London Kings Cross to Hull 

Another masterpiece, Don, rendered even more interesting thanks to Dave's commentary. I can't help speculating what an amazing archive your works will be for people in 50 or 100 years time. Long may you keep it up and your chosen charities prosper as a result!

I’ve just discovered these driver view videos. Absolutely addictive. I watch in stages. Got a wide screen TV great effect. Thanks

Impressive how this speed of 125mph is maintained on Victorian-era routing, and that there's an upgrade to 140 in the works. As much as I bash UK rail for it's shortcomings, you have to commend the 19th century engineers who built this, and the following generations who maintained and upgraded this stuff to support speeds currently sustained today.

Watched it all. I loved this one. Dave and his commentary were amazing. The ECML is also a very beautiful route, and I had never seen it going out of london! Thanks a lot for this amazing video.

Thanks Don for yet another excellent video. What a good day for travel: crystal clear long distance viewing! Thanks also to Dave for making it possible. What a good service that is from Hull to London.

Thank you from USA. Another fantastic video from Mr. Coffey. Glorious English sunshine, perfect view of trains, tracks, countryside, excellent commentary, perfect videography, including sound, and helpful route information. Excellent.

I took this route last year during a visit to England (from Australia) to visit my uncle in Hull, I really enjoyed looking at the beautiful English countryside. Thank you for bringing back such good memories :)

I find these driver's eye views very relaxing and I can even use them to fall asleep when I'm overtired. I'm 77 and don't do much travelling by train nowadays! As the train gathers speed and we rush headlong into the future, it seems quite remarkable, even magical, that railways work as well as they do. There is such a lot of infrastructure involved, and even more since the advent of overhead power cables and the gantries to carry them. But perhaps even more impressive than the actual train, it's the signalling system and especially points control that most impress me. At busy junctions there are often many sets of points and every single one has to be set correctly to avoid catastrophe. I suppose modern signalling systems rely to a great extent on computers to ensure the points are set right and the signals, too.

Very impressive video. I watched a few months back and never got round to leaving a comment! Dave was fantastic with his knowledge and passion. I do miss the class 43s and the roar of the 91s but i like these Hitachi trains, their acceleration is excellent and their versatility to bring intercity/high speed services on non electrified stations to towns such as Hull is a positive things in my eyes.

Loved this one. Good to hear the driver and great that you spliced in the driver of Mallard!

This was a great run to watch. Indeed thanks to David and all at Hull Trains. Merry Christmas and a safe New Year to all my fellow railway folk.

Great demonstration of route knowledge from our driver 👍

Your best production (so far). Excellent video, audio, annotations, and narrative (thanks Dave). A well deserved Congratulations and Thank You from Battle Ground Washington.

One of your best and the fastest I've traveled sitting at my computer. How things have changed in rail travel since I left England and I truly marvel at the engineering and design of railway tracks in all of the videos I watch. Thank you Don. Happy New Year and have a great year ahead.

Another great run to watch. Thanks to David and all at Hull Trains

Really looking forward to this one, Don. It includes, at its northern end, some track that I've never even travelled on, let alone seen from video. Thanks, in anticipation, to you and to driver Dave Kildea.

Another amazing ride. Thanks so much for the entertainment of a train lover beset by Amtrak.

Thanks don and everyone at Hull trains for this. My usual route to London 😊

Great vid and info as always. Thank you.

Don epic video the best yet, Dave is immense in this vid. his knowledge of the route is brilliant credit to him. Wicked journey from South to North awesome detail ....Cheers IAN

Watching from Rotorua, New Zealand on a wet day trying to get some milage on indoor machines. Thanks for a brilliant video and a great help in making me move faster!

Outstanding picture quality combined with all the interesting information scrolls make your work the gold standard not matched by any of the other producer of similar videos. Thanks for your hard work and keep them coming

I watch your videos with my pre-grouping atlas to follow the route. The number of stations and lines that have disappeared is so sad. Many of them would be most useful these days. I really enjoyed this offering, thanks Don.

Hello from the US! I just happened upon these wonderful train vids. Trains/railroads have been a lifelong hobby of mine; and--via the computer--I can travel to places I could not go to otherwise. Gotta love that English accent as well. I know I'll enjoy the other train vids as well & Many Thanks Again!!! :)

Great journey. The fast acceleration just after Digswell was pretty amazing. Thanks.

Many thanks to you Don and driver Dave. Such a well produced video. And such a smooth ride. We've come a long way since "clickety-clack" :)

Wonderful as always to see a run into my home town. Thank you for continuing to upload fantastic content, and thank you to Dave for allowing those of us who were unable to follow our childhood dreams to live vicariously through you! Also, for anyone who's interested, here are a couple more interesting historical facts about Hull: According to many accounts, Hull is where the English Civil War began, when King Charles I was refused entry into the city by the parliamentary governor, Sir John Hotham. This altercation took place at the Beverley Gate entrance through the walls, and, though the gate and walls were demolished in the late 1700s, the remnants of the gate have since been excavated and are now open to the public. The subsequent Siege of Hull by Charles and the royalists has been called the "first blood" of the Civil War. Hull was, until the 1960s, a major fishing port. This caused it some problems in the last century or so. For instance, during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, Russia decided to send their Baltic Fleet to help out in the Far East (resulting in the last ever surrender of one battle fleet to another on the high seas, but that's another story). This was at a time when naval technology was seeing a period of rapid growth and development, and there was a lot of fear in the Russian fleet about the new "torpedo boat." So, when they sighted a few small boats in the North Sea, they panicked and opened fire. The boats turned out to be fishing boats from Hull, and three trawlermen were killed. A monument to them now stands on Hessle Road in Hull, and this event very nearly saw Britain joining the war against Russia. A little known fact about Hull is that it was the single most severely damaged city in the country in the Blitz, the German night-bombing raids of 1940-41. Hull was the target of both the first daylight raid of the war, and the last manned raid against Britain. Out of 91,000 houses in the city, only 6,000 were spared from damage of some form, and more than 5,000 were destroyed outright. The reason for this damage was twofold. First, as mentioned previously, Hull was a major fishing port, actively working against the German strategy of starving Britain into submission. Secondly, Hull was surrounded by several strategic targets; a waterworks, a gasworks, a power station, an oil refinery, and of course, several docks, in addition to being a fairly major rail hub. There were also several grain mills further up the River Hull. As you can see, Hull has had a rather dangerous history, but it wasn't without it's peaceful moments. In this video, just visible over the right-hand end of the station roof is a brick building. This is the original station building, and, beyond that, the Station hotel, which, in 1853, housed Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, and five of their nine children.

Awesome video! Thank you!!!

Absolutely brilliant looking forward to more!

Thank you for another excellent video...great film, the incredible naming of all the level crossings & footpaths, plus the detailed commentary across the bottom....a lot of hard work....much appreciated!

Interesting to see Slipper Bridge. Here in Victoria (Australia) they've just completed a near identical version to take the railway line between Traralgon and Sale over the last phase of the Princes Highway duplication between those two cities. As of two weeks ago, however, they were a long way from completing the roadworks, so this holiday period must have been fun for the many holidaymakers wanting to get down to the south eastern resorts, including ours here in Paynesville - which is currently heaving with them...

Brilliant video, the commentary and annotations made it fascinating. Got to say a word about Hull Trains who really are something else - excellent service and some of the nicest staff in rail. Actually make rail travel enjoyable! And those class 802's are fabulous - the seamless switchover from electric to diesel is just so impressive. Thank you for posting.

Always a good day when you’ve posted a new video Don. Have a happy safe New Year. All the best. Mick.

An exemplary narration; simple facts and no more.

Another great video. Thank you so much.

What an excellent video. Thank you.

Another interesting video I was amazed at how much information the driver had it was interesting to hear him speak. I hope you have a happy new year

Great video Don, thanks so much. A trip I've done many times -but you don't get this view from the cheap seats!

Another fabulous journey!

Fantastic as usual Don really good commentary from Dave.well done Hull Trains

Thanks Don & Dave, a very interesting journey and information. Passed through my neck of the woods: Biggleswade/ Sandy. 👍👍👍

Excellent video, just the thing in December when the rain and wind are lashing down outside to take us back to warmer summer days, seeing beautiful British countryside and some interesting historic railway infrastructure. Thanks and Happy New Year to you.

Another brilliant video thank you and love the driver Dave’s cheerful commentary Exelent

Excellent production and informative as always!

Another brilliant video. Many thanks to you and Dave. Makes me want to take this service just for the ride.

Another excellent video. Great descriptions of the area and landmarks!😊

The city of culture 😉nice of them to leave a Turbostar in your way at platform 7 in Hull!

Fantastic video I travel on Hull Trains lots so its fantastic to see the route from the driver view

What an absolutely amazing video! I’ve taken this journey over 100 times through the years and it’s nice to see it from the drivers perspective

Great trip lads TY. Merry Xmas and happy new year from down under !

Tolle Fahrt..vielen Dank!

Great video, and hugely impressed at the quality you achieve. Small correction (if I remember correctly) - the wrong type of snow was actually from the early days of class 319s, where a particularly fine type of snow defeated the weatherproofing of the unit's traction motors and managed to short them

Looking forward to this one Don. Even though I live in Gilberdyke now, I'm born and raised in Hull,

Superb Vid and some great commentary as well. Love to see a Kings X to NCL one day. Thankyou for all the hard work you do to bring these great Videos.

Thank you for this video. Nice and interesting cab ride. Globally it was a sunny day, with more sun at the begining and more clouds at the end. At 1h28mn33sec, there is a double interchange between the two tracks. The mention "crossovers" is indicated. It is always in these cases. Also, thank you for all infos given. In fine, best wishes for the new year 2024.

Another great video run Don 👍

Tremendous video again Don. And Dave's explanation of signals and such. Spot on. Would Dave have to make the return journey after a break

Excellent watch! We used to have a signal on the Up Westbury outside Reading that was similar to the Mexican Hat. Drivers used to call, and still refer to that location (despite not having it anymore) as 'Nelson's Hat'

Brilliant video Don most enjoyable thank Dave for the commentary and thank you for the great quiz question (smallest window) will use it in my quiz on the 15th, many thanks 😊

Thanks for posting this! I spent over two decades living in London - my old house whizzes by as you approach Alexandra Palace station, to the left. Fun fact: part of the film Children Of Men was filmed in and around Hornsey station. Cheers!

Great video and the commentary was interesting and informative.

I WORKED WITH A SURVEYOR,-ON "THE "DARWIN RIVER DAM" PROJECT (aust)-in 1971,-I WAS HIS "OFFSIDER"-& HELD THE POLE,-& DUG THE "PROFILES"--I WAS A LABORER ON THE JOB,-AND HE WAS A REAL NICE BLOKE,-& TAUGHT ME A LOT !-IVE BEEN TO ENGLAND & AM ASTOUNDED BY THE"UNBELIEVABLEY FANTASTIC"ENGINEERING-THAT IS STILL AVAILABLE TO SEE EVERYWHERE !--LOVE YOUR SHOW DON-(do they still make "ACRINGTON" bricks ?)

Another great video Don - a very relaxing watch. Struggled to hear Dave due to the noise of the train, however, didn't really feel his commentary was necessary as your rolling narrative always keeps us well informed.

Your viewers might be interested to know that Sandy station was where the original East-West Rail link between Oxford and Cambridge via Bedford briefly joined the ECML. Travelling North as you were, you'd have seen it climb a gradient on the right (ie East) side and cross over a bridge heading West towards Bedford. The route is being reinstated, but will not go through Sandy again, as the Bedford to Cambridge section is long gone and much of it built on. I rode the entire route as a boy.

Another great video as usual. Amazing acceleration compared with 30+ years ago. Grantham - for a while in 80s/90s, my local station... you missed out Sir Issac Newton in the locals list!!... who proved how things go down, whilst Maggie showed how to make everything go up. My old college mate Graham (Jilted John) was actually born in Sheffield, not Grantham. I remember the wires going in on the ECML and the arrival of the 225s, when the 17:00 Leeds Pullman could just get me onto the my home platform within an hour. And I am sure Sir Frank Whittle was born in Coventry before moving to Leamington Spa where he attended my old school (long before me I hassen to add!).

HAppy New year Don, great film enhanced by the drivers comments. I watched this over the festering season and this year , and I did look , no yonder pheasant . Good health and happiness for the new year .

A big thank you to all involved. I got so engrossed that I forgot to have a cup of tea and a biscuit. Kettle on now!

Thanks for sharing your journey and also to Hull Trains. I noticed 2 Go pros. I presume one is a back up incase the other "fails to proceed". Someone once told me to "go to Hull". I thinks that's what they said. Anyway, Happy New Year from Australia.

I think this was your best video yet Don. And a really nice touch having the running commentary from David as well. Having done a couple of front end turns and a few of my handling hours on the ECML, I couldn’t help but wonder why they never stopped the flashing greens from flashing if they were never to be used. Unless there’s some distant plans in place to finally utilise them? Happy New Year to you.

Just beyond Biggleswade(27:47)there's a private footpath, with what looks like a newly constructed footbridge just after, which looks like it's replaced another foot crossing. Probably a safety audit decided it was worth the cost as it's on a curve where visibility would be limited

Yet another superb video Don. Enjoyed watching all of it at one go ! Liked the odd comments from the driver ?. Looking forward to the next one Don. (Crewe-Lincoln, via Uttoxeter maybe).

38:20 - a friend in engineering told me that the wrong kind of snow was big fluffy snowflakes that get sucked into the VFD (variable frequency drive motor drivers) and block airflow. The snow blocks the air inlets but there isn't any heat since the inverters are inside. The inverters overheat due to lack of airflow, despite it being cold and wet out!

0) Thank you, Don and Dave! :-) 1) ECML/WCML: I wonder who inserted "Coast" in these names... 2) All these foot paths level-crossing a four-track high-speed line... Using one would be the last thing I'd do (final steps I'd take). 3) The Selby - Hull section puzzles me. I rode it as a passenger in 1971, 1972 and 1974 as a Dutch boy bound for the Lake District (and back to the ferry to Rotterdam). My only surviving memories of it are being 4-track in full use (1971), 4-track, apparently only the middle ones in use (1972), 2-track, outside tracks lifted (1974). However hardly any piece of your footage would have accomodated four tracks. Has my memory been wrong for fifty years, or would major works have trimmed the track bed etc.? 4) As you (Don) mention the good connections: in 1974 we were unable to plan a train ride that would bring us from Ulverston to Hull in time for the ferry. On a Saturday in July, I assume. We had to travel to Hull the preceding day and wait long hours before checking in on the ferry. - Sidebar: my breakfast in Hull marked the first time I had white beans in tomato sauce for breakfast. It appealed to me. 5) Another sidebar: around 2010 I rode the length of the port of Rotterdam on my bike. I remember a signpost along the cycling lane: "Hull 2" (kilometres). Yes, it pointed to the ferry dock.

They say a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. That is one very long chain. It's amazing that it operates with as few hitches as it does; an obvious testament to the team that keeps it running. But it did occur to me that there's a lot of mischief to be made on those tracks, and I imagine anyone so inclined would find it easy to do a lot of damage. It's also amazing the amount of public infrastructure that remains safe simply by assuming that most people would not be so inclined.

I'm hearing the theme to Get Carter, as I watch this. Sadly, no Deltics in sight.

Mallard hits 126mph in 1938. HST entered service in 1976 and here we are in 2024 (nearly) still stuck at 125mph.

amazing clip at 52:17 about being on the same stretch as 'MALLARD' did the 126mph world record run. i mean..come on 126 miles per hour just by boiling water up and compressing the steam from it how fantastic.

50:16 Often use the Casewick PF crossing. Steep steps either side, good visibility to see if trains are coming , does gets the heart pumping a little 😆. There was a plan to close this footpath crossing along with Greatford LC, there was a public consultation in my village a few years ago. I guess it was abandoned.

Cheers for the great upload and quality as usual Don, any Leeds related services on the way?

Im sure I watched one your excellent videos, where a class 66 freight train came down the Ivanhoe line to Bardon Hill, Leicestershire but I now can’t find it. Unless of course it wasn’t one of your 😂

I don't know if it's still there Don but at the bottom of Stoke Bank is a little memorial plaque dedicated to a man named Brian Carter who passed away in 1950 at the age of 23. Despite having Multiple Sclerosis and a weak heart he made countless visits to that spot. His dying wish was to have his ashes scattered there.

Hi Don, what do the double bleeps mean. Love the video and ride 👍

Nice to see train doing KX to Grantham in one hour. And in 2024 finally, 810's comming to MML (2 years late) I waiting for these sets, maybe they can cut some travel time inbetween Nottingham to St.Pancras. But my wish is: morning service from Leeds to St.P via Erewash Valley is back to timetable (return at evening) It was great "weekend" train to visit capital for people living north of Nottinhgam (no train change)

Thank you Don and all others involved - the voice of Driver Duddington was an inspired addition. I was surprised how few passing loops there are for such a busy line, and they are labeled "passenger loops", is there little freight on the line? May I suggest you add the build dates of the duplicate tunnel builds eg Hadley Wood 1850 and early 1809s, to the informative 'sub-titles' on the route? As a boy I watched the Hull Pullman on the shorter Goole-Thorne route from Hull. Why do they use the Selby route now? More miles under the wires, larger population of Selby?

Coming from Hull myself I find pleasingly surprise reading the caption at the end saying rail links here are good. Not bad considering we don't have any direct long distances services except for Hull Trains. TP Express treats passengers from Hull and they East Rising like dirt. Lets see if the Hull to Selby Line electrification gets the nod if Labour win the General Election. I am not holding my breathe.

Brilliant video Don...very enjoyable. Do you have any videos of trains using the new tunnels and tracks leading to KX Platform 0/1?

Good video! Strange as to why it was routed into platform 7 at the end when 6 was completely empty!

Thanks for another great video. I seem to remember that the stretch of line between Selby and Brough (or thereabouts) was in the Guinness Book of Records for being one of the longest straight rail tracks in the UK? Do you know if that is still the case? I know the Redhill to Tonbridge line is a contender for the title.

Enjoying the video from Texas! What are the "dings" heard about every 30 seconds? Is that the alerter???

1:52:22 - 2:09:27 (Selby to Brough) is the longest section of straight railway track in the UK (just under 18 miles I believe).

Just a thought - a speed indicator might be a nice addition.😊

I have read that the distant towers of Lincoln cathedral can be visible on clear days, presumably between Newark and Retford? Also, the Newark flat crossing is a real hindrance.

Could line speeds be increased on the longer straighter/less curvy sections, could the infrastructure be adapted to cope if faster EMU/DMU trains were introduced .Or is that another whole can of worms ?. Thanks for your content Don, its always a highlight to see new videos.

Many thanks for another very interesting video, where do you get your knowledge from, well done

A gated level crossing at around 1h15! I didn't think there were any left on a main line, let alone the ECML.

Great video.. and fabulous additional commentary from Dave. I had completely forgotten the ECML used to go via Selby - was too long ago for me to remember. I do wonder though, given how straight the rail is from Selby through to the other side of Brough, why the line speed is so slow? Is the line at risk of poor drainage / subsidence and the speed cannot go faster? Or just that Network Rail have never upgraded the line?

That comment about two bits of shiny metal - i seem to remember that in a metallurgy class. They can be slid but not pulled apart. Or am I thinking of something else...

Great video Don. Do the pantographs come down automatically when the train switches to diesel power?

Great video again. If Hull Trains can deliver why can’t the others?

Hi Don, great video. Thank you. Question on the 140mph test section. What dictates that the current 125mph is the fastest that we could go using the existing infrastructure? Or to ask another way, what's so magic about 125? How is it determined that we can't go say 130mph safely?