Dave F more photos added 21 June from 1947 to 1955ish

[jwealleans]

Following on from 4479's post, that's a Cowans-Sheldon crane very similar if not identical to the one I'm building at the moment. I know from Peter Tatlow's book that Grantham was allocated one of those from the 1930s. There are a couple of good pictures of it in that book, including one up against what might be that very wall (I don't have it to hand ATM to check). I'd have said circumstantial evidence is pointing to Grantham.

Edited April 17, 2013 by jwealleans

[Armchair Modeller]

Brilliant photos - many thanks for showing them!

 

Just one very small query - Calverton Colliery branch bridge over A606 near Burnt Stump c1951 JVol2235 is actually the A614 - the A606 is south of Nottingham?

[DaveF]

Hi Dave,

 

That breakdown train might be at Grantham. The shed building behind don't half look like the old shed at Grantham, which was still in existence at that time (great modelling wall detail for me if it is). There was an isolated siding on this side of the building; that would make the sidings in front of it those of the down goods loops. If this photo was taken from the station platform (platform 5) then the orientation of the buildings would 'fit', including the coaling tower beyond. Also, I suspect that a principal depot like Colwick would have somewhat more capable breakdown/recovery equipment than this rather ramshackle collection (even in 1949)! Despite its rather grand allocation, Grantham was only ever a district sub-shed.

 

Keep 'em coming; the photos just seem to be getting better and better.

 

 

Following on from 4479's post, that's a Cowans-Sheldon crane very similar if not identical to the one I'm building at the moment. I know from Peter Tatlow's book that Grantham was allocated one of those from the 1930s. There are a couple of good pictures of it in that book, including one up against what might be that very wall (I don't have it to hand ATM to check). I'd have said circumstantial evidence is pointing to Grantham.

 

Many thanks, I'll amend the caption to Grantham.  I thought it didn't look quite like Colwick but didn't have a photo of Grantham shed to hand when I wrote the caption - for some reason Dad had it down as Nottingham (16A as it was then)!

Brilliant photos - many thanks for showing them!

 

Just one very small query - Calverton Colliery branch bridge over A606 near Burnt Stump c1951 JVol2235 is actually the A614 - the A606 is south of Nottingham?

You are quite right, I'll amend the caption,  I ought to know as I use the A614 when I visit relatives down there.  

 

Many thanks for the information.

 

In a couple of days time we will be moving back to ex LNER lines for the next album (Vol3).

 

David

[DaveF]

This afternoon's batch continue on the theme of the Midland Railway around Nottingham, visiting a number of locations which should by now be quite familiar.

 

Nottingham Midland Jubilee 45636 Uganda down ex pass c1948 JVol2251

 

Nottingham Wilford Road rear of goods train c1948 JVol2252

 

Nottingham shed 8F 48132 c1950 JVol2253

 

Nottingham Midland Jubilee up goods c1950 JVol2254

 

Nottingham Midland Crab 42771 up goods c1950 JVol2255

 

Nottingham Midland Crab 42771 up goods c1950 JVol2256

 

Kegworth track gang c1951 JVol2258

 

Trowell Junction c1951 JVol2259

 

More again later on.

 

David

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Love the portrait of the Kegworth platelayers.

[DaveF]

Something of a miscellany this evening as we approach the end of the second volume.

 

Nottingham Victoria B1 ex pass Manchester to Marylebone c1950 JVol2261

 

Trent 4F 43850 down coal photo taken from train c1951 JVol2262

 

Neasden LT E class L48 light engine from train c1950 JVol2263

 

Neasden LT 12 Sarah Siddons down pass c1950 JVol2264

 

Wembley Park sheds LT stock c1950 JVol2265

 

Brighton Volks Electric Railway by Children's playground c1950 JVol2266

 

Brighton Volks Electric Railway by Children's playground c1950 JVol2267

 

Loughborough Brush works shunter - either Tiny or Sprite c1950 JVol2268

 

The last few from Volume 2 tomorrow afternoon, then we move to Volume 3.

 

 

Edited to amend a place name in a caption.  Also because I seem unable to spell my own name today!

David

Edited April 17, 2013 by DaveF

[stewartingram]

Ireckon that "Neasdon LT stock 1950" shot could be the car sheds at the north end of Wembley Park?

 

Stewart

[DaveF]

Ireckon that "Neasdon LT stock 1950" shot could be the car sheds at the north end of Wembley Park?

 

Stewart

Many thanks Stewart, I've just had a look at my books with no success and then tried flickr and found an end on shot of the sheds which confirms it.

I've changed the photo caption.

 

David

[DaveF]

This afternoon we have the last 7 photos from Volume 2 of Dad's prints which set the scene for Volume 3 which, all being well, will be unveiled this evening.

 

After a very quick look at a miniature line we move back to LNER (GCR) lines in and around Nottingham Victoria.

 

Barrow on Soar PleasurePark railway c1950 JVol2269

I know this line existed but cannot find anything about it on the web or in print.  I was about one year old when the photo was taken, which may explain why I don't remember it.  The man on the train is grandfather on mother's side who had probably driven us there for the day.

 

Nottingham Victoria A5 down pass c1950 JVol2270

 

Nottingham Victoria B17 on parcels and A5 pass Nottingham to Mansfield c1950 JVol2272

 

Nottingham Victoria interior c1950 JVol2273

 

Nottingham Victoria A5 le and B1 61157 ex pass Manchester to Marylebone c1950

 

Wilford GC B1 up goods c1950 JVol2276

 

Nottingham Victoria B1 taking water c1950 JVol2277

 

David

Edited April 18, 2013 by DaveF

[richard hines]

What a fantastic thread this is,compulsive daily viewing.As a Nottingham resident these images of the times of my early childhood are quite enthaling.Keep up the good work Dave.

[JeffP]

Agreed. Unfortunately, I missed seeing any of the GC, but I had two years in Nottingham as a student and can recognise some of the places...sadly Victoria Station was already the horrid Victoria Centre by the time I got there in 1973.

[cary hill]

The miniature railway line in the first photograph is likely to have been at Proctor's Pleasure Park (now a caravanning and camping site), Barrow on Soar. Extract from the  local newspaper re 1948 Planning Consent and outline plans here http://www.quornmuseum.com/display.php?id=1021

 

There is mention elsewhere on the net of it being sufficient of an attraction to bring in "special trains" of day-trippers from Leicester, Loughborough and Nottingham.

[DaveF]

This evening we start on Volume 3, which contains over 270 images, though some are duplicates of ones I've already uploaded and a very few are not good enough to scan.

 

Most of them are on routes of the (former) LNER - a few were taken in 1947 when it was the LNER.  Once again most are in the Nottingham, Grantham and Cambridge areas but we will also visit a number of other places.

 

There are also visits to other companies' lines.

 

As usual for many of the photos the dates are approximate.   Some of the prints are on a lustre finish paper, which as I've mentioned before, tends to give white pinpricks on dark areas when scanned.  I think it's the way the scanner light reflects off the slightly uneven paper surface - but then who'd have known sixty years ago about the future of scanning and posting images on the web.

 

This evening we'll spend a little while at both  Grantham and Nottingham Victoria.  I think the photos were taken over several years, this volume is certainly not in chronological order.

 

Grantham A1 60114 W P Allen up pullman c1953 JVol3001

 

Nottingham Victoria interior and B1 c1950 JVol3003

 

Nottingham Victoria B1 Marylebone to Manchester leaving and B1 and A5, misty day c1950 JVol3004

 

Grantham North C12 down  c1950 JVol3005

 

Grantham view north to Barrowby Road Junction signalbox in distance c1950 JVol3007

 

Grantham O2 down iron ore from High Dyke c1953 JVol3008

 

Grantham J6 down pass Grantham to Skegness c1951 JVol3009

 

Grantham WD up mineral c1949 JVol3010

 

David

Edited April 18, 2013 by DaveF

[A Murphy]

Dave,

 

I think what you have captioned as sn inspection saloon behind that grubby looking C12 may well be a corridor brake composite to diagram 31, 134 or 175. Even so soon after WW2, any loco pulling officialdom about the place would have had a bit of a spruce up. The reflection gives away the door and window positions, and I reckon that's a brake compo. The spread from Nottingham Victoria at the end of volume 2 and these shots are wonderful. Thanks once again,

 

Alastair

Edited April 18, 2013 by A Murphy

[DaveF]

Dave,

 

I think what you have captioned as sn inspection saloon behind that grubby looking C12 may well be a corridor brake composite to diagram 31, 134 or 175. Even so soon after WW2, any loco pulling officialdom about the place would have had a bit of a spruce up. The reflection gives away the door and window positions, and I reckon that's a brake compo. The spread from Nottingham Victoria at the end of volume 2 and these shots are wonderful. Thanks once again,

 

Alastair

 

Alastair,

 

Many thanks.

 

I wonder why it is carrying Class A headlamps. 

 

David

[great central]

Alastair,

 

Many thanks.

 

I wonder why it is carrying Class A headlamps. 

 

David

 

Could it be a shunt move? Loco carrying one red and one white lamp as pilot? Not that you could tell which was which, both equally filthy. I can just remember C12 pilots at Grantham, must have been about 5, not that I realised what they were then. Looking back at spotting notes, mostly written by either my father or mother, the numbers are certainly there.

Somewhat at odds with the dazzling white, oversize lamps on many models! Bit of a pet beef of mine, sorry.

 

The shot looking down from the footbridge at Vic really shows what an impressive station it was, unlike the sorry dump which now passes as Nottingham station. Given that it had been open around 50 years at that point, it still looks a lot cleaner and lighter than Midland does even now after 40 years of 'clean' diesels.

Tin hat firmly pulled down, Diving into trench

[Peter Kazmierczak]

The interior shot of "The Vic" with a passing B1 really illustrates the scale and grandeur of this once fine station.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Perhaps it was right to close the GC in 1966, but what was clearly wrong was selling off the trackbed, building over it and eradicating any future hope of reinstating the tracks.

[t-b-g]

Could it be a shunt move? Loco carrying one red and one white lamp as pilot? Not that you could tell which was which, both equally filthy. I can just remember C12 pilots at Grantham, must have been about 5, not that I realised what they were then. Looking back at spotting notes, mostly written by either my father or mother, the numbers are certainly there.

Somewhat at odds with the dazzling white, oversize lamps on many models! Bit of a pet beef of mine, sorry.

 

The shot looking down from the footbridge at Vic really shows what an impressive station it was, unlike the sorry dump which now passes as Nottingham station. Given that it had been open around 50 years at that point, it still looks a lot cleaner and lighter than Midland does even now after 40 years of 'clean' diesels.

Tin hat firmly pulled down, Diving into trench

 

No tin hat needed for that one! I recall talking to somebody (who is on RMWeb) a few years ago about a model of Nottingham Victoria, built "down under". I have thought about it once or twice but space and practicality keep putting me off. Not that long in 4mm scale but very, very wide, enough to make the middle unreachable. I can't remember the dimensions but I think it works out at something like 26' long and 8' wide.

 

Pure magic this thread! Wonderful photos, full of the character and atmosphere that remind me why I like building models of such things, as I can never see them for real.

 

Tony

[Blandford1969]

Thanks for posting these photos they really capture what I imagine it must have been like. The ones inside Nottingham Vic really are interesting and wow what a model that would make.

[LNER4479]

Could it be a shunt move? Loco carrying one red and one white lamp as pilot? Not that you could tell which was which, both equally filthy. I can just remember C12 pilots at Grantham, must have been about 5, not that I realised what they were then. Looking back at spotting notes, mostly written by either my father or mother, the numbers are certainly there.

Somewhat at odds with the dazzling white, oversize lamps on many models! Bit of a pet beef of mine, sorry.

 

These latest pics obviously of great interest and very useful for my project, thanks Dave.

 

Having researched the location extensively, I would be extremely surprised to learn that this was a shunting move in progress. For one thing, it is on the East Coast mainline tracks north of the station; all north end shunting (apart from loco changes) was signalled to be performed using the Nottingham lines (to the right) wherever possible, thus keeping the principal mainline clear. Secondly it appears to be too far away from the station to be doing shunting. It would only need to drop beyond the relevant 'dolly' before propelling back to another line - so where is that signal?

 

It could be that it is some form of ad hoc 'special'; maybe it is an inspection train and the vehicle (and loco) has been hastily commandered to suit. I think I'm right in saying that such trains carried class A headlamps (or could). The last surviving D3 (renumbering 62000) which has featured in these pages before was kept at Grantham for just such purposes but was apparently very unreliable. Has it failed on shed and this loco (station pilot) been hastily substituted? Alternatively, 1950 was the year the turntable collapsed - does the coach need turning and this is a quick sprint out to the Barkston triangle (which could I suppose be classed as a shunt move). All very interesting!

 

Totally agree re model headlamps btw!!

Edited April 19, 2013 by LNER4479

[jwealleans]

Going back a couple of pages, Vol 1 of Tatlow on Breakdown Cranes, p 73, shows that crane in more or less exactly the same place in 1937 and confirms Grantham as the location.

[The Stationmaster]

I love the photos of Nottingham Victoria.  A station of atmosphere, that I never knew and the signalling is interesting there!  Please keep them coming.  This thread is one I really look forward to when I log into RmWeb.

Quite agree - in my case it stirs some long lost childhood memories of passing through what seemed a dark and gloomy place although in my teens I came to much more appreciate both it and the rest of the GC route.  And if you were well used to Nottingham Victoria before coming across the 'other' station it all seemed something of a let-down.

[Oldddudders]

I may have used Victoria - just can't remember! 44 years ago this month, I caught one of the last DMUs from Rugby to Nottingham, but may have alighted at Arkwright St, since I needed to get back to London via the Midland route. I'd love to say I have some pics, but the new Zenith E turned out to have an exposure meter about 1.5 stops out, so the slides were a bit over-groiled, sadly.

[DaveF]

We'll spend most of this afternoon at Nottingham Victoria, with a quick look to the north and south and finally ending up at Penistone.

 

Nottingham Victoria J2 65018 taking water at south end c1953 JVol3011

 

Nottingham Victoria N7 69620 le c1953 JVol3012

 

Hollinwell Halt Annesley A5 69825 pass Nottingham Victoria to Mansfield 1952 JVol3013

 

Nottingham Victoria 2F 58137 goods from Northampton c1951 JVol3014

 

Nottingham Victoria J6 64213 le c1953 JVol3015

 

Weekday Cross K2 pass Grantham to Nottingham Canal Street Bridge c1953 JVol3016

 

Loughborough Central K3 61825 up fish c1952 JVol3017

 

Penistone Viaduct Stanier 3PT down pass c1952 JVol3018

 

David

[Grafarman]

Late to the party as usual I've only just stumbled on this thread!

 

Fantastic pictures thank you for taking the time to share them; although it's a couple of decades before 'my time' and t'other side of the country there's something very evocative about these images that just makes you want to pause and soak in the atmosphere - you can almost smell the steam and hot oil...

 

Wonderful!

 

David