British Rail - Birmingham to London in 5 minutes.

[ShadowRSonic]

Nationalise the rail!

What a mistake it was to privatise it. Hah, and we let the tories back in.

Fuck the tories. They're going for the NHS next!

[GAC1984]

it was 1989 I could tell by the roman numerals MCMLXXXIX

[pburr1973]

The electrified freight loop line at Adderley Park still existed at this time, since removed of course. Can just be made out if you pause it at 0.55.

[tom201090]

good video, like how it showed the whole of the trip rather than just the camera.

[marklandynut]

That journey now costs £149 peak or £44.30 off peak if you just turn up for an open return, but I think with some careful planning in advance it would still be possible to do a Birmingham/Euston return and get change out of £20!

[lotwyo]

Geez, many things changed for better Those crappy trains without a/c were scrapped. Also, they use far more modern trains that have distributed power, instead of a loco. And a trip like this, today, takes 38 min less than it took in 1989.

[airscrew1]

The Travelling ticket inspector looked like Bernard Cribbins.

[rayjam1962]

is that a class 313 a 4.48sec

[TheIntercityhst]

@rayjam1962 no, its the old style 317's, in network south east livery. what I mean old style 317s because when you looked at them from the front they used to look like a 150

[ads1066]

Great Vid, Very 80's ( complete with handing over 20 quid for a return!!!) and at least the carriages have BIG wide windows, a proper Buffet carriage and stuff. Nowadays im stuffed into a giant EMU with "mailbox" slot windows, a teeny tiny toilet-sized "Bar" complete with disintrested zombie to while away my trips to/from Euston to Brum. granted thou--the trips are a lot faster than before--almost as fast as this great vid, :))))

[MindCrime123]

haha at time 4:11 ... a man with the first cell phone lolsss

[baba875]

its a very long way

[Aysome]

did he just pay for a return to london with a £20 note?

[LJJ23ARSRUL]

check the blackberry touch at 4:11

[globaldistrictline]

I bet you dont get any change from £20 these days! BTW Does any one know what is Pebble Mill is?

[ValentaLamenter]

@globaldistrictline I believe Pebble Mill was a television centre based in Birmingham.

[Glenn1967ful]

@ValentaLamenter

It was the headquarters of BBC Midlands for 34 years.



[sinchydogtrainz]

@ValentaLamenter my grandad had one of those old bbc computers  and we still got it

[ms29b]

@ValentaLamenter daytime tv talk show simular to richard and judy/ tv am

[sinchydogtrainz]

@ValentaLamenter

my grandad used to work there

i still got a very old computer from pebble mill

[BADWOLF200501]

@ValentaLamenter Pebble Mill was owned by the BBC

[GAC1984]

@ValentaLamenter yes it was a tv centre for BBC it was based around Edgbaston. There was a chatshow there called pebble mill which was on BBC1 around lunchtime. It closed down in 2004 and was demolised in Summer 2005.

[jonniefc]

@globaldistrictline £20 quid return................ you need a credit card these days

[Xantec]

@globaldistrictline

pebble mill, its a location in Birmingham where the BBC had their tv studio.

[jamesgreen456]

@globaldistrictline it was a day time programe on bbc, filmed at the pebble mill studios

[Inkyminkyzizwoz]

Did they still have British Rail cheese rolls at this time?

[MAPFWH]

Polesworth at 3:30 approx, as it overtakes the local stopper. I lived there in the70s. Top place, bloody big for a village though!

[Dristarg]

@MAPFWH I thought that was Cheddington.

[MAPFWH]

@Dristarg It appears you are right. Geographically very similar, road bridge at Southern end, houses to right, footbridge.... I bow to your superior knowledge. Watch out for Coke machines.

[sandletters39]

Also you don't get trains stopping before you reach the station unlike in privatised railway practise

[nocluewhere]

LoL Guy at 4:13 is reading the newspaper upside down.

[iceolated75]

No, he's not. It's just a full sheet paper that he has folded in half and thus looks upside down.

[bakerman843]

@nocluewhere yeah, i think he must have had a porno mag hidden inside it!

[telmas]

@nocluewhere I think you'll find it's a broadsheet that he has folded!

[resigamer17]

317s on the wcml fantastic footage mate 5* looks pretty shit now in comparison

[SportsBod]

One can take a guess at the amount of cuts, is because the camera in the cab only took around 15-20mins of footage per tape - or it was done over a spead of days, and when spliced up it didn't quite match.

[LeamingtonSteve]

those were the days- when all you had to worry about was nuclear annihilation and what was for tea!

[jkk45]

when was this filmed, pre privitasion i presume

[ThomastheE2engine]

@jkk45 yep

[ThomastheE2engine]

what song is this?

[Hirotoro4692]

What the hell . I live in H.H. and the video chose that VERY MOMENT from hemel to wembley central to cut out and start showing us the f**** passengers. Why?

Why would we care about a guy reading a paper?

[A380bhxdxb]

No sign of Milton Keynes or Watford Junction in this video. In fact it is cut quite a lot.

[Hirotoro4692]

@A380bhxdxb yep that whole part of the line, cut out. very annoying considering i doubt most of us viewers give a toss about the passengers.

[kaiyan246]

-_- it looks like if you sped up the vid

[Lynxtro]

Is this the line that would go through high wycombe?

[covladuk1985]

Ticket to london from bham £20? with change?

[Yownanymous]

@covladuk1985 Unfortunately free market enthusiasts lobbied the already horrible government and fucked THAT up.

[philcald]

This is an amazing video. It's strange because I work on the railways and I think this video is what made me choose my path starting off as a railman under British Rail and now a station manager for a large London Termini. I distinctly remember watching it as an advert break between TV programs when I was a child.

[Corrupt5358]

Now that''s how I expect trains to run!

[Ayman170Turbostar]

I personally prefer the Voyagers and Pendolinos. I hate heritage traction (no offence) cos they're old

[Yownanymous]

@Ayman170Turbostar They're both good...

[SteffanLlwyd]

Good ole' British Rail. It used to be all our's!

[lindisfarnemusic]

So pleased that this video is back again as the last version was removed. Great music and locos.. Excerlent !!

[tomstickland]

What's the music then?

[WrongRoadRailways]

at 4:13 He is reading his newspaper upside down!

[bronzeonion]

LOL, its a broadsheet one though o_o!!!

[arglwyddanfradwrus]

@WrongRoadRailways No he isn't! he's folded the paper, the side he's reading is the right way up. Try it!

[Wijnmuseum]

Very nice! How long does it take irl from Birmingham to London?

[AlannTH]

1989 lol size of that Mobile Brick.

[sandletters39]

Your couldn't do the same with a Pendolino. Get your luggage on the train and travel with comfort. Nowadays you have to stand or feel the severe side effects and sicknesses with this expensive white elephant.

[class377]

This is cool. Probably in the 80's or something.

[simon726]

reminded of the "London to Brighton in three and a half minutes" video...lol

[ianbillericay]

4:10 check out the mobile phone

[omnibus360]

instead of the iphone its the i brick :)

[rubberlad71]

eeeee 80's dress and haircuts how embarressing lol great vid

[james5644]

What happened to Weedon, MKC and Watford?!

[Defn28]

Wow that was fast... how come it takes me over an hour?

[Corrupt5358]

Slow ass Trains lol. I see no excuse for going less than 700 mph.

[ay76]

Cool, cheers.

[jakkenton]

Great video but the demographic of the passengers (or actors) displayed is like the start of a dodgy porno.

[Corrupt5358]

So how fast would this train be going?

It'd certainly break the sound barrier (1200mph) but how fast was it simulated at?

[Corrupt5358]

I wish trains moved that quick - train journeys totally suck now you can't even smoke on the journey!

They should go at least 900 mph in my opinion lol. :p

[DownGrand1967]

Birmingham's Exchange Jnc Signalbox still in existence at 0.53...

[Drakeriaz]

Thats amazing!

[Semifastslim]

Beastly ! Heritage MK1 brakevans & roarers !!

[PULSE88]

That video was really good.

[blackpoolacer]

Oh how i miss those flapper destination boards at new st!

[Marillionmad]

How did they work?

[sinchydog]

the taxi almost hit that lady at the starting

[paxmanvalentaboy]

what is the first song called

[soundseeker63]

Ahh, good old 86s and MK2s...a journey should be to enjoy, not just getting from A to B. Pendo's are quick yeah, but not really "pleasant" to spend time in.

[gaz318]

Lol at the bloke with the brick of a mobile phone.

[03grahamt]

@gaz318 lol i agree haha. sick comment!!!. ive never seen i phone that big in my life :o

[WrongRoadRailways]

Aha, filmed in the brief period when 317s (my fave EMUs) worked out of Euston before being displaced to West Anglia by 321s.

[marksta2007]

I have been looking for this for ages, I remember seeing it on BBC when I was younger. When the train leaves new street and passes under the Litchfield/ Wasall lines there seems to be some lines on the left hand side that arn't there anymore. Does anyone know where they went (I know that junction has been altered)

[DazrahT]

In reply to marksta2007;

On the left just before you go under the Duddeston flyover is what used to be Castle Cement.

I believe that there is student accommodation built on it now.

[cig1705]

Wrong: carriages dangerously light and airy. Right: improve cosiness by lowering ceiling, and add interesting aromas to carriage (see above).

Wrong: wings on seats (2:15) - encourages inactivity and the risk of deep vein thrombosis. Right: encourage passengers to get up and be active by pumping squealing PA into the coach and providing hard seats with no legroom.

[cig1705]

Wrong: unprofessional gripper. Right: 20 announcements about ticket restrictions, and barriers at all stations. Change uniform design every 6 months to remain fresh and connected to customers.

Wrong: open buffet. Right: close for stocktaking between Coventry and Euston.

Wrong: two toilets per coach. Right: use of toilet as attractive sewage water feature for kids to play in.

[cig1705]

Tsk, tsk, the bad old days of BR...

Wrong: luggage in van. Right: that's what the aisle is for.

Wrong: seats with tables for gadgets that could explode or cards that could lead to, er, paper cuts. Right: safe, cosy padded cells with big airline seats for protection.

Wrong: dangerously large and aligned windows. Right: portholes and pillars.

[CelticPowerRanger]

I have been looking for this for ages. I know it was posted a while ago but then it just disappeared before I could show it to my dad. Please keep it up for at least the next few weeks for my next trip to Newcastle. Check out the phobile mone at 4.11! I bet his first words were "hello darling, yes, I am on the train"!

[Freevie2009]

I have been after this for ages trying to find it, i wish it was shown again on tv.

The music is called Raiders but i don't know who the artist is.

[465fan]

@Freevie2009 Oh that crazy pianist guy - Rick something?

[Yownanymous]

@465fan Wakeman, former keyboardist for Yes?

[daveoftheraceways]

@Freevie2009 The music was used as the theme for an 80s game show called Computer Challenge (thanks TV Ark for that) but I've been trying for years to find out what it's called and who it's by, without success.

[007sladegreen]

Good video,i have part of this on video it`s nice to see the full version. Thanks.

[1968dodgechargerman]

It's an interesting contrast from the Pendo's and Voyager's I drive today. The Guard waving his flag at the start looks like Charlie Patel of Euston, who is still there. As for disastrous pendo's they, like many other forms of traction introduced since the modernization had their teething troubles. They have settled down and do they're job. A better WC video is the Euston - Liverpool cabride of May 1985 by Railscene at 3hrs..

[sandletters39]

A far cry from the disastrous Pendolino fiasco.

[mikesndbs]

Happy days

[peggey707]

great video very good

[nikosjk1]

I love this video, ive seen it a few times already but still nice to watch again, the music goes perfectly with the video.

[class377matt]

wow cool very nice indeed

[bronzeonion]

very proffesional