Notts Lad oop North
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Posts posted by Notts Lad oop North
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I stand corrected and you absolutely right - on checking my archive I find I have the same pic but in colour. 61131 did work a special in August 66 though hence my confusion. It was a great pity that neither 61131 0r 73 were Colwick locos and the shed did still have some working at the time despite being absorbed into the London Mildand Region. The two special B1s came from somewhere in Yorkshire. Nice clear shot of that tank at Eastleigh too.
I think technology will only go improving and I am waiting for software that will convert B/w shots into colour ( dont laugh - it will happen!) I just wish my late Uncle couild see what I can do with negatives without the need for a darkroom and all those chemicals and pans etc..
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More great pics Firbeck and I cannot get enough so if you have more keep em coming. The pic of 61131 is not taken on the last day - it also worked a special in August 1966 taking over from 34002 Salisbury. I have a great shot of 70054 like yours but with the whole train on - absolutely was 1965 and this was the last year of namers in the Vic working the semi-fasts but on this occasion its working empty newspaper vans back to Marylebone. Enjoyed the shot of Colwick - I always got kicked out of there by the Shed foreman but Nottingham shed was always easy to bunk - any pics from there?
Sad to think how so much is now gone and lost forever and without our pics and memories there is little else to mark the passing.
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Absolutely superb set of shots on that infamous last day Firbeck - eps enjoyed the Weekday Cross shots and dont recall seeing any before from that side. Its really good you confirmed the last York Bournemouth was hauled by D1572. I have lots of pics taken inside the Vic that day inc a number in colour - will go up onto Photobucket now and see if I can make a slide show work on here ... here goes ...see you later hopefully,
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AYUP - Notts Lad here. A potted history follows.........
Born in Derby General Hospital in June 1953 - very nearly with a silver spoon in my mouth ( just missed the Coronation!) have spent the rest of my life just missing things too!
Lived in Long Eaton for the first year of my life
Parents bought a house in the Meadows ( Pyatt St) so moved there next and went to Collygate Infants and Trent Bridge Juniors.
At the age of 10 I had to transfer schools when my parents bought a bungalow in Carltion ( Douglas Avenue) Went to Parkdale primary which I loved and passed my 11+ there
Next went to Carlton Le Willows Grammar ( which I hated) and did a 7 year stretch.
In Sept 1971 I left Carlton and Nottingham to start a 3/4 year Teacher Training course and basically never really moved back except for the big hols.
Still living near Manchester after all these years.
Still have family in Nottingham and Notts so do pop back now and again...
Enuff said!
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TRENT PONDS & THOSE TUNNELS
I have edited Beefys pic to id where I believe the famous tunnel is that Bazzer and myself played in all those years ago - blue arrow points to it. On the other side of the tracks I have tried to mark the water -course. Believe it or not this stream comes in from Netherfield BUT I think it actually comes from Carlton and issues from a sewage/ manhole thing in some woods at the bottom of Douglas Avenue! In pink I have marked where there used to be another much bigger wider tunnel that was half filled with earth in the 1960's . Its much nearer the Trent and looked to have been used for storage at some time. That should still be there but may have been blocked up. Here goes with the pic
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Ok I am going to try to put an image into this message. Here is a two tone class 47 D1541 working a Bournemouth to York service at Nottingham Victoria and it might even be the final one in 1966. Here goes..
It works bejabbers!!!
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As we seem to have a few ex-scholars on here, I have recalled come of my memories of the pleasures of dining at Trent Bridge Junior School in the early 1960's.
WHO WOULD LIKE THE SKIN?
In my first year at Trent Bridge I noticed something strange about school dinners. They were not cooked on site and usually arrived at about 11.30 in great big steel ( or aluminium) containers. The school hall which doubled as the gym also doubled as the canteen, was set out with tables and chairs. From memory I think there were two sittings. Also strange was seeing odd chairs tipped up against a table - these were for teachers to sit on and even the Head joined in sometimes, certainly in my early years. One day the head ( Mr Gibson) joined us and the first course ( always meat and two veg with gravy) went peacefully. Then the pud arrived - some kind of tart already cut up into squares and a large enamel jug full of custard. Mr Gibson asked in a booming voice "Now then who would like the skin?" Now I didnt have a clue what "the skin" was but fearing I might be thought unworthy if I didnt accept it I foolishly raised my hand. Thereupon Mr Gibson placed a square of tart on a plate and picked up the big jug. Now the custard had stood for quite some time and looked like it had a hard yellow rubber surface on top. So it didnt exactly pour smoothly onto my plate. In fact it took an eternity to leave the jug and then with a loud plop completely covered my tart. "There you are" beamed Mr Gibson. I tried to eat my pud which was Bakewell tart with yellow rubber covering. Custard it was not! Meanwhile my fellow diners , who I had denied this great culinary delight, tucked into their afters with relish. "Are you enjoying the skin" enquired Mr Gibson. Yes I spluttered ( bloody lies, I was choking!). Now the kids of the Meadows were a hungry lot and and many were glad of a decent hot meal. But by gum you had to be desperate to want the dreaded "skin". To this day I still hate lumpy custard and if I even hear the word "skin" in relation to a culinary experience I can quite literally feel a lump in my throat...
Ok more stories to come if any interest inc
The meat that came to life
A tanner in my Christmas Pud
The Pike incident ect..
Bye for now .... its dinnertime! (and no bloomin custard !)
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Hi Firbeck - you are right - the last York- Bournemouths were 47 hauled having taken over from 37's. I have a colour pic of D1541 in two tone green taken at the Vic - its my late Uncles photo so I am not sure but it may have been the famous last working. I think I have figured out how to add photos so will come back later and try to show you some amazing shots. Really would be good to know if D1541 did work the last service too. Its carrying headcode 1N83 but that was also used by the Bournemouth to Bradfords was it not?
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BACK TO TRENT PONDS
Hi again Bazzer. My first ever visit to what we called Trent ponds at Colwick/ Netherfield would have been 1965. At that time the ponds were quiet and not being worked indeed you could tell by all the grass and vegetation that they had been left for a fair few years. I recall there was a great big skip thing half sticking out of one lagoon - it looked like a WW2 landing craft and it was the only man made thing visible to show these were gravel pits and not natural ponds.
The tunnel with track must have been for taking gravel and sand under the railway lines to Hoveringhams gigantic sorting machinery at the top of the lane past the maggot works. Do you recall the one really big lagoon over here? Obviously another big gravel pit and likely earlier than Trent Ponds. Dont suppose Hoveringham could easily have got their big machinery over or under the raillway hence the tunnel and track although the tunnel must have been put there when the railway lines were first put in. By the way that tunnel is still there today and I dont doubt the track is too - trouble is the water is about three feet deep now as the big new earth banks stopped the water draining into the ponds, so raising the level - so sadly its not possible to get back inside there any more.
By the way in 1965 Hoveringham excavated a huge amount of sand and gravel from two sites at Colwick right by the sluice gates - these formed two big lagoons and are still there today - forming part of Colwick Marina. They were amazingly deep - at least 50 feet and of course I just had to explore them. Luckily a pump was working constantly to pump water out. I knew that bronze age arrow and spear heads had been discovered in the gravel workings at Holme Pierrepoint which was directly opposite this site. I reasoned there had to be some down in this big hole. There were some amazing blackened tree stumps in the pit which must have been there for literally thousands of years. Sadly no arrowheads etc were found but then I didnt have metal detector. The climb out of this 50 foot deep pit with gravel and sand sliding down was interesting to say the least. It very soon filled with water and before you know it became a popular fishing spot. I am sure few fishermen could have any idea how truly deep that water was! Another great adventure for me and once again I didnt spare a thought for the huge potential danger
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Yes I can confirm the York - Bournemouth and return workings did indeed run until the very end of the Great Central's days - last service was Sept 3rd 1966. I was on the Vic as a 13 year old trainspotter that day and recall the 37 hauling the service south whilst we waited for the last day special to come back. Have lots of photos of the Vic and indeed this last day and when I work out how to add images I will post them!
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Agree that modern Pork Farms Pies are crap - not surprising really as they are no longer made in Nottingham. Believe the meat comes from Wiltshire and it just isnt processed the same - it was that blend of spices that made the taste - same as Pork Farm sausages.
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Hi Beefsteak - yep you are right - those birds were Terns - we thought they were Arctic Terns but we were no bird experts. And they were nesting there as we saw young - definitely 1965-69 era. At the same time swans were nesting on another island in another lagoon - we got too close a couple of times only to be driven away by a big angry swan! The water level has risen in the big lagoon now so the island is no longer visible.
Baz - I recall watching a young bloke "tapping" a phone in a box at the top of Douglas Avenue just in front of the Coop supermarket. We thought he was messing about but even then we had heard it was possible. And yes I do recall the surname Bradbury and might have been in class at Parkdale Primary school with one. At the top of Douglas Ave in fact at No 1 lived a family with an amazing 7 daughters ( well think it was 7!) and I think they may have been Bradbury's.
Dont recall any electrical place at the top of Douglas Ave - on one side was the Coop Supermarket with a garage opposite and on the other side a small group of shops inc newsagent, grocer, womens clothes shop and off licence. The newsagent was broken into a number of times with fags the chief targets.
Amazing what you can recall isnt it?
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MORE ON TRENT PONDS..
Hiya Baz - yes I can recall the tunnel under the railway with its lines intact. Me and my mates ( mostly the Linekers or Smiths) found this tunnel and we decided to explore by walking on the rails. We could see at first the tunnel was flooded and were terrified of falling off as we were convinced like you that it had to be neck deep in water at least. As you got further in it was pitch dark. Of course the track lead through to the other side of the railway where there used to be be a huge lagoon ( long since filled in) plus the maggot factory and Hoveringhams massive gravel sorting machinery.
I absolutely loved Trent Ponds. At the age of about 13 and being totally unable to swim me and few mates "acquired" some inner tubes from a garage, filled them with air from an air hose and set off for Trent Ponds. As soon as we got there it was off with the clothes, sit in the middle of the ring and paddle out to the middle of the lagoon - without even thinking about the dangers. Do you recall the big lagoon had an island in the very middle? It was in the 60's also a favourite nesting spot of some rare sea-birds - not gulls but I cannot recall the name. We decided to paddle out to the island but had not got far when both birds started to dive bomb us! We decided to retreat. Later I would read that Gravel Pits can be as deep as 15ft! ( And I can assure you that that Attenborough certainly is/ was in parts!). Like I said previously, I lead a charmed life as my inner tube did not pop or that would have been the end of me!
I used to fish the ponds ( without permission) and we camped overnight there a couple of times, with nothing more than a cheap tent between us and the heavens and a blanket each. We were always interested in nature/ animals etc so could spot most birds/fish/ butterflies. The latter were profuse here plus two varieties of dragon flies, one a real monster. Great nested newts were here too - Oh how I wish I had known about the plans for those awful big slurry lagoons - the presence of a couple of crested newts would have stopped any development of this wonderful oasis. Ok time to go but I have many more Trent Ponds/ Colwick/ Netherfield/ Carlton memories. Bye for now and Baz maybe we should have a meet some time in the summer of 2009 for anyone interested in a tour round "Old Netherfield" and especially Trent Ponds??
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I went to Collygate infants school in the 1950's but attended two infant schools in the Meadows, both very close by each other. I had my first year in a very old building actually in the same grounds as Mundella. For my final two years I moved to more modern buildings close to the library. Now which one was Collygate? I know both were still standing - the first had become a community centre and the second was some kind of store for the council - full of canoes of all things last time I checked - and I hate to admit that was 18 years ago! From the second infants school I went on to Trent Bridge Junior School. Anyone put me out of my misery? What were my two Meadows infants schools called?
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There was a strange chap in the early 70's who would take three paces forward and then immediately two back... and so on.. Took him ages to get anywhere. Last time I saw him he was heading down London Rd by the canal .... very slowly of course. No this really happened and I am not making it up!
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Its not a ferry - its a steam boat taking people on trips down from Trent Bridge to Colwick Hall. These were hugely popular and there was a landing stage at Colwick Hall ( think its long gone) There was also some kind of pleasure park at Colwick Hall too and I think they used to light it up at night with glass lights filled with small candles. Its hard to believe now but there were still steamers offering trips down to Colwick Hall in the early 1960's ( round trip - you didnt get out) plus there were tons of rowing boats for hire. Whats there now? Nowt!
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I used to live in Carlton ( Douglas Ave) but we were very near Netherfield and for the best part of 7 years ( 64-71) I used to transit through Netherfield on my way to the dreadful Carlton Le Willows Grammar School. I have a lot of memories of the place and this thread has brought back a few. We used to get the "smells" even in Carlton but the sewage works was the biggest culprit esp in summer. If I recall there was also a company called "Bitterlings" at Stoke Bardolph and it was responsible for the very worst smells. The Maggot factory? Yep I recall that down the track past Hoveringham gravels big pile of conveyors - went in there a couple of times at night - disgusting and rats there were even bigger than cats. If you walked down through Netherfield heading for Colwick Shed you came to a railway crossing (still there) On the right hand side here before the crossing was a small empty field and this was the site for a small annual fair in the mid / late 1960's
If you kept on walking you came to Colwick Loco shed on the left. Keep on walking and you followed a path taking you down the side of Colwick loco yard. Eventually you came to a signal box where you could cross the lines near Trent Concrete. But if you kept walking you entered a kind of underpass taking you through the loco yards and eventually you went through a small tunnel and emerged into what for us kids was some magical place. It was actually a gravel pit with lots of small ponds and lagoons with one great big one. So we called it Trent Ponds. Very few people went here. A fishing club had fishing rights but most of the time the wildlife was left to it. The ponds were sadly obliterated in the 1990's to make two gigantic slurry lagoons but there is one of the original lagoons left - the big one near the Trent and its the flat one - those behind the big earth banks are modern creations.
We used to climb up inside the railway bridge over the Trent and doing this we could get to the first arch but no further. We did discover a trap door which opened out directly under one of the railway tracks. We later used this trapdoor to "escape" over the Trent and we went off exploring Holme Pierrepoint gravel pits as they were before they became the famous facility there today. On a recent visit I noticed that the old timbers under this bridge have been replaced by concrete beams so you cannot climb inside this bridge anymore. Probably just as well. Looking back its amazing that I survived some of the daft capers I got involved with.( I nearly drowned in Attenborough Nature Reserve but thats another story.)
Another place I recall in Netherfield was a small factory very close to the main shops. A rumour went round that buried gems were to be found in the ground in front of it. All you had to do was dig down in the grey clay but you had to be careful you didnt get caught. So one summers night three of us took a chance, jumped over the fence armed with nothing more than pointed sticks and raced over some rough ground. We started to scrape away and sure enough below the long grass we found grey clay. Soon enough we all started finding gemstones! These were very small and I found a blue one and a red one. They were not polished or shiny and looked just like rough and real gemstones. Suddenly we heard a shout so we shot off. We never went back and to this day I dont know what on earth we were digging up. Years later I would learn that gemstones really can be found in clay - so what on earth was going on on Netherfield all those years ago?
I used to frequent some of the shops esp the main ones near the railway inc the newsagent. I used to buy maggots for fishing with from a petshop down a side street and later bought a number of birds for my garden shed aviary.
I have many happy memories of Netherfield / Colwick as it was my playground growing up in the mid / late 1960's. It was simply a great place to be then and I wouldnt have wanted to have grown up anywhere else! Happy Days!
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If pics of Nottingham Vic float your boat - check this out - and many more where that came from !
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I was seriously looking to buy a property in Florida in retirement but it seems it aint that easy - from what I have read you can only stay for a max of 6 months a year so what do you do with the other 6 months? I am too old at 55 to get a job stateside and get a green card so it seems my dream move will not happen forcing me to look at Spain.........
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OK in the early 1960's I was living in the Meadows and I recall two sets of bubble gum cards we collected
MARS ATTACKS
AMERICAN CIVIL WAR
Am sure they were American and there was some concern about gorey images eg soldiers impaled on spikes. Best of all each card came with a sheet of pink bubble gum as big as the card itself. Dates? 1961-63 for sure.
PS we never collected cig cards then - I just dont recall these despite heavy smokers in the family.
more tales from the late 60's early 7o's
in 70's Nottingham
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Was Zaks club opposite Midland Station actually the Bier Keller in the mid 70's? Seem to remember the main singer in the German Oompah band was called Kurt too?