Ashley

Members
  • Content Count

    4,614
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    11

Posts posted by Ashley

  1. there has been no trace of the level crossing for at least 20 odd years, for awhile (years) the gate were locked shut, then as they fell to bits a fence was put up, finally the gap vernon rd side was bricked up with identical stone as rest of the wall, the other side after the gates went was always high wire netting fence, On that photo the concrete structure and green fence is part of the rerouting of the Leen it goes underground there to re emerge just the other side of Basford House

  2. re photo on post 10, top right can be seen the old level crossing gates and then remains of cart track cutting across Billy Bacons with bridge over the Day Brook, in main picture think only only roof of vedonis can be seen on whitemoor road which ended facing Murphy's, to the left of that about midway between Murphys and Cowley St was the bungalow that my grandparents mother and uncle lived in from early 1920's to 1939, on corner of Whitemoor Ave was a pub think called the rifle volunteer, there was also another pub The Vernon on Nottingham Rd between the railway and Lincoln St

  3. Can remember the Beeston Bridge being built mid to late 1960's? It would be interesting to see the route Radford road and Nottingham Rd orginally took when the railway arrived as there was no bridge at Church St for 28 years (1848-1876) I would also imagine the last section of Vernon Rd from Nottingham Rd to it's original junction to Church St (still to be seen, the former site of Smithy's Car Breakers right next to the bridge) was completed

  4. I've been a bit quiet just lately but back on the railway theme again!

    Am after info on the above subject or rather where there were level crossings now replaced by bridges or simply down away with, ones I know of are Church St Lenton, Gauntly St Radford, Bobbers Mill Radford Nottingham Rd Basford Lincoln St Basford Station St Bulwell, the still there one on St Albans Rd? Bulwell, but there must have been others? doubt anyone will remember such in use! but am sort of trying to find the diversions etc in roads where bridges replaced crossings, Abbey Bridge springs to mind, plus others done away with when area's were redeveloped

  5. will get back to you on this as lent my only copy to someone. the map seems to show vernon rd going as far as nottingham rd with the old level crossing in place opposite Sketchleys with the radford rd fairfax st going over the new bridge into old basford along side the old original road bridg at side of such where I assume there must have been a level crossing? the latter "Smithy's car Scrap yard" which I understood was the original end of vernon td seems to go nowhere, maybe by time that map was drawn it just fed the railway yaed?

  6. Re the high wall on Vernon Rd, my father was born at 510 Vernon Rd in 1916, the wall was there then but it was him who told me about it, and I included the details about it in a booklet I wrote about the railways of Basford & Bulwell which I understand is still on sale at certain shops and in local libaries, (not pushing it lol, never made a penny from it!) Lots in the book was hearsay from older residents and there are mistakes in it! one esp stands out as I assumed the name Vernon Rd came from a corruption of the MR's "logo" wyvern this was wrong as there were 2 pubs The Vernon Hotel and Vernon Arms there before the railway came.

    Prior to Vernon Rd being built the "main rd" from Bulwell to Nottingham was very different and more can be found about such (assuming I got it right) in my first post (no.1) in this topic

    • Upvote 1
  7. The law is(was) very confusing re sidecars etc, I recall the police trying to do Friar for riding a 650 with just a sidecar chassis in place on provisional licence, after much delving (no internet then) so long as was capable of carrying passengers, or goods, in the latter case merely "planks", which his was (even if more a case of railway sleepers to keep 3rd wheel down) it was deemed legal and they had to drop the case.

    He's up in Notts Wednesday onwards and at The Ship next weekend,

    Went to Tom Carr's wake last night at The Hart, quite a few there, inc a lot who don't usually still come on Thursdays, was a good night night, (cept for Tom)

    Managed to drop my Honda Nighthawk last Sunday, no damage, cept to me , took full force or R knee which turned every shade known to man, spread to untouched R foot which ballooned up something awful, 3 visits to QMC as quacks suspected DVT, luckily ok, not sure if ok to ride to Skeggy though, was really looking forward to it too, might have to go in car, still that sorts out sleeping arrangements!

  8. A bit off topic but some of these caff's were quite simply the downstairs and kitchen of terraced houses on main roads, same with grocery shops which struck me as being odd as a few doors away esp in New Basford there would be a former corner shop used as a dwelling house with the big windows covered in closed lace curtains 24/7, this was very much a DIY thing as opposed to today's trend of turning empty shops into houses crammed full of students (Mansfield Rd for example,) ££££££££££££££££,s lol

    • Upvote 1
  9. Harlequin Building is still there and I'm told has reopened recently as a cafe, Used to be run by a family called Gentry, talking of 1970/80's. Have trawled through all these postings but can't find any reference to one opposite the eland pub at new basford, I'm sure I posted about it, opened by a foreign guy maybe Polish? who had name of "Chet" and his wife, they also had one in Hucknall both cafe's full of pinball machines,had to get 3,4 or 5 in a line and "won" replays, once they got to know you they would buy back those (I think illegal) if lucky or pinball wizard type could get alot of money from them.

    In later years the eland st one was owned or managed by I think an Irishman and his wife, if I remember correctly she murdered him and locked his body in the outside toilet after a week or two the chemists next door complained re the drains smelling! Council workmen broke down the door, it was said at the time " hundreds of flies as big as sparrows" were eating the body!

    • Upvote 1
  10. check gas regs ISBN 0-7176-1635-5 reg 3 note 45, you only need to be tested and registered if you are carrying on a business working with gas, You can service your own, friends and relations etc so long as you do not charge' I know this to be a fact as was threatened with court action and eviction until gas safe backed me on this.

    ps as regards tyre wear get a good soldering iron and recut the tread pattern! only joking, but have seen in done in the good old days! I always get my tyres at podders, 99% (I didn't count) of their cars are MOT failures, and what's first thing you do if taking a car for a MOT? make sure tyres are in good nick, even buy new ones

  11. Had occasion to be in Old Basford yesterday, and wondered if anyone can recall the little island where Church Street joined Western Boulevard near St Leo's church? Am not that sure I saw it myself! maybe I saw a picture of it sometime? just wondered when it was altered to traffic lights and no right turn allowed, similarly anyone know (doubt anyone alive who recalls it) when the alignment of Basford Crossings (then called Lincoln Street Crossings) was made altering the angle of the road to make David Lane the "main road" as opposed to Lincoln St with change of crossing name