New Measurement Train Driver's Eye View: Glasgow Central to Edinburgh via Carstairs

Welcome aboard 43062 which has just returned to traffic after an overhaul and repaint. It's taking us from Glasgow Central to Edinburgh Waverley via Carstairs on the New Measurement Train as part of its journey as 1Q26 from Derby RTC to Edinburgh.

[@DavidLancstrainspotting]

Saw you at preston on Tuesday morning videoed your departure thanks for the tone really appreciate it made my day

[@Rabchog]

The sound track of that diesel engine is awesome with my headphones on!

[@backwheelbob46rr]

16 years a signalman now and everytime I watch one of these I know how much I chose the wrong career, excellent video thanks 👍🏼

[@paulmacdonald4530]

Maybe you’re just in the wrong box? 😜

[@backwheelbob46rr]

@@paulmacdonald4530 your probably right, I got offered a job at Edinburgh iecc 2 years ago but had to turn it down for reasons at the time I could do nothing about, I look back with huge regret for not taking that job.

[@xxfyrezgamerxx6279]

Don't say that pal. I'm 21 and I've always wanted to be a freight loco driver as my grandfather worked with B.R. from 1960-1990, but I got epilepsy back in 2017, though I have learned a lot about railway from just doing research and playing tsw4 didn't take long to figure out how to get things moving, i usually play in class 66 or class 37 with the aws system, dsd system and the dra system on

[@backwheelbob46rr]

@@xxfyrezgamerxx6279 the railways a great place to be mate I just wish I'd gone as a driver rather than a signaller, a freight loco drivers job would be perfect 👍🏼

[@cmtransportvids]

Haha, me in the yellow jacket there when you leave Glasgow! Great video as usual

[@rickschell7874]

Thank you for another great video.😊

[@bobbrooks266]

Absolutely brilliant. Thank you

[@amtrakharry]

That was excellent Ben !!! Loved every minute of it...:):):) Thank you for sharing it with us...:):):)

[@martinmarsola6477]

Another interesting video this day. Always great scenery to watch and enjoy. Thanks Ben. Cheers mate! 🇬🇧👍🙂🇺🇸

[@javierguidounicaud6621]

Thank you for this video. It was a nice and interesting cab ride.

[@hughmnyks]

Thanks for a thoroughly enjoyable ride with grand stations at both ends! Enjoyed the sound and followed the entire route on my digital OS map!

[@williamsanger3868]

most interesting viewing, so see the route from the drivers cab, Brilliant

[@nmb46]

Always say, I respect someone that is good at their job, you are good at your job Ben and it shows! thanks for sharing the video. Loved it.

[@tomcarr1358]

What a good idea. Unusual routes and a chance to see what is going on from the inspectors point of view. Good background noises

[@oddities-whatnot]

Superb quality, nice countryside between the urban areas

[@jonathanparry9505]

Thanks for sharing

[@zulfiqarali9808]

It was lovely quick visual treat..watched this whole My love for the two great stations Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley..and all that lies around tracks between them

[@TrainspottingGB]

Managed to catch me videoing you, honestly funny to see it from this perspective. Thank you for the tones, really made my day (should have my point of view posted soon)!

[@Adullamite]

Thank you for this. Testing the track at speed, this must give the engineers at their laptops something to think about.

[@alitob5911]

Wonderful. Fabulous. Thanks. Loved every minute of that. Most relaxing hour of my day! As someone who spent years with his nose pressed to the glass bulkheads behind the driver's cab on the much-loved Class 303 EMUs (aka the "Blue Train"), it was a joy to travel over some of the same tracks... well, I guess the tracks have been replaced but the cuttings and embankments are broadly similar. It was also great to see one of Lanarkshire's greatest placenames get a credit, as we sped past Gowkthrapple. Also, interesting to speculate on how many disused stations with visible remains we passed through on that journey. There were at least three in the first six minutes of the video! Thanks again. 😊

[@ramonwilliams5721]

Enjoyed your video friend, I might have said before, as a ex steam Fireman/Driver it a whole new world you lads are working in🚂🚂

[@RichardFelstead1949]

Greetings from Australia. Thanks for sharing.

[@user-ts5ve3if8s]

Just amazed at how many platforms Edinburgh Waverley Station has. How passengers find their trains in this station is beyond words but the bonus is to admire the architecture of the station.

[@epender]

One of the worst stations ever if you ever have to make a tight connection or have a last minute platform change. Overall, it just has a messy layout with somewhat unintuitive platform numbers, some being behind the ticket barriers while the others aren't. Last weekend I struggled to find Platform 20, turns out the way to get there is through a staircase that branches off the elevated walkway just at the bottom of the Waverley steps. I should've known that Platform 20 would be right next to Platform 1.

[@paulmark63]

Thank you 🙏 Ben great ride Paul in kent

[@grahamchadwick5242]

excellent , cheers Ben

[@johnhopkinson695]

Thanks Ben.

[@garybroadhurst3548]

Only two days ago - thanks for such a quick upload. You must have rushed home and edited it right away and I'm sure everybody appreciates your hard work. The engine noise is more clearly audible here than your other NMT videos. A slightly different mic. positioning (after the one in the 37 engine room)? Love it!

[@mikecawood]

Very enjoyable video, watched it in 1440p.

[@Jack_Warner]

Lovely, this is crystal clear quality. A far cry from those awful VHS tapes from Railscene.

[@user-kh6mk4gg8y]

This is a delight...a Line I did not know existed...thank you...and I did not have to leave home in Bournemouth nor buy a Ticket!...dgp

[@tompope7756]

Cant beat the sound of a 125 as it's winding up to notch 5 and at full chat weather its an MTU, VP185 or the Holy grale Valenta. Also excellent Vid Ben as always 👏

[@thegreyfolk]

Really enjoyed this! Thank you. Looks like it was an early start for the crew . Wonder what the early railway engineers would think, to see this testing completed at such high speed.

[@tonysrailwayadventure2729]

great video there Ben

[@jessicamorgan3073]

Thanks Ben!

[@pgchase4578043026]

Always good to see new (for me) territory.

[@hamshackleton]

Shows just how big Waverley station really is. I went there, once, on a railtour. When we were due to go back, we couldn't find our train anywhere - then another random passenger said there were more platforms over the footbridge and behind the brick wall! About 100 people rushed up and over, to catch the train about three minutes before it was due to leave, wth all the train staff wondering where all their passengers were! (wandering around in the concourse, looking for the BR Maroon coaches and steam engine!)

[@jvgreendarmok]

Was it shortly after the platforms were re-numbered in 2006-7?

[@alanmorr3635]

Great video Ben, Edinburgh Waverly is a very large station, from the east end of platform 19 to the entrance at Princess St it can take some people 15 minutes

[@jonathanp89]

Lmao, I take it you haven't been to St. Pancreas/ Gar Du Nord, Amsterdam Central, Berlin Central. Waverly lmao 😅😅😅😅

[@heartsineurope]

​@jonathanp89 I've been to all these (and much more) I still consider Waverly large

[@webrarian]

I don't know if anyone else listens to the audio (while watching the video) on large floor-standing speakers, but some of the rumbles made things in my room rattle. Excellent sound quality!

[@alanmolyneux5957]

Very good video.

[@Grid56]

Great video. Long live the HST. Gets to 60 faster than my TSW one does. I always find it funny when you see "fast line" with a 30 20 or less limit !

[@dct1]

Fantastic. I was supposed to be on this with the NR crew.

[@BIGV710]

great video ben you must have a good route knowledge now

[@davidpanton3192]

Good stuff. I remember when Kirknewton station was called Midcalder (one word) when Mid Calder was over two miles away and you had to go through the bigger East Calder to get there... The junction name makes slightly more sense.

[@reb0118]

I believe that station may have originally been Kirknewton but changed when another Kirknewton station opened in near the Anglo Scottish border in Northumberland. Sometime after that station closed Midcalder reverted to Kirknewton again.

[@hoofie2002]

The nice thing about Glasgow Central it has been kept very original. Parts have been repurposed but it has kept its visual impact

[@Grid56]

Except where I used to spot from is now a running line under the arch.😢

[@bradw8102]

The Carstairs remodelling has done wonders for that part of the WCML, more than doubling the line speed through that area entering/exiting the Midcalder lines compared to before the 2023 alignment.

[@Grid56]

It's a pity that the station itself has a poor service. Maybe it's so escapees from the prison can't get away as fast 😂

[@RailroudHobby]

Awsome video i subscribted u chanal hope there wil be more in future

[@roboftherock]

It has been a long time since I was over the WCML (any part) so it was pleasant to have a 'refresher' from the likes of yourself. Particularly the new routing through Carstairs. We do have some strange names up here. That OHNS at Gowkthrapple, for rinstance. 'Gowk' can be a cuckoo or a fool, 'thrapple' is the windpipe or throat so I wonder what local circumstance gave it that name. I was going to give the 2nd half a bye since you had been over it recently with the late running one a few weeks ago, but I'd have missed myself on Waverley platform. I never considered that there was a camera in the driving cab. Judging by the amount the cloud moved, you must have had a bit of a wait before Midcalder Junc. Thanks for passing a pleasant hour with us.

[@jimleonard6822]

Gowkthrapple is mentioned in 17th century Cambusnethan parochial records, the name is also mentioned on at least one gravestone at the ancient Kirkhill burial ground at Netherton, Wishaw. Now, North Lanarkshire Council are trying to erase the name because of the negative connotations from the 1970s social housing estate. The new-build housing at Gowkthrapple is now called Castlehill.

[@roboftherock]

@@jimleonard6822 I suspect that the locals will probably refer to the new estate by the old name for a few years yet. Thanks for that information, but I still wonder how the name came into being. On the headstone I presume it is a place name, not a family name. An afterthought - A wallow throw the old maps of the Wishaw area being held by the National Library of Scogtland might just throw up a gem or two. It could have been the name of a long-gone farm, or even the local name of one part of such. Yes, I see a little digging in my future. 😄😄😄!

[@jimleonard6822]

It was on the headstone as a place name, the man's occupation was a smith, not an occupation usually associated with a farm, so I'd think it was a hamlet or farm-town. @@roboftherock

[@markburgess4528]

Another enjoyable video Ben. Hope you don't mind if I ask a couple of questions. Are all your vids of you driving? If so you have quite a few classes of motive power under your belt along with some extensive route knowledge. How long does route knowledge remain current? i.e. Could you drive a route and not go over it again for say a year and then go straight back on it? Thanks, Mark

[@alanabroad3471]

Train driver. Possibly the best job in the world.

[@grant4166]

I really enjoyed that. It'd be really cool of you recorded this with a GPS-enabled camera like a dash cam so we could have a speedometer.

[@sebastianwheeler384]

Was there an AWS fault on the magnet for GG5218? Great video!

[@jimmyswalec1878]

Great video but miss the whistling of them original engines as the HST takes off for flight

[@DavidChild-ty2od]

Very good video, but what on earth's an LNER service doing in the loop at Law Junction for a local train to pass? Barmey!

[@markgr1nyer]

Is it me or did you get a horn v bell at GR634 just after Polmadie

[@drs_37402]

Are you signed north of Edinburgh (Aberdeen/Inverness)? If yes are we likely to see a video of either line in the future?

[@stevehopwood6392]

HI Ben saw the yellow meashurement test train in shipton underwitch wood oxfordshire last thursday afternoon for the first time was that you? and yes i hered the horn 😊

[@paulleitch6685]

Great relaxing video, thanks. Can I ask everyone, at 53:54, Haymarket South Tunnel, there is an open air gap in the tunnel. Can someone tell me what and where this is?

[@DownTheLineASMR]

I’m not sure exactly where the gap comes out above ground but having walked through the tunnel myself (trackman) i can tell you that it’s currently used as placement for a larger overhead wire support arm akin to what you would see on the overhead stantions instead of the usual arm mounted to the tunnel roof

[@chrismp3]

Are these replacing the 37s over time I assume?

[@fuzzyblueProductions4553]

Suggestion you should ddrive a train on the reveria line woul be cool

[@japiearangies]

Please show the train before the trip. Or / and afterwards.

[@717007]

Can you upload the driver's eye view of Edinburgh Waverley to Glasgow Queen Street?

[@martyn6792]

Another nice video, is the train doing a tour ?

[@DownTheLineASMR]

Engineering work monitoring the condition of the rails

[@Upthereds97]

Might be a daft question but who changes the track points for the trains to run on so it goes the correct direction ? Is there a control room who changes them knowing what train is coming and location or is it the driver

[@DownTheLineASMR]

Signallers either electrically from a signalling Center or manually from a lineside signal box

[@Dougsterxplor]

Carstairs Comp 3 looking quiet these days after the blockade.

[@firstfreeone]

Quick question, Ben. What does the three high pithed beeps represent in your neck of the woods? I assume it is part of the vigilance system. Over here in Australia we have to hit the button before it beeps.

[@Grid56]

Yes, the beeps are the dsd (driver safety device) or dvd(vigilance) or dead mans switch. Whatever someone wishes to call it , its a pedal in the hst which has to be released and then repressed within a short time otherwise automatic brake application is made. As an addition the bing indicates a clear signal ahead and the other single horn is to indicate a restriction of some kind, either an adverse signal or a severe change of speed limit such as at crossovers or temporary speed changes. These are acknowledged by an AWS (automatic warning system) reset button being pressed. The speed restriction warning can be ignored after resetting if you know it doesn't apply to you such as not traversing the crossover for instance. That's where route knowledge comes in.

[@andreschachel5863]

I'm just a german train fan. What means the speed limit 65/75?

[@jimmyhillschin9987]

That means there are different speed limits for different trains. I'm no expert but I presume 65mph is the limit for freight trains and 75mph for passenger. Sometimes the sign will specify the type of train like EPS for tilting and HST for higher-speed passenger trains like the power cars on this train would do when in passenger service.

[@andysedgley]

I understand that the single "bing" is when you go over and acknowledge the thing in between the rails - but what is the double beep?

[@DownTheLineASMR]

Vigilance/DSD (drivers safety device) which is essentially a dead man’s pedal, if the train’s controls aren’t moved for 60 seconds (can vary with the train in question) the beeping starts which leads to an emergency brake application if it isn’t acknowledged in time

[@drummerboy1390]

I grew up in Edinburgh, but Haymarket station is unrecognisable to me, as so much work has been done to it. When I was a teenager, jumping off at the Haymarket was a form of contraception.

[@bobbyfischer6786]

When did trains start to go from Central to Edinburgh? They always went fromQueen Street before. (i moved away from Glasgow many years ago)

[@beneliastrains]

There are a few passenger trains a day which do. This isn't a passenger train, however

[@bobbyfischer6786]

@@beneliastrains many thanks. Fascinating video

[@PVKtrains]

Was this filmed yesterday? Missed it at Newton but hopefully next time! Looking forward to watching it! Also do you have the Driver's eye POV of the line from Carstairs to Glasgow heading towards Glasgow Central (so in the opp direction to this one?)

[@beneliastrains]

It was filmed yesterday and I did indeed film the trip into Glasgow too. That'll come soon.

[@geoffreymartin2764]

Thanks Ben. 🏳‍🌈

[@kennymaclaurin3683]

What does the 65 over 75 mean at Rutherglen junction

[@epender]

I believe 75 is for passenger trains and 65 is for freight trains. There's probably more to it, but that's my basic understanding.

[@thomassmiffie3132]

Can somebody please explain the meaning of ‘measurement train’ for the un-washed?

[@DownTheLineASMR]

It measures the gauge and profiling of the tracks, I believe a sort of x-ray of the rails to check for cracks, the condition of the overhead wires, etc

[@paparobbo62]

If you are a Scotrail driver it must be scary travelling at 95mph on a track maintained by and English coy Network rail.

[@DownTheLineASMR]

Network Rail aren’t the only company that maintains the tracks.

[@Trainguy_spotter]

Ben will ypu ever come weymouth in a hst

[@ChinaAl]

What does this train measure? or am I missing something? Hmmmm we're under trolley wire but I hear a diesel engine?

[@gaelansteele9224]

It's the New Measurement Train - you can look it up on eg Wikipedia for more detail. It measures track quality (i.e. finds places where maintenance is needed), using a number of different sensors. It's a diesel train (specifically a repurposed Intercity 125), presumably to allow it to be used on both electrified and non-electrified lines - the UK has a lot of the latter. A bi-mode train (one that can use trolley wires where available but also has diesel engines) might have made sense, but bi-mode trains weren't really a thing in the UK in 2003 when the NMT was introduced, and in any case a bi-mode train would've been much more expensive than an old IC125.

[@ChinaAl]

@@gaelansteele9224 Ahhhh terminology, We use a different term here; ‘Track Geometry car’ ot in the case of trolley wire we call it a 'line-car'. when I was a 'driver' (motorman on the subways here we had a few lines that had trolley wire and I used to work the line car on Sundays for inspection and lubricating Thank you

[@johndean4998]

What does the Measurement Train measure?

[@DownTheLineASMR]

Track gauge, rail condition, overhead wire condition etc

[@johndean4998]

@@DownTheLineASMR Thanks. Beats walking along the track with a sledgehammer.

[@deltic1964]

Are u based out of Derby Ben am a Derby Man and the Yellow Banana based there as u know

[@beneliastrains]

We don't really have a base per se, I'm based from home and book on and off there or in a hotel. But I do spend a lot of time in Derby and I'm there as we speak!

[@deltic1964]

@@beneliastrains Nice one u doing a Fri Derby Swansea then or has it all changed now Ben

[@beneliastrains]

I'm on the NMT tomorrow all day so if you see it out and about it'll be me on it 😁

[@grahamfrear9270]

I want to see the 125 not the rails.

[@TamasKiss-bv9hz]

🤍💙👍👍👍❤🤍💚

[@donalonzo63]

For crying out loud they've got the trains daen 20 in auld reekie tae

[@ngkful]

Is this a diesel train? Why is this stupid country still running diesel trains on fully electrified lines?

[@russellgreen3375]

This goes all over the country, not just on electrified lines

[@epender]

If a line is fully electrified, electric trains will be used. As this train goes all over the network, it's diesel. Trains that run on both are relatively modern and therefore expensive.

[@tango22ah]

Don’t need to be Francis Bourgeois to know the flying banana is going way faster than 65 by Rutherglen. 🚅