Rush Hour Trains at: Welwyn North, ECML, 06/06/24

A very busy evening session spent at Welwyn North on the East Coast Mainline where we see plenty of services from: London Northeastern Railway, Hull Trains, Grand Central, Thameslink and Great Northern.
Welwyn North was built in 1865 roughly 15 years after the area had started to get cleared for the viaduct that was being built at the time along with the opening of the line, the viaduct itself is the most impressive structure in the surrounding area, the foundations of the bridge are built on floats, this is due to the fact that the ground is unsuitable for standard bridge foundations. The valley itself is called the Mimram Valley. The floats for the bridge are consisted of mixed timber beams and burnt chalk.
The tunnels that you see here were all hand dug at the time and the work was carried out mostly by irish workers who came over to the country for the vast amount of work that was available at the time. Because the workers didn't have any official housing at the time they pitched up tents along the upper side of the valley and over the course of a few years formed a community which then lead to housing and such, the workers themselves all moved on and people from around the country started to move in. Especially people coming out of London.
When the station was in its full swing it was used as both a freight and passenger station with the bulk of the freight being agricultural with some coal getting dropped off. There isn't any evidence of this anymore as the car park is on the former sight of the sidings.
The station, Tunnel entrances and the viaduct are all listed which means that they cannot be demolished.
My next rush hour film will be from Milton Keynes on the West Coast Mainline.
You can find me on Facebook through the group Tornado922, there you will find regular updates, videos and photos from all of my goings on throughout 2024.
You can also find me on Instagram through the name tornado922 where it isn't just rail related content that I produce.
You can now find me on TikTok under the name Tornado_922

[@camotech1314]

Thanks for the video, i love how you're so honest and say you can't get the numbers. 😂

[@Tornado922]

Honesty is the best policy haha

[@robertstrainsnsw1596]

Good film Welwyn North I like the 225 set in the Intercity

[@Tornado922]

Thanks very much! It was great to see the 225!

[@paulbennett8516]

Another great video mate tough getting the numbers on this one

[@Tornado922]

Thanks very much, it was definitely a challenge that's for sure!

[@kylianibr04]

It’s so good to be back the other Mainlines after a more than 4 months. 6:00 And I’m highly impressed that Grand Central is operating 2 Super Voyagers !

[@megagamer88888]

2 I thought it was just one

[@arnoldspottingvideos5269]

​@@megagamer88888No, it's 2 (221142 & 143)

[@nottinghamtransportenthusi2784]

221142 and 221143 are the ones with Grand Central.​@@megagamer88888

[@kylianibr04]

@@megagamer88888 only in this vid ik

[@richardoakey894]

Brilliant video

[@richardoakey894]

You are a legend

[@Tornado922]

Thank you very much!

[@eastlondontransport6468]

Great video mate 😊 Always appreciate seeing rush hour videos happening it’s a shame you had to deal with disruption going on that day you were there though

[@Tornado922]

Thanks very much bud, sometimes the disruptions can make it more enjoyable

[@waynelucas6483]

Love watching your videos keep train spotting

[@Tornado922]

That's very kind of you!

[@nottinghamtransportenthusi2784]

As much as the 225 set was by far the best one of the evening, a nice capture of the Grand Central 221 nevertheless!

[@Tornado922]

The GC 221 was a welcome bonus for sure!

[@samsplanestrains5386]

Here’s some of the numbers you couldn’t get: 1:34 802301 Amy Johnson and 802304 William Wilberforce 2:50 801204 3:58 801107 and 801103, you were spot on with that second one 9:19 801207? 13:04 800207? Great video Jared! I definitely wouldn’t say no to the one and only 91119 either!

[@Tornado922]

You did well getting all those numbers down!

[@samsplanestrains5386]

@Tornado922 Thanks Jared, 20-20 vision certainly helps 😉

[@acfbrown1]

I have never boarded or alighted at this station. I must do so sometime.

[@Tornado922]

It's a nice little spot to go to

[@squidgytop.2050]

I’m not going to lie I was waiting for you to come back here

[@Tornado922]

It's been a long time coming!

[@andrewmagnus-t1q]

trains at Oakleigh Park my recommendation please

[@Tornado922]

I'll see what I can do!

[@Harrynhoughton13]

Clicked on it the moment it showed up

[@ArCKonan]

Same yeah

[@megagamer88888]

I just uploaded trains at welwyn North lol 😂😂 I saw 91111 for the fallen . How do you record with such bravery and confidence with strangers staring at you

[@Tornado922]

I've been doing these films for so long now you just get used to it I guess is the best answer I can give you

[@thatlonewolfguy2878]

Is it just me that does not understand why Hull Trains exists as a company? Surely them and Grand Central and Lumo should just all merge to provide 1 competing/alternative company to LNER instead of having 2 operators running services to very specific places and then Lumo who exist for some strange reason when LNER already run Kings Cross to Edinburgh and Avanti also run Euston to Edinburgh and there's also British Airways flights between the two, like why does Lumo even need to exist in the first place, they're not exactly targeting a specific customer base

[@Tornado922]

I can see where you're coming from but they all offer something slightly different with the places they go to. LNER only run one train a day to Hull and back whereas Hull Trains offer several. The idea of LUMO is that they are a direct competitor to the airlines because of their pricing structure

[@robertmwamba945]

12:59 Class 801: SURPRISE!

[@Tornado922]

they love sneaking up on me!

[@JoshHodginsTrains]

My favourite

[@Tornado922]

Thank you!

[@nilswestermann2598]

nice video

[@Tornado922]

Thanks very much!

[@TerryDenyer-iu1un]

U seen the all the lner amuzas liverys

[@Tornado922]

I would say so

[@madbanana2495]

7:43 sorry 1 HOUR 10 MINUTES?! HOW THE HELL IS IT THAT LATE. DID THE DRIVER FALL ASLEEP. Jesus.

[@Tornado922]

At that stage they may aswell just cancel the train

[@alextrainspotterhd6444]

Very interesting station seems quite narrow platform not much room to move around, shame you didn’t see any freight

[@Tornado922]

It's a lovely station to come to, the platforms are narrow but that just adds to the charm. You'll never see any freight coming through here

[@jamesrobert994]

You forgot to mention Lumo.

[@arnoldspottingvideos5269]

He didn't caught Lumo in this video

[@Rocksock531]

such an eventful video lol

[@Tornado922]

It certainly was haha

[@admiralpegasuscc]

that idea of just pick a train and see where the signallers send ya, is pretty much the state of our railways today thanks to the last tory government. im hoping labour make some massive changes over the next 2 years, but then South Eastern's contract is due for renewal on the 6th October 2024. so if the idea of nationalisation goes ahead, then we can see them taking in public ownership soon.

[@Tornado922]

Our railways have been a mess for so long now and horribly neglected over the years that it's going to take a long old while to get them sorted, even if they all do eventually come under public ownership