I always like seeing Aylesbury Station and the Risborough single track section. I have a lot of memories of it as a kid growing up in the 80's and watching the 115's going to and from Marylebone. Even in those days, there were still a lot of freight pulled by 31's, 25's and my favourites the big and very noisy 37's! We lived opposite the now long gone signal box and the sound of the many semaphore signals clacking down after the trains had passed is still burned in to my memories.
That was a pleasant trip down memory lane, as a secondman and later as a young driver at OOC, we worked the early morning parcels and paper train from Paddington usually consisting of 5 vans hauled by a class 31. Semaphore signalling was 'de riguer' in those days including collection of the token between Princec Risborough and Aylesbury. Thanks for sharing.
I do like your videos, informative, interesting and enjoyable and professionally produced. This is a corner of the country that I have never visited so its all new to me, must get down there sometime I think I'm missing out!
Great work as usual Paul, we've missed you. Hopefully more in the pipeline, perhaps some more London Underground or maybe even some Southern / Southeastern routes.
I used to live at little kimble about 10 years ago and was only a few miles from checkers and used to catch the train frequently from little kimble to aylesbury or princes risborough which as was explained in the video it was an hourly service in either direction which was a pain which there was a bus but at the time had to walk 20 minutes either to the station or the nearest bus stop but luckily the bus went passed our house which was much better fond memories
this is my first drivers video i have watched i and loved every minute of it great job on filming the drivers dev be i be looking forward to seeing more drivers devs this year 😀
It will be difficult to make that line pay - there is a parallel bus route that goes right through to High Wycombe, and Wycombe bus station is at the heart of the town centre shops (unlike the rail station). However, the opportunity afforded by the new plans to the North of Aylesbury (as a result of HS construction) may offer a future life-line, with the connection possibilities of Milton Keynes and even Cambridge.
Anyone here for the Marylebone 125 years celebration? I'm at Baker Street waiting for the HST special to Banbury so I can walk to marylebone to catch the special train 😊
Back in Great Central and LNER days most of the express trains from the north would not have used this route. They would have taken the alternative route at Grendon Underwood Junction, near Calvert and, at Ashendon Junction, joined what is now known as the Chiltern Mainline but was known then as the Great Western and Great Central Joint line, passing through Gerrard's Cross and High Wycombe and taking the current route of the Chiltern Mainline to Marylebone, via South Ruislip, Wembley and Neasden, where the route rejoins the line featured in this video.
Honestly, I didn't find them too bad. £38 return from London (Northolf Park) to Stratford is quite good when the other route I take for a similar journey time (London to Weymouth) is £67 return.
