IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Perry Road, NOTTINGHAM, NG5 1GS

The Great Central Railway main line from London Marylebone to Sheffield via Leicester and Nottingham was the last trunk route to be completed (1899) and the first to close (1967). North of Nottingham and in the city much of its route has disappeared - embankments flattened, cuttings filled, viaducts demolished - and it is hard to follow. The best part of fifty years ago I used to cycle up here of an evening to watch the trains pass under Perry Road bridge. On the left the newer houses between the 1930s ones are on the site of the cutting shown in Image] and the concrete wall on the right (over which I took Image]) is the site of the bridge parapet from which Image] was taken.

I hope the poor technical quality of this picture (scanned and cropped from a tiny square print) is outweighed by its historical interest. The Great Central Railway no longer exists and this cutting in the soft sandstone has been filled in and built on - see Image I was excited enough by the sight of a British Railways 9F 2-10-0 belting southwards with the nightly Immingham fish train to press the shutter - too early, as usual. The signals and signal box at Bagthorpe Junction (where the line to Derby Friargate diverged) are just visible in the distance. They too are long gone, along with the bridge which once carried the line high over Valley Road and the embankment beyond it.

This was a good place for trainspotting on a schoolday evening, and seeing a Gresley V2 2-6-2 coming towards me on a northbound pigeon special was enough to make me press the shutter (far too soon). Much of what appears in this picture no longer exists, including the carriage sheds to the left (the site of Sheridan Way), New Basford station (behind the train) and the factory chimney on the right horizon. The council houses on the right are on Glamis Avenue. The cutting in the foreground has been filled in and built on. The historical interest of the picture (scanned and cropped from a tiny square print) may make up for its technical shortcomings. The Great Central Railway main line from London Marylebone to Sheffield via Leicester and Nottingham was the last trunk route to be completed (1899) and the first to close (1967). North of Nottingham and in the city much of its route has disappeared - embankments flattened, cuttings filled, viaducts demolished - and it is hard to follow. Compare with Image

This picture, taken at arm's length over a high concrete wall (thank goodness for the digital camera's swivelling display screen), only makes sense if viewed as one of a pair, with Image], which shows the same scene nearly fifty years before. The houses behind the trees are on Sheridan Way, which is built on reclaimed railway land. The distant horizon on the right is the sandstone ridge which divides New Basford from Forest Fields.

Standard Commonwealth War Graves Commission cross with simple inscriptions (no names). Looking unkempt, but this former cemetery is deliberately allowed to be a bit wild to encourage insect life.

High Victorian stones, seen from Perry Road on a spring morning.

Looking towards Perry Road. A corner of the derelict Bulwell stone chapel is on the extreme left.

A view towards Vicarage Close (a cul de sac) taken from the opposite side of the twin chapels-of-rest.

Junction of Quorn Road, Bagshot Close, Quorn Grove and track with railings leading to Perry Road.

Looking north west.