Forty Bridges or Giltbrook/ Kimberley/ Awsworth Viaduct


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What a great map, I drove about the area in the early 1970's but didn't look very closely. There was a lot that went on in that part of the world. There was Bennerley Ironworks and later on the same site Bennerley Opencast disposal point, there was a colliery line between Awsworth station ond the Midland railway line this connected a number of collieries, Awsworth, Speedwell, Giltbrook, New London, Lodge. The Nottingham Canal shows up well on the old map. Finally much of the area was opencasted, then the new road was built. Quite a industrial history.

Incidently I think a length of the new A610 north of Eastwood was still on the line of the GNR Pinxton branch.

Digby, New London, Speedwell and Lodge collierie's traffic was dealt with at Digby sidings, the signal box being at the Northern end of Giltbrook viaduct.

The A610 north of Eastwood does indeed occupy the trackbed for a distance before turning to head for Codnor, originally the bypass finished at the B&Q roundabout, with a bridge over the trackbed, and the onward trackbed used as an internal road while the area was opencast. It looked a bit odd, travelling along the bypass which went under the road width bridges of the roundabout to have a railway width bridge just beyond, which was the original road bridge over the end of Eastwood and Langley Mill station, this stayed in place until the bypass was extended in the early eighties.

Edit: found a picture here http://www.picturethepast.org.uk/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;NTGM016970&pos=1&action=zoom&id=77102

This being the station when open:http://www.picturethepast.org.uk/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;NCCC000140&pos=7&action=zoom&id=37359

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BR Standard loco in the rarely photographed Awsworth Station. Forty Bridges visible in the background. Loco is pointing towards Derby (Friargate GN).  Judging by the sate of the loco I guess it is in

I don't know about Facebook but isn't that what we are all doing, taking stuff off the Internet and putting it onto Nottstalgia and vice versa. I think it's fantastic how anyone in the World can share

Picture below is of Forty Bridges taken from Kimberley side of the first arch, which is the one that Main Street Awsworth went through. As a guide as to it its whereabouts Bridges Van Hire is immediat

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I recall seeing and going over that old A610 bridge as seen in your photo ravintrainman also using the "new" A610 when it went under the M1 but ended before Kimberley, the now one way access road south to it near The Stag Inn was then 2 way and the end of the first section, remember snapping a rear chain on a 650cc BSA late one night giving someone a lift home from The White Hart just as we left the new bit, also my walk home back to Basford :angry: Another memory was going up the empty M1 on a motorbike the first day the section was open from the A52 to it's then end at the A610

Back on the railway scene I wonder how many lines (inc pit ones) you went over, under, or across on the level Cinderhill Island to Ripley on A610 mid 1960's I recall I think 10?

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I don't really know the area so I had to look at maps to find out where everyone is talking about.

Must be some kind of record for the number of lines in such a small area

Many old mining area's on the outcrop were like that, the pits were close together and small by modern standards, railways were everywhere remember that the only alternatives were canals or horse and cart. Pye Hill and Pinxton area's further up the Erewash Valley had many railways. South Wales and the North East were just the same.

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the wall seen at banfords scrap yard was left over from the old coal mine that was there, a railway line went pass that down to digby colliery that was the other side of forty bridges also the old midland line to bulwall went under forty bridges heading towards the station next to the old kimberley brewery

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To the right of the station in the early 1990's was an indoor bowling alley on the route of the line just before the underfilled bridge, my son practised in it when with a kimberley based band (wife and I in the bar of then open club!) If you walked to the left of the club you came to a then still in good condition former goods (maybe engine?) shed, just before where the line had gone over the old A610 near the police station, till it burned down one night ! nowt to do with with me, I've an alibi, out of the country at the time

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Before Ikea it was Dyggor-Gaylord. They made huge trucks and dumpers etc for the likes of Opencast Mining. But can you remember the very unfortunate accident that happened there eventually causing the place to close?

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always thought Dygor Gaylord sounded like a gay wrestler? remember the accident, was it just one killed? seem to recall he/they were trying to remove a ring on a massive digger wheel with high pressure inflated tyre by heating it with oxy-acetylene? And can anyone recall what famous known throughout the world Nottingham company they took over? (there used to be a clue in their office reception)

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Dyggor Gaylord moved from that site, to a new office and yard further down the A610, I went there once regarding some old mining cable, this would have been about 1998, I dont think they lasted much longer.

I think they were open cast miners, that is why they had the large machinery.

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Three people got killed when the tyre exploded, full story below:

7 March, 1991

A plant hire company was ordered to pay £3,000 at Nottingham Crown Court after admitting liability for a devastating tyre explosion which killed three of its workers.**FULL_TEXT Dyggor Gaylord, of Nottingham Road, Giltbrook, Notts, admitted not taking all practical measures to ensure the safety of its employees at the time of the accident on March 27, 1990.Colin Keightly, 32, of Newthorpe, Notts, Gordon Bradley, 44, of Selston, Notts, and Patrick Richards, 28, of Cotmanhay, Derbyshire, died when a Caterpillar scraper-truck's wheel exploded as they worked on it with an oxyacetylene cutter.The company admitted liability because it had not made written versions of works practices, but said it could not reasonably have been aware of the risks and consequences of the tyre exploding.David Smart, prosecuting, told the court Mr Richards and Mr Bradley - both experienced fitters - were using the cutter to remove a cracked brake drum when the heat reacted with chemicals in the deflated tyre, causing an explosion. 'The oxyacetylene vapours had the effect of a bomb, causing the ground to move,' he said.The court was shown manuals and statements from suppliers, which Mr Smart claimed the company should have had, which warned that the tyre should have been removed, rather than just deflated when the wheel became hot.But, Richard Giles, for Dyggor Gaylord, said the company had received no circulars from manufacturers, and there had been no warnings from the Health and Safety Executive about removing the tyres.He said the company, which was 'sad and regretful' about the men's deaths, admitted a breach of the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act only because it had not put work practices in writing.Judge Elizabeth Fisher, fining Dyggor Gaylord £1,750 with £1,250 costs, said: 'One important feature is that since this accident the company has issued written instructions.'

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Yes, sadly I thought it was more than one, I got it a bit wrong , had thought wrongly tyre still inflated and heat had increased pressure in tyre.

Re the company they took over, pretty sure it was Brough Engineering which used to be on Vernon Rd which had either produced the famous motorcycles or developed from that company whose earlier premises were on Haydn Road

I say that as in early 1970's worked at the Vernon Road factory (not for them) and saw (and sat on) the prototype Brough Gold (or Golden?) Dream, as I recall this bike never went into production as WW2 came along, but was something like a 1000cc (or more) flat four shaft drive? massive thing, big wide seat, handle bars etc, larger than normal headlamp looked complete but found later no internal parts inside engine cases,, was altogether assembled etc but dusty and dirty,

Many years later after the Vernon Rd premises shut was told said bike had been cosmetically restored and was where I had said, went for a look and yes same bike, sprayed up etc like new.

It had a few dated pre war style parts as I recall, (clutch and front brake levers coming out of ends of handlebars?) but can't help thinking esp given the "Gold" connection the style, design etc was copied and became an icon of modern motorcycles introduced in 1974, still in production in 2012 over 640,000 had been made and latest models had a 1,832 cc flat six cyl engine, fairing, heating, a boot, satellite nav, radio/stereo with 6 speakers MP3, ipod, cruise control, reverse gear and airbag!

needless to say said icon not a british motorcycle! (we were once best in the world)

sorry for going off topic and as always anything with a "?" I think correct but not sure!

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