This will show my age! I have walked through Paxton tunnel just after the line closed. I also knew the line prior to closure as my grandfather owned the Dulwich Wood House pub which is just up the road from Upper Sydenham station and looks almost unchanged since the 1950s.
I used to go to the Woodhouse for many an evening's drinking. Went to Kingsdale school and a few of us often went there. I walked through both tunnels, snuck in to see the racing, cars and mcycles. I remember the station when it was just about complete with tracks and saw it being demolished.
Live near this old line and bits of it are great. I just wish they hadn't built on the land and it survived as a Nunhead to Crystal Palace cycleway and walking route (with the original bridges, tunnels et al). Could have been a parkland walk for South London!
As I was born in 1950, and lived in Lordship Lane this was my Playground, walking through both tunnels before entering the old High level station, the ticket office I remember had unsold tickets strewn across the floor, some still in the holders on the wall. The last tunnel was the scariest as you had to feel your way along the wall on the long curve and in spite of early southern electrification your hands and clothing got quit black. The old sub station was still in place in those days and the black berries from the track up to the long gone rock cottage were attractive to locals.
Back in the 60`s, when the motor racing circuit was operating, they used the station site as the car park. The get to the circuit, you went up some temporary stairs and through the the Grade 1 listed underpass and into the circuit. At one meeting a friend and I decided to do a bit of "urbex", before it was the thing. We entered the Paxton tunnel with no torches and quite a way in, my mate fell down a drainage hole, cutting his leg badly. That was our first and last last urbex adventure.
As a local resident, I also enjoy looking over the other side of Farquhar road and you can see where the turntable was. Also mustn't forget the fabulous foot tunnel under the road which gave access to the palace from the station and is sometimes accessible on open days.
Great video. As a nostalgic expat, I know the area really well, as I grew up on the Kingswood council estate. As a nipper I saw the High Level station before it closed and walked the entire line's ROW as a teenager. These escapades helped to generate a lifelong interest and professional career in urban and public transit planning/light rail. The Croydon LRT/tram system uses the same German technology as the Calgary and Edmonton transit systems, built in 1978...... All the best from Western Canada !!!
Just the one I've been waiting for! I used to live in Nunhead. There used to be a whole lot more left of the bridge in Brockley Way (a few minutes walk from my house), the whole abutment on one side of the road, but at some point since I moved in 1998 it's been demolished. I also remember when the site of the High Level station was just a derelict wasteland with nothing to be seen looking down into it except undergrowth.
I'm sure my mum and I went under the bridge before it was demolished, on the 184 bus in the 1950's and early 1960's when going to visit her long term friend in Brockley.
Thanks for this one. I grew up in one of the houses in St. Asaph Road, just behind Geoff's shoulder when he is on the bridge at the beginning of the video. I remember being taken to Crystal Palace on this line when I was a child. Good to see it remembered.
Delighted to see this, Geoff. We used to live at the other end of Farquhar Road, and I explored the site of the High Level station whenit was derelict, before Bowley Close was built on the station site. Farquhar, original secretary of the Crystal Palace company, Joseph Paxton, architect/designer of the Building. Keep up the good work! Followed you for years.
That's brilliant..! Me and some mates used to go through the old foot tunnel under the road, climb down that wall, then walk through Paxton tunnel as far as we dared. It's a curved tunnel, so you end up in pitch black darkness...
Ah, my local area. I regularly walk in Brenchley Gardens and Sydenham Woods and knew the train line went through both but didn't know how it connected up. Will have to go explore that route now. Have also seen the painting of Lordship Lane Station in the Courtauld Gallery in Somerset House. Good to see a new Lionel Stanhope station sign for the station at Crystal Palace too, he is a fab local street artist (his studio is in Ladywell).
It is still possible to see what the inside of the station was like. In 1958 Ken Russell shot part of a short film there. The title was ‘Amelia and the Angel’, there is an extract available on line, and I think the whole film is on BFI Player, but I don’t have access to that. The extract does show the station. The station features some heavy iron gates and railings and reminds me somewhat of North Eastern railway architecture. You don’t mention the famous subway which linked the. station to the palace itself.
As someone who went to college in crystal palace and worked on the farm and has a massive interest in infrastructure I've waited so long for you to make this video, going to sydenham woods is one of the best dog walking places. Fun fact Geoff as a kid going to primary school nearby 16 years or so ago we used to have rumours go around that a train crashed in that tunnel and people died and that on haloween you could hear sounds from in the tunnel which as a little kid freaked me the hell out hahaha Love the content as always Geoff
@@RatelHBadger yes, but it’s about One Tree Hill in Auckland, New Zealand (it’s a tribute song to Greg Carroll, Bono’s friend and assistant/roadie who came from there, and was sadly killed in a traffic accident in Dublin. The first time U2 was in Auckland, Greg took Bono to the top of the hill, so the song is about their friendship, and his thoughts after witnessing Greg’s traditional Maori funeral back in New Zealand.)
The reason the whole area is called Honor Oak, is because Queen Elizabeth I is supposed to have visited and at the time the top of the hill only had one oak tree, which is where the Queen was supposed to have rested.
Great video ! That tunnel vent shaft used to carry power cables down to the main line . There was a Electric sub station next to it on the high level branch .
The wonderfully ornate masonry on the tunnel portals is testament to the pride that the architects, engineers, and craftsmen took in their work. Why do we not build in a similar vein in the 21st century?
An interesting distinctive aspect of this particular closed railway was that it was electrified. It went "live" in 1925 with the Southern Railway's DC 3rd Rail System. There is of course a large network of abandoned railways in the UK, but very few on boast the benefit of electrification prior to closure.
Cast iron pillars; one, possibly more, for Crystal Palace were sunk into the bottom of Whittlesea Mere as it was drained (in 1851?) to measure shrinkage as the land dried out and settled. It had been a very large body of shallow water that formed part of the Fenland and Wash area. (Ramsey Abbey was on an island. As the Mere was drained, a sunk shipload of stone for construction was discovered). Presumably the post top would be level with the ground as was and the land consolidated around as it dried out. By 1971 or so the post was in danger of falling over so a new one was erected beside it. It is now about 12 - 15 feet below sea level.
Early 1980s I was working for a housing association and went with my boss to see the high level station site and whether we should make s bid for it. Big empty site then but a seem to remember a model train down in the tunnel portal.
Awesome Video Geoff, Paul and Rebecca Channel is enjoyable to watch, I'm sure those years ago I remember seeing a tweet from you mentioning Paul's channel when they uploaded their first video and being honest it was your tweet that introduced me to Paul and Rebecca's channel and watch their videos ever since and please do watch Paul and Rebecca's video it is amazing to watch. 100% cannot wait for the Parkland Walk Video. I have walked from Stroudly Green to Crouch End back in 2019 while waiting for the Class 313s to return to London on the Farewell tour.
After the line closed the stretch beside Horniman Park was turned into a rose arbor. I suppose a Nature Trail requires less maintenance. The tunnels weren't fenced in at first but I must confess to have been too young and too chicken to walk all the way through either of them. The line was always lightly used, my mother told me it only got used properly the night the palace burned. The line was electrified but on the cheap -- no substations, it just tapped power through that shaft from the Bromley line. The line was closed during the war and the tunnels use to store rolling stock like the Brighton Belle Pullman trainsets. There's something remaining under the parade that you might try to get a look at. There's a pedestrian subway that connected the station with the palace proper. Its an architectural marvel so it got preserved after the station closed. (The station, long gone as you noted, was also a bit of a masterpiece.)
Great vid, Geoff. & a generous shout to Paul & Rebecca, too. But he keeps hitting all around me!! Last time it was the Greenwich lost line where I live. Now he's at my daughters place at High Level Drive. Honestly, Some people just don't want tea.... ;)
Thanks ,I came from Paul and Rebecca's channel that I found through Martin's and thanks for the look around where Crystal Palace was I hear it's name on Premier League updates by Rebecca Lowe and always wondered why they had that name. I live near Toledo Ohio USA so knowing the history of the UK is always interesting.
Hi, Crystal Palace play down the road in Croydon- Selhurst Park - near Selhurst Train Depot. Its worth looking at other videos on the Crystal Palace and the 1851 Great Exhibition and the removal of the building to Sydenham Hill and Park, plus the motor and bike racing at the race track in the grounds in the 1950s onwards
Geoff, really enjoyed that video! I use to walk through the Sydenham wood tunnel back in the days before they permanently closed it. Jus wanted to know tho! If you will be doing abandon railway in Bermondsey!! I’m very sure they had a old railway network system there! Now filled with houses.
I live in NZ now, but at primary school I used to peer out the window watching trains head up the hill toward that transmitter. Penwortham school I think it was called. Then I began bunking off to have a closer look at trains. Then I learned how to sneak on the underground and go sight seeing all over London. Then I got arrested at Heathrow airport in the departure lounge past customs trying to stowaway to NZ to see my real dad. The other dad supported Arsenal, so can you blame me? I was nine or ten. Then we moved to Milton Keynes and I discovered all kinds of new trouble to get myself into. It all began with liking trains.
Isnt it wonderful! Not just a subway! Thanks for the film. You may be interested in other Lucas Brothers railway stuff. Charing Cross, Hungerford bridge, Canon Street, Fenchurch Street, Liverpool Street, and more!
I still remember reading about the No.3 bus (a DAF Optaire Spectra I think) that had a power surge going up the hill to the palace and went over the wall and fell where the entrance to that final tunnel is. Thankfully no fatalities.
I lived in this area for 11 years and never knew anything about this line or the remnants of it until now when I have moved abroad. Great video and coverage. You forgot to mention the very decorative tunnels that are hidden below Crystal Palace Parade next to the high level station that used to link the palace with the station. But maybe you already did a video on them, or was that someone else? Did you also know that the site of the old high level station was used as the pits and crew garages back in the days when Crystal Palace Park was also a motor racing circuit? The was a tunnel large enough for cars to pass through into the park from the station site. When I first moved to the Upper Norwood area there were still ruins of the old station building that were being cleared to make way for the health centre and houses that are there now. And now I feel ancient!! Glad I finally subscribed. Greetings from Copenhagen.
thanks for Subscribing! yes i made a video back in 2015 for Londonist about the decoratiive subway, that's here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UgFwnO9DtZg.html
Great video - thanks. Exposes my lack of visual adventure even tho Living in 1950s Catford and rail to Nunhead for school, visiting CP, museum etc. one went there but did not see what you illustrated. Thanks
I remember as a very young child seeing the last workings of the yard and of the massive turntable below the Parade. It was like looking down on a giant model train set.
Wonderful series, Geoff. Looking forward to the ones to come. And a seriously classy decision and reference to the Whitewicks, you are all true train history lovers.
At 6.30, if you're where I think you are, turn around and look down and you'll be looking at the turntable which was the southern end of the station, and which I looked into one evening in the 1950s after the line had closed. There was no track but the pit circle was clearly visible. It was spooky for a small boy but fascinating for an embryonic railway enthusiast. I've seen comments suggesting that the line should have been kept open and developed, but when you look at it, the connection at Nunhead points toward Holborn Viaduct and Victoria (eastern). There are better commuter options along the entire route of the branch, in the shape of the parallel LBSCR/London and Croydon route. It's interesting to note that even as far back as the Great War there was not seen to be any great travel hardship in closing the branch as an economy measure...
Geoff You missed off the subway at the High Level Station. crystal_palace_high_level(nc4.2015)75.jpg I know its closed at the moment but it is special.
I remember going to see the prototype Routemaster in 1956 then crossing the road to peer into the closed station. Later, after it was demolished, we would park on the site then walk through the subway under the Parade to watch motor racing at the old track.
Hi Geoff I live right next to these old tunnels! I am so happy you came and visited the remains that you can see today of this line really are quite something! Keep up the great work mate!
I, and two members of the Dulwich Society submitted plans to Tfl (pre Covid) for an extension of Croydon Tramlink from Birkbeck via Annerley Hill to Crystal Palace HL ,the SLJR trackbed (with some modifications), to just north of Honor Oak, then along the northern rim of Peckham Rye Park/ Common, Rye Lane (interchange) and the Surrey Canal pathway to connect with the Bakerloo extension at Dunton Road. Your video skills and public persona could be very valuable in promoting this scheme.
Great video, what is not shown here, is the that where Geoff was on the bridge at the end of the video, if he had filmed the other side you can see the location of the turntable where the trains were turned round. Also at the tunnel entrance at the end a bus drove off the edge and crashed on to the ground in front of the tunnel entrance
very enjoyable. i did some of the walk and take a load of pics some years ago for my own project. one MAJOR omission here though - the crystal palace subway!
Have just watched these back to back, really interesting stuff many thanks, will check out the suggested channel as I keep meaning to capture the route of the line that ran through our village.
when I was a schoolboy, our cross country running route ran through areas associated with the crystal palace high level railway, and we walked through crescent wood tunnel, and across coxes walk on the wooden bridge
Before the housing was built at Crystal Palace, it was just empty land apart from one stretch of track that was still there and there were some remnants of the turntable still left. Plus you could go into the tunnel back then as their wasn't a gate at the tunnel entrance.
On one occasion the abandoned CP High Level station platform was used for a training exercise for the emergency services. Various "victims" with various fake injuries for the emergency services to triage. One of the fake broken legs wasn't quite so fake as it appeared as a journalist covering this event fell off the platform and genuinely broke his leg.
Hello There, thank you for sharing this decent video, it was great to hear your perspective and see some of the remains of this Heritage of a decent and one well used Railway. Cheers Peter :)
Brilliant, having lived in the area during the 60s, 70s and to mid 80s it took me back yet I did not know there were two tunnels on the line. My local station was Honour Oak Park on the line of the Croydon Canal. How about a video on that and what's left of the canal?
Walked much of that today. Found the Horniman nature trail, the Pissarro Bridge, The first tunnel entrance in Sydenham Hill Park.. Could I find the other end in Dulwich Park? No. Got totally lost and found myself back at the entrance. Then made it back as far as Brenchley Park and had to give in. Many hills were climbed today. Took a fab photo of the exact houses in thr Pissarro paintin
This series is amazing. As an American, I feel like I’m learning so much about London’s geography and history...makes me want to visit again. It’s be cool if you could get some funding so you could get a crew to follow you around and help set up some of the more complex shots. Your doing a super great job writing/directing these things, I can’t help but wonder what you may be capable of with a small crew, ya know?
As a 9 year old boy, I walked through the tunnel from Coxes Walk, then through to the second tunnel, out into what was then, prefabs and their gardens. This was in 1966!
You should have gone onto the estate opposite from the Horniman. There was a bridge across the main road and on the other side some of the hilly bits of Lordship lane station are visible
Great video Geoff, the old Crystal Palace and its high level station are two of those old London buildings I really wish I’d been able to experience in their heyday.
@@Robslondon She was about six miles to the South, I still need to travel via balham or a long bus ride to get to Crystal Palace Parade (Question to others is Crystal Palace in Upper Norwood ? the whole area needs a video from Jay Foreman)
I used to play around the Paxton tunnel when I was a kid (1960's), and the tunnel was open complete with its track. We could also go through the underpass that linked the station to the Crystal Palace site. I think that access to the tunnel was stopped when they built on the station track beds?
@Geoff Marshall, really informative with your knowledge of the railways. Question about 'the wall' at Crystal Palace High level Station seen several of those on the London underground Barbican, Gloucester Rd and plenty more others anyone know which one was the first to be constructed? Keep posting your youtube it's another for ourselves to increase our understanding of the London rail, tube, and bus network (the complete travel network)👍🏽
More great Geoff videos...moving out of lockdown...is there light at the end of the tunnels.......very apt in Crystal Palace ! How about Deptford Wharf branch and the Grove Road tramway? Fingers crossed.
A fellow rail enthusiast told me of a steam hauled rail tour in the early 1950s which he travelled on starting at Merton Abbey Station, featured in another of these presentations, and ending up at Crystal Palace High Level Station.
