The History of the Heathrow Branch 

Thought I’d seen this before 😂

Thought it would've been to do with the end of the line video but okay

Thanks for letting us know was thinking I'm sure seen this

And even used the same (or at least identical) jacket as the original video! 👀 (Compare the added walk section and the bit discussing the renaming of the Hounslows.)

Cool

And the only part of the Underground where you can travel through ten stations all beginning with the letter H! Hounslow East Hounslow Central Hounslow West Hatton Cross Heathrow Terminal 4 Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 Hatton Cross again Hounslow West again Hounslow Central again Hounslow East again!

My area too west London

West London and the links between London and the airport at Heathrow are of special consequence, vast numbers of people worked at Heathrow as I did in the age of comets 1960s 70s. Millions of tourists need to know as much as possible about those tube links........( and me something about this Oyster card?) For 50 years now; living in Perth Australia, Best wishes John

One could also get an RFA bus later RMA from the BEA/BOAC (BA) West London Terminal to the Heathrow bus station and terminals 1 (BEA) and 3 (BOAC and other Long haul). Terminal 2 being for other European Airlines. One didn't have to be flying with BEA/BOAC or later BA but then had to pay. Still cheaper than a Taxi. Those flying with the company(s) had their baggage checked in and could forget about it until reclaim at destination.

@@tonys1636 Indeed. When they were operating I used both the BOAC bus and the BEA one. Yes checked luggage was a boon.

TfL didn't exist in the 1960s - it was good old London Transport!

@@CaseyJonesNumber1 My mistake. But those bus transfers did run frequently from Hounslow West.

I think it's still announced as 1,2,3 on the trains, there's a lot that hasn't been updated since T1 closed.

Ah, that explains why I have this memory of getting the bus to the airport from Hounslow West in the late 70s, before Heathrow Airport station was opened in 1977 but well after Hatton Cross had been opened in July 1975. A look at a tube map of the time shows a note below Hounslow West telling you to change there for the airport bus.

HOUNSLOW FOR HOUNSLOTHIANS!

Are you referring to the eastern curve or the western one? The western curve does not appear on OS maps from 1914 and 1915. However, it can be seen on RailMapUK.

Well spotted! I think the old track must have run just east of that building, and so much of the footpath Geoff went down would not actually be along its line, but a bit further east. Yep. For what it's worth, RailMapOnline shows the old alignment as never touching the footpath at all, staying west of it for its whole length - I expect the footpath was contemporary with the railway line, rather than replacing it. That website also shows the railway going straight through the site of the large industrial building behind the bus station, rather than along the footpath at its edge as Geoff guessed.

I am hoping Geoff demonstrates the comedy step free route from the platform to street level which takes you on a massive diversion via the train sidings and the car park! I used to hate that painful hike when my leg was in plaster and unable to use the main stairs on my crutches.

It's been merged into an enlarged terminal 2.

@@LynxEE20 Interesting. Wonder why it's still called 2. Couild deserve a different name.

It feels like it should be

It never ran from Hatton Cross - it ran from Hounslow West right until the extension to Heathrow was completed.

@@norbitonflyer5625 Ooh, I might have to check my old maps and timetables as I was certain it was curtailed , though I presume it used Hatton Cross as a calling point once that station was built ( the bus service via the Cargo Tunnel I think ceased due to terrorist concerns and the Airbus services that came in (before? extention or after?) for Victoria and Kings Cross/Euston / Tavistock Square Hotels ran straight through to the north road into Heathrow Bus Station. Did Heston Airport become the site for Heston Services on the M4 ?

@@norbitonflyer5625 Ahh, I see where I was confused, I see the A1 did run via Bath Road, with the normal terminals being the airport and hounslow west, but some journeys went to hounslow bus garage , so making hounslow west an intermediate stop. I think there may have been discussions about its need to run from hounslow when hatton cross tube station was opened but as you say no change was made ( other than the Merlins/ Swifts becoming Leyland Nationals )

@@norbitonflyer5625 Paul Garbutt's map (5.75/2315M/1,000M) by Paul E. Garbutt (No. 1 - 1975 ) is a little ambiguous placing the aircraft logo between Hatton Cross and Hounslow West

Northern England all get Manchester airport for their long flights, with Liverpool and east Midlands airports for the Ryanair market

And even further from Mill Hill on the Preston to Blackburn line 😂

Terminal 2 has been expanded and now occupies most of T1's footprint, along with that of the old "Queen's Building". Terminal 2 was actually the oldest one - when they built another terminal they called the new one Terminal 1 and the existing one Terminal 2

It's the first of several hundred oddities the traveller to this country will have to face, so you may as well prepare them from the get-go.

Wow. I never knew you could scavenge planes from all over Hounslow. Lol

@@Jimmy_Jones they are just everywhere. Especially those of the paper type.

@@sirBrouwer The paper type don't proliferate the way the aluminium and steel ones do, I prefer the paper type they are much quieter.......... ;)

@@beachbum4691 I don't agree. Those aluminium and steel versions tend to stick to one location when dropped. The paper once keep russeling around in the wind.

@@sirBrouwer "Ah' you noticed," you weren't supposed to notice. ;)

Similar to that on the Piccadilly line where it dives underground after Barons Court.

@@chemistmanuk Yes, that makes sense. I seem to remember I was told the fluid in the tubes was mercury. Most likely so it didn't freeze.

Same. it is so much more interesting than what my country has. The Amsterdam Metro is rather boring in comparison.

Don't worry about not being English, London is very different from the rest of England. There's a reason why London has its own Devolved Parliament/Assembly seperate from England, same as Wales or Scotland. It is distinct from England, even if officially lying within it. If England were ever to get its own autonomy and parliament like Scotland, it would not be located in London.

@@BhagwantRai654 lol - I'm not worried at all, I'm a Scot, so being English is the least of my worries :) Sorry that you took my posting a little too seriously.

@@misterjeffa2128 yeah, just like the Clockwork Orange ... tho' that does have its history etc..

There's a lot hidden in Edinburgh and Glasgow that is massively undersold to the tourist market, both are presented as grey and grey cities, there is so much more....... best wishes John Perth Australia

Just one more small incident in the nefarious and cackhanded evolution of Europe's biggest environmental crime: LHR.

In the 1970's I worked for a consultancy working on the design for this link, being a Met user I could not understand why very small trains were proposed for a line that would have to take a large amount of luggage not to mention rush hour passengers. I recommend the option to run Met size trains with the option to run through to the London rail terminals.(The track-way and yard at Hammersmith (Grove Rd) was still in existence at that time however a new bridge would have bene needed.) I was told (1.) The "Airport Rush hour" was at a different time to that of commuters, so no problem with space. (2.) That the Met had so many small "insignificant" stations that journey times would be too long. Having traversed from the Hammersmith Met station to the District/Piccadilly Station AGAINST the flow of the incoming commuters I could not believe my ears. Every time I go to Hammersmith I think of this tribal lost opportunity and all the poor buggers that have to cross the road when they could have just run through..

Pretty certain its not the same building. The bus station is 60s.

Correct - it only ran to Hounslow West. As Geoff said, the extension was not built until 15 years after the District stopped serving that branch 9and District trains are too big to fit in the tunnels west of Hounslow anyway)

Would use 281 or 33 going to school in Hounslow

Sure, naming the stations after the terminals they serve is handy for non-Londoners and foreign travellers. But „Heathrow Central“ can‘t be beaten way ahead on the coolness scale.

You mean Hounslow West, not Hounslow East... 😉

@@CaseyJonesNumber1 absolutely correct, my mistake!

Picadilly Line does go to Heathrow, and is certainly quicker than a taxi from Acton Town. (You do need to be sure the train says Heathrow on the front, and not Rayners Lane or Uxbridge, as they turn right at Acton Town where Heathrow trains turn left)

@@norbitonflyer5625 I'll keep that in mind next time I'm there, didn't look at it when I went on them. Last time I did see the heathrow sign on the platform. Had to take the taxi to get there otherwise I was likely to miss my flight, plus I had a big package with me.

I do believe that there are Tube Challengers who have practiced that route. I didn't because I couldn't run when I did mine

The reason why T4-T2,3 is so long is because Heathrow was planning to build a 5th terminal while the Piccadilly Line was planning on an extension to Heathrow. Originally the terminal was supposed to be south of runway 27L/09R so they built the loop so that there was this long straight section where they could put a station later on, with all terminals served by the same loop of track. But the airport realised that they needed to build a bigger terminal than the one planned, one that wouldn't fit where they originally wanted it, so they moved it to the west where it is now. So now the loop is a bit longer than it needs to be.

@@theflyingcoconut4058 Thanks for the info. Glad we weren't imagining it. TBH when you're sat on it it felt like it was taking a detour all the way to Slough!