Notts Lad oop North
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Posts posted by Notts Lad oop North
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Isnt this the line that spurs off at Lenton North Junction? If so I cannot see a good reason why it should be closed. It allows trains to go north to the likes of Sheffield and Leeds without having to go via Toton so saving time and money. At one time it was fairly busy with freight but not now. I came down this line a few years back on my way to Norwich through Nottingham and it was my first time down it. Its singled at some point as you come into Nottingham.
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Firbeck
I dont think 61264 was the last B1 withdrawn off Colwick. By 1966 Colwick had been "transfered" to the Midland division of BR and nearly all its old allocation was replaced by Black 5's, 8F's and standard 3's BUT some B1's were kept. By this time 61264 was already a departmental loco so technically already withdrawn and I am sure carried a departmental number. I have a pic taken at Colwick in August 1966 showng 61089 and a colour slide from Sept 1966 taken at Nottingham Midland with 61390 from COLK ( on buffer beam) about to work a Jolly Fisherman to Skegness out of platform 6. Colwick closed to to steam in 66 think it was December and shut for good in April 1970...
PS 61264 replaced another ex Colwick loco K1 or K3 61943 as a stationary boiler and I have a dreadful pic of that at Colwick taken again in 66...
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Does anyone know exactly where Beeston sleeper works was? It was home to a couple of funny little diesel shunters in the ED1-ED10 range plus it had its own little narrow gauge railway. I have a feeling it may have been at the far end of Wilford Yards which would have put it in Lenton, not Beeston but then I dont know. Any clues anyone?
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There were definitely two different and distinct fish trains that ran through Nottingham in the early 1960s
1. Grimsby to Whitland hauled down the GC by an Immingham Brit as far as Woodford Halse or Banbury and replaced by a Castle
2. Grimsby to Nottingham and Derby and maybe beyond and ran along the Midland lines from Lincoln to Nottingham Midland then out through Lenton by a whole mixtire of locos. You could get rare Eastern Region B1's on it or it could be Derby or Nottingham Black 5's or Crabs. I have some pics of it at various locations so will bring them here soon
The "Tamworth Mail" usually arrived in Nottingham Midland at exactly 9.00 every night and went on to at least Derby. Where it went after that is a mystery to me. It was diesel hauled early on, usually a Class 31. I never saw steam on it. This train ran until 1990 and was finally Class 4 hauled.
Had to smile about Nottingham Shed - me and a mate used to climb over the sleeper fence at the end of Constance Grove and never got chucked out once - unlike Colwick.
Happy Happy Days!
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Never any loco sheds on Wilford Road, nor even a sub-shed.
The engine sheds were at Colwick...
Wilford Road sidings used for wagon storage..you might see an occasional shunter.
Some loco's were stored there briefly prior to scrapping, but very few.
Cheers
Robt P.
No Rob- you are forgetting about Nottingham Shed 16A which was I believe in Wilford and not very far from Mildand Station. It was certainly not too far for a pair of 10year olds to go and bunk the shed on a evening in June 1964 and then catch a unit back to Carlton & Netherfield from Midland....
And talking of fish trains dont forget Nottingham had two and one came down the Midland line and travelled on to Derby at least. Used to arrive about 7.00 and oddly enough you could often find a "crab" on the front. Railfans will know what I am taking about..
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Collygate school was between Wilford crescent and Mundella road
I think a lot of people are getting confused here as there were TWO infant schools in close proximity. There was an Infant school on Collygate Road that was in the grounds of Mundella and was certainly used as such in the 1950's. I was there for two years from Easter 1957 but we were all and I do mean all transfered to the other school circa Sept 59 and this school entrance was on Mundella Road and yes it was between Wilford Crescent and Mundella Road.
I went back to the Meadows over Christmas and the "new" Collygate" has been demolished whereas the "old" Collygate still stands and is now a Muslim centre. I really cannot recall if the "new" Collygate had a new name but of course as the school had moved its likely to have been referred to as just Collygate, even if it had a new name..
So in summary there were actually two Collygates!
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Hi Rory
I am in your pic on post 3 so obviously we were at the same infants and then Junior School. This is not Collygate mind, its another infant school on nearby Mundella Road which we transfered to at the start of our third year in the infants.
I am the boy without any costume and to my right is Stephen James - the only name I can now recall. I was supposed to be a "boy from Europe". If you look you can see a representation of other countries, notably China but boy was I ashamed of my "costume". Oh well I had a better part than in the second year of infants nativity or Christmas play where I played a dog and I had to carry a white "bone" made of plasticine to my kennel and lie down!
The date is def December 1959. Looking at your other pics of Trent Bridge Junior School I recognize a lot of faces but this is not my form so I am sure you must have been in 1b, 2B etc etc and that would have meant you would eventually get into 4B with the dreaded Miss Slack!
Can you recall the name of the school where this nativity is taking place? By the way - its gone now - just a pile of rubble. I was down the Medders only yesterday on one of my few forays back into Nottingham..also rubble is our old Junior school!
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Visited some of my old schools in the Meadows yesteday ,and here is a round up of news
Collygate infants school - main old building still standing now a muslim centre
XXXXXXX infants school - demolished, This was round the corner from Collygate in Mundella Road and we were transfered here when Collygate closed in 1959. Anyone recall its name?
Trent Bridge Junior School - demolished ( became Trent Bridge Primary School)
Trent Bridge Seniors - back part demolished but an old building at the front remains and is now an independent Christian School!
Trent Bridge Senior - new block - still standing
Trent Printers opposite the new block was in the process of being demolished too. I wil upload some pics to Photobucket soon
Oh yes Suspension Bridge still closed - dont hold your breath on this one either if its metal fatique in the cable strands which is what I preume is the reason....
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The Beeching cuts were made at a time when our railways were in decline and the roads were starting to take away much of their freight traffic. Now look at the current scene. More people than ever are using the railways and demand is increasing. With a little planning and foresight the GCR could have been left intact to serve as a vital freight artery taking slower freight trains off the ECML and the WCML plus keeping some local services. The Trent Viaduct will never be built again and in any event there is no path through Nottingham and the Meadows with the raised sections gone, just as they are in parts of Leicester.
Make no mistake the Beeching cuts were quite devastating for Nottingham and could actually have been worse making Nottingham into a virtual cul-de-sac off the Midland Main Line.Local labour MPs protested about the cuts, local Tories did not. The loop in the bowel of the Vic should have been kept and then the Nottingham Light Rail system could have used the old lines to get to Hucknall and have a magnificent interchange system right under the Vic Centre. The fact this did not happen when it clearly could have is a travesty and the blames lies squarely with the those dreadful politicians who allowed the chance to slip away.
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yes, lets get stoking, had a walk down to where the cotgrave pit line branches off the old GNR line to Grantham at Radcliffe, horrible concrete viaduct but theres a triangle junction there too, I wonder IF as some have envisaged the old MR Melton route reopened thet could join up here? would have hell of a job rebuilding original route through west bridgford etc!
I believe that was seriously being looked at some years back as the then BR wanted that old route back to Melton and as you have pointed out it cannot be easily returned as some morons allowed embankments to be removed in West Bridgford. What on earth were the local Council doing in the 1960's? They should have made sure the Melton line infrastructure was protecetd and even more important should have kept the loop through Victoria Station to allow a bus rail interchange that would have been in the heart of town. Politicians ? Bah humbug!
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Hi again Firbeck
Well between the two of us we are starting to fill in the gaps at the famous Derby Shows so now we have..
1960 it was 71000
1961 it my have been semi 462XX City of Stoke on Trent
1962 it was 46256 Sir William A Stanier and 70048
1963 it was 46251City of Nottingham
1964 it was 46245 City of London
1965 it was 70012 John Of Gaunt
1966 it was 70028 Something Star
1967 it was 70013 Oliver Cromwell
1968 it was I think diesel HS4000 Kestrel
plus ex works Brittiania 70004 William Shakespeare is in the mix somewhere early 60's or even 1959
Re that Jube at Derby. Either late August or early September 1967 I was spotting at Derby station when we heard a rumour that a Jubilee was working through on a special. At this time there were no steam locos left in the Midlands. Sure enough about one hour later a plume of smoke was seen to the north and into the station rolled a "Jube" on a long rake of stock with lots of "enthusiasts" hanging out of the windows. But actually it was a Black 5 taking Liverpool supporters on to Nottingham for a match with Forest and the train had started at either Liverpool Central or Exchange( i think - it wasnt Lime St). I stayed at Derby until about 4.30 and never did see the Jube but on the way home saw the Black 5 departing from Nottingham - maybe the Jube worked through before I had arrived at Derby. The date shouild not be hard to find with the fottball match a great clue and there is a great website listing special workings so I will try to track it down...
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Thats a big help Firbeck so..
1963 it was 46251City of Nottingham
1962 it was 46256 Sir William A Stanier and 70048
1961
1960 it was 71000 and...
I have color slides of two more "semis" at Derby shows namely City of London and City of Stoke on Trent so hopefully I can assign years for those. Also have a colour print of 70004 William Shakespeare plus great colour slide of 71000 with spotterw running all over the top of it!
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Back on the Long Gone Railways theme ... did anyone else on here go to the famous Derby Works Open Days in the 1960's? My first one was in 1963 and I am currently trying to date some photos taken by my late Uncle. I know they date from 1959-1963 but would welcome any info about the stars of the show each year. Certainly from 1960-63 there was always a Coronation Pacific and sometimes a Brit too . Check this out..
But what year is this from 1960/61/62? I know it isnt 1963 as that year 46251 City of Nottingham was the star of the show. Over to you guys...
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Yes I remember well the "Bonfire Wars" in the Meadows in the early 1960's. We lived on Pyatt Street then and all the big lads ( thats secondary school boys!) in the nearby steets got together to build a big bonfire on the "Rec" not far away. It was an annual thing in the days before the organized fireworks displays we see today and entire families would go down there on Bonfire Night to see the fire burn and also to let off fireworks. My last Meadows Bonfire night would prove to be in 1962 and I recall it well because when the older lads came calling for any old wood my dad decided it would be a good way to get rid of an ancient bed he had just replaced. We helped the lads wheel it onto the Rec where it formed a good base for the bonfire which quickly took shape. Trouble was this was Saturday and Bonfire night was a week day night.
One of the older lads a had a broken arm in plaster and didnt have to go to school so he was charged with guarding the bonfire in the weekday daytimes. Sadly a raid shortly after school closing saw our bonfire burnt prematurely to the ground and it was our old foes, a gang from across the fields down near Queens Walk. Then a miracle - despite apparently losing our bonfire wood was produced from more secret hiding places and Bonfire Night 1962 went ahead as normal with a pile about 30 feet high, complete with a guy on top.
I moved to Carlton in Sept 1963 and it really did seem posh there compared with the Meadows. There were no street or park bonfires to go to in our district so from that point on it was a bonfire in our back garden ( no back gardens in the Meadows!) and fireworks fun and frolics including creating a "howitzer" with a piece of grooved wood and a pack of rockets all with bangers attached.... but thats another story.
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Firbeck - it seems your hyperlink leads to a dead page - any chance of checking this as I would like to know some more about this crash? Cheers
Rob - thanks for the detail about the crash, I had no idea how really dreadful it was. The report states that from the start of the breakup until crash was just 6 seconds. I guess I witnessed the first three or so seeing the leading edge and one wing edge breaking up and seeing the nose lift - after that I was on the ground with everyone else. The description explains why I saw the nose-cone facing back up the runway as in its final moments the Vulcan turned a cartwheel and must have come down on its back. Its chilling to realize how close I was to such a serious accident and a miracle that more people were not killed or injured. Yes planes have crashed at air displays a number of times but this was one big aircaft moving at speed and in close proximity to a very large crowd of people. The debris trail on the runway proves it did fly down it and we were not standing very far away as it came in.
Very scary but it didnt stop my dad taking me back to more air displays in the 50's and 60's.
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Hi Rob
I was at Syerston and saw that Vulcan crash at the tender age of 4 - and I am sure it was 1957 not 58. My father was taking me to my first ever air display so it was likely a September one usually organized in memory of the Battle of Britain. I was standing on the grass at the front of the crowd with my father when the Vulcan came in low and fast from our left. Then we could suddenly see what looked like hundreds of sheets of paper coming off the back of the Vulcan. Someone shouted - its coming down and then everyone threw themselves to the ground and my dad threw himself over me to give me some protection. Luckily we were some way off the crash site. Later we walked down the runway and the only remains of the Vulcan we could see was the nose-cone which was lying upside down on the runway facing the "wrong way" back up the runway. I understand the reason for the crash was the complete disintegration of the leading edge. With the aircraft flying so low it had no chance as it could not get sufficient lift under its big delta wing without its leading edge.
Sad, very sad and I didnt know about the Air Cadets being killed. I think pilots did push aircaft too hard in the 1950's and zooming in from a great height then flying down a runway at great speed was a favourite trick. In this case the Vulcan clearly couldnt take it. I do recall it was very very low.
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The Sneinton area was quite badly hit in the Nottingham blitz and the railways were quite likely the targets for the bombs. From memory the carriage sidings near what we now call the Eastcroft were badly hit but worse damage was suffered by the LNWR Goods warehouse - this was still around in the 60's but the site is now covered by housing.
My fathers family were sheltering in the "shelter" in the the back garden but a bomb would have finished them all off. They were lucky but others in the district were not so fortunate. Particularly unlucky were some workers at the bakery on Meadow Lane shletering in the basement. Some of the last bombs of the night fell through the bakery roof and a number were killed, including at least one from my familys then street Cosby Road. Meanwhile my grandfather was out working in the blitz all night - as an ARP!
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Funny but I just dont recall a single overweight/ Fat ( People of Size?) kid at school in first the Meadows and then in Carlton from 1957-1964 during my primary school years. The first overweight kid I ever saw was in my class at Carlton Le Willows Grammar and boy did he get some abuse. Elephant was one name thrown at him but he was actually very pleasant with a great sense of humour.
I am sure that for a very small minority there may be some physical eg hormonal reason for weight gain. For 99% its simply because they eat too much of the wrong kind of food. It aint rocket science, cut down the carbs and avoid fatty and salty foods and esp white bread, pastries, cakes, biscuits and pies! I reviewed my own diet recently and decided I should try to lose some weight although at 12 stone and just under 6 foot I was not exactly obese. I am now down to 11 stone and it was not a problem at all because it was about the type of food I was eating. We now live in a world surrounded by food and food advertising and its all to easy to keep on snacking with so much food in our houses. It wasnt like this in the 1950's / 1960s and apparently us "boomers" apparently had a much better diet than kids today. So maybe the "good old days" really were good, certainly for our health?
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I left Nottingham many moons ago but have memories of two hospitals. At the age of four I had my tonsils ( and I think) my adenoids taken out in a hospital almost in the City Centre and certainly near the Aboretum. Like the other correspondent I recall the food - soup , ice cream and all soft stuff obviously - what was that one called?
Then in the mid 70's I got tetanus after our pet cat bit me and I didnt clean the wound. I was taken by ambulance from my school to a big hospital up near Bestwood - whch one was that?
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Well I am an ex- Carlton Le Willows boy but shamefully have to admit I didnt recognze many of those boozers with the exception of the Town Centre ones - Bell, Sal and Trip. I checked out the home site and the people on there were about two - three years below me. We did however risk being suspended in the Upper Sixth by sneaking out at dinnertime for a furtive half pint at nearby pubs. It was only half a pint because that was all we could afford. Three pubs were hit and chosen carefully as "easy to get served" as we were all wearing our bright green Grammar school blazers and full school uniform. We took off our school ties, threw our blazers over our shoulders and walked in pretending to be to be at least 18. Of course we were under age and had we been caught I have no doubt we would have been severely dealt with by our strict Headmaster. Cannot recall any pub names - two in Carlton and the one at Stoke Bardolph by the Trent. I will have to look up some of those pubs when I make one of my rare return visits to Nottingham. One of my absolute favourites is the Trip yet strangely we never ever went there in the 1970's on our numerous Friday or Sat evening pub crawls.
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Firbeck - I can assure you it absolutely was the Bradford to Bornemouth. It didnt go through Derby and it didnt have to go back through Derby either. It came down the Erewash line from Sheffiled straight into Nottingham I dont know the exact route but from Nottingham it definitely went down the Midland main line. It could have taken the line from Leicester to Birmingham and then down the route still used today. Remember one year previously and this train called at Nottingham Vic then onto Rugby, Woodford Halse, Banbury, Oxford etc.
Had it not been for the reverse at Nottingham we would never have seen any steam locos on thsi train at all in 1966 - they couldnt work south into GWR territory where steam had been removed a year earlier and Colwick was one of the last bastions of steam in Notts providing a coaling and watering opportinity if required not to mention turning. Oh and the locos were provided by Leeds Holbeck and Alberta was more a less a fuxture all summer long , much to my disgust having been haunted by it working the same train into the Vic in 1965 on an oh so frequent basis....
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Hiya Firbeck - more great shots - keep em coming. Can definitely help you with info on the Alberta working. It was working the first leg of a Bradford to Bournemouth to Nottingham where it came off the train and went to Colwick shed for a sleepover. Was definitely the last ever Jubilee to work a regular BR train into Nottingham... and that train and service finsihed on the same day as did Nottingham Vics mainline days - September 3rd 1966. A frankly dreadful day in the history of Nottinghams railways!
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Rob - which shed was 61269 fom? If Colwick I will almost certainly have one somewhere but I dont recall that being a Colwick B1?
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MEMORIES OF THE BIER KELLER
In the mid 1970's, certainly summer of 1975, the Bier Keller was a regular Friday night out and what a good night it was too. We would get the bus down to Midland station and then drop into the pub opposite the Keller to tank up on some "cheap" beer. Think it was a Shippos joint and it was always two pints of mild for me, sank very quickly. Reason for this was the German beer (Lowenbrau) was mega expensive. Then it was down the steps into the Keller and into a stein of Lowenbrau. When the band started playing we all got up and stood on the benches singing along and swinging our steins from side to side. The band were great and most all songs had actions to go with the words. Cannot recall many songs now but do recall....
WHEN ITS SPRING AGAIN. I'LL SING AGAIN
TWO LIPS FROM HAMSTER JAM...
You put two fingers on your lips at this point and then pretended to throttle a hamster!. The more Lowenbrau you sank the more you enjoyed the night but usually three steins ( plus two pints before) was more than enough to get tipsy. Really you did not want the nights to end here but when they did we staggered down Arkwright Street stopping at the Chip Shop near the Boots Club for Pie Chips and Gravy. Then it was over Trent Bridge and a long stagger back home to our respective abodes in West Bridgford, all buses had long since stopped running for the night.
Happy days and happy memories and Carl was a great entertainer!
Steam
in Pete's Nottingham Transport Forum
Posted
Re The locos with yellow cabside stripes not allowed to run under the wires south of Crewe - this started around 1964 and the reason was to stop firemen climbing up on the coal on the tender and coming into contact with the wires. I can only presume this may have actually happened and some poor chap got fried alive. Dont think many classes got the stripes but these did
Jubilee
Coronation
Fowler 4F
All ex LMS types and maybe they had higher tenders or something. And not all locos in those classes got their stripes either.. Dont ever recall seeing any standards with stripes... Its got nohing to do with earthing and as rightly noted these locos ( well Coronations for sure) dont have the stripes today and they do go under the wires
pS Rob237 will check my B1's for you when I can find em. Just hope er indoors hasnt had a sneaky bin session. I do ( or did) have lots of pics of Colwick B1's....