Don is the Lord God of train cab rides. We kneel before his presence, praise his good works and worship his presence. We are certainly not worthy, or I'm not anyway.

It's amazing the architecture and quality of workmanship that went into building the entrance to Shugborough Tunnel and it's only the train driver that sees it!

If the railway networks are the Country’s veins the Trent Valley Line is its Aorta. This video is full of so many fascinating insights and great photography. There are so many more comments that could be made, but the most important is a very big thank you that you have invested so much of your time and skill in producing a truly memorable work.

Another excellent, informative video Don. A big thanks to our driver, GBRF,& of course yourself. Thank you Don

Thanks Don, that was very enjoyable & educational, you need extreme concentration and skill to be a driver, railways are totally fascinating, a big thanks to all the rail workers for the safe brilliant work they do. Great for us watching we see the landscapes & weather too! Regards Dave.

As a subscriber to your channel for over 5 years, this is a remarkable journey. Thank you very much Don.

Ooh lovely! I watched a four hour piece by Ben Elias a few days ago, and now I get to have another. I'm too pampered.

Another great video, sir, Thank you from Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Edit: I forgot to mention, you ALWAYS give all of the pertinent info printed on your videos, ans it is greatly apprecuated, I know this is extra work, but it really makes your videos enjoyable and educational....especially for a foreigner. Back long long ago I had many questions (up? Down? Etc) and you always took the time to answer, thank you for everything!

First class work again, Don; many thanks. Pulling upwards of 2500T of metal about the Network safely and for long periods is no easy task. Hats off to the Freight guys and Gals

Another most enjoyable and informative journey Don. Many thanks again. Top notch!

Very interesting ride. Thx for sharing 👍

I've watched this marathon episode over two days, many thanks.👍

Another great video along a great route. Thank you to all who made it happen.

Even by your very high standards, Don, that was outstanding. Thank you!

Thank you, Don. Thank you also to our driver and to GB RailFreight. I've been a subscriber for several years, but like some others commenting here, I have found this video among your best. It's hard to nail exactly why; but it has something to do with a point you raised in your on-screen commentary quite early on. This is a long journey, and in some stretches there are few reference points so that, in the dark or in fog, it can be difficult to know exactly where you are. That's all true, even though there is not a boring second in this film. However, that general point is also turned into a virtue by caluculating exactly where in those "non-event" periods it is best to make your written commentary on operation , be it specific to the on-screen moment or of a more general nature. Those on-screen commentaries are unfailingly interesting to someone who, like me, has always been primarily interested in operations - how the railways work, etc. Happy Christmas to you and yours!

New route for me to watch, thanks Don & all involved I'm gonna enjoy this one 🙃👍

Thx Don from France. I enjoyed a lot this journey. I was thrilled. Your work is so perfect 👌

Excellent and educating as always Don! Greetings from Norway.

Amazing video! I loved reading your commentary throughout! The yard at Wembley holds a special place in my heart as I would watch Virgin 390's zoom past on the bridge at 4:15:56 on the right of the screen, some 15 years ago when I was a young boy. Thank you!

Thanks Don and all those involved in the making of this video it has been a very enjoyable 4 hour watch I have a couple of questions hope you can answer First why not TP to Felixstowe direct why was this journey not pulled by electric traction and why ca I not find any videos of Freightliners out of Felixstowe Once again thanks for a fantastic trip I hope there are many more to come 😊

Don, regarding train lengths I have some experience from here in Australia. Interstate intermodal trains (Sydney & Melbourne to Adelaide & Perth and vice versa) are limited to 1800 metres (5905 feet), primarily because of the lengths of the crossing loops on the (predominantly) single line and travel at speeds up to 115km/hr (71mph). They have very little passenger traffic to contend with except perhaps in the suburbs of the some of the major cities. The ‘Privately Owned’ iron ore railways run only unit trains, some up to ~270 wagons and up to 2.8 kilometres (1.7 miles) in length. Can’t imagine running those through the centre of Manchester!!

Many thanks again for a great vid. Really enjoyed it, brought back some good memories. thks

Another great video Don very imformative as usual. I’ve enjoyed watching all the video and like these freight journeys. Looking forward to the next one thank you Don.

congratulations for your amazing videos, very educational regarding UK's railways history, trains and engines, tunnels, bridges, viaducts, signals and signaling. thank you!

once again, brilliant, so informative

Another enjoyable video. Watched it over 2 days. Great information about the route.

Thank you, very enjoyable and well scripted as usual.

Thanks for a very good video one of your best, It was also nice to see other bits like Brinklow where we hired a boat from a few years ago once again many thanks 😊

Superb video, well shot and highly informative.

thank Don for another Great video💘

Excellent video Don

Wow, that was a long one ..... worth every mile though .... loved it .. living in Crewe I got to see parts of the town locals would never see .. watch this and similar trains regularly from Casey Lane nr Basford Hall South Junction , not that day I noted 😁

Very informative enjoyable video 👍🏻👍🏻

Thanks very much for the stafford south junction section.

That 's something you don't see anymore in the Netherlands: a posttrain. They stopped it in 1997 and all post is distributed by truck.

Great video, I thoroughly enjoyed it, though, as with some others, it had to be viewed over a couple of days. Took me right back to cab rides in 66's with Freightliner Heavy Haul and EWS. I enjoyed seeing the rakes of 'AutoBallasters' in the NR sidings at Basford Hall. They have a special place in my heart as I project managed the original Tiphook/GE hopper conversions for 'Railtrack' and wrote the original operating manual for the wagons. Spent many a night ballasting on the WCML ( so it was nice to see it in daylight!) and then again, just sitting around for hours on end through the night waiting to get onto possessions! Great to see they are still around. The original wagons were built in '88 so 35 years on in that environment is not bad going. Keep up the great work Don. It's great viewing!

Nice to see you almost reaching 50,000 subscribers.

Thank you Don for another great video, sorry to say just popped past 90 had a couple of dozes over three days. Just rewinded and carried on. hope you and family are well🚂🚂🚂🚂 2:49

Your best yet in my opinion even though it took me four nights to watch it all. I enjoy all your videos Don and they are for good causes. Well done and thanks. When the next one? cant wait.

Found I enjoy the freight videos as much as the passenger ones. More time to absorb the view and the soundtrack indicates more about what the driver is doing. UK should not be shy about its smaller trains. During the U.S. railways' darkest years (1970-80's) the Grand Trunk Western took the lorry (truck) business head on with short trains and diligent asset maintenance. Plus 3-4 person train crews. Much more reliable. The auto industry loved it. The GTW made tidy sums year after year. Not so their industry counterparts who took an opposite operating stance: all but the Chessie and the NW (both supported by heavy coal traffic) went bankrupt.

Excellent stuff! I did it in two stints though. I'm not as young as I used to be... 😊

Hi Don, will there be a part 2, the rest of journey to Felixstowe docks?. Be good to see. Great video as always. I was in S&T in the 80s at Watford Junction the signals were fixed in cages and we had to climb down into the cages to clean them.

Great one again Don , Hope you are keeping well , looking forward to seeing you and Ben doing a joint one should be great

Really enjoyed this one. Watched the first hour the other day and just catching up with the rest now. Seeing a few places, I worked at on the railway - Rugby on the Rugby to Nuneaton project as part of the WCML upgrade, Northampton, Cheddington (never found any sacks of money 😉) and at Tring. The worst weather I dealt with as a lookout, was up in Appleford, Oxfordshire and the fog was so thick, by the time everyone was in a place of safety, you couldn't see 10 feet, it came down so fast.

Don, what you refer to as ‘Wet beds’ (at 1:17:35) are called “Mud Holes” or “Bog Holes” here in Western Australia. They are often caused by discontinuities in the rail surface which with the passing of trains cause additional vibration into the track structure and in severe cases pumping of the sleepers. This causes degradation of the ballast and becomes a self-perpetuating problem both for the stability and drainage of the track. The white marking comes from a combination of broken down ballast and scoured concrete sleeper with any moisture around mixed in. Really enjoying the video btw!

Great video as always Don. I love the frequent journey & train information. I would say I know more about British railways than my Australian home rail networks. It is really like being in the cab without the risk. Thank you.

Very interesting as usual Don. Only one regret: it would be interesting to locate BRIDEGO BRIDGE, the location of The Great Train Robbery in August 1963(I was 18.5 !) just in the North of Ledburn Junc. between Leighton Buzzard and Cheddington.

Thanks for another great video Don. I wish people who think driverless trains are imminently possible would watch your videos, like in this one where you rejoin the WCML and signals are changing within feet of approach, or showing green when it's obvious that there's still something in front; I can't imagine the smartest computer being able to correctly interpret that situation. As for "reading through," I've done that in a car, confusing two close-together zebra crossings and nearly knocking someone over. Of course, the police witnessed it... 😲

Thanks again Don for another excellent video. Most enjoyable, much more so with your superb commentaries. Like another of the comments, despite the excitement and sounds of diesel power, I find it frustrating that the whole journey was under 25Kv wires and yet was diesel hauled. I understand the last bit of the ongoing journey was not under wires, but surely this could be rectified by the urgent electrification of the Felixstowe Branch?

Splendid video and informative as always 👍👏🏻 Would dearly love something to Dollands Moor😉but realise its way off your patch. No harm in trying 😁

Fascinating - thank you. Goodness, overhead wiring is ugly! I had no idea. We have the third -rail down here. Hadn’t realise there are quite so many disused stations even though the lines are still there and used. Here, most of our closed stations are where the track bed had also been ripped up.

Good to see beans replacing berries at last.

I'll watch in bits and pieces over the coming days. If any remains in a few weeks I'll watch it on the NatEx coach.

Just playing catch up on the Trafford Park to Wembley journey. What a great way to spend 4+ hours on a dismal December day. Informative as ever and I could have watched it for longer- any chance of completing the journey to Felixstowe? It was good to see an inset photo of Etihad South- no prizes for guessing which team I support who play in sky blue and come from Manchester! Many thanks as ever Don and I'm off to Buxton next on the Leaf Fall Crew Trainer. Please keep them coming.

On the subject of Risk Triggered Commentary I recall travelling on a train in Japan many years ago. I was sitting behind the driver and on the approach to every signal he would point a white gloved finger in the direction of the signal to confirm he had seen it. I picked up on that and started using it when driving and cycling. That was over 20 years ago and I’m still doing it.

Thanks for sharing Don! I find it quite sad and a little ironic that the Container depot at Trafford Park sprawls all over the now defunct site of Westinghouse/AEI/GEC Traction and GEC Signals :( Used to work for Traction there in the 70's/80's - great times and an incredible training Quick question - how do the signallers track a trains progress through a section? Presume there is detection equipment somewhere?

Another interesting video. Although I live in North Nottinghamshire I find the videos of the Highways and Byways of the railways of Northern England a complete mystery. It was nice to travel on the line from Milton Keynes as I used that for sixteen years. Don did you realise you passed over the site of the Great Train Robbery just south of Leighton Buzzard.

Stafford was also 'The Potteries" and Armitage was the home of what was called the 'Pot Bank' Armitage Shanks. (NB the spelling of Armitage)

Enjoyed that one (only just finished it). I must say I find it surprising that they prefer to route the train via London rather than cross-country via Peterborough and Ely, as it will have to go north again to Ipswich to get around the Orwell estuary. Also apropos of the AWS, I was amazed to find while reading about "Lady of Legend" that the first similar system, Great Western's ATC, was introduced in 1906 (and it used that same code, bell for clear, horn for caution or problem).

Nice! Still watching. The M&B Manchester to Crewe actually opened in 1842, not 1848. I never knew about those 'wind up' signal gantries for maintenance. Thanks! The Trent Valley line was 4-tracked under WCML improvements for Virgin's VHF (Very High Frequency) service. That was back in the days when a forward-thinking TOC like Virgin added real value to the railway. These days DfT run the railway and they just cut costs and tell the TOCs what to do! Innovation is not in their dictionary! Anyone who hankers after the return of BR - we now have a totally state-run railway and it is the worst it has ever been. Bring back Virgin WC!

Another excellent video. I do like the occasions when you venture further south, although I have nothing against the railways in the north. What happens at Heamies Bridge? The fourth track scoots off to the right, and then returns as what appears to be a disused track. I was thinking it was up/down fast & slow, but I guess at this stage one of the lines is reversible.

The thing that surprised me about this video was why Wembley? I remember seeing years ago on BBC Look East News how much money was spent upgrading the railway line from Felixstowe to Peterborough & Melton Mowbray for freight trains going to Manchester and Liverpool. So I would have expected a pathing down to Stoke then via the Derby line and onto the Castle Donington freight line a short trip on the MML then onto Peterborough via Melton Mowbray, then onto Felixstowe via Ely

I wonder (without googling) if the Lovell telescope was named after a certain Jim Lovell of Apollo 13 fame? Great video as always Don.

Great video.....thanks. At the slower speed of freight over, say, a Pendolino or a 350, you see so much more detail, and the location labels and rolling footnotes put it all in context. Could I ask a couple of questions? This video is four hours.....were there no scheduled stops, loopings, etc., we don't see, or did I miss them? If a continuous run, if you don't mind me asking, what provisions are there for a " physical needs break" (have a pee) and what are the equivalent to the HGV tachograph regs?

Can't believe that they still havent recovered the OOU down Slow line at Norton Bridge, still see the remnants of NB62 points!!

I'm really enjoying the video Don. It's on my patch to start with because I live in Cheadle. It's also great to watch while I'm doing my physio on the treadmill. A question though. Approaching Slade lane junction (16.10), how does your driver know that he is going to be routed through Stockport and not up the Styal line on this occasion? Has it been pre-planned or is there some radio communication from the signaller to the cab? Keep up the good quality videos. And this one also benefits my favourite charity the Alzheimer's Society. Credit to you. Leo

Great video, thanks. I enjoy the extensive annotations. Pity to see all those closed stations, is that Beeching?

Wonderful. Impressive acceleration for such a long and heavy train. How does the driver know when the back has left a20 moh restrictive part?

No ULEZ cameras for two stroke diesels yet ! Mr Khan is missing a trick there. 🤣

I say, absolutely spiffing, old bean

Be nice if I could see this in daylight lol always nights lol

Great video Don - not through it all yet, to be fair. :) The 10 mph on the Independents at Crewe seems way too restrictive. Even if we accept the tunnel is fragile, all the rest was just normal track and from what I could see signalled with 4-aspect colour lights. When Crewe was remodelled in the 80s were these restrictions in place for the diverted traffic?

Superb Video, Thanks Don. Why were so many stations closed, was it lack of use?

Thanks for another excellent vid - enjoying it. Could you just clarify your point about running in floods? Do you mean that trains are allowed to run at 5mph if the railhead is not visible, or not at all? Thanks.

Excellent aa usual. Wondering why using a 66 when there are wires along the whole diagram?

Apologies Don, i thought I'd commented when i first watched it. Thoroughly enjoyed it mate. Any idea of the new locos' provisional class number?

Thank you for another brilliant film. A question: At Sandbach North Junction a 50mph turnout is clearly visible but the train is routed via the 25mph turnout south of the station. Surely using the faster junction would make more sense as less fuel is consumed getting back up to line speed after the junction and the big frieght is out of the way of the passenger trains a little faster? What am I missing here, if not doing a route to keep the driver reminded of it?

As I have seen this driver's eye view for myself thousand of times, I'm watching it at X2 speed to hurry things along a bit. At least you're on greens through Manchester; that doesn't happen that often!

Hi Don, I've scanned through others' questions and can't see the answer so apologies if you've had this before. A query on the route diversion (avoiding the Styal Line). Was there radio comms or is the driver's route knowledge as such that if signalled one way that they must be heading to Stockport? It depends on what the driver sees when they get there and both are an option? Tremendous video as ever!

I have only watched in part so far but my question is approaching Sandbach. The crossover you took is heavily approach controlled as the southern 25 mph junction was taken. I know that Down Northern local was about but it seemed clear enough to use the North Jn at Sandbach which I think is 50 and is also flashed.

Great video. Why do they not load the containers say from front to back, why are there gaps that seem at random intervals?

2:37:07 Rugby Station

Great Video Don. One question why is the train routed from Manchester to Felixstowe via Wembley. Isn't there a more direct cross country route available?

What happens if he doesn't get the 2nd train length indicator beep? does he stop the train? great video don many thanks. 👍

Interesting you've mentioned the class 390's running speeds. If they ran the ECML, I wonder if the approach to York would permit them their flat out 140 mph top speed. Also, in my opinion the 390 units are FAR more attractively designed than the 80X classes used on express routes elsewhere in the UK.

Do the signallers contact the driver to advise of route alterations before hand? Or do the drivers just follow the signals, aware that they might be diverted and not surprised when they are?

Superb video again, duly liked but even I had to watch it three chunks. One question at 3:37:40 , why is the signal placed on a bend, especially after a long stretch of straight track? To me - having never worked in the railway industry - it could hardly be be better placed to be misleading. Oh and by way it's Hinckley not Hinkley, near my place of birth. You aren't the first to get it wrong. An expensive sign on The M1 just south of the M6 junction had to be replaced because of this.

Ha! “Unauthorised Contact” = “train crash”! How about this one Don? At the Space X Starship launch yesterday, the 2nd stage experienced a “Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly”!! … I.E. it blew up! 😱😂😂

Wow. AB still in operation at Stockport.

Thanks Don as expected a great video of information for us non railway folk just a railway follower and in enthusiast on how the UK railway works day to day, and Don you do a great job of informing us. but I have one big dislike how NETWORK RAIL DO NOT LOOK AFTER ALL BRICKWORKS ON WALLS BRIDGES AND PARTS OF THE RAILWAY LANDSIDE OF ALL THIS UNWANTED GROUTH OF BUDDLELA surly its damaging all the brickwork around the country. Rant over but it dose make the railway uncared for. Sorry While I am on the subject of unwanted WEEDS how about all the stations with loads of weeds growing on the track bed though the station very untidy and encampment. I apologise to you Don for using your site to have my say but I had no idea where I could say his to show others the state our railway has become from the steam days when every thing was kept tidy, I know that you warned us all to put our raincoats on but I ignored your advice and ended up getting very darn wet.

Don, Enjoy your videos. What are the 4 or 5 rapid high pitched beeps which occur randomly?

A neighbour of mine drives for GBRF.

Do these locomotives have sat nav, so a driver can double check his location in poor weather?

How does diesel work on an electrified line?. Could the electric be used to supplement the power? Not a question I expect an answer to in the comments but, perhaps, addressed in a future video. Thanks

How long does it typically take to learn a route such as this? I imagine that you have to know it inside out and back to front.

Привет Дон. Как дела на работе. Я из Талдыкоргана. У меня тоже есть паравозик. Катаюсь с расстояния от дома.

What route is used from Wembley to Felixstowe?

Were you the driver Don?

I note the comment about knowing your location in poor visibility - I wonder if locos should be fitted with SatNav in case of the need to be able to quickly identify the exact location?

Do you have a map of the route you take? To a non-Brit it is difficult to understand how you get from A to B