Never stop digressing. The fact that Trojan the record label was named after the defunct car company is exactly the kind of useful information one wants in a film of the London underground.
Agreed... I'm all in favour of digression. Something I share with my father who was a toolmaker who served his apprenticeship at Chatham Dockyard which was where HMS Victory was built which famously....
Duke Reid's Trojan van, that he used to carry his gear with, in Jamaica, and was signwritten with: "Duke Reid - The Trojan King Of Sounds". Some Trojan vans had a third headlight in the centre of the radiator grille. I have a friend who has a phobia about freestanding chimneys, so thanks to you, I can now advise him to give this Croydon industrial estate a wide swerve. Also, Ikea. Worth a swerve in anyone's books. Two Allen keys and no bloody bolts! (Sorry, painful flashback there).
Some of their cars were made in Kingston (Surrey, not Jamaica) on the site that later became a Hawker Siddley factory. Always seemed odd to make planes in a place without a runway.
@@brianartillery I'm not sure if a phobia of free standing chimberlies is more or less bizarre than my phobia of price stickers or a friend's phobia of file dividers. Well... Phobia does mean an *irrational* fear I suppose so your irrational fear might as well be completely irrational.
I don't see how Emirates Air Line is a sponsorship deal. Emirates are a demonym of people from the UAE. I suppose yes formally there is an airline called Emirates, but most folks I know refer to them as BA - Bling Air! 🤣
"That's a lot of meatballs", "... and now this site of horror and terror is an IKEA." Dry British humour, then taken through a de-humidifier at it's best. Made me chuckle.
I live in Gothenburg, Sweden, and my closest tram stop is named "SKF", after the company who invented the modern ball bearing in 1907. They used to have their head office here, but now they've moved 200m south, across the small river. I have never ever thought about how weird it is that a tram stop is named after a company before your video, and now I cant stop thinking about it!
@Rebel Historian Mine, too. I gave it the nickname "Hell", and my partner used to ask if we could drive to Hell. I would sit in the car, to avoid the hyperventilation that was brought on by going in, and just drove to the exit to pick her up when she phoned to say she was ready.
Why are you weird for not wanting sponsorship of stations.? For instance, who wants these? MacDonald's Totten-Hamburger Court. Google-Goodge Street Strat-Ford Motors. Amazon Amersham Star-Bucks-Hurst Hill London Microsoft City Airport Emirates Greenwich Peninsula No, wait a minute, that actually is a station!
@@bourbonryescotch1 Hi there BRS. OK. I looked up Strathspey Railway. It's a steam service right? There are 3 stations on line. Aviemore, Boat of Garten and Broomhill. Is this the line you mean?
@Reb Mordechai Hi Reb, the one you mentioned is the preserved one. The original one ran all the way to Dufftown and was closed in 1966. Dailuaine and Balmenach distilleries were connected to this railway. Noteworthy stations on this line are Craigellachie, Aberlour, Dailuaine Halt, Imperial Cottages Halt, Knockando, Ballindalloch. Too bad this line was axed, otherwise it would have been the nicest whisky trails by train.
@@bourbonryescotch1 Wow, Thank you for telling me about this. it sounds like a dream train whisky trail line. Perfect for those wishing to visit all the distilleries along the route without driving. Please G-d, when this pandemic is finally over and we are all healthy with jobs....I think it would be a terrific idea to open this line again. I'm sure it would be profitable. But they'd have to add a few stations. Little Tipsy, Sloshed On-The-Whey, Pished Park, Blootered Burns, Hammered Halt, Sozzled Street, Trollied Trail, Plastered Place, Oot-Yet-Tree Junction.
IBM had its name adorning a station for 40 years (until 2018) in Spango Valley near Greenock, though the name outlasted IBM's activities, or Lenovo and the other companies who took over that part of IBM. I don't think IBM had any stake in the station. More extreme was Redcar British Steel station, where the station was within the grounds of the steel works.
That's the IKEA where I bought my beloved "Sladda" bicycle... and the same one I took it back to for a full refund, less than a year later. I didn't want a refund, but the bike was recalled on safety grounds. (Sigh) It was a smashing bike, with super colour matching luggage racks front and rear. When I see those chimneys I don't think of sofas or bookcases, although we have had those too. I think of my bike, and how much I wish I still had it.
When I hear Sladda bikes, I immediately picture my old buddy we went to school with who bought one and then had it stolen not a week later. Never got it recovered.
@@jslonisch I don't believe they sell bikes anymore. Interestingly, failures were actually very rare, and now anyone who held on to their "Sladda," instead of accepting their money back, could sell for twice what they paid for it.
There is a station in Clydebank called Singer. It was named after the Singer Sewing Machine Factory which was enormous and for a time one of the biggest employers in the area, the factory and the company are long gone but the Station is still called Singer.
IKEA Ampere Way...strange name for a station...sounds like some new electronic device. Here in Chicago, it's possible to go to MARS on one of our commuter rail lines. It should be Oak Park Avenue, but it's the stop adjacent to the Mars candy factory.
There is also a Mars,outside of Pittsburgh! NASA,would save a lot of money on exploration,as you'd only pay local fares,either on rail or bus! As to Ampere,there is one in New Jersey,formerly on a trolley route,now a bus route,and also on a rail station,(no subway,anywhere near,). There may be more,that is simply overlooked!
I see “takes from The tube” as a name that just conveys “trails from London” I REALLY enjoy your informational videos of various factors of london that you don’t usually see!
'But I digress', and in so doing you have crammed an amazing amount of historic information into a four minute video. Now we know where you go for lunch :)
Here in Cologne, there's a light rail stop called IKEA as well. But then, IKEA (and some more companies in the surrounding commercial areas) collaborated with the tram company to help financing the extension of an existing line to the store and a bit further.
Here in Bielefeld (if you believe it exists) we have a bus stop called IKEA serving the 123 IKEA bus from a tram stop to the IKEA car park. It stops me buying too much at IKEA.
To be fair; "Ikea" sounds like an expression bus passengers in yorkshire or somewhere with a similar accent might use if the bell was broken. "Ikea~ Druverrh!"
I used to work in a furniture assembly plant on Purley Way at the end of the 80s (my first job out of school). A bunch of fellow workmates and I spent one afternoon exploring the abandoned power plant after work. That whole site used to be a dump.
Purley Way, the great Croydon industrial complex. My dad worked there in the 1950s and for me, before emigrating in 1968, it was always the Croydon Bypass down south of Purley from Thornton Heath Pond. So long ago, still as clear as day...and, of course, the West Croydon-Wimbledon train line through the murky mists and coal laden sidings of those gas works and power stations to which you refer.
Got that tram everyday for a month before moving closer to my job. Horrible in the morning. Pushed in shoulder to shoulder, and had trouble getting out before the doors closed. Just another thing that needs funding...
I remember the old 2 car train from Wimbledon to west Croydon. We went for rides on it as kids and we went really close to those cooling towers.Croydon has bad memories for me cos back in the late 60s the sewage works broke down and the stink was unbelievable. The sludge had to be loaded onto massive lorries and sent to god knows where but if you were unlucky enough to be near when one went passed the odor was incredible. Also Croydon is home to Lunar House, that unhappy outstation of the Home Office where queues maybe a quarter mile long would form for applications. I went with a friend and was in the queue for 8 hours.
I remember it being called IKEA Ampere Way. Although you say you are not a fan of sponsored names, which i also agree with you. Further down the tram stops is a place called Reeves Corner, which also has a nice little story.
Excellent stuff once again. I used to live in central Croydon and still live within the borough of Croydon, and delight in telling people that Robert de Niro filmed there. I am sure his visit to Croydon rates among the highspots of his life and career. Brazil is a work of genius in my estimation.
Got to say I’m loving all these south east London videos. Just watched the Hayes Jubilee line video and it was spot on. Can I suggest a video on the pneumatic railway built and lost in Crystal Palace in the 1800s 👍🏼 there’s not much information out there on the topic
I read the title as meaning Brazil the country not Brazil the movie. Born and bred in the former and (in maturity) a fan of the latter, I was pleased to learn the actual location of a terrifying movie scene and also relieved the land escaped unscathed from more unfavourable commentary -- particularly the day after candidate Biden threatened us with economic oblivion unless we stop tearing the Amazon forest apart (which we're just not doing). Absolutely love your channel.
One of my offices used to be in Beddington Farm - just off Purley Way. I can say in complete honesty, that Croydon is the most depressing, godforesaken place that I've ever visited. It's truly woeful - I used to be depressed just driving to it.
"and now this sight of horror and torment is an ikea " Still torment, just in a different form. Just thinking about that endless maze of a store hurts my brain.
Hi Jago, You went to Croydon but forgot to mention the " Payne's Poppets" Factory! It was a bit of a landmark on Croydon Road and Payne's used to produce "Poppets" and "Just Brazils" which would go nicely with a glass of Tizer! You could eat " Just Brazils" whilst watch " Brazil" I guess.
Bus Line 168 ends in "Old Kent Road Tesco". Not sure if you would count that as an advert :) Since that happens to be the last stop, the bus travel through Central London with "Tesco" as its destination.
When I was a child I visited the gas works opposite the power station. We stood on top of the ovens and I have to say I was terrified when a lid was raised and more coal from a hopper was dropped in. Naturally you can visit the site of the old watercress beds around the corner in Beddington and Carshalton Ponds (more Wandle stuff) and visit Honeywood Lodge which is brilliant.
Historic maps show a very large network of railway tracks in the area. I have read that it had its own electric locomotives powered by overhead wires which makes it an oddity in the third rail based Southern Region. I once saw an old LP record of steam engine sounds and it included a track (😬) of coal trucks being unloaded at Croydon B. Perhaps the strangest piece of local history is Waddon Isolation Hospital which ended up nestled between the main railway line and the junction of the industrial sidings. It must have been a strange place to be at.
Well, of course, there has been a "company" named tube station in London since 1932 that no one seems to have a problem with - Arsenal. And you could argue that all stations, old and new, bearing the names of all sorts of commercial premises are advertising e.g. factories, events venues, sports facilities, airports.
Supposed that's slightly different, also port sunlight and bournville, the model villages built literally for the factories and the brand, their is more but these 2 stand out as a couple visited this on a certain RU-vid channel
I'd be happy with a revolving restaurant, but different to what you're thinking... I'd have a cog/motor on each chimney, with the restaurant between/atop them. Damn, I love Brazil!
Just realised that I am one of a lost generation. Those who where born and lived in Croydon after the trams ended in 1952 but who moved away before they were re-introduced in 2000. The generation that never knew Croydon with trams!
A movie set? Maybe at some point in the future the site will host a performance by Circuit du Soleil. As far as "Tales from the Tube..." The trams are sort of round, they're hollow... they count as a tube (lowercase) in my book. On the naming rights thing--think how fun it would be to have a station sponsored by "Next" clothing (yes, I had to look that up), and listen to the train announcements say, "The next station is... Next... Station...."
It is ironic. Iconically, that whenever I am forced into an IKEA, I feel as if I have been transported into a Gilliam film, if not Brazil itself. Escape is only possible if you follow The Path.
I signed a petition to save those chimneys! I do sometimes go to that Ikea but partly because going by tram is the treat, not the meatballs. I'm also less likely to load up on Swedish tat if I have to carry it back on public transport.
Always witty, Jago. As a Croydon boy now living in San Francisco, your tales about the history of the tram stops are very fascinating. Have you done a video on whatever happened to Croydon Central? Or to Addiscombe - two termini in the Borough that have gone for ever. Perhaps you could openly announce that your wider subject is the entire history of railways in the greater London area. Lots more material there. And... whatever happened to Bull and Bush station?
One of the residential streets built since the power station was demolished was even named ‘Brazil Close’ to commemorate the fact the film was made there.
@@JagoHazzard It’s only a small little cul-de-sac. Though I’ve just had a look on Google Street View, and it appears to be an industrial street, not a residential street. Apologies for the error!
I'm fine with sponsorship of stations... It's a source of revenue to the company and also, the one time I saw it happen here in Portugal, the sponsor improved the station. Was the Chiado Metro Station in Lisbon.
my issue with corporate naming of public buildings and infrastructure is the confusion caused when the corporate deal ends at one location but reappears a bit later at a different location. Or if the corporate name is used on multiple locations at same time
RE: The Sponsorship of Tram stops ,The Manchester Metrolink Station that serves Manchester City's Ethiad Stadium is called Ethiad Campus !! The Ethiad people sponsored the tram stop for a considerable amount of money, on a long term arrangement, What is it about Airlines from the UAE That insist on sponsoring every stadium they can get there hands on. Even the Home of Lancashire Cricket club is named Emirates Old Trafford, Thankfully the Tram stop next to it is still Old Trafford. Of Course It also serves Manchester Utds stadium as well, I would suggest Preparation H Haemorrhoids cream would be the ideal sponsor for that paticular Location. !!
Stations on the Dubai metro have both a name and a number. This is because a large number of the stations are sponsored by local companies, and during that period the station bears the company’s name. But of course the sponsorship, and thus the name, can change; hence, knowing the number of the station you want is potentially more useful than knowing its name. I was unable, ever, to get hold of a hard-copy system map, presumably because it’ll be out-of-date quickly.
Shocking puns. There is a degreaser called Jizer. It too was bright red, and looked exactly the same as Tizer. It too, also was of indeterminate composition, full of chemicals and not very healthy if swallowed. I used to use it a lot as for a time I could get it cheaper than Gunk. The Edinburgh trams were a bit of a monumental cock up. The network was vastly overbudget, years late and quite incomplete whereas the units were all built early on, waiting in storage. The management was sacked (I think the Council took charge), the network shortened- most of it was unbuilt anyway - and so there were too many trams. There was a rumour that some were offered to Croydon. It would be interesting to know if there is any truth in this. It doesn't seem to have happened anyway as the two types look quite different. If anything it's Nottingham's new trams which are the most similar to Edinburgh's which are quite unsuitable for Notts. Notts trams are shorter and a lot narrower than standard because of tight clearances in places.
You mention Croydon Airport and I do think it would merit your attention as it was the site of the first London Airport. And the second - Croydon's "new" airport opened in 1928. This airport saw the development of radio-based air traffic control techniques, which formed the basis from which modern worldwide techniques evolved. And it was called "London" airport. Over to you.
Glad to say James Clerk Maxwell memorialised - his contribution to electromagnetism and other branches of physics was huge, and he does tend to be a bit overshadowed by Albert Einstein, even though Maxwell's findings were essential for the theory of special relativity (look it up in various online places!).
To be honest, I think you can justify having Ikea in the name of the stop. As the Ikea is the main reason that people use that stop. You have plenty of bus stations in the UK with names of shopping centers, heck, even Centrale tram stop on the Croydon trams is named after the shopping center! However, I do agree with you in the fact that if the stop has nothing to do with the location, then yes, it should no be sponsored.
Have you thought about bus interconnections? Newberry Park has a Grade II building and a rather nice Festival of Britain plaque, obviously installed many years ago if not at the time. You can also get change between travel modes. Who would have thought of that? Planning even. Arnos Grove and better still Southgate show how it was done in the 30’s (?). Nearby estates laid out by the local authority and sold to small builders. Planning even! Southgate Station needs a bit of attention, but still intact. Keep up the good work. I have walked some of your routes, Trinity House Wharf next when it looks dry.
I was nodding along with you when you said about not having sponsored names for stops. Then I remembered that our local bus stops are sometimes the nearest pub's name. I can even think of a bus stop changing its name because the pub did. I have no problem with the pub names, but do with the likes of IKEA, argh. Cheers 🍻
Tizer, along with Cream Soda, was excellent with ice cream in it. What is now called a Float. Something in the sugar content made the ice cream foam. Anyway it used to. The ice cream had to be Rossi’s from Westcliff-on-Sea seafront.
Had to google what the area used to look like with the power station there. The area is almost unrecognisable if it wasn't for the power stations towers.
Fabulous. I love all these facts and opinions too. I have no idea why I have never set foot in croydon. No idea why. No exactly sure where it is. Near Wimbledon?
I agree that it seems wrong to name stations after commercial enterprises, but on the other hand it's commonplace to name bus stops after pubs or supermarkets!
Honestly though, the line between advertising and just landmark status is only a matter of time. Reeves Corner takes its name from the House of Reeves furniture store, and no one bats an eyelid at that anymore.
We have at the Middleton Railway, Leeds, one of the Croydon Power Station Steam Locomotoves on Display, . Mirvale.jpg. 2103, 0-4-0ST, Peckett and Sons, Originally worked at B. 2105 was purchased by a Quainton Railway Society member and is at the Buckinhamshire Railway Centre so operated over ex Metropolitan Line Metals, 2104 has been at the Northamptoon and Lamport Rialway since 1989
