Willesden Junction to Finsbury Park - Hastings DEMU cab ride - mostly back cab audio - 1 Jul 2017

Cleethorpes Clipper part 2: Cab view from Willesden Junction High Level to Finsbury Park. Filmed from the Hastings DEMU on Saturday 1 July 2017, during our Cleethorpes Clipper railtour.
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Video footage is from an unattended unmonitored cab-camera in motor coach 60116 Mountfield. For all but the first 1m20s, the audio track is from a synchronised recording made in the back cab (motor coach 60118 Tunbridge Wells); this is because of traincrew conversing in the leading cab.
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In this video, we follow the route of the London Overground 'North London Line' services from Willesden to Camden Road, then diverge to the right taking the North London Incline down onto the East Coast Main Line.
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0:00 - WILLESDEN JUNCTION High Level station
1:55 - Kensal Green Junction
3:38 - Kensal Rise station
4:37 - Brondesbury Park station
5:27 - Brondesbury station
6:49 - West Hampstead station
8:13 - Finchley Road & Frognal station
8:29 - Hampstead Heath Tunnel (1,166 yards)
11:00 - Hampstead Heath station
12:42 - Gospel Oak Junction
13:06 - Gospel Oak station
15:16 - Kentish Town West station
18:30 - Camden Road West Junction
18:58 - Camden Road station
20:00 - Camden Road Central Junction
20:32 - Camden Road Incline Junction
22:19 - York Way North Junction
22:48 - Copenhagen Junction - joining the East Coast Main Line
23:03 - Copenhagen Tunnel (594 yards)
25:04 - Holloway junctions
26:55 - Finsbury Park Junction
27:19 - FINSBURY PARK station
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Video © Copyright 2017 Hastings Diesels Limited.
www.hastingsdiesels.co.uk/
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Equipment: video by GoPro Hero3+ camera with suction-mount and extra batteries; back-cab audio by Tascam DR-44WL courtesy of / moretojack , processing by Da Vinci Resolve (free).
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Here are links to annotated extracts from Network Rail’s Sectional Appendix:
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Outward: www.dropbox.com/s/n5jjmb9uee2...
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Return: www.dropbox.com/s/5fmu0xdqagx...

[@Paulwherrell]

Hard to believe this line was once threatened with closure. Thankfully it's now a thriving line and a vital part of London's rail network.

[@de9ux]

Very enjoyable and well captioned, thank-you

[@mikeuk4130]

Top haulage, with great footage and captioning over a very interesting route. One of the best I've seen.

[@preetclinic9414]

Thanks a lot for such wonderful journeys, embellished with explanatory text. Kudos for all your efforts. Love from India.

[@jennythescouser]

23.00 (Copenhagen Tunnel) is where they filmed parts of The Lady Killers starring Alec Guiness and Peter Sellers. Thankfully, there appears to be no bodies dropping from above on this occasion - lol

[@HenrysAdventures]

I love these round the houses trips in Suburban London!

[@jeremywilliams2478]

I love these sort of videos as for most of us it is something we will only get to see if someone takes the time and trouble to film and upload. Great to see in high quality through a clear wind screen.You have a new subscriber.

[@sidney001]

What a cracking video, I used to travel on the Hastings units out of Twells in the 80's and 90's much more pleasant passenger experience than the modern day units. Love the sound of that EE engine. The North London line is fasinating, so thanks for sharing. Point of interest at 25min and 8 sec the house on the left made out of sand bags was the subject of a Grand designs program and is a fantastic house and highlighted the issues of building right next to the railway

[@pacificelectric1955]

Nice to watch this and follow the route on Google Maps!

[@plymptonpleb]

Have you tried following the route on Open Railway Map which seems to cover all European lines in detail?

[@stephensaines7100]

Following your route in the OPC Rail Atlas, 8th Edition, many of the curves and chords not shown in the atlas for the North London Incline Junction! I'm really glad I watched this, not only for joy of riding with you, but also understanding how many of the mainlines are in fact are, or were connected at intersections. Thank You!

[@hastingsdiesels]

Thank you. There's been quite a lot of change in the vicinity of the North London Incline in recent years. Glad you found it all interesting.

[@capitallines]

Fascinating cab ride, many thanks.

[@jerrydowse5061]

Another fine video.cant wait for the whole journey.cheers.

[@matthewpickard2783]

Thanks. That was a fantastic journey. Especially the North London Incline and Copenhagen. I as frequent traveller to Newcastle and Scotland I have often upon entering King's Cross wondered where that line went.

[@samuelfellows6923]

Much better footage than the previous video - smooth and more natural to the eyes 🙂

[@hastingsdiesels]

Thanks. Erm, same trip, same day, same camera, same take, same everything!

[@phwbooth]

Excellent video, and captions. Thanks.

[@iman2341]

Camden Road junction has always bothered me, a little widening of that viaduct and you could extend the East London line all the way up the WCML to Watford and have a full 4 track North London line along its original formation.

[@mrbluesky2050]

good cab view, couple of amusing points, One, Finsbury Park, said backwards is Krapy rub snif, and two, how come railway staff haven't named the roads past the Emirates as the Up Arsenals....? .

[@simoneames9097]

Fantastic video. Just came to see the cab view. Nice to hear the good old thumpers thumpin away.

[@ceciltagg]

Good video the sound of motors and track are part of the exprrience

[@annescholey6546]

Changed a lot in 30yrs

[@johnwhitehouse5244]

Great video. ( John Whitehouse) Thanks

[@paulwhitear4983]

Great video. Glad you mention the stations we travel through and the junctions. Could we possibly see the whole journey on one of your shorter journies

[@hastingsdiesels]

Thanks - I'll bear this in mind. The trouble is that personally I tend to join the trips in London rather than at Hastings. On New Year's Eve we ran from Eastbourne to Faversham via Dover, not too long as you say, but for that one I boarded at Hastings rather than Eastbourne. Meanwhile, I will (eventually!) publish that footage, as well as everything from Olympia to Cleethorpes...!

[@corpsevoice]

beautiful whine from the EE engine!

[@hairybear7705]

I invited my new girlfriend round to my place last night.....told her I had some exciting videos to show her. She giggled and said "OK, I'm game big boy". This video got to Camden Road Incline and she said "OK, show me what you've got then". I told her this is it... we're going all the way tonight....right up to Finsbury Park Junction. She said "Your not going all the way up my junction....you weirdo" and bang...she was off. Last I heard, she stood in the street shouting "tosser"...... strange woman.

[@carlosfreije6754]

Buen video, un espanto la lentitud de esa tortuga

[@AndreiTupolev]

So the lines through Camden Road were dequadrified, even though it's busier now than ever? Seems odd, particularly as they go back to four tracks just after the junction.

[@Broadercasting]

The original plan was to reinstate the third and fourth tracks at Camden Road. Budget and potential work on the bridge east of the station curtailed the work IIRC. There's talk of a Camden Road 'Highline walk' locally but would be short-sighted to take it out of potential rail usage IMHO. I'm surprised there's no talk of an island or additional platforms at Gospel Oak for through NLL running as originally intended too.

[@WaltTFB]

16:50 Poor lost trainer, all alone in the world...

[@ianhelps3749]

Last time I travellwd on this line was in a Class 501 emu!

[@hannesolivier1641]

Great HD video. Station and junction info much appreciated. May I make a suggestion.. why not include speed limits as well as an explanation of signal aspects in your videos? Most of us know what the signal aspects mean and also to spot the speed boards, but what about the newbies?

[@hastingsdiesels]

Thanks, I'll bear it in mind.

[@EdgyNumber1]

0:30 Dumb question probably but what purpose does the third rail serve here, that it might not, say, on others without it? I know its not a power rail, it looks like a guide rail. But why on some corners than others? Thanks.

[@hastingsdiesels]

This is called a Check Rail. Check Rails are provided on sharp curves and at pointwork, and their purpose is to constrain the inner face of a wheel, eliminating the risk of the opposite wheel's flange climbing the railhead into derailment. Different radii of curvature, and other track characteristics such as cant, line speed, lubrication, type of rail and fastening, actual gauge, etc, may together determine whether a Check Rail is required.

[@EdgyNumber1]

@@hastingsdiesels Nice one! Thanks 👍

[@edharris2395]

actually it's the great northern line out of Kings Cross... maybe I'm wrong, but the East coast mainline doesn't start till Hitchin I think

[@meerkatmusings8450]

ed harris it’s technically the ECML all the way from Kings X to Waverley - with local services divided into chunks.

[@carlcaulkett3050]

I'm a little disappointed! The thing is I'd forgotten about the North London Incline. I was hoping it was going to reverse through the Canonbury curve. Is there any footage of the Canonbury Curve anywhere, I wonder...

[@hastingsdiesels]

It seems that we probably haven't been through the Canonbury Curve, far less taken video footage of it I'm afraid. We should see if we can contrive to do so...

[@TheAudiostud]

Hastings Diesels Ltd..Yes Please..I for one would enjoy watching that ride..But! I know how difficult it is to plan & run such trips..There's so much of the network that's no longer used by the rail companies..but would be great fun to investigate think of all those loops & links that connect our wonderful London..Thanks for all your hard work I for one really appreciate it

[@hastingsdiesels]

To be fair, the trips are really run for the benefit of those paying to travel on them - these videos are just my little hobby/project to make a record of what we get up to and the interesting places we visit. You might find that a railtour company specialising in (just) visiting lots of branch lines and rare sidings might be more likely to go over the Canonbury Curve.

[@carlcaulkett3050]

If anyone is interested, I found footage of the Canonbury curve. I warn you, the video is accompanied by some rather dubious music, but the pictures are very interesting. It's at kzbin.info/www/bejne/mqbLmKZsraadeZo. Enjoy!

[@jacksugden8190]

No sounds ring in the cab for signaling?.

[@hastingsdiesels]

What does it say in the title of the video?

[@mikeuk4130]

@@hastingsdiesels Sir, sir, I know, I know! Sound recorded in the rear power car, Sir! Not all civilians would know that only the driving cab gets the signal warnings, though, so it is a fair question/comment, imo.

[@codys4449]

Is it fitted with AWS?

[@hastingsdiesels]

Yes. Look for the AWS Ramp 200 yards before each signal. You can't hear the AWS bell/horn because the audio track is mostly taken from the rear cab.

[@dieseldave3879]

🚂👍

[@MiLLwallpaul231258]

No AWS Bell?

[@hastingsdiesels]

Audio is from the back cab...

[@williamrubinstein3442]

Where are all the passengers at the station

[@de9ux]

The Richmond to Stratford service was ahead of them - it is captioned just after Willesden High level.

[@kangeroobru]

When did this line open? I used to use Finsbury Park all the time and you couldn't do this trip 😁

[@Jeagles]

kangeroobru you can’t. This was a special railtour and the line is otherwise freight only

[@ds1868]

There are a number of lines in London freight only this is one of them.

[@MidnightVisions]

Awfully slow train ride, 20kmh track speed?

[@pgchase4578043026]

So much graffiti. Much trespassing on the line.