Recommended Posts

  • Replies 550
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Posts

A junior boy’s memory. In the late 40s, one Saturday morning, this young lad and his brother would be squeezed into a taxi along with baby brother’s pram and all the luggage plus mam and dad and

A P.Bucket test? or a rail photo with a difference. It was so difficult to do I didn't have the heart to break it up so I framed it!

Pretty good engines but all looked the same. That's some compliment from an ER fan.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Is that Bilbraborn stood on the platform?.... :biggrin:

Bilbraborn in railway action, 1960's:-

fan34001.jpg

Heading up the Erewash Canal for the Eastwood GNR station, trying not to fall in.

Tim Allen, Bilbraborn, Derrick Kent, John Smith, John Peck.

fan33-1.jpg

Observing a freight at Weekday Cross, waiting for the Merchant Navy on the last steam special 3/9/66

fan8001-1.jpg

Observing 27005 Minerva at Manchester Piccadily following the snow incident at Edale Youth Hostel

fan5.jpg

After travelling on the Midland Pullman, wearing school uniform and about to catch a grimy Class 5 to Vic from Loughborough, which, according to my timings and log, exceeded 90mph through Rushcliffe Halt, some of the drivers went all out those days, particularly out of Waterloo.

fan4.jpg

On the scrap line at Colwick Sheds, we didn't take numbers those days, packed it in at 14 and just observed things instead, and were lucky to be able to do so.

More available!

  • Upvote 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Not photos but I have something unusual which I found in the attic of a house I bought a few years ago. A cassette tape of Railway Sounds at Kimberley 1964-5 recorded by an A. Henshaw of Kimberley Road, Nuthall. He may have been a signalman as his recordings were made at Kimberley Station signal box. I really should borrow a tape player and digitize it sometime.

hh0z.jpg
ut8t.jpg

  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I never thought to look him up. That is one of a set of four

https://www.transportdiversions.com/catalog.asp?searchfield=author&searchlist=Henshaw

He'd be 95 if he's still alive (this from 2001)

Alfred (82) from Nuthall, worked for four years as a goods and bookings clerk and eight years as a traffic controller at Nottingham s Victorian station which fired his interest and enthusiasm in railways and their history.

http://www.ilkestonadvertiser.co.uk/news/local/new-book-on-rail-history-1-907165

Link to post
Share on other sites

My missis wants to know how I didn't fall in the canal. It's great to see those photographs. Always out and about doing something interesting. Usually about railways. At least we didn't stay in watching TV all the time (yes both poxy black and white 405 lines channels) and all the other hi tech teenage playthings of today weren't even thought of then.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Firbeck, re #351, I realised I had "reversed" Snow Hill and New Street about 10 seconds after the edit time had expired, so crossed my fingers and hoped that no one would read my post !! Seems like I was wrong,

Link to post
Share on other sites

Fantastic picture there of Weekday Cross because it shows Widdowsons factory, the bus station when it was still in horseshoe shape, the bridge over the Midland Station and Canal Street going across in the background.

But what was the building which is broadside on to the viaduct, immediately to the right of the signal on the down line?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Fantastic picture there of Weekday Cross because it shows Widdowsons factory, the bus station when it was still in horseshoe shape, the bridge over the Midland Station and Canal Street going across in the background.

But what was the building which is broadside on to the viaduct, immediately to the right of the signal on the down line?

Just an anonymous factory/warehouse which disappeared under the Crown Court.

You can see it here on the left of the photo http://www.picturethepast.org.uk/frontend.php?action=printdetails&keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;NTGM015715&prevUrl=

and here from Carrington Street bridge. http://www.picturethepast.org.uk/frontend.php?action=printdetails&keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;NTGM015714&prevUrl=

Link to post
Share on other sites

coming back from 5 penny rush at the vernon pictures early 50s we saw what we thought was a guy fawkes at the entrance to RAT HOLE on arnold rd,a gang of us ran down the steep embankment to claim it,it turned out to be a decapitated body,we got back up the embankment a lot quicker,with me that day were Harry Fewkes,Nev Olpin,Charlie ,Tacey and Daisy Fisher,it turned out to be tramp who had been sleeping rough in the RAT HOLE tunnell,anyone remember?

Link to post
Share on other sites

today we would all get counceling,when i told me mam,she just said,told you not to go on the railway what do you want for tea/? how times have changed :)

Link to post
Share on other sites

,it turned out to be tramp who had been sleeping rough in the RAT HOLE tunnell,anyone remember?

Hope you have a better response than when I sought "witnesses" to a derailment/crash on the former CCR Mainline just north of New Basford Station between the bridges of Haydn Rd/Perry Rd, At a guess around 60 years ago! certainly not after1957, although only a low speed/one train accident it looked quite spectacular with passenger coaches pushed down the embankment, at least the downline blocked, steam crane on site and night workings under floodlights, yet no one else seems to have seen it (or remember it) and found no reports on such?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Low profile railway accidents were too common. We regularly pushed the buffers back both at Nottingham and at Derby carriage sidings. Small derailments were common. The little wheels on class 45s regularly used to come off. We just used blocks of wood to ride them back on.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes get what you're saying Bilbraborn, but if an explanation of why I can find no record of "my accident", I think the latter a bit more than a simple derailment? As mentioned a long time ago but recall the train was taking coaches into the carriage shed there and had to reverse over catch points, there was a rumour that these had been interfered with by a local youth, think 2 or 3 coaches on their sides down the embankment. recall cutting gear being used at night, think line blocked couple of days.

Link to post
Share on other sites

All accidents large or small had to be reported. The reports from serious and/or fatal accidents were once circulated among operatives to read so that they could learn from others mistakes. I lost 2 mates during my service. One was a guard who was almost decapitated when helping couple an HST power car to a barrier vehicle. He was in between adjusting the coupling when an unauthorised signal was given to set back. The other was a shunter who signalled a reverse movement on a train at Derby research centre and became disorientated and fell under the train. He lost two limbs and too much blood to survive. They were more extreme accidents. The only one I remember being involved in was when I slipped on greasy crossing boards and broke my wrist. I remember seeing the automatic wash at Derby demolished twice in two months when points changed themselves underneath a movement. This was a regular occurrence and although seldom causing personal injury (although it easily could) the damage to trackwork, carriage bogies and demolished lamp posts etc was usually quite a lot. As I mentioned, knocking the stop blocks down was also quite common.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Talking of railway accidents, my mum and grandma used to refer to a wartime incident when "Uncle Herbert" (I have not been able to work out where he fits into the family tree) walked off the platform at Nottingham Victoria one evening during the blackout in WW2 and was killed by an incoming train. I cannot find any reference to such an accident - for instance in the archives of HM Railway Inspectorate.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...