Shippea Hill History - Bonus Video

It's Friday 2nd June and for the least used station in the whole of Great Britain, we went down on the Friday evening for Vicki to tell us a brilliant historical story about the station ...
The main Shippea Hill video is here: kzbin.info?o=U&vide...
ROUTE: We drove from Ely to Shippea HIll. Stayed there an hour, then drove back to Ely again.
Website: www.allthestations.co.uk/

[@AllTheStations]

You're not gonna believe us, but I swear we did not setup the tractor shot! Sometimes in life, perfect things like that just happen...

[@gobears6487]

All The Stations brilliant! you can tell because she almost cracked up there 😋

[@MianCowell]

if only it had an all the stations logo on the side, that would've been incredible!

[@londonbusexplorer]

I told you it was a nothing Geoff, on the D Stock remember? I was in a trio

[@Alex-ql9ge]

All The Stations does anyone work in signal box there anymore

[@neozreviewz7473]

All The Stations Very quaint station

[@witzendoz]

I think we should start a movement to get the sign repainted.

[@DavidWood2]

3:38 Vicki: "I feel like this is part of my background, whatever has gone before." Poster over Vicki's shoulder: "Looking for a new career?"

[@ClassicGamerX11]

That is so cool that Vicky has a family connection to Shippea Hill, makes me think about my great grandfather, my grandpa and his 2 brothers all worked on the railway in and around Suffolk and Essex. I miss them all, so many stories to tell so little time.

[@stephensaunders1845]

Likewise my family - my grandfather and my uncle, first on the Colne Valley and then the Stour Valley Railway. My uncle was signalman and gatekeeper at Cavendish until the line closed in 1967.

[@ClassicGamerX11]

Wow that is pretty much where my family worked i wonder if they knew each other? my Grandpa was a signalman just outside Sudbury. And my Great uncles both drove trains on various lines including the stour valley and probably the colne valley. It is a shame they cut the line in 1967.

[@domramsey]

LOVE the production and editing on this one. And Vicki is a natural talking to camera. Good job, guys!

[@w0033944]

Regarding signalmen, there was a saying that the driver thought he was in charge of the train, the guard informed the driver that it was his train, and the driver merely acted under his direction, but the signalman reminded both that this was all taking place on HIS railway, and nothing moved without his permission.

[@Nayson]

20 year vet on the railway: can confirm this is a true saying.

[@w0033944]

Glad to hear from a professional!

[@euansharp2008]

The old saying "The driver drives the guards train but under the signalman's signals"

[@w0033944]

Thanks for that; I remembered the gist of it, but not the exact wording.

[@JohnTalbot-k6xi]

This one a Heavy Hitter- Family Connections, Drone ties it together. Bravo (!!) You're on a Roll ...

[@KenLane1]

Great to see you at Shippea Hill. I actually have used the station back in May 1981. Even then it was hardly used. There was about two or three years worth of us who got off at the station that day. The guard's face was a picture!

[@refsmithy]

Wow, it's always exciting to see where one of your family members lived or worked. It's one of the reasons why I find family history so fascinating. Geoff was getting a bit artistic there with a couple of those shots of Vicki too. Nice.

[@cowscrazy]

I just find a station like that fascinating. Trains clearly pass through the station all the time but the fact they don't even make it a request stop. Or just remove the station all together. Its amazing. They really seem to go through a lot of trouble too preserve lines and stations from closing.

[@zeddessell]

It's the legacy of the Beeching axe. Back in the '60s a mass closure program was run to try and curb the railways' huge financial losses, About a third of the entire network was closed in the span of a few years, which was devastating for many small rural communities. There's now a ton of legal stuff you have to do to close a station to try and stop something like that ever happening again, which means stations hardly ever close anymore. Even stations that are in the middle of nowhere.

[@obel15k]

If only we'd had All The Stations, social media and flash-mobs in the Beeching era - things might have been so different!

[@FelloniusWizard]

And to save todays stations all over the world, there should be an "All the Stations" in every country, for that reason alone.

[@neildahlgaard-sigsworth3819]

cowscrazy tit takes a lot of effort to close a station, so they leave them open with 1 train a day.

[@haywoodbadman10]

cowscrazy check out some of the stations on the WCML if you're interested in stations like this! :) Polesworth gets one train a day in one direction and both Barlaston and Wedgewood station get no service at all yet are still listed as 'open' by national rail lol

[@christopherjolly839]

A great personal history of Shippea Hill from Vicki. How can there be a hill in the Fens! The only slight hill in the area is when the road rises for the level crossing. I have memories in British Rail days when there was a through train on Sunday evenings from Norwich to Liverpool Street which used to stop at Shippea Hill complete with a "Gresley Buffet" car!

[@PottersVideos2]

I say bring back the Norwich to Liverpool Street trains via Cambridge. We can have via Ipswich as well but a route via Cambridge would allow service to towns like Wymondham and Attleborough without a change of trains!

[@robertbradshaw5281]

Ely was a raised island before Feb drainage. Hence isle of ely

[@andrewholloway231]

The drone capture of Vicki walking along the platform at Shippea Hill is just amazing. Superb.

[@lasvegasroger]

35 years ago I was a 19 year old stationed at RAF Mildenhall - and it was around this time of year I boarded in Shippea Hill for my first of many visits to London from this station. Not sure what made me look that up today, but so happy to have run across this wonderful story. Lots of great memories.

[@ChasMusic]

What a delightful little signal house! Way cool for Vicki's family history to come full circle.

[@390h8er]

What a lovely fact for Vicki to discover. As Geoff said - "What are the chances"?

[@lionvillelion]

if I could like this a thousand times I would. Lovely video.

[@angelsone-five7912]

Railway signalling is a fascinating subject and I respect all those from the past who worked the art in "mechanical" signal boxes using codes etc along the telegraph lines to relay the state of the track. Great people.

[@skippyscage]

Wow - we used this station as kids in the late 70s in order to travel to RAF Mildenhall. Every 2 weeks, on a Saturday, we would cycle to Ickenham or Uxbridge Tube station, and travel to Kings Cross. From there we would get the train to Ely and then the local train to Shippea Hill. Then the 9 odd mile bike ride to RAF Mildenhall to take photos of the aircraft there. The cycle from SH could be really tough at times if there was a heavy headwind or if it was raining. I remember there was an old abandoned house on the right hand side just a short distance from the station, that sometimes we would explore. Of course we called it the haunted house. We would have been 13-16 during these times, and use used the train because we couldn't drive. We did get caught once getting a children's fare and taken to court etc, we were lifted at Ely. In those days the full adult fare was 13 years and upwards, which was madness, as we didn't go to full time work of course and we couldn't afford it. After that we found we could get a student railcard, which we'd never heard of ooops. (no internet and easy to find info in those days) Anyway, great to see this again, and to be honest, it's hardly changed.

[@MorrisTart]

Brilliant - a personal connection :)

[@jaffacakecraigy]

The tractor shot is perfect!

[@AllTheStations]

A Geordie In Yorkshire// Craig Walker complete fluke !! sometimes things just work out that way ...

[@jaffacakecraigy]

Was clearly meant to be :)

[@jaffacakecraigy]

Btw loving all episodes guys!

[@Conan500]

Fantastic story. Great video!

[@louispoche4312]

Great shot of Vicky at the end of the platform.. This is my favorite one of the series so far :-)

[@86Dillan]

Such an amazing coincidence

[@pauldevey8628]

Touching and nice to make that conniption. A connection with the past. A connection with family who have influenced who you are today.

[@keithpiper6909]

Wow. Thank you for a great vid. That was interesting. Vicky you must be really proud. Great both of you and your team.

[@DerekHartley]

What a genuinely lovely story. And you guys are getting really good at making videos now.

[@alantulip8743]

..another GREAT video - Vicky you are a star...!!!!

[@rcurtisfl02hsv]

Really interesting bonus episode

[@FarlandHowe]

Fascinating news, how most interesting. Well done with the shot and the tractor rolling past behind.

[@SandyQueue]

I have been visiting the places where my ancestors lived and worked for a few years now. It gives me such a sense of connection and "being" to be in those places. I'm glad you had the chance to experience this!

[@andrewholloway231]

I enjoyed this video and Vicki's brilliant historical story about the station.

[@kirstylou142]

Love this video!! I have a passion for family history and a growing interest in the railways so to hear Vicki's family's history with Shippea Hill is fascinating!

[@clairehazzard6299]

Lovely video. A nice change of pace from rushing from platform to platform.

[@bilbobigbollix7318]

I found that curiously moving. Thanks.

[@mildertduck]

My great grandfather was also a signalman in Norfolk, at Thuxton station, which now exists preserved on the Mid Norfolk Railway. They may well have known each other!

[@ClassicGamerX11]

Does his signal box still exist?

[@mildertduck]

Sadly not, the box which is there now is a new build, based on the design of the box at Shippea Hill. The Station Master's house is still there, as is the farm where most of my family lived (about 30m from the station).

[@daver425]

Just finally saw this. Very cool. It made me think about my great great grandfather whose occupation was listed as "Plate Layer". He lived in the crossing house in Brentingby, east of Melton Mowbray, at the time my great grandfather was born. I imagine he and his wife would have operated the crossing gates in addition to his other duties. The house is gone now and the crossing only serves as an access lane into a field.

[@crispinl]

This is such a wholesome video

[@janscattergood7294]

What a great family history! And to think its your passion and career about writing about railways. How fascinating. x

[@andylinton2798]

Ah bless! That was lovely!

[@darrenchantler2562]

My Granddad was a Signalman at Newcastle Central Station and I’m going through your vids in no particular order at the moment (accept for All the Stations Ireland which I watched in proper order)

[@w0033944]

Cor blast me, gal - Vicki's proper Norfolk! Not only that, but her relative worked for the GER, in my biased opinion as a Norfokman and rail enthusiast, one of the greatest of the pre-Grouping companies!

[@tomsmith5584]

That is an amazing story.

[@LisaMarli]

That is so cool. The Railway is really in Vicki's blood.

[@peel_acres]

Absolutely brilliant that Vicki's great grandfather worked at Shippea Hill!

[@gtmc]

Ikr! What a coincidence!

[@Mortimer50145]

I wonder if Shippea Hill always had low passenger numbers or whether this is something that has happened recently. I notice that the number or people who used it dropped from 378 in 2011 to around 20-50 every year since then. Maybe there are fewer trains that stop there than previously - and having only one train a day in one direction renders the station a bit pointless: who wants to be able to travel to Norwich but then not be able to come back (by train) until the weekend? I wonder what tales Vicki's great grandfather could have told of times gone by. My grandpa got his father (my great grandfather, whom I never knew) to write down his memories of early life. In an old school exercise book, in a very shaky hand, there are several pages of his memories as a boy in Dewsbury, including high-jinks when the MP came to canvas for an election (appropriate since it's the General Election tomorrow) and the lads all pushed the trailer that the MP was standing on to give his speech so it started rolling down the hill :-) Sadly it then ends with a short note by grandpa saying that his father had taken a turn for the worse and had died. Spurred on by this, my dad and I got my grandpa and my great grandma talking about their memories, including witnessing a tram that crashed into a building at the bottom of the hill where they were waiting for it, and my great grandpa's daring rescue of a man who "went mad" (probably carbon monoxide poisoning) 30 feet up the side of the iron foundry chimney and who was in danger of either falling off or being burned on the hot metal chimney. We recorded it and it's a treasured recording and transcript - two hours of reminiscences and a fine insight into life in the early 20th century. I love Vicki's pensive stare out across the fields followed by the tractor passing over the level crossing.

[@chrisnelson4325]

Great story - family history can be fascinating....

[@davidgoddard884]

Great to see Shippea Hill box in such good condition. The extension on the back is a modern addition - not too many years ago the box was leaning backwards and had to be propped up with timbers.

[@amodernukrailway267]

Viky your grandmother as I said joins also my great grandfather who worked also at Shippea Hill, small world?

[@nitramretep]

Nice video, thanks!

[@DavidUKesb]

Shippea Hill is just amazing

[@robb2mus]

What a touching and beautifully produced segment. Nice new haircut too, Geoff

[@ThomasJM]

I really liked the story of Victoria's family tie to the station. I too had a family member work for a railroad. He was a switch man fro the Grand Trunk Railroad in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I actually have a lantern that he apparently used to use.

[@RoSi4You]

*5:02** It's Your Grandad - impressed and proud!*

[@blackberrypickle7651]

Best video you have done so far, and the rest have been pretty damned good!

[@Mortimer50145]

Yes, an excellent video - probably the best, along with the guided tour of the railway maintenance depot the other day.

[@dgattenb]

fab!!

[@EWSTrains]

When I went to Shippea Hill in Aug 2019, Greater Anglia have since added a Dot Matrix and a Announcement Speaker on the Norwich Platform

[@MontytheHorse]

My Grandfather was a signalman for BR. Sadly neither of the boxes he worked in survive. However we do have a wooden board from one of them that I used as a base for a model railway when I was a child.

[@rjc83x]

Fantastic work. What are the chances eh??

[@haywoodbadman10]

Great to see you going here! Wait until you go to Reddish South. The facilities at Shippea are next level compared to there! It doesn't even have a shelter

[@practicallyfamous]

Is there a Berney Arms visit/video coming soon? Alot has changed since you were last there!

[@petemarr824]

My ancestor was the first train conductor, sold tickets on board Stephensons Rocket

[@Alex-ql9ge]

nice station

[@dunderwo]

My retired colleague Michael Goddard was Station Master at Shippea Hill in the late fifties.

[@Silver_Turtle]

Vicki: I too have the "steel rails in my blood"; albeit a tad closer -- my father, a great uncle, and various other family members worked on the railroads here in the US.

[@TheNails3]

Whenever I hear the word 'signalman' I think of the brilliant and haunting Dickens story of the same name

[@TheOrangeAngle]

The theme music with PIANO!

[@riceuteneuer2678]

Is it just me, or does Vicki's East Anglian burr gain in strength the nearer she gets to the Wash...?

[@PiousMoltar]

I'm from the area and it's nice to hear such a familiar accent on KZbin for once

[@timmatthews773]

It's the spirit of her railway ancestors coming through via the DNA!

[@christianullrich2923]

That white cylinder in the corner of the level crossing, is that part of the last-ditch defence against trespassers?

[@shaunhouse8634]

Have you looked at the Wikipedia entry for Shippea Hill Station this month? Mention of your visit and It seems Wikipedia thinks you should have an entry.

[@shaunhouse8634]

If you look at the last paragraph in the section "Least used railway station" it talks about 19 people travelling from Shippea Hill as part of "All the Stations"

[@Sam-ht5dk]

Just a quick question. If you can answer this it would be really good. Did you ever come to Welwyn Garden City station?

[@traindriverami]

How interesting. Great video. I often think signalmen were/are the unsung heroes of the railway, keeping everyone safe. But there's a great museum in Romsey where the signal box has been preserved and opens to the public. Visitors are given demonstrations in the signal box and encouraged to have a go. More info on their website :). www.romseysignalbox.org.uk

[@peternorton188]

My grandfather and great grandfather also worked for the railroads here in the US. Seems very generational doesn't it!!

[@ogo2l]

Hi Vicki, if you wish to see the Shippea Hill box working from inside in it's last months of operation there is a video of the whole Breckland line from videoscences which is 41% off on sale called Railway Signalling in Anglia: Ely to Norwich www.videoscene.co.uk/railway-signalling-in-anglia-ely-to-norwich.html Watch out as there are two version of this video and you want the second. Keep visting those stations best wishes DG

[@baldoldbear]

was the house down the street you great grandfathers signalman's house it has signs of railway design?

[@riccardocervetti3203]

you should do the northermost station in the uk

[@AllTheStations]

We have. It's Thurso. We've been to ALL the stations.

[@jpal00]

Great video. However, I have a nit to pick - bell codes are not Morse codes. That's why they're written down as a group of numbers (eg. 3-1, 5-5-5) and not dashes and dots (-.-.).

[@patmoore1875]

Whilst Bell communication would have been used as part of the block working between the boxes, it is more than likely that the there was a Telegraph (Needle) system between the boxes for general communication in the era that is referred to.

[@ATee-vx6dm]

I'd still like to know why such a little-used station exists in the first place. Did a nearby town disappear?

[@AymanTravelTransport]

how do you get to the station? might go there for trainspotting

[@AllTheStations]

Got a taxi from Ely!

[@lrp_745]

My Great grandfather worked on the railways in India

[@MrBook123456]

👍👍👍

[@maplady572]

Haircut!! :-)

[@stuartlucarotti9927]

Wow, it's like - Who do you think you are! 😀

[@bensonwr]

How many passengers ?

[@johnkerby70]

Pretty flat for a place called Shippea Hill.

[@richardtalbot8769]

The platform looks quite long for a least used station.

[@Tgbec]

Is the trespass sign out of date? £200.

[@bluebanana9974]

How would you measure entries and exits without a ticket or a permit to travel machine?

[@jimbomchooch6007]

It's a request stop so the train only stops when someone wants to get off. They will make a note when that happens. Also simply count the tickets sold to and from shippea hill

[@AllTheStations]

Jimbo McHooch it's just done on ticket sales. No one counts who gets on or off.

[@bluebanana9974]

Thanks

[@jimbomchooch6007]

Well they should count who get's on or off, otherwise that will lead to massive abuse of this railway...

[@davekirwin]

Tractor! Hahaha ;)

[@nnmmnmmnmnnm]

How did you do the shot from high above?

[@AllTheStations]

trampoline

[@nnmmnmmnmnnm]

Thanks.

[@davidroseman3572]

RAILFANING IS IN HER BE BLOOD 1:25

[@majorleaguetrainspotting6707]

What about Barney arms?

[@AllTheStations]

no no, we're calling it "Barney Arms" now. that is its new name. anyway, what about it?

[@marthaanderson2656]

I am sort of verklempt with this video.

[@cockneyse]

Hardly surprising that it's Least used... is it also the most remote from a dwelling? Talk about in the middle of nowhere, I guess it once was a loading stop for milk or something? I see that you will have doubled it usual passenger total this year now at least

[@IDeltic]

There's one house right next to it (to the right if you're looking towards the road crossing), which is one house more than at Swale.

[@KenLane1]

There used to be an Ostrich Farm just down the road!

[@cookingkidz7681]

Vicki would like this, Someone in my family,( Well, I say family but its a Friend of the family) Is the manager of Manchester Victoria station

[@Dovietail]

You know, it's the least used train station in Great Britain, and yet there are still plants growing in pots on the station platform. Just saying...a little note from the railroad deserts of North America.

[@nilanticepecto1792]

Why does Viki wear glasses on All stations. Because she doesn't on Londonist and Geoff Marshall

[@AllTheStations]

because she's superman in disguise

[@basdavids]

All The Stations best answer possible, gotta love you guys

[@billbryant7194]

Has anyone got an improbaility drive handy?

[@sophieewohaa]

Makes me sad how people thought it was okay to destroy such a part of our heritage, imagine if someone suggested bulldozing Stonehenge.

[@jonathancook4022]

Sooooooooo....now the cat's out the bag. Now we know that train blood must run in Victoria's family, or more specifically the pipes!

[@Dax893]

Herbert is second from the left.

[@Cocodmoan]

This is now not the least used it is no the second least used and I live about 35 mins from the 6th least used station pillning