fnorman

I remember seeing a parrot there in the 1950s that was supposed to be 80+ years old, probably had been there when the woman were looking at the birds.

On OS 1 inch map sheet 122 (fully revised 1950), the track is not depicted as lifted. It shows a double track line going west from Basford junction to closed stations at Watnall and at Kimberley (MR station, north of GNR station by the brewery) before becoming a disused railway track that ran to a stub connecting to Bennerley junction on the main Erewash Valley line. Passenger service to Watnall and Kimberley (Midland) ended effective Jan 1 1917. The OS map also shows a single track line diverging north from the line at Watnall Junction which connected to several collieries (Watnall, High Park

It contains water pipes between the Power Station and the River Trent as you suggest. I am guessing that there may also be high-voltage electrical cables in or close, as the overhead transmission line across the river ends right by the north end of the water tunnel.