An upload from almost 11 years ago which I thought merited another spell in the virtual darkroom. The original has been deleted.
The shot features the dainty and seemingly well maintained Bulwell Forest Crossing Signal Box, taken from Carey Road, Nottingham.
Lying on what had become a freight-only line serving the North Nottinghamshire collieries, the box saw plenty of action in the week with a succession of loaded coal trains heading south and empties heading north. Typical traction at the time was double-headed class 20s with mineral wagons or hoppers, and class 47s on MGRs, with the occasional appearance of class 25s and class 44s.
The Gents Hairdressers is now the Bulwell Dental Practice, and the terrace houses to the left lie on Bestwood Road. Interestingly the sole stucco-fronted house remains the only one so treated – assuming Google Street View is up to date.
The lineside hut beyond the crossing gates was a typical LMS / MR light-weight design to be found around the system, and generally used as lamp rooms for storing paraffin and servicing the long-burning signal lamps.
Sadly the box would close in August 1981, some 5 years after I took this shot, and was subsequently demolished.
No surprise things are a little different here today. Passenger services between Nottingham and Mansfield, withdrawn in 1964, were reinstated in 1995 and I finally took a ride along what has now become known as the Robin Hood Line a couple of years ago while visiting family. The route however is now a bi-directional single track utilising the far line in this image. The Nottingham Tramway System (NET) now utilises the near trackbed and, opened in 2004, it runs parallel with the railway as far as Hucknall where the trams terminate and where there’s a passenger interchange with the railway.
Happy to say the locals benefited too from what would have been months of disruptive construction work – the Bulwell Forest Tram Stop, an island platform with passing loop allowing services to cross, is located some 50 yards from here in front of the terrace houses.
Possibly of interest to the modellers!
Agfa CT18
23rd April 1976
Posted by david.hayes77 on 2021-12-19 13:51:00
Tagged: , Suburbia , Bulwell , Bulwell Forest , Nottingham , NET , Nottingham Express Transit , MR , LMS , Midland Railway , Railway , Robin Hood Line , 1976 , Agfa , CT18 , Carey Road , St Alban’s Road , Terraces , Terrace Houses , Bestwood Road , Bulwell Forest Crossing Signal Box , Level Crossing , Crossing Gates , Notts , Nottinghamshire , Bulwell Dental Practice , Modelling , Modellers , Semaphore , Signal , Spring , Urban , British Rail