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This is a fantastic find for me. Thanks for posting it. I have a weird fascination with tunnels especially this one as it's local. Working for the railway for the last 15 years I've gone through a fair few. I don't like the dark and they give me the creeps and the hole/stacks make me shiver as well. There's one on the Manton line that has lime scale in it!!!)

I was only just looking on Google maps, Following the train lines 'till they get to a tunnel just to see what's on top of them. ( i know I'm sad. you don't need to tell me!!!) But a lot of the time you can see the scaring in the landscape from an old railway on an ariel map.

Anyway back on subject - I would love to have a walk up to the mapperley tunnel as it's fascinated me for a long time now but it would just scare me.

if its been raining makesure you take ya wellies and watch out for uncovered drains.......have a look at this book "the rise&fall of Nottinghams Railway Network"...brought it the otherday....very good book

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Julie

I have just copied a 1960s map of the Rail system in Nottingham,

Which bit are you interested in?

....have a look at this book "the rise&fall of Nottinghams Railway Network"...brought it the otherday....very good book

All of it please Mick

and Ube who is the author / publisher? please

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All of it please Mick

and Ube who is the author / publisher? please

Author is Hayden J Reed

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  • 4 months later...

Yes, Sherwood was the next station to the south on the Nottingham Suburban Railway

Daybrook Station was GNR and when that line was built in 1875 the next station was Gedling heading towards Nottingham, In 1889 The Nottingham Suburban opened from a junction on the GNR not far after it's bridge over Mansfield Rd on that route the first station was Sherwood followed by St Annes on Wells Rd, the station being where the flats are behind the pub that used to be The Gardeners (if still standing) next station was Thorneywood which stood in a cutting at junction of Porchester Rd/Carlton Road. The railway continued under Carlton Road, over Colwick Road and rejoined The GNR at Trent Lane. I have a comprehensive article on The NSR detailing tunnels bridges costs building etc with photo but latter no that clear ( copies of copies) contact me for details

ps re tunnels, rode a motorbike through tunnel at Sherwood Station, walked from Haydn Road to Victoria, drove through the rathole and over valley road! walked through Mapperley tunnel and Weekday Cross one

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In the 60's we attempted to walk the route of the Nottingham Surburban line, it was difficult even then.

We found the station masters house at Sherwood Station which had been abandoned and seemed to be awaiting demolition. In the garden forming part of the fence was the original sign for Sherwood tunnel, all tunnels had signs, they would say 'Sherwood Tunnel 1760 yards', or whatever.

Thinking it would probably be lost forever, we wanted to save it, but it was huge, no way could we carry it off. I hatched a plan to go back with my old man and get it in his car, but he only had an Austin A-40, no way would it fit inside. We hid it in the undergrowth hoping for another cunning plan. Whether anyone found it and saved it I think is unlikely, it probably ended up being burnt, sad isn't it.

We also attempted Mapperley tunnel one day about the same time when the track was still down, the weather must have been previously bad as the water was streaming from the roof, so badly in fact that we got part of the way in and were totally soaked and gave up in disgust, we never went back.

I have more adventures involving other sites including Carrington Station signal box some of which resides in my shed, but I'm starving, I need some breakfast, I'll get back to this later if anyone is interested.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I think not, they're safe enough here, I'll leave it to them in my will if they're that keen, along with some of the more interesting stuff.

Here's a sad story, my uncle was decommisioning Swithland Sidings Signal Box in the early 60's. He removed the big sign to give to me and stored it, but the powers that be found out about it, gave him a ticking off and sent me a bill, even though I had never seen the damn thing. They wanted £20, which was an impossible sum for a school kid and probably above the national weekly wage at the time. When I told them I couldn't afford it, they had the sign chucked on a bonfire and destroyed it, nice people, just think what was lost because of their attitude.

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Me and hubby went a walk through the mapperley tunnell about 3 years ago! You cant get out the other side and its very scary. It was also very difficult to find the entrance as it was very overgrown! Its probably a lot worse now.

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No Stu...that was known as Ashwell's Tunnel...in deference to the landowner.

Mapperley Tunnel was on the original 'back line' before joining up with the 'Nottingham Suburban Railway' at Daybrook - visualise going beneath the defunct Plains Squash Club!

Thorneywood Tunnel southern portal is/was visible from the Porchester Road/Carllton Road junction.

It's deterioration was a prime reason for the NSR's closure...

Cheers

Robt P.

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Thanks for that Rob.

I do remember the site of the old railway near the Plains Squash Club near the top of Gedling Road. I also recall the railway bridge at Daybrook over Mansfield Road and the embankment and cutting behind what is now the B & Q store. The cutting still runs underneath Arnot Hill Road in Woodthorpe as I'm sure you will know.

I walked through Ashwells Tunnel in Woodthorpe Park a couple of times as a lad. Most memorably there was s small section in the centre where one couldn't see daylight at either end.

An interesting story I heard from a local here regarding Daybrook Station was the that Edward VIII would use the station occasionally for his visits to Bestwood Lodge Hunting Estate as it was then. I understood these visits to be largely incognito.

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.... was the that Edward VIII would use the station occasionally for his visits to Bestwood Lodge Hunting Estate as it was then. I understood these visits to be largely incognito.

Logical - an earlier shade of Charles/Camilla ;)

Cheers

Robt P.

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Mapperley tunnel is ajacent to arnold lane on the left hand side if you are going down from mapperley top towards gedling pit area.

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  • 2 months later...

I hope you don’t mind me ‘bumping’ up the thread.

I was looking for posts about ‘Daybrook Square’ and around that area.

Anyway Re: the Daybrook station.

I see you now have a B&Q there from what I can gather and on the opposite side of the road to where the station was, but does anyone remember what the factory was next to the station?

I know cos’ I worked there. So if you don’t remember, I’ll tell you later!

.

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There was a slaughter house round there somewhere, Hackets?

Also a flour place, RHM?

Yes. Hackett’s abattoir. Regularly blocking the drains down to Daybrook Square, and yes, RHM foods.

Well, Be-Ro flour packing plant but owned by Rank Hovis McDougall’s, though they changed who ‘owned’ it on a regular basis for some reason. Tax probably!!!

Anyway, I worked and did my electrical/mechanical training there.

We used the old station as stores for all the plant and equipment not needed at the time.

There were motors of every type and size, (though I’ve worked on some real whoppers since my time there). I remember the houses being built on the old rail line, up to the boundary of the factory. They were prefabricated houses that came in on Lorries. They could assemble a house just about in a day, and then clad the outside walls.

When they knocked down the old station to make way for a vast new warehouse complex for RHM, it just didn’t want to go.

Built so well and with engineering bricks they poked away at it until it looked like an apple with all the flesh eaten away down to the core. Still it refused to collapse, with the whole top and roof section standing on a few bricks that have been the walls.

They finally ran a chain around the building and used the CAT to pull away the final structure sending it crashing to the ground. The factory shuddered with the crash. Windows rattled and a couple glass panes cracked.

I don’t think any of the buildings, factory or otherwise are there anymore. I try to see how it is nowadays on google earth.

.

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  • 4 weeks later...
I visited Mapperley Tunnel a few weeks ago. Not inside though, too scary.

Will post pics if anyone's interested.

oooooooooooh yes please. Was wondering how easy it is to get to the tunnel now? Me and my partner are both interested in railway tunnels. (we did the tunnel behind Haddon Hall just before Christmas, then he did the former Grand Central tunnel at Chesterfield - that took a lot of figuring out where it ended up lol. Turned out there used to be a railway station called the Grand Central Station in Chesterfield, the former track is now part of the A61 up to the Tesco roundabout).

Also interested in the rest of the tunnels under Nottingham. And any culverted rivers whilst we're at it. Also interested in those as well. :smile:

:smile: Sal

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Hi Sal, Think you've left it a bit late now! haven't been up to still open end of Mapperley tunnel for years but by all accounts dangerous? that said as it's been there 100 plus years can't see what a couple walking up it could do to bring a collapse? Saw on some site (maybe "28 days Later"? some urban exploration thingy) theres a trapdoor in grounds of office blocks where Carrington Station was that leads to tunnel in to Victoria Centre but bolt croppers required! and there is/was a broken grill where you could get into tunnel that led from Haydn Road to Carrington think a sort of pot holers wire ladder needed though once through grill?

Thinking about it theres probably some access somewhere to all the tunnels? in most cases they just banked up either end and I doubt they just left an open void waiting to collapse without some way of checking it? esp as houses etc above? I know they just capped pits etc but they were deep. Think I know location of every railway tunnel in Nottingham so anyone know of other access to such? By the way unless the yanks have took over it was The Great Central at Chesterfield

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lol, oh dear, my brain is going. My head was saying Great Central, but my hands were typing Grand Central. (I hadn't even been on the pop last night either, was only drinking coffee :rolleyes: I should really preview what I type, instead of just hitting submit lol). Saw pictures of the former station on the disused stations website. www.disused-stations.org.uk I'm sure there's some pics of the former Nottingham stations on there too.

Should be up at Warrington this weekend (if the roads are clear ;);) ). So will ask my other half if he'd like to spend a few hours searching for the portals (or manhole covers lmao).

I remember reading ages ago that the former Carrington Station part of the tunnel was under the car park at the college site, so was gonna go wandering around the car park looking at manhole covers.

May go up to Gedling Road though soon, and have a walk up there. If I can get in and get some pics we'll post em up.

Cheers,

:) Sal

*goes off to search the disused stations website to find the Nottingham stations lol.

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Mapperly Tunnel ?

Am I right in assuming that it might be the one that we used to call 'Pit Woods Tunnel' ?

Runs from erm, Pit Woods (Arnold Lane, under Plains Road to Arnold).

My mate Pete Davis & I used to walk it quite regular,,,, singing as we went (& me being tone daft !) !! Sometimes we'd run through it,,,, as some barmy pit bloke used to chase us,,,, Well, I say chase us, he might have just wanted to say 'hello' & we just fled !?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had intended to try mapping the tunnels in Nottingham town centre,,,, but only just started visiting a few when I moved down here.

I used to go pot-holing at Matlock Bath in the mid 60's...... and carried on caving down here for a while,,,, going through all the caves in & around St Ives sea fronts etc.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don't go knocking holes in any subterranean walls around Canning Circus - apparently, there is a great underground reservoir up there.

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Bazzer..i thought them pit blokes could run fast in them ncb wellies....and the thick ears....were that thick they knocked you off ya feet......Sal park ya car on the park car park on Lambley lane thats across the road from the dirty duck.....walk through the park to the far righthand corner this takes you to the pit site...now walk straight up keeping to the left and head for the trees...once in amonst the trees just keep walking straight and you`ll end up at the tunnel....the strangest thing i thought whilst in there was when i was walking on top of the part infilled bit because your`re walking at roof height which ya dont often get to do in most tunnels

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