North London line cab ride Richmond to North Woolwich 1987

[@wirksworthsrailway]

Thank you. This is absolutely fascinating and makes an interesting comparison with modern cab view videos. The NLR certainly looked clapped-out back in 1987. Thanks again.

[@Richardsrailway]

What an absolute gem ! Just as I remember that line as a kid in BR days . Very sad to see the old station museum at North woolwich . When it first opened in the early 1980’s I used to go there every Sunday .

[@andyhardy4246]

Brilliant, the year after I left the UK, family in Woolwich and I lived in Homerton. A blast from the past, thanks.

[@e27mark]

Excellent snapshot of the line just before the huge changes started to occur in Docklands - a real piece of histocical nostalgia. The whole thing is barely recognisable today. One of the things that stood out for me was the amount of litter and debris on the trackbed particularly from Stratford to North Woolwich. Even though the line had been electrified and the stations improved, it had a run down feel that tended to reflect the dereliction around it. I didn't feel in the 80s that it was particularly loved by BR. By the time I last rode it on around 2001, it was very run down, and with the DLR coming online, it was a shambles. I recall that the Connaught Tunnel in particular was causing concern because of water ingress which only served to hasten closure. Of course, much of it is now Elizabeth Line and if memory serves, it cost a fortune to sort out the Connaught Tunnel to make it suitable for the intensive running the line now has..

[@InverhavonRailways]

Interesting to compare with to today. Pre DLR, Jubilee and Elizabeth lines.

[@iainmaturin8460]

The class 501 was withdrawn in 1985 and replaced by 2 car EPB's 2 of which you passed on your journey!

[@SleepyGarfield73]

A minor thing - but it probably wasn't a Class 501 - they were withdrawn in 1985 and I don't think ran to North Woolwich. Instead some 2EPB units were cascaded in from the Southern Region to operate the Richmond - Woolwich service until class 313 units were made available in the late 1980s / early 1990s.

[@utterlee]

Funny seeing how short the platforms are compared to now.

[@TrainBusFanUK]

Yes, and extremely devoid of any passengers. A real shocker compared to the overcrowding of today.

[@ace-paidinfull5240]

Was the primrose hill branch still around these times?

[@ace-paidinfull5240]

55:15 your telling me that was all canning town was made of🫢

[@timothyphillips7576]

Yep. There was nothing there - not even WIckes. They moved the station to the other side of the main road before closing it completely from Stratford to make way for the Jubilee line. I was more shocked remembering that the Excel centre wasn't there, just some empty dock buildings. There used to be a couple of tank engines that were probably dock railway ones, sitting all forlorn outside the buildings that you could see from the NLL until the DLR extension was built to Becton and then they started tarting the area up and they vanished. The vast nothingness from Stratford to N Woolwich seems like ancient history but I used to travel on that line on my way to Seven Sisters as a driver on the Vic Line in the summer as it was a nice little ride round in sunny weather.

[@ace-paidinfull5240]

The platforms were so short

[@antonyporter9253]

Caladonian should be Caledonian ...