"Fall into sin and depravity" Simply beautiful.

3:23 “…Slough proved a little too tempting…”. One of JHs most brilliant lines to date!!!

2:23 "... and fall into sin and depravity" (picture of BoJo) Hahaha! Love it.

People may already know this, but just in case... If you've ever been to Cornwall you might have noticed all the palm trees here. Well that's down to GWR too. At the height of railway mania, GWR were very keen to promote Cornwall as an English Riviera. If you check out some of the contemporaneous posters you'll see how Cornwall is just horizontal Italy. And in fairness we do officially have a sub-tropical climate. But to promote the idea GWR bought a load of palm trees (they're actually a New Zealand species) and stuck them along the platforms at stations. They also gave palm trees to local hoteliers, or indeed anyone who asked. The palm trees thrived and now you can't move for them. I have one outside my window. GWR still keep up the flora tradition. The local stations can be quite pretty horticulturally. Although now they tend to go more for flowers.

It makes perfect sense to call Eton a _public school_ , which differentiates it from private schools. Anybody can go to a public school (if they have the right kind of money and right kind of parents), but only members of a family could go to their private school.

As an old Met relief signalman to a main line driver for SWT, I do enjoy your videos.

Rather than just a curve into Slough from the south at the top end, it used to be part of a rail triangle. This allowed specials (and freight) to run to run from Windsor to out west. This triangle was used for 'turning' visiting longer tender locomotives, that the short turntable at Slough shed couldn't handle. Thought you'd like this bit of rail trivia from an old Slough resident.

A very detailed look into this line. I never fail to learn something from you.

One of your best. A remarkably restrained discourse that, in a way, sums up pretty well all of the last two hundred years of British History. I would have given it both barrels.

Ah Jago, we all know the shot placement at 11:17 was no mistake. Brilliant.

"Slough proved a little too tempting - as it so often does" 🤣 Your dead-pan delivery of such remarks is divine!

This makes me so sad. I never knew that Windsor and Eton central ever had more than one line. I wish I could have seen it in its magnificence.

The Boris pic made me laugh out loud! When I visited the castle years ago, I wondered why there is not a direct train from London. Now I know! Also amazes me that this station isn't better served being auch a touristy destination!

Upvoted for the line "cringe their way into the corner of the shopping centre". What a superb choice of word.

Only yesterday I watched a recording of the excellent "The Architecture The Railways Built.". Presented by the always enthusiastic Tim Dunn and featuring both the Windsor Stations in Great detail. Then today you fill in the political blanks with your usual charm and wit. My cup runneth over.

We recently saw Queen Adelaide's royal coach in National rail museum in York the carriage was really tiny. We also went on the NYMR railway 🚂. Queen Victoria's carriage is amazing. Got to love the GWR for sticking two fingers up to Eton college.

I wonder what Victoria would've thought if she could've seen about 150 years into the future, with jumbo jets on approach to Heathrow passing almost right over the castle. Probably would've found trains rather peaceful by comparison.

Ah, happy memories. I lived in Winsor in the 1980's and recall vividly the 'Royalty and Railways' exhibition. (late re-named, I think, to Royalty and Empire) It was a wonderfully conceived piece of Tussauds work. Immaculately done. I remember sitting on a station bench next to a Chelsea Pensioner who could have been very real! It was the first time in the UK I had seen animatronic figures...the figure of Queen Victoria spoke from the stage and rose out of her chair!! O often wonder what happened to those Tussauds figures. Thanks Jago for another great video.

I've never actually ridden on that line, although I have been on the SWR line quite a few times. What I do remember very well though was the exhibition. I was born in 82 and I remember my Mum taking me there. It was quite an impressive spectacle with loads of waxwork soldiers on horses etc. It was a bit disappointing to here it had been turned into a shopping centre, but I have visited there several times and I have to say, it was done very nicely and is a lovely place to walk around. At least it wasn't just demolished and turned into a modern mall with no character. We should be thankful for that.

The roof at the station can be seen from quite a distance outside the town centre. As a boy, I imagined that the station would see lots of express trains hauled by Warships and Westerns. Quite disappointed to find that there was only one platform and just a DMU pottering on a single track line to Slough.

What has been done in the name of progress: recently I mean. Ernest Marples commissioned Dr Beeching to do a hatchet job on the railways that has set the country back, causing many problems as Motorways were not the answer & have brought congestion & pollution rather than the "freedom of the open road" One day enlightened people will realise that railways & trams should be paramount in the 21st Century

An interesting story that encapsulates so much of British industry and life, NIMBYism, "rationalising" (which is so much easier than building and increasing trade) and general negativity.

3:35 a lovely combination of three of my favourite things: railways, malicious compliance stories, and sticking it to the rich and powerful

The L&SWR, though, were sneaky enough to build the "Staines Chord", enabling direct services to Ascot from their Windsor station.

I took this line the night Windsor Castle caught fire. A spectacular view of the blaze.

While it’s fair to say I have less interest in rail than I do in the underground (but always interested in Jago’s content) this one knocked it out the park. Absolutely fantastic script! There are parts bordering on poetry!

Great video, Jago, loaded with trademark wit, sarcasm and irony. And a subject like this would be difficult to approach without those attributes. A royal station now turned into a tourist attraction and retail park, with the odd "cringing" DMU just to keep it real. And Eton college still holding the whip hand (no allusions there, honest) of the country's governance, as it is.

Slough is one of the most wonderful destinations in the world.

Wow, I thought I knew all there was to know about this section of line but I knew almost none of this!! Fascinating, and sooo glad Windsor remained as it was a key line for me for half my life!! Never knew it had more than 1 platform, makes so much sense 😂😂

It is a surprise that both Winsor stations survived the ravishes of the good doctor and his corrupt master. Sufficient traffic to both Slough and Staines I guess. It is a shame that the two rivals were not a little more cooperative given that both terminus are within spitting distance, a direct service from Slough to Staines and beyond...?

Knew you were on my home turf, JH, when you stuck up a couple of Windsor photos on Instagram (I'm Langley/canal based and often head into Windsor, by power of foot). Despite local history being my big thing, I had never consciously realised Eton's opposition to the railway - when I saw the video title I wondered/assumed if it was similar to how the Slough Arm of the Grand Union Canal was originally planned to go considerably further and even join with the Thames at Windsor, but it was the vast pockets of land owned by Eton College on all sorts of technicalities (for that read: "Old school tie brigade") which prevented it. Then again, Eton College seems to have always maintained a them-and-us, "we look after ourselves" closed doors attitude with adjoining areas throughout the ages - friends in high places quite literally. (Plans to indeed join the canal with Windsor occasionally resurface to this day, but given all the stuff in the way nowadays, it's exceptionally unlikely IMO). Either way I do find the Windsor line a charming and quite "old fashioned" feeling little route (even if, on my first job working in Windsor, it used to take best half of an hour to train it from Langley to Windsor thanks to the change at Slough and the half-hourly run train needed for the connection always scheduled to leave four minutes earlier than the connecting train was timetabled to reach the station...!), and have always found it odd more isn't made of the line (and potentially very charming station) nowadays to incorporate it with the main line out of Paddington, given Windsor's tourist-driven status being so high that many/most "walks in London" guide books include Windsor by default!

On a visit to Britain, one of my Windsor highlights was the Tussaud's waxworks re-creation of a Royal Family arrival at Windsor. The children alighting, the Indian servant in the royal waiting room, Guardsmen on parade. Even the loco's funnel was emtiing faux smoke. It was marvellous. So was the Castle tour. Thanks, Jago, for the details I didn't know.

When I first moved up to London in the late 70's & before we owned a car, my wife & I did travel to Windsor by rail for a day trip. I must say I had delusions of grandeur when we arrived at the station, having been aware of its Royal connections !! 😎😱

Of all your brilliant videos, adding up to hours of viewing, 2.15 to 2.25 of this video are the best 10 seconds you've ever produced! 🤣🤣

As a Kiwi who lived in Windsor and worked in Slough in 1999, I was very much looking forward to this one. Your footage brought back a lot of memories of what was a very nice commute. I note it also included one of the MANY jets on final approach to Heathrow. I don’t have such pleasant memories of those.

Wonderful stuff

Another great video Jago!

Nicely put together.

Beautifully done, Jago!

Really enjoyed this!

One of your very best, Jago. Fantastic!

Excellent as always, Jago !

"It has become, in a way, a museum of itself." Sir Christopher Wren's epitaph applies.

My grandad worked at the Royal waiting room which became the office of the signal and telegraph dept. at Windsor Central.

Many thanks, Jago for all your videos. They are a bright spot in my day. Cheers!

Thankyou Jago.

Great video jago, very interesting, thanks 👍👌😀

Nice piece of story telling Jago thank you.

Thanks Jago Spot on NICE one Keep safe. 👍

Excellent video, young sir - in fact, I may even say, one of your best!

I absolutely love your videos and I'm so happy I found them - it's EXACTLY the sort of random tube history stuff I want to know!

I am enjoying listening to you.

I say! Quite Interesting. One of your best history videos. It reminded me of my visit there some years ago.

Most interesting! Made a day of a visit to Windsor a few years ago; down on the LSWR, up on the GWR. Great fun indeed..

You made it! The video about my town’s line!

Fascinating video.

Great video, Jago. So convoluted I expected Chuck Yerkes to appear.

Jago- Thank you for this excellent video. It will help viewers who value knowing about history, royalty and railways. The Great Western Railway (surely one of the finest of all railways anywhere) came out of this with honour.

Best video you've done JH. A hat-tip to you.

The viaduct appears in the Norman Wisdom film "On the Beat" - in the scene where Norman is arrested some of the police come through the arches of the viaduct. Although the field Norman was arrested in has been redeveloped, the adjoining street where the football match takes place can be seen from the train and looks little different to how it did in the film.

Shuttle Service to Slough is the name of my new post-punk metal band.

Very interesting.

A fantastic episode as these stations were always fascinating to me, if you look at Google maps, which I am sure you have, you can see how the station would have looked with all the lines that ran from it, sad to see its just one platform ops, as Windsor is not a quiet town... No future thought by BR... Well done on thus episode Jago... 😊👍🏽👍🏽

I've done this journey many times.💞

Brilliant, informative and witty as usual. You are probably the most erudite and eloquent presenter on KZfaq

Before I met the lady who is now my wife, I used to meet a friend for a day out in Windsor. I'd go from London via Slough, for no other reason than she lived just outside Slough so we'd meet in the station there and finish the journey together. The trains were every 20 minutes and were just comfortably almost but not quite full. I was told that Eton was originally a charitable school (legally it still is but that's another issue/scandal), but for underprivileged boys. It relied on donations from rich patrons. The standard of education was high, and so those rich patrons used to make their donations on the grounds that their little Tristrams were allowed to attend, until the space for the "underprivileged" element became minimal.

Slough and Windsor sounds like the out of town Waterloo and City

great content

The diplomacy involving Brunel and everyone else must have seen very interesting things going on behind the scenes. Pity that its fall was engineered while it was doing so well. There must have some very dodgy things going on behind these scenes too. What a fine picture of Boris you found after the Met found and fined him.

I grew up in Windsor. It was a small pleasure back in the 70's to buy a First Class ticket for this 5 minute run.

I live in a town between Nottingham and Chesterfield, literally never beneath near London or even Greater London in my life, yet these videos are always interesting to me 🤷‍♀️

Ah yes, the many temptations of Slough

Although it is obvious the reason that the line was run on the long viaduct was that Old Father Thames had a tendency to flood and the meadows were quite low lying ....clever chap Brunel.....

"Slough proved a little too tempting, as it so often does"

Another good video Something you didn't mention was the the funeral trains of both King George V and King George VI went from Paddington to Windsor; George V's was pulled by Windsor Castle, and when it came to George VI's funeral train, Windsor Castle was in Swindon Works being overhauled and so its name and number were transferred to another Castle class loco - I think it was Bristol - specially for the occasion. George VI died at Sandringham, and although it was known that he was very ill his actual death was unexpected; I don't know if there're all coincidences, but as well as Windsor Castle being in works the Great Eastern line's Royal Train engine, Royal Sovereign, was also in works - were they both being prepared for duties which were known to be on the way but arrived sooner than expected? The Eastern Region didn't do a name and number swop like the Western though - the back-up engine (Ford Castle) hauled the train from Wolferton to King's Lynn, and then Britannia onwards to King's Cross

I used to live local to this line, as Windsor was my local shopping centre, Slough being not so popular as far as I can remember. I was always fascinated by the steam locomotive on display when commuting there.

I appreciate your rational explanation, to this unrational story

Thoroughly enjoyable Jago, interesting to see your take on a line I’m involved in the day-to-day running of. Couple of follow up bits of pedantry for comment readers:- Through services from Paddington to Windsor did last on a once-daily basis into the early years of the 21st century; I think it was the May 2004 timetable change that finally saw them succumb. Typically on a weekday it is a 2 carriage diesel unit, 3 carriages provided on weekends to help with tourist loadings. Despite appearances, 3 carriages isn’t the maximum the line can handle - the fence across the end of the platform at the Slough end of Windsor station is designed to be removed; and longer trains can be run if platform staff are provided at the station (up to 5 carriages) - such arrangements were put in place for the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2018; and would likely be revived in the event of other, perhaps more sombre royal occasions. The Platform at Slough is 5 carriage capable without modification.

Oh I was there today , only down the road

Thx Jago for another fantastic well researched and delivered mini-doc. And my contribution to this masterpiece? 05:22 This guy Prince Albert has eyes like Lemmy!

Being a slough resident I use this little quirky line often.

A fun, but ultimately sad tale. All the talk of the important trains running thru there put me in mind of a delightful episode of the old spy show The Avengers, with Steed and Mrs. Peel entitled A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Station. Worth a watch if you are a train fan, which I assume we mostly are here. Thew talk of the corrupt minister who profited from the building of roads reminds me of the story of the loss of the trolleys in Los Angeles, because powerful forces that sold tires for buses wanted them gone. Another sad tale.

“Sin and depravity”. Very well put Jago…

A large part of why the line is run by a DMU shuttle is because the branch is not electrified, unlike the main line

get bent............joufully hilarious! thank you jago.

One of your better vids I think

I hope we see some Class 769 units running to Windsor, the platforms have 4 car markers. Could also allow direct services into London while using electrification from Slough onwards.

Broadcast quality 👌👏👏👍😀

every video you put out is a royal excursion Jago!

Interesting video. I always wondered about why that line exists in the form that it does.

I recall in the 1990s taking a _direct_ train from Paddington to Windsor.

I moved to Windsor in 1981 staying in a hotel for 6 months until house selling business was completed and remember them starting on the Royalty exhibition. Later when my f-i-l visited we went to see it. Quite nice, but very typical of a Tussauds display. The kids enjoyed it. Today, our fishing association enjoys the angling rights on the Thames from the railway viaduct upstream with permission from Eton College. Note: We did ask them first!

Jeez that's changed a lot from when I was last there for the Windsor rock festivals in the 1970s.

Thanks Jago, interesting story! I wonder if you might consider a mini-series touching on the green spaces of London, such as Victoria Park and so on... ?

There still is royal trains from both stations, mostly the using the GWR branch, but they don't want people to know about them for security reasons and tend to be at night so Liz or Charlie can get some kip aboard before a strenuous day of ribbon cutting and the like.

Good stuff. You even managed to squeeze in a glimpse of allotments. What's not to like? Thanks.

Great video - the wit and satire approach, particularly of the Eaton influence, should make the story a candidate for a Spitting Image sketch.

Sin and depravity while showing a pic of Boris....How true somethings are....lol. Great video and really informative

I last travelled this line in 1957, on an ex-GWR Railcar. I used to live near Burnham Station down the line. A bit changed from then, I see.

I am out of touch now, but there used to be the old London and Birmingham railway station on the north side of the St.Albans Road bridge at Watford. There were steps there known as 'Queen Adelaides's steps' as ashe had used the L&B to visit the Duke of Buckingham's estate at Cashiobury. (there were also stone block sllepers built into the retaining wall opposite). This was when I left Watford in 1968. Perhaps the building, steps and all, have gone the same way as the later LNWR station and engine shed that I used to know.