.

[@LeoStarrenburg]

3:38 I'm taking this ... home !

[@JoyAskew-jy6rx]

My daily walk, really interesting… you missed some rails and other ironmongery along the way 😊

[@robbiefstrains9083]

Hi Geoff. I did part of this walk last year and there is a piece of rail still attached to two chairs just off to the right of the path that runs through the nature reserve. The track bed itself used to run parallel to the path on top of the embankment. Great video - keep them coming!

[@iloveimageprocessing]

Did you visit Denham Deep Lock? Just south of that final bridge. For next time, 3K north of that bridge, just off the canal and up the hill is The Old Orchard from which is probably the nicest view of the Grand Union you'll ever get.

[@phil_p]

If you like canals and railways I know where there’s an abandoned railway bridge over a canal... just south of Enfield lock on the Lee navigation. There was a branch line in to the Enfield arms factory.

[@PokhrajRoy.]

3:23 What a brilliant shot!

[@wastelandwanderer9491]

Have enjoyed this series immensely, So fascinating.

[@samburrow8099]

Thanks Geoff, another great video, those lakes and reserves look lovely!

[@christinaburton9297]

Thank you! Surprisingly rural , London..

[@QHarefield]

Thank you, Geoff, a very interesting vlog - and a very interesting series, for that matter.

[@P1nkR]

These videos are just excellent. Looking forward to the next one already!

[@no1init253]

Just done this walk, I followed a different path north from the A40 & managed to walk across the Frays river bridge, for all those going to the end take the left hand fork when you see a tree with 19 on it

[@TopAbandonedPlacesURBEX]

When I see the sign private property keep out on a long abandoned railway line it attracts me in lol makes me wonder what’s there

[@Mortimer50145]

Likewise. It's a crying shame that all the Beechinged railway lines weren't converted to footpaths and cycle tracks to preserve them as transport routes. But that was too forward-looking for the 1960s ;-) I hadn't realised that the Uxbridge High Street line stayed open for freight until the 1960s. I'd assumed it closed for everything (tracks lifted etc) in the 1930s. I wonder if the fate of both the High Street and Vine Street branches would have been different if the High Street to Vine Street link had been built, providing another connection between the Birmingham and Reading arms of the GWR. maps.nls.uk/view/101454898 (6" = 1 mile OS map, revised 1913) shows it as "railway in course of construction".

[@ZeldaFitz]

Well done Geoff on getting this video done, I know there is not a great deal to see nowadays, but interesting all the same. The remains of high street station were still in situ until 1981. I think you can get access to that bridge from somewhere along the canal, I cycled over it about 16 years ago.

[@jamesabbott5242]

Awesome video

[@ianashleigh]

When I lived in Harefield, I used to walk over the bridge at the 'wrap-up' when I went for walks along the canal at weekends. Also, I believe that at least one of the lakes in that area is from quarrying when the M25 was built.

[@petermc7098]

Hello Geoff, this is a really good series and this was an interesting walk and in particular it's interesting to see that you found some old railway infrastructure, a footbridge and so much more. Cheers Peter :)

[@shaunwest3612]

Great video Geoff, beautiful scenery 👌👍

[@TheMisterB2u]

Excellent videos in this series and very informative!

[@swyrles4541]

I used to live near here! Cycled down the golf club to the canal, and along the lakes all the time. Kinda miss how many lovely nature areas were just a short cycle away

[@davidsheriff8989]

Great to see, I used to drive this area weekly in the mid 90s

[@TheTransportHub17]

Another great video Geoff.

[@omblae]

Have you been to the bristol to bath railway path? There are a number of disused stations along the route, including one complete with platforms and an old ticket hall from 1896 (Mangotsfield Railway Station). There's also a lovely signal box at the junction with a railway cafe. Also a massively beautiful and scenic route to get from Bristol to bath

[@Mortimer50145]

I walked along sections of that line many times when I was at university in Bristol, in the early 80s. More recently I took my bike there, parking at Oldland and cycling into Bristol via Mangotsfield, from Bristol to Bath on the A4 and then back to the car along the line from Bath Green Park. As if that ride wasn't enough, I then drove to Midford and cycled south as far as I could - this was in the days before the route was opened north to Bath through Combe Down and Devonshire tunnels.

[@alanreader4815]

That was really good thanks geoff. :)

[@charlieattwater1886]

Great work on your railways adventures around london

[@alanclarke4646]

I like canals and railways more or less equally.😁

[@rain9359]

i Really like this series

[@jasonuk8333]

I work for Buckinghamshire New University, although very rarely at the Uxbridge campus. I knew of the existence of the Uxbridge High Street station but thought it was on the site of the office block opposite the university building, so it's nice to have that corrected. Thanks for a very informative and entertaining series of videos!

[@rajjy1976]

106 Oxford Rd used to be the Head Office for an IT company I worked for in the mid 90s.

[@scythal]

That looks like a really lovely place for a walk!

[@EddiesLife247Gaming]

Keep up the great video series :)

[@mumfnah]

Good stuff. I used to go there to see the graffiti in the 90s/00s. And your upcoming Episode 13, Parkland Walk, was another old line I used to walk and chill out for the afternoon watching the paint dry... under the bridges at Crouch End. It's a nice walk through there, though it's been about 10 years since I last visited

[@RaymondHonderdors]

After living in uxbridge for 2 years, never knew this

[@amethyst7084]

If you get a chance - please do something on the freight rail network. !👍🏾

[@temslink2000]

Ayyy its my uni gonna use this fact when i go back again in sept hehe good video Geoff

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Always happy to watch these videos. Thank you, Geoff.

[@HenrysAdventures]

I walked this one last Summer and found some rails on their side soon after you come into Alderglade Nature Reserve! I see you've found one of my favourite bridges in Denham! The one over the Grand Union Canal at the end.

[@geofftech2]

hey Henry! have a look in the description, i already linked to your video, yes!

[@HenrysAdventures]

@@geofftech2 Thank you very much! :)

[@jamescorkish8954]

If you get a chance look up the derwent light railway. Most of its gone but its turned into a circular cycle path around York. Nicknamed the blackberry line cos of a tradition of letting passengers pick the berries when they were in season

[@jamiewrigglesworth2123]

Love these videos.... not sure if it's been put forward yet, but have you looked at the lost railways in the docklands area like Beckton Corridor, the Greenway (Beckton (ish) - Stratford) and the Silvertown Tramway?? would love to learn some of the history there!

[@AchyutChaudhary]

Cannot wait for the parkland Walk episode! Will there be a Croxley Green episode as well?

[@ironmantrains]

That train sound was a diesel train's horn...

[@collectivelyimprovingtrans2460]

1:45 That triangle is called a "wye"

[@cjayos7654]

4:33-4:49 - great photography 👍

[@LEGENDGAMING99]

Can you do Maidenhead to high Wycombe line please disused abandoned

[@tonearmgray9537]

That's some pretty cool camera work starting at 4:32!

[@anniesoernym]

My Bingo card does appreciate your mention of allotments 😁 Wonderful video again! 👍🏻

[@geofftech2]

Have we had one yet where we’ve ticked off ALL the words ??!

[@anniesoernym]

@@geofftech2 not that I am aware of? 🤔 I haven't yet had time to thoroughly watch *all* the others, though.

[@anniesoernym]

@@geofftech2 having now watched all of them, I don't think there's one with ALL the words ticked off, _yet_ . Ep. 6 seems to have come closest

[@capturedlondon]

Yay Go Bucks New Uni class of ‘96

[@geordieal]

“One thing I like more than railways” seven words I never thought I’d hear in one of your videos!

[@chrismccartney8668]

Amazing how many lost in London the one I know of is Hall Farm Curve which a group us trying to get re instated...

[@lc3909]

I used to live in/around Uxbridge area but now I live in Essex and I knew that building in Vine Street was a station. There's also a field near Brunel University that has some old tram lines too.

[@lc3909]

My friend lives in Braybourne Close 😁

[@lc3909]

I went under the A40 bridge with my college class but then it got ruined with fly tipping 😔

[@MartinAhlman]

How about a series of railway pubs/restaurants? Famous ones (or once...), infamous ones, there must be a lot of them!

[@tmb8807]

Years ago I seem to remember there was a very sketchy proposal (I think from Chiltern Railways) to re-use the alignment from Denham as part of a route to Heathrow. It would have entered a tunnel just outside Uxbridge, then surfaced the other side (around West Drayton) and connected with the existing line to Heathrow. Not quite the connection that was originally envisaged... unsurprisingly it came to nothing.

[@TheCaptScarlett]

There's a thinking that given time HS2 will build a spur off to Heathrow at this point, utterly blighting Denham and the Colne Valley - but hey that's progress

[@tmb8807]

@@TheCaptScarlett Really? Surely it'd be easy enough to change at Old Oak Common for CrossElizPurp Line?

[@TheCaptScarlett]

@@tmb8807 there's nothing logical about HS2. Why it doesn't connect with Stratford/HS1 so that you can have direct services to the continent rather than into Euston and then an enforced change to St Pancras beats me

[@tmb8807]

@@TheCaptScarlett Indeed. One could argue the pandemic has obviated the need for it completely, given that physical presence has been demonstrated to be less necessary than previously thought when conducting many types of business. Still, it is what it is.