nottingham paper trains

[Braddy 160]

any one remember the paper trains from london to nottingham 6 days a week in the 60,s 70,s 80,s

[mick2me 3,033]

Duplicate post removed from other forum area.

All replies here please.

Welcome Braddy

[Ashley 288]

Heard and read about them, but wrong side of the city (and too early in morning!) to be seen by me, did read in "Railways In And Around Nottingham" by Forster and Taylor published in 1991 that at Arkwright St station on the GCR there were special shutes from the platforms down to ground level just for the papers but sounds a bit far fetched?

[mick2me 3,033]

Its true

They werent shutes but twisted like a helter skelter but enclosed.

about 18" Square galvanised steel as I remember.

How do I know?

Myself and a friend used to slide down them in our dinner hour from school.

We ended up with no seat in our pants.

The station was perhaps closed, that was around 64/65 ish

[Ashley 288]

yes was going to say re the helter selkter design, the far fetched bit referred to "just for the papers" but the size you mention suggests just those? The station actually reopened later, and was in use after Victoria was closed for passenger trains to I think only Rugby for awhile till the the whole route abandoned

[mick2me 3,033]

When did Arkwright Street Close - Reopen - Close?

[Cliff Ton 10,503]

According to the Disused Stations site - Arkwright Street closed with the country stations on 4th March 1963 but reopened on 4th September 1967 as the terminus of the line from Rugby following the closure of Nottingham Victoria. It remained in use until closure of the line on 5th May 1969, The station and viaduct were demolished early in 1975

[Braddy 160]

i worked on the paper trains in them years, we would go to london by train to st'pancras and at midnight start work packing the papers. on the way back to nottingham midland station we worked in carriages full of papers for the shops to sell. it was hard work .low level station was also used. now used as fittness place on the other side off the bridge [london road].

[Ashley 288]

Braddy, Low Level Station was originally The Great Northern's main station in Nottingham, after the building of Victoria Station all it's passenger trains used that one instead and it became almost "redundant" though it was used for some goods trains, London North Western Railway passenger ones, till 1944 and specials like on July 10th 1928 when King George V and Queen Mary visited Nottingham to open the new university. After that and a visit to The Royal Show on Wollaton Park they "met" some 17,000 children on Woodthorpe Park. 6,550 of those,plus 284 teachers had arrived there via 13 special trains to Sherwood Station that had originated at Low Level Station and called at Basford & Bulwell,Thorneywood and St Annes, The latter 2 stations along with Sherwood being on the old Nottingham Suburban Railway had been shut since 1916, but were reopened and spruced up just for the day, no doubt the now fitness club also recieved a fresh coat of paint etc?

The station also saw lots of service in WW2, esp after D Day, as it was used for a "forces mail depot", not sure what area it recieved such from, but read it was a common sight to see trains of 20 plus goods vans with 100's of thousands of letters leaving the station. It was also used after the war for Royal Mail and a 1967 photo shows it was still in use for that with lots of the original track bays filled in for lorries to unload and mail sorted etc before being shipped out on trains,

Sorry to have strayed from the "papers theme" !

[Beefsteak 305]

I can clearly remember the low level station in use by the Royal Mail, I clearly remember their red liveried trucks as we pulled in or out of Nott'm Midland. We often went into town on the train as it was as cheap as the bus , and it got us closer to our destination (Which was the 'old Broad Marsh bus depot )

[Cliff Ton 10,503]

I remember the parcels thing, but apparently it went on for longer than I remembered.

According to the PtP info on this photo http://www.pictureth...008355&prevUrl= it was doing parcels until 1988

[Beefsteak 305]

I thought my memories were a lot fresher than 1967 ...LOL

[ravintrainman 10]

The down 'papers from Marylebone was one of the tightest timed services on the GC in the 50s and early 60s at least. It was rostered for a Leicester A3 in the 50s, and utilised their power to the full. Nobody told the crew how much a van full of newsprint weighed, just the weight of the van itself! There is a description of a run from Marylebone to Leicester in Main Line Lament by Colin Walker.There was a distinct pride in running it to time as this was how much news was distributed then. I also have a recording taken from a Peter Handford LP of a V2 on the 'papers at somewhere like Princes Risborough and the driver is certainly 'giving it some stick'

By the time I became a paper lad in 1966 it had transferred to either the Midland route or, I think, a Euston departure as far as Northampton, then to Leicester and the Midland route into Nottingham. We sometimes got papers so late the newsagent had to deliver them himself as we had to go to school!

I recall coming back from a free gig in Hyde Park on what I think was 'the papers'. We definitely left Euston late evening, there were only a couple of passenger coaches packed to the roof. we had an electric to Northampton where it took ages to change to a Peak, not for the Midland the 4 minute loco changes that the GC carried out with time to spare!