Fynger 841 Posted February 28, 2011 Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 both lines here at kimberley are still visible the GN is a soggy walk but passable up to where the tunnel is blocked off but can be found at the other end in watnall where the bunker is....the other is now a small nature reserve walk which you have to climb up loads of stairs where that tunnel has been blocked...lots of the pics to both can be seen on my 'bluegrass1957' flickr page. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beefsteak 305 Posted February 28, 2011 Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 As a teenager I used to attend Arnold & Carlton college on Digby Ave (now pulled down)?. As far as I know it's still up and running , I had cause to go there on a few occations in the 70s, and I'm pretty sure my Mum was going there till recently for flower arranging classess Beg your pardon , I've just looked on G..oo gle earth and it has gone ..........bugger!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ayupmeducks 1,730 Posted February 28, 2011 Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 Another link with my past vanished! That was the Tech college used for NCB Apprentices and coal mining courses for Deputies (class3) Undermanagers, (class2) and Managers(class1). Not sure if they took mining surveying courses there though. I also recall it was where cadet police officers took courses too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beefsteak 305 Posted February 28, 2011 Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 I also recall it was where cadet police officers took courses too. I thought that was at Epperstone? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ayupmeducks 1,730 Posted February 28, 2011 Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 No idea Ian, just know when I was doing my apprenticeship, there were dozens of police cadets at Arnold and Carlton at the same time as me. That would be mid to late 60's. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
denshaw 2,872 Posted February 28, 2011 Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 I did Mining Science there 1970/71, it was also called Digby college. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ayupmeducks 1,730 Posted February 28, 2011 Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 It was the only college that taught mining courses Den, other than Nottingham Uni, who taught to Bsc level and higher. My first year was at the Annex on Portland Road Hucknall. I took workshop, mining science, mining legislation, English, Maths, Tech Drawing, mining practice etc.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mick2me 3,033 Posted February 28, 2011 Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 I thought that was at Epperstone? Not an avid reader of this thread. Are we thinking of the Notts Police Sports ground on Mansfield Rd? Possibly like Eppersone Manor ('aka. 'Heap-o-stones'), long gone? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
arkwright 1 Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 The Notts police HQ and training school used to be Epperstone Manor until sherwood lodge was built then it became their training school until it was sold. Cadets used to go to ACCFE (Digby) for a one day release course. I think the college is no more. Epperstone Manor still stands and is being converted into posh flats. All the 'new' police buildings have gone. I believe the police sports ground at Carrington was sold many years ago and is probably now housing Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ravintrainman 10 Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 The Notts police HQ and training school used to be Epperstone Manor until sherwood lodge was built then it became their training school until it was sold. Cadets used to go to ACCFE (Digby) for a one day release course. I think the college is no more. Epperstone Manor still stands and is being converted into posh flats. All the 'new' police buildings have gone. I believe the police sports ground at Carrington was sold many years ago and is probably now housing As I recall, the Police sports ground at Carrington was originally operated by the City police before the combined constabulary was formed (mid 60s?) Used to go there for school sports days, when loads of schools competed against each other, only as a spectator though. Epperstone manor was the training facility, used to be an alarm engineer with the firm who maintained the system there. Watched a good few riot practises when one lot of coppers would hurl blocks of wood and abuse at their fellow officers hidden behind riot shields. Then they would reverse roles. Sherwood Lodge, I believe belonged to the NCB before the police took it over. Spent a year at Digby on an EITB course, 48 weeks solid! Not your usual college hours, but then we did get our wages! Fynger said: both lines here at kimberley are still visible the GN is a soggy walk but passable up to where the tunnel is blocked off but can be found at the other end in watnall where the bunker is....the other is now a small nature reserve walk which you have to climb up loads of stairs where that tunnel has been blocked...lots of the pics to both can be seen on my 'bluegrass1957' flickr page. Not quite, the GN line runs through the soggy 'nature reserve' from the station area up to Newdigate street where the bridge deck is, I'm fairly sure, still in place but with the side plates removed probably 20 or more years ago. The line of the cutting continues along the row of new houses to main road at Watnall, can't remember the road name, the tunnel mouth will be somewhere under there. The entire cutting was excavated back to trackbed level before the houses were built, presumably due to unknown infill material. Many old railway cuttings all over the country were filled with all sorts of stuff and records were at best sketchy, so the only way to be certain so that they can be developed is to dig it all out again and replace with 'inert' fill. The other end of the tunnel is under the lump of ground on the Nuthall side of the bakery. The Midland line runs from the (still?) derelict Midland station near the Brewery, under a bridge then again through infilled cutting and to the tunnel towards Watnall. The other end of the tunnel being where the bunker is, which was the site of watnall station. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ashley 288 Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Recall those bridge sides, and the cuttings etc, probably when re excavated before the house building, also remember both the bridges MR and GNR over Kimberley main street in my cycling days, also the multiple? ungated lines crossing what then was the main road to Matlock (you turned right at the Midland Hotel) at Langley Mill, and of course the Awsworth Viaduct, all those area's were "foreign" to me, in fact north of the GNR Cinderhill bridge still haven't a clue what the line looked like, ditto the Bennerley route once off the Midland at Bulwell. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
philby 21 Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 ashley, i've just caught upwith this thread, fantastic couple of rathole pictures! the one where the train is coming out of the tunnel is confirmation to me that the excavated brickwork i saw in 82 was in fact the outside of the tunnel lining. just out of interest, any idea of the date of these pics? i ask because of the colour scheme of the loco seems to be one used in the 70's, (although i'm sure there are people on here who will know for sure), in fact its a bit of an oddity to even see photos of diesels on these lines. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ashley 288 Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 Not sure but definitely pre sept 1967 as the line closed then, that said could have been a track removal train Quote Link to post Share on other sites
timbirkin 0 Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 I love those two picture of the Rathole ... hard to imagine this picture was taken about 10 minutes walk away from where I live ... the section of Arnold Road from Vernon Road to Hucknall Road has changed dramatically and it's so sad there is no trace at all of all the railway infrastructure that once was there ... I'd love to go back in time for half an hour to take some photos !!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rob237 89 Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 ...any idea of the date of these pics? i ask because of the colour scheme of the loco seems to be one used in the 70's... The livery change to two-tone green, with full yellow ends (from half yellow ends) was introduced during the mid 60's - thus dating the pictures very near to the line closure date. BR Blue soon became the standard livery, but many green examples were still around more than a decade later! My twice daily Rathole visits in the mid 50's invariably produced only A8's, or L1's, on the Derby Friargate-Grantham workings...any departure from this came in to 'rocking horse droppings' territory. Cheers Robt P. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ashley 288 Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 around 61/62 saw a 9F going up the incline from the rathole with long coal train, no idea if a regular happening as by then some years since I was interested in railways (first time round) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cliff Ton 10,470 Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 Not really a picture of a tunnel, or even a railway, but a stretch of road and a bridge. The junction of Arnold Road and Hucknall Road close to where the famous Rathole was. It's changed a bit since the mid 1930s - even if the houses in the background are still the same 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beefsteak 305 Posted March 12, 2011 Report Share Posted March 12, 2011 That's a cracking comparison shot that cliff , thanks for finding it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
denshaw 2,872 Posted March 12, 2011 Report Share Posted March 12, 2011 They must have widened that bridge. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ashley 288 Posted March 12, 2011 Report Share Posted March 12, 2011 They must have widened that bridge. Yes indeed, quite a lot of bridges were widened for increased road traffic, Ilkeston Road, Perry Rd, Wilford Rd spring to mind, others were totally replaced, Valley Rd, Moor Bridge etc, (yet to find a picture of the original one at latter location) however just along the line from the picture at Edwards Lane the bridge there was lengthened when an extra line was added to the "backwater" back line (former GNR) to increase rail traffic flow from Leen Valley Junction in I think WW2? would have thought rather pointless as route reverted to 2 tracks at Daybrook onwards through Mapperley Tunnel etc but there you go! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cliff Ton 10,470 Posted March 12, 2011 Report Share Posted March 12, 2011 They must have widened that bridge. There's a PHOTO for everything Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mick2me 3,033 Posted March 12, 2011 Report Share Posted March 12, 2011 Yes, Nice to see comparison photographs. Now and then photos using Google Maps with Street View, is far easier than returning to the original location to photograph it today Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ashley 288 Posted March 12, 2011 Report Share Posted March 12, 2011 actually that's a different bridge, the one over GNR mainlines on Hucknall Rd but part of The Leen Valley Junction so assume over one altered at same time? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
timbirkin 0 Posted March 12, 2011 Report Share Posted March 12, 2011 Funny talking about these comparison shots ... I took a photo yesterday of looking up Arnold Road and I wanted to compare it with the old photo I found on here showing the Great Central overbridge and the parapets of the Great Northern / Rathole line in the background. I walked from Vernon Road, up Northern Court and under Park Lane Bridge and onto Britannia Avenue (which I presume roughly follows the Great Northern spur through the Rathole) and back onto Arnold Road yesterday to get the comparison shot, I also got a couple of photo's of Park Lane bridge. If I can work out how to reduce the size of my photos I'll put both up to show the comparison :-) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ashley 288 Posted March 12, 2011 Report Share Posted March 12, 2011 Hi Tim, photobucket sort of does all that sizing etc for you. somewhere on here is a post that tells you how to do load etc, if you get stuck pc me and I'll TRY to help. Re your walk, if you'd have kept on "GNR Mainline" could have gone all the way back to mapperley tunnel via various twitchells, footpaths, embankments and fields virtually without walking on a road (cept for crossing some) u Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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