Rush Hour Trains at: Crewe, WCML, 14/05/21

An superb evening session spent at Crewe on the West Coast Mainline where we see plenty of services from Avanti West Coast, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, Transport for Wales, Cross Country, East Midlands Railway and freight from DRS, Royal Mail, Colas Rail and Rail Operations Group.
There is so much to tell about this station so I'll try and include as much as I can.
The station was opened in 1837 by the Grand Junction Railway. The whole idea of this station was to connect the four largest cities in England by joining the Liverpool and Manchester Railway to the projected London and Birmingham Railway.
There were massive plans for the railway and the station when it first opened. As soon as the station was built there were plans to build at the time a branch line that would head to Chester. The line now being a pretty busy route for passenger traffic. Oddly enough the company created to build this route was called and Chester and Crewe Railway. But once the line had been completed they were merged with the Grand Junction Railway in 1840.
Because at the time the steam engines were only small it meant that an engine shed was built was built that was used to stable banking engines that would be used to push trains up a small incline that today would be no match at all.
Less than a year later plans were created for a trunk route to be built linking Crewe to Holyhead which also gave great access to Ireland which in turn started to cement itself as an important junction station in the UK.
The next line to meet was the line from Manchester. There were plans to have the line run straight from Manchester to Birmingham but when construction was underway it was deemed that it would be uneconomical because of the length of the line that they wanted to create. So it was decided that they would connect their line to the GJR at Crewe.
The town started to grow in size when the GJR moved their depot from Edge Hill in Liverpool to the North of the station. It was done in order to house the workforce.
In 1846 the GJR and the London and Birmingham Railway merged together to form at the time the largest company in the world which is the London & Northwestern Railway.
When the company came to be they started the largest amount of track laying seen in the country. They extended lines and built new ones heading to: Holyhead, Lancaster and Carlisle, Leeds, Shrewsbury, Stoke-on-Trent and the South of Wales.
With all the lines converging on the West Coast Mainline at Crewe it meant that more traffic was coming through the station roughly 1000 trains during any 24 hour period which mostly consisted of freight there were plans brought up which would take the trains under the station.
By 1903 the station was given a make over to allow stopping freight traffic to unload for road vehicles which meant that 9 through platforms were constructed each were a 1/4 mile in length. The total cost of the improvement at the time was £1,000,000 which in today's money is the equivalent to £97,080,000. I'll take a portion of that quite happily.
When the LMS was created Crewe continued to grow in size, locomotives were still being built on a daily basis and the signalling was given a complete overhaul. The two former signal boxes were instead made into concrete fortresses to withstand air raids. But aside from that nothing else really took place in the 50 years LMS were running around.
It wasn't until British Railways was formed that further changes were taking place around the station. Most notably was when steam was starting to be raise out and replaced with diesel and electric locomotives and multiple units which meant that the works were starting to close down because of lack of work and the fact that smaller depots were starting to pop up across the country that would task care of the trains.
Although as we all know Crewe works survived to an extent for the heritage centre and the actual works itself for restoring steam engines.
Much more work was taken out from then to the present day to incorporate the electrification of the WCML, bigger trains, better facilities to make it the station we all know and love today.
If you would like to help support the channel you can do so by donating to the PayPal link found down below, any and all funds will go straight back into the channel to help better the content by allowing me to go further afield for you all.
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My next rush hour film will be from Banbury on the Chiltern Mainline.
You can now find me on Facebook through the name Tornado922, there you will find regular updates, videos and photos from all of my goings on throughout 2021.
You can also find me on Instagram through the name tornado922 where it isn't just rail related content that I produce.

[@uktransportphotos]

That Pride 390 is such a beautiful train and one of my favourite Pride livery’s out there. Being part of the LGBT Community myself, I’m very happy when I see that train running around the place.

[@crazytrainboy0851]

Hi tornado I’ve been watching you for 5 years and you sparked my love for trainspotting ❤️

[@pantographproductions1888]

Eating?!

[@crazytrainboy0851]

@@pantographproductions1888 oh no no 🤣 Watching 🤣

[@Tornado922]

@@crazytrainboy0851 Thank you for your continued support

[@Trains-ms5qg]

7:29 Damn son! That is prestigious. Silver doors and purple exterior. I wish all the meridians where like this though because most of them have a mainly white exterior which takes away from the prestigious atmosphere.

[@darrenstracey2248]

Excellent collection again as usual my friend

[@thebigb59]

I think penny the pendolino is stalking you :D

[@ghighlandchieftain4462]

Other amazing video legend tornado sorry 2 days I been work lot

[@Muntimann]

Is a pleasure to sit here in Norway and follow your videos :)

[@theimperialist2686]

Great railway video again Tornado922

[@Tornado922]

Thanks very much

[@alanmolyneux5957]

Another very good video. Always something worth seeing at Crewe.

[@JackJackProductionsShorts]

8:34 Really Avanti West Coast operates 350s. I think you mean 390

[@Tornado922]

I totally meant that haha

[@gerontius34]

Loved this video. Thanks as always for the historical background. Crewe is particularly interesting in that respect.

[@teamsilverfh4863]

I love the 390s and the 350s and I hope we get clag from the 37

[@Tornado922]

The WCML is a great line to go on as you get so much variety running around

[@blkpig6664]

Some beautiful sets on display. Well done =}

[@thatnxrthernguy]

Slowly but surely working my way through your videos! I'm sure 390156 was one of the press release trains for AWC? Along with 155. I must say, I do love the livery.

[@JamesTrainspotter]

Amazing video 👍

[@Tornado922]

Thanks very much :)

[@Trainspotter125]

Yes another trains at!

[@Tornado922]

I hope you like it!

[@ClaretBlueTrainspotter]

Great video. I must go to Crewe this year.

[@Tornado922]

Thanks very much, it is a great station to go to

[@robertstrainsnsw1596]

Nice rush hour film at Crewe I can't wait to see your next rush hour film Nice to see the 390's, 221's for aventi west coast the 37 for rail operations group 350's for London north western railways 175',153's for trainsport for Wales 170 for East Midland railways For freight trains the Royal mail 315's and DRS and the 88 couldn't ask for more

[@Tornado922]

Thanks very much, Crewe is always a great station to come to at any point of the day as you will always get so much variety running around

[@teamsilverfh4863]

The Titan of the 68s

[@Tornado922]

You know it

[@teamsilverfh4863]

@@Tornado922 could u shout me out in seeing about me channel and what I should call it

[@paulhill8224]

Great video

[@alanshelly7068]

Another good video buddy from Alan Shelley

[@journeysofjames1116]

Nice you caught an EMR Class 170 and 390 119

[@Tornado922]

thanks very much

[@KRVTrains]

Nice

[@Tornado922]

Thanks very much

[@madtrainspottermacrae6744]

170419 was from Scotland

[@sydwoods.woodsendjunction9492]

great video again J really enjoyed it as ever .....next please :) A T B STAY SAFE Syd

[@Tornado922]

Thanks very much I'm glad you enjoyed watching this

[@arnoldspottingvideos5269]

Great video mate. Crewe is a really good station but I think this is part 3 video.

[@Tornado922]

Thanks very much, this was filmed during the rush hour period hence why I have titled it as such

[@arnoldspottingvideos5269]

@@Tornado922 lol is still the same date

[@teelaprince2312]

Do London Paddington next to see Heathrow express

[@googlehomeboi9975]

8:30 "worked by 350 152"

[@Tornado922]

didn't even realise I had said it lol

[@telemachus53]

7:35 Definitely my favourite EMR livery. Hardly see it.

[@Tornado922]

It is a nice livery to see

[@teamsilverfh4863]

323s brand new f1 team for u

[@Tornado922]

Be the next world champions!

[@teamsilverfh4863]

@@Tornado922 what makes the 323s sound that way

[@syedhoque8009]

Glad normality is slowly returning. President Joe Biden is in Cornwall for the G7 Summit. The normally quiet, laid back county in the South West with its sun, sand and sea and the Cornish Mainline is getting all the media and tourist attention with the likes of the US President and other world leaders in town.

[@frankie_g8096]

Hello another cool video and also first

[@Tornado922]

Thanks very much

[@samuellepine8239]

You said on your video before this one that your next video would be at Eastleigh

[@Tornado922]

My next standard trains at film would be Eastleigh but my Rush Hour film was Crewe, I separate my rush hour films from my regular ones

[@valfaulkner648]

Can I ask How long do freight trains have to be? is there a certain length or can they be any length? thanks, I enjoyed Crewe very busy!

[@Tornado922]

They can be any length really

[@lisawalker521]

34:07 the points are set

[@bennickss]

Those ECS 323s always go via platform 1 and I have no idea why

[@Tornado922]

It makes sense to them

[@mikhan5554]

We want this train systems in Pakistan. Please help Pakistan.. Thanks. Thank you for this vlog.

[@OnTheRailwayOfficial]

What do you think we can do? Absolutely crazy.

[@Debbiestrainsandtoys]

I can't believe no one noticed that in 2020 Penny the pendolino is seen reminding everyone to wear a mask but here in 2021 your still wearing masks and Penny isn't wearing hers after refurbishment

[@madtrainspottermacrae6744]

You mean 390

[@emmacauser8408]

170419 my stalker 😒😂

[@arnoldspottingvideos5269]

Bruh 😂

[@nathansrailwayphotography8125]

Great video

[@Tornado922]

Thanks very much