#081

Рет қаралды 761

5 ай бұрын

Ilford railway station is one of the busiest in the country, lying in the top 50 for passenger usage. Recent increases in passenger numbers since the end of Covid restrictions in 2022 are likely attributable to a combination of new build flats close to the station entrance on Ilford Hill (Prior Road) and the full opening of the Elizabeth line which serves the town. In looking at some of the changes in layout since 1981, we also remember the sound of the Class 315 EMU trains which worked the Great Eastern line between Liverpool Street and Shenfield for over 40 years. Audio recorded May 2022 from Liverpool Street towards the end of their gradual decommissioning.
Data source:
www.railwaydata.co.uk/station...

Пікірлер: 23

@safiae6875 5 ай бұрын

Another great video! Thank you ilford retro I always love your uploads😊

@IlfordRetro 5 ай бұрын

Thanks for the comment @safiae6875 - always a pleasure to have you along with us!

@danielscott524 5 ай бұрын

Really enjoyed that- and you used the audio really cleverly as well!

@IlfordRetro 5 ай бұрын

Thank you @danielscott524 and that tannoy voice from the previous stock was the best the network ever had in my opinion!

@CitytransportInfoplus 5 ай бұрын

One of the top destinations is Highbury & Islington? Wow! What Ilford suffers from is too few trains - until changes to the signalling system in the early 1990s there was over 20 trains in an hour during the evening rush hour. Some terminated at platform 5, others went on to Gidea Park or Shenfield. There were also many trains which skipped some stations en route. Nowadays there are only 15 trains in the same time period and all trains call at all stations. In the 1980s I often went to Liverpool Street on the non-stop trains (even skipped Stratford) from platform 1 that originated at Colchester. The journey time was about a dozen minutes. But I then had to change trains to reach Central London. Nowadays all trains call at all stations and there is even an extra station (Whitechapel) before reaching Liverpool Street. The journey time is about 18 minutes - but the longer journey time is probably clawed back by the trains continuing beyond Liverpool Street, so the time spent walking on the interchange has been eliminated.

@IlfordRetro 5 ай бұрын

That was quite a surprise, and I would have thought somewhere central would have been more likely. Yes, I won't argue about the 'few trains' you mention. I distinctly remember going straight to Southend in the 80s and the fast services you point out heading into London. Quite right about the intervals in stations on the existing route - time added in some senses, but given back in others.

@phillipclaridge3112 5 ай бұрын

I started many journeys on platform 5 from the mid 1960s changing at either Stratford or Liverpool Street for my onward travel to Oxford Circus where I worked for a Government Department. In those first days of my working life I used to purchase a reduced rate weekly season ticket for 17 shillings and 6 pence - a whole weeks travel for under a pound - happy days.

@IlfordRetro 5 ай бұрын

Oh to have fares like that today! Hard to believe how much value you could get back then. I do recall how pleasant platform 5 could be in the morning as opposed to piling on at platform 3 when the train was already like sardines from Seven Kings or beyond.

@CitytransportInfoplus 5 ай бұрын

17/6 for a week's travel? Thats something like 87.5p decimal money. Wow! The morning rush hour timetable was very clever in those days - three trains in quick succession which ran with just one stop between Ilford and Stratford, and it worked out that each of these trains made that one stop at more or less the same time - the first train at Maryland, the second train at Forest Gate and the third train at Manor Park. Trains from platform 5 usually called at all stations - which was very good for passengers at the intermediate station before Stratford as it more or less guaranteed a a train that had space for them on it. Most trains called at Ilford, but not all of them.I recall frequently seeing a train zoom through - its previous stop had been at Seven Kings.

@IlfordRetro 5 ай бұрын

@@CitytransportInfoplus yes very clever of them to have those options, which really worked well. I always felt sorry for those at Manor Park, Forest Gate or (the very-walkable-to-Stratford) Maryland trying to squeeze on a fully laden train each day. Those platform 5 jobs were at least 'some' help.

@rajnirvan3336 5 ай бұрын

Wow early memories of my foundations of Ilford. I even remember the front entrance. Before face-lift around 83 84.

@IlfordRetro 5 ай бұрын

You have a great memory for those early years @rajnirvan3336

@rajnirvan3336 5 ай бұрын

@@IlfordRetro Always great to remember. When you remember a certain place what it originally was. I know this doesn't relate to Ilford but do you remember Allders in Croydon which was a flagship store that was always busy. If you check it out see what a sad site it is. There was about 4 to 5 floors now left to rot. After Allders collapsed another outlet took over then failed to pay rent. Landlords seized it and now in hands of the council. Check this out. ygUPYWxsZGVycyBjcm95ZG9u

@rajnirvan3336 5 ай бұрын

@@IlfordRetro remember when Owen Owen was in Exchange when it 1st opened which later became Allders. Allders was a awesome store especially the flagship one in Croydon. Which is still there leaving to rot😢

@IlfordRetro 5 ай бұрын

I remember Owen Owen too @@rajnirvan3336 and that it became Alders, it seemed so huge back then. What a shame the Croydon premises has been left to decay.

@rajnirvan3336 5 ай бұрын

@@IlfordRetro Oh god has it. So heartbreaking. It shut down 2012 then became something called Croydon Outlet Village. Which basically sold off their previous stock cheap. The owners failed to pay rent then landlords changed locks and now the building is owned by Croydon Council. Whom themselves are virtually bankrupt. Rumours are now Westfield have brought the site for cheap and have put a massive art hoarding up around the building. Croydon needs a complete revamp. Westfield is up and down in the pipeline. Croydon was once a great high street. Boasted a big Debenhams, Woolworths, Littlewoods, C&A etc. The Whitgift Centre is also so run down. I could go on forever telling you. If you get chance try searching it. See what I meant.

@richarddiver1562 5 ай бұрын

Grew up on the old services of all stations to Gidea Park and the semi-fasts Stratford, Ilford, Romford and all stations to Southend. Haven’t stopped off at Ilford for years; fly through on the fasts to Shenfield usually with the occasional Lizzie Line trip up over the flyover from where I imagine I can see my old roof top. Still trying to get used to seeing Paddington and Heathrow services on the indicator boards!

@IlfordRetro 5 ай бұрын

It definitely takes a while to get used to the new destinations from Ilford! It was a pipedream for so long. Yes the result of the Lizzie line is that there are no longer fasts to/from Ilford in the rush hour (although some peak morning services do at least miss out Whitechapel and come into the Bishopsgate-end platforms at Liverpool Street). If you can see your old rooftop that's surely a little nostalgia trip each time you go whizzing by :)

@racgordon 5 ай бұрын

A lot of the original fabric of the 1839 Ilford Station survived up until the early 1980s, although were were alterations made to reopen the entrance from Ilford Hill (approximately opposite the almshouses) whilst the 1893 Cranbrook Road entrance was demolished and rebuild. The original 1839 station was easternmost section of platform 1 and some of the brick wall on platform 1 is likely to be original 1839 Eastern Counties construction. It is possible then, that this could be some of the oldest visible Railway fabric still in use as part of a working railway in London.

@IlfordRetro 5 ай бұрын

Thanks for the additional information @racgordon I have often thought that the platform 1 wall could be from the original 1839 construction, seeing as it didn't need 'removing' when the main entrance was simply being shifted around the corner. It would be nice if it is still the original structure, even just in part.