Merseyrail operates a train network in the North West of England. In 1990 when this video was made the network was being upgraded especially the stations and infrastructure. This is found footage from an old VHS tape.
I was on 507001 going to Southport a few months ago. Hard to believe they've been going up and down these lines for over 40 years. What an amazing life these old girls have had.
it's a shame the modern railway would see them all scrapped and replaced; we have to basically beg to even get one or two units preserved. I still think they should re-open the North Mersey branch near Aintree station and turn it into a heritige line that runs one or two 507/508 units.
God, 30 years ago and it looks so different. I was only looking at how badly Birkdales junction box is fairing, poor thing needs some new paint and a lot of TLC. I've always wanted to see Steamport but we moved in at the late 90's, so never got to see it as an adult :( Great upload, something trivial to someone else is so cool to me :)
I was doing a 6 month tour of Northern Ireland as a young 22 year old soldier when this was filmed. seems like yesterday. I know that train route well, many happy times in Crosby & Southport fair.
Thanks, that's the most relaxing hour I can remember spending for some time. Credit is due to the filmmaker, driver and inspector who were brilliant. You got to laugh, suddenly old and far away, at what was once unremarkable, mundane, now appears mythical and magical, the radiant warmth and familiar presence of those we loved, who lived and dwelt along that line no more ......but for a moment rekindled. Cheers Gyruss, happy memories, nice one.
I never thought I would see a drivers view. I used this line from 1954 to 1972. Absolutely fascinating. Great quality and commentary. It brought a lot of memories back. Thanks for all the work that went into this video. David
I lived in southport but went to school in crosby in the 60's so this route is well known to me. I also lived in birkdale but worked behind town hall in liverpool so again the daily trips were on this route. Not been in uk for almost 50 years ( in nz)
You would see a lot of changes! I'm also in NZ, Otago, went back three years ago, when we could travel! Was brought up in Aughton Green, went to school in Ormskirk and also lived in Birkdale! Loved this train journey, and travelling into Liverpool.
Great to see this video, by chance. I travelled weekly by train Southport/Euston, to Parliament, but travelled via Wigan as Merseyrail was subsidised and I felt the Wigan line needed all the passengers it could get. So, it's nice to see this routes cab view.
Brilliant video - exceptionally interesting, the information that the Footplate Inspector has is really wonderful; a proper railwayman of the type that is sadly disappearing from the network today. That's not a criticism of any modern day Railwaymen, it's just that years ago working on the railway didn't always pay brilliantly, it was more of a vocation, a way of life - not just a job. I suppose I'm getting old, and beginning to suffer from that uniquely male ailment of 'nostalgia'!! Anyway, thank you so much for sharing, really looking forward to the other lines. Thank you again. Zac
That's not the driver talking to the fella filming :) That's Operations Inspector Stuart Mason and all this footage can be found on the Cab Rides Around the British Isles No. 37/38 Railway Recollections DVD. Filmed on 19th September 1990. Steve Young was also in the cab, I think. 507 023 is named after the man giving most the information in this video RIP, mate!
Loving this, my Grandma lived in College Avenue at Formby we used to visit her occasionally as the journey from Bishop’s Stortford was fairly epic. When I was little I used to think the train coming under Formby bridge was entering a different world. We used to get off there and run down the path behind the station into College Avenue and down the unmade road looking out for the street light just past Wicks Lane footbridge which was outside Grandma’s house (number 18). I never travelled the gap between Formby and Freshfield but I used to stomp up Wicks Lane bridge because it made a fair old racket. The train wheels over the bolted rails made a distinctive sound which I can still remember now. Last time I went they were continuously welded so not the same. We had days out in Southport visited my Great Aunt who lived on the road that runs along side the Birkdale to Southport track. We used to walk to Birkdale to get the train back to Freshfield. I remember seeing a 507 for the first time there, we had been used to the 503’s with their deep plush seats the bone shaker 507 I saw was in Birkdale heading to Southport, I remember seeing the bright yellow interior. Those were amazing and magical times so long ago, thank you for posting this it’s brought so many memories back for me
do you remember the steam trains going from moorfields to southport.. i was only 10 then .. by the way i lived in those new apartments for 5 years that are across from the station ..loved formby
John Turner I was a 70’s child 1973 but my mother will remember. She went to school in Birkdale so she travelled by steam train every week day. She remembers the LMS liveried EMU’s and the “Dockers Umbrella”. She’s interested in the Cheshire Lines and specifically interested in unusual bridges such as the Middlesbrough transporter bridge. I can just about remember Exchange station. We got a taxi there once from Lime Street, the cabby gave her a funny look and took us there but it was closed. I think it was either a bus station or depot, we would have caught the train from Moorfields. My brother never quite trusted her directions after that.
@@johnturner561 Yes, I remember standing on a foot bridge near Southport station and a steam train passing underneath. Not sure what age I was but it was probably in 1960 something.
A great watch I was brought up near Millers bridge Bootle. As a lad used to try and get a glimpse of the royal train passing on grand national day. The driver on this vid was a mine of interesting information thanks to all who produced it.
That was really interesting. I lived in Formby for a year in the mid 70s so I took this train between Formby and Liverpool frequently and from Formby to Southport when we wanted to waste a day just kicking around. Back then the line still terminated at Liverpool exchange. I'm sure the service is greatly improved by making it go through all the way to Hunt's Cross but the underground stations like Liverpool Central and Moorfields are so anticlimactic compared to Liverpool Exchange. All those times I was on these trains I never really thought about anyone driving it, it was cool to see it from the driver's perspective.
Kevin Enos Thanks for viewing the video. things have changed quite a lot. the whole network was modernised with quiet clean trains and the stations look much better. exchange Station is long gone and is now a office block. The network has turned into one of the best local lines in the ountry with the line even extended to Chester.
GYRUSS It was a pretty good railway back when I used to ride it with the one exception that it didn't interconnect with other lines out of James St and Lime St. Still, there was something thrilling about arriving at Exchange even if it was getting old and dirty because they were anticipating abandoning it. Arriving at a large station like that with the old, high train sheds, you knew you you had reached a major destination.
Exchange station was pretty impressive as I remember. Check out the great work they have done to James Street station. My video here ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-B3tyZzlU-1w.html
Judging by the graphics, this is a Railscene video. They produced many cab rides like this during the period around 1990 for commercial sale, mostly with Jeremy English in the cab doing the chat with the train crews. There are a lot uploaded on RU-vid.
There used to be a sign in Southport Station above where you go through with your tickets saying , "WAY OUT BUFFET BAR" . Many a laugh was had at that. There was also a fantastic newsagents stand that sold virtually everything, books, maps, papers, chocolate and sweets and even ice cream.
@Ian Concannon yes that sounds right. Used to visit Grandma occasionally during the summer hols or at Christmas. Everything was always the same and not wanting to bore you but my visits there were magical to me. My memories are also quite nerdy, things at Freshfield like the old footbridge, the signal box. The platforms at Formby, the northbound one was full of excitement as we arrived under the bridge it was like travelling through the wardrobe into Narnia. The southbound platform was the sad platform, looking towards Freshfield waiting for the train to come round the bend and stop, the wooden crossing barriers and the shadow of the footbridge flicker across the front of the train as it came towards me, taking me away.
Thanks for this upload (4 years ago!! I only just found it). I mostly travel on the Wirral branches, but I've travelled most of the line in this video at least once (never quite got as far as Southport). Fascinating to see the widespread presence of semaphore signals even as late as 1990. I'm still trying to get my head around how those signals worked, in terms of distants & home signals; and who controls which signal - e.g. if there's a home & a distant on the same post, such as at 29:23; or if there's a signal at the entrance to the station as well as the exit; or when there's only a distant at the end of the platform (31:07). All very confusing to a non railwayman!
1990, I would have been nearly seven, I can remember the smell of the underground at lpool Central when stepping off the train, exciting as a kid, I used to love the whine of the motors and the tictictic noise when stopped at a station. we used to go to town or Southport rom Litherland or the strand Station, i was a train fanatic at that age and I always wanted to be an engine driver. Thanks for the upload brings back some great memories of growing up in Merseyside back then. We left in 1994
I always wondered what made them make that ticking noise... Hope you'll find yourself on a ship back to Blighty, because the streets are cleaner today than they were in the 90's... slightly cleaner, anyway.
It would be criminal if none of those units get preserved. I don't see why they don't reinstate the Bootle New Strand to Aintree branch; there's even space between Harris Drive and Netherton Way for sidings and a shed for the preserved units, and maybe even create a new station! Call it Ford or something in honour of stations that used to be there! Turn the preservation into an attraction!!
That was an interesting video as after the Waterloo station the driver refered to the level crossing as Brook hall road crossing but I've never heard it called that before. That was St Johns road level crossing and the next level crossing after that is Brook road East and West level crossing ... Hall road is 2 stations up from Waterloo station . Very interesting he should call it Brook hall road level crossing as I've never heard it called that before. 😊 Good vid though
Bloody brilliant! thanks for uploading, I've been hoping for something like this for years! First time I've seen 90% of the line in BR blue. Spooky to see Seaforth as I remember growing up there, only with less yellow.
Very interesting indeed. At the bank hall turn those who may recognise that pub on the corner of Stanley Road which has been closed for a good few years is still there but minus its roof .
Glad to see that you can get from the south to the north of Liverpool in one go. Sad to see how diminished many of the stations are. As a kid I used to travel from Bootle Oriel rd to Liverpool Exchange Station about once a week. There were waiting rooms on both platforms with coal fires at various times.
At 2:21 just after departing bootle new strand you can cach a glance of the car dealers Leaders of Liverpool on the corner of Marsh Lane. It's now the Aldi.
I've already said under this video: it's a waste to not reinstate the Bootle New Strand to Aintree branch, using the space between Harris Drive and Netherton Way for a station (perhaps named "Ford" after a long-gone station that was there) sidings, and a shed for the preserved units! Both preservation and attraction!
You say "sadly" - but for those of us who travel on Merseyrail, the new trains look fantastic. As per Caramell Dansen's comment - I do hope they preserve a couple of those units; considering how long they've been in service (IIRC they were introduced in the mid 1980s, to replace trains from the 1950s and 1930s(!)). And just think - in 2070 or so, someone will be looking back at a cab ride in a 777 & thinking nostalgic thoughts! Assuming we STILL don't have our hover cars by then...!
Yeah, there's nothing particularly sad about it if you travel day in, day out. I'm just back from doing some work in Liverpool and I got to ride a 777 to Kirkby. They're absolutely fantastic, a huge improvement over the 507s and 508s.
That's a question I've been wondering about! 717s ended up with tripcocks but 710s didn't (with TPWS fitted at the train stop fitted signals), I'm sure somebody already knows the answer now seeing they're on our soil and being tested!
This fucker talked shite about a few things. First of all, class 507's were NOT designed for the Merseyrail system. They came up from the southern region in the middle 70's. If they had been designed for this system, then why did 85% of the stations on the Wirral, need their platforms lengthening ? Secondly, 4 car units couldn't carry as many passengers in the peak times, as the old 6 car units could, so therefore the 507/508 units ran as 3 car and 6 car units. Also, 507's were tested as 4 car units, and found to be under powered, if they had to have a standing start from the river bed section, up to Hamilton Square or James Street stations. How do I know this ? I was a driver on the Merseyrail system, when these units first came here, and before their arrival. A lot of trial runs took place on the Wirral, round the loop system and the stock interchange. These trial runs were conducted by Birkenhead Train Crews, Engineers from Derby and usually Traction Inspectors would ride with us.
Wikipedia claims that Class 313 units were brought up from King's Cross services as a trial for the kind of trains that may replace the 502s and 503s; sets 313 013 and 313 063 were used for these trials. Thirty-three 507s were then ordered from BREL, who also made the 313s, and the first passenger working was in late 1978. I can't seem to find anything specifically about 507 trials. The three-car/four-car issue may be from the manufacture of the 508s, who lost their extra trailer very early on into their life in the South, well before being transferred to Merseyside.
They were all part of the PEP Units modernisation plan. The 507 was the DC version modified to work in single bore underground tunnels. When LSWR got 455’s, the 508’s lost a trailer coach but had to undergo the same mods the 507’s had done. Stuart was correct in what he was saying - and I would fight to support that argument everyday.
