Long Eaton Stadium - Stock Cars and Speedway


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Waaaaay back in the mid 60s I used to go to the speedway to watch Long Eaton Archers.

I think the managers name was Ron Wilson.

They moved to Leicester I think in about 67.Does anyone remember them or am I the oldest f**t on the forum?

!sleeping!

Baz :ph34r:

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Waaaaay back in the mid 60s I used to go to the speedway to watch Long Eaton Archers. I think the managers name was Ron Wilson. They moved to Leicester I think in about 67.Does anyone rememb

!hand! Stock cars! My lifelong favourite spectator sport. If you went to Long Eaton, you will remember seeing the Pavilion Hotel in the background, from the pits. Here's a photo that just shows it:

I got into stock racing from 1964to1966 seasons enjoyed it but very expensive hobby i raced with the best Ellis Ford the intrepid Albert Griffin Nev Hughes who helped me out getting started a few loca

I went to Long Eaton Stadium to see 'Banger Car Racing' around 1970.

The stadium is now long gone, though the land has not been redeveloped.

I had a job there, I should say I paid a call there, mid 90's in the Ramshackle stadium. Lacking maintenance for many years. There may still be buildings there but I have not been on the site for many years. The Pub (name?) was knocked down a few years back, and that land also stands vacant?

You still get the programs for the Stock car meetings offered on Ebay

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I can't remember the name of the pub either but me and my mate had a few pints in there.

Then we would jump on my motorbike and zoom off to Beeston where I dropped him home and thence damn fast ride back home to WB.

I never did fall off though. B)

Baz :ph34r:

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Grange Hotel, does not sound right to me unless the name changed?

The big one on Station Road?

I recall some scandal (70's?) wife swapping or something, where it was

featured in the News of The World?

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I'm still befuddled by Grange Farm!

Was it not, simply, the 'Station Hotel'?

We had union meetings there in in 70's....can't recall taking the 'ex' though girlvboy

Cheers

Robt P.

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;) Let me put you all out of your misery, being a fan too of the Arches Speedway team back in the 60s, i too traveled there on motorbike with my girl friend who became my wife in 1970.

After the speedway stopped we turned to Stockcar racing but that didn't last long either.

Regarding the name of the pub on Station Street Long Eaton that was called The Stadium, as mick say's alas long gone.

Regarding the pub which is on Nottingham road A6005 that's called The Half Crown, this pub is or was next to the back entrance to the stadium......

I believe the Station pub is a little bit further up Station street the other side of the railway crossings..

Only if i had held on to all those Programs...

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  • 10 months later...

I was an avid "Archers" fan - and rarely missed going. The pub was, indeed, The Pavilion, and they had access to a bar at the back of the pub, so you could buy a pint without leaving the stadium!

There have been efforts to build a new stadium and begin sppedway racing again, but it looks like it has all finally fallen through.

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I went to the Speedway a couple of times,,,,,, to be truthful, I found it a bit boring,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, to me every race was like the one before,,,, the only saving grace was that it used to attract some luvverly ladies.

I went there with a mate (that good a mate - I can't remember his name !) who used to live on Redland Avenue at the bottom of Gedling Road,,,, they had a couple of Track bikes in their garage,,,,, to me they looked in far to good nick to have been used much ! We used to ride 'em up & down Redland,,, until the usual complaints abaht noise.

Talking of Redland Avenue,,,, does anyone know Steve Stanley who used to live on Redland Grove ? He'd be 60 now. In 1965 his first car was an Austin Cambridge (pale blue & white) & johnny Trainor & I had Consuls (they of long long bench seats !).

Baz II

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Ayup all,

Used to go there every Thursday to watch the Archers but the only riders name I can remember is Geoff Bouchard. Really enjoyed the night, great atmosphere and friendly folk

Rog

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Ray Wilson was the star in my day - although the "Archers" never really did very well. For some reason, my dad knew Norman Storer's dad, so if my dad was there we would always get into the paddock and hang around the bikes!

For a couple of seasons (66, 67?) I hardly missed a match - and yes, I had the pin like Radfordred, with the year "bars" - I wonder what happened to mine?

Other names - Ove Fundin, Anders Michanek, Ray Cresp. The bikes almost universally used J.A.P. engines!

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!hand! Stock cars! My lifelong favourite spectator sport. If you went to Long Eaton, you will remember seeing the Pavilion Hotel in the background, from the pits. Here's a photo that just shows it:

falding%202.jpg

I have over 1,300 photos of stock cars from 1955 to 1975 on my "nostalgia" website www.oldstox.com Have a look. Keith Barber was the hard-working promoter at Long Eaton for many years, as well as building and racing stock cars, publishing magazines, etc.

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Welcome to Nottstalgia David. My dad used to take me to Long Eaton Stadium to see the stock cars and banger racing, around 1967-1970. Names I remember include Tony Neal, Charlie Finnegan, Stuart Smith, Willie Harrison .

I'd discovered your website a while ago, but it's nice to be reminded again. Incidentally your link to the photo doesn't work!

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I went to the stock car racing there too - but more often to speedway on Thursday nights!

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Started going there when it reopened in about 1963/64 Ken Adams was captain with riders like Charlie Monk and Bluey Scott we then followed them to Leicester when they moved the whole team there.

Stock cars should never be allowed on speedway tracks they ruined Long Eaton and Leicester

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Thanks for people's welcome messages, and for fixing my link. I am no good at computers.

A couple of Long Eaton based stock-car racers were 180 Laurie Hooton and 355 Brian Carter. Red-top racer Nottingham's Nev Hughes #69 was promoter there, too.

As for speedway-versus-stock cars, it has unfortunately always been an insoluble problem, but both sports needed shale tracks (even though stock cars are also happy on concrete).

I remember from many many years ago an ARCHERS radio episode in which a young lad was spending time at a stock car track to the dismay of his parents ---- happily the story went on to prove it was "a good way for a lad to get his hands dirty and learn something".

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Joking Long Eatons in D*rby !!!!!! I have a posh sister that lives in Breaston you telling me I'm related to a sheep shagg3r !!!!!!

Here's another badge for you Bip nows your time to get collecting I'll be sticking them on next Thursday get bidding

Lovely badges. I once lost a beauty. Although I watched the brief revival of the Bristol Bulldogs speedway team in the seventies, I'd never seen the originals. But a pal who was an antique / junk dealer ("I buy old junk and I sell antiques!" he used to say) gave me a 'cloisonne' / enamel Bristol Bulldogs badge, in art deco style, perfect nick, showing two riders' heads in profile, in gold. I showed it off a lot and wore it on my jean jacket lapel, like an idiot. It had a crescent-moon fastener on the back, for buttonholes, not a secure pin. Sure enough one day I looked down at my jacket and it was not there. Been kicking myself for 35 years! no2

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But a pal who was an antique / junk dealer ("I buy old junk and I sell antiques!" he used to say) gave me a 'cloisonne' / enamel Bristol Bulldogs badge

I remember a bloke like that in Derby. His shop fascia had a sign that said, "We deal in bits and bobs - you take the bits, we take the bobs."

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I remember a bloke like that in Derby. His shop fascia had a sign that said, "We deal in bits and bobs - you take the bits, we take the bobs."

Typical. I used to drop in my mate's shop and help out. He caught me polishing up a brass plate on a chest, and yelled at me to leave it a bit mucky, and never polish up the top either. He told me the punters like to whisper to each other "That'd come up nicely, I could renovate that a treat", and that way they're more likely to buy it than if it was all tarted up.

He was wicked, used to turn people away with their "junk" saying he couldn't sell it. They'd come down to just shillings and pennies but he'd still tell them to take it away. Result: there would always be a few who were fed up carrying their chair/mirror, whatever, and they'd just dump it on him and leave. Sure enough he'd put it in the back for a few weeks to be forgotten, then sell it.

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It was Nev Hughes who had the garage on Trent Boulevard.

Thank you! Nev Hughes took up promoting at Long Eaton after he retired from racing. He now lives in Canada with his wife Dorothy. Here is a high-res. photo of Nev's car in the LE pits, showing the railway bridge behind. The unusual bonnet and rad grille are from an old French Delahaye saloon.

69.%20May%201964%20LE.JPG

Again, sorry if my copied links don't open without some adjusting.

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