There is an excellent book called "The Friargate Line - Derby and the Great Northern Railway" by Mark Higginson. I well remember when the line was quite busy and in particular the headshunt which existed in Darley Park!
Philip - It's widely acknowledged that Local Councils (both Tory, and Labour), along with various national governments (again, both Tory ones, and Labour ones) did more damage to our cities during the 1960's and 1970's than the German Luftwaffe managed in WW2. This is a sobering if not shocking fact. The destruction of our rail heritage in the 1960's was nothing short of scandalous; while in many our towns and cities, lovely old buildings were demolished in the name of 'progress', and to make roads wider so that our cities could essentially be re-designed to fit around the car. Yes, many protests took place against this rampant destruction, but the governments and Local Authorities dismissed them and carried on anyway.
Really interesting; thanks for sharing. Technically, Derby didn't become a "city" until 1977; well after the closure of Friargate. I can still remember going on holiday to Skeggy. Can still see the B1 in my mind's eye, casting its smoke trail across Darley Park.
Dave, Many thanks for posting this. Am I correct in saying that although the commentary describes the whole of the line, the footage only shows the part of the line between Derby Friargate and West Hallam (for Dale Abbey) stations? I assume that only one camera was used on the train itself by Richard Willis and he alternated between the left and right sides of the carriage. Hence, being more specific, we see: 0:30 to 1:11 View looking east towards Friargate Bridge and the town (now city) centre On the train: 1:11 to 1:36 Just north of Derby Friargate (possibly near Agard Street) 1:36 to 2:30 View from the right hand side of the carriage through Chester Green to the bridge over the main railway between Derby and Duffield: 1:36 to 1:53 Backs of houses (still there) passing through Chester Green (at 1:42 there is a view through to the green itself in the gap between the house at 60 Chester Green Road) 1:53 Crossing Old Chester Road near the end of Kirk Street (still there) 2:12 Crossing Alfreton Road 2:27 Crossing the main railway between Derby and Duffield with a view towards the Mansfield Road bridge (still there) 2:30 to 3:02 View from the left hand side of the carriage of Breadsall Village after passing through Breadsall Station (see “Breadsall Village Station” on youtube): 2:30 to 2:38 View of All Saints Breadsall and Breadsall village 2:48 View of what is now the County Behaviour Support Service on Moorside Road, Breadsall 2:59 to 3:02 Backs of 110 to 120 Brookside Road (still there). 3:03 to 3:37 View from the right hand side of the carriage of the line before West Hallam (for Dale Abbey) Station: 3:03 to 3:26 view of fields, 3:26 to 3:37 possibly a view towards the road bridge at Common lane. 3:39 to 4:03 West Hallam (for Dale Abbey) Station See also at 3:18 of “Railway Tales - Ilkeston and Erewash Valley - new local history book” on youtube. Is this correct? This is the best footage I've seen of this line. Is any more footage available? More info can be found at www.derbyphotos.co.uk/features/friargatebridge/maps/index.htm
As I said in an earlier comment, I have little knowledge of this video cinematography wise. I saw it shared on a facebook post, asked the poster about it, and he kindly sent me this dvd copy of it. I thought it was worthy of sharing, so I posted it on here. Your comments with locations are really interesting thanks, especially the ones once out of Derby, as most of that lot is sadly gone now, and I have no thing to compare it against. stone_me ( in comments) says he might post further footage, so I'm "watching this space". If you find anymore, please let me know? Thanks :)
Adi Pullen has recently posted “A short film of the Friargate Line” which shows parts of the line all the way to Nottingham Victoria. The soundtrack is the same as on your post but it is obvious that the video in your film is only running at half speed so apart from at the start, the commentary does not match the footage. Anyway, thanks again for posting and hopefully “A short film of the Friargate Line” is what you’re looking for. The commentary on that has confirmed what I wrote in my previous comment was correct.
Yesterday's railways smelled great: jarah-wood, tarry preservative, coal-smoke and oil evaporating gently from the ballast... but the steam released from the cylinders smelled somehow strange, ominous and almost 'electrical'.
Hi. I only have this footage, a friend copied the film onto a dvd for me, and I shared it via that. Maybe there's more, but, if there is, I don't know of it, sorry.
Hi Dave, the footage is from a Richard Willis compilation video called Oases of Steam, no longer available. I have a VHS version that I will copy to DVD and upload soon. The footage of the Friargate Line goes on for another few minutes after that that you have shown and ends up arriving at Nottingham Victoria.
Thanks, stone_me. A friend posted it, but, I coudn't copy it, nor his original file which he tried to send me in various forms. So, he kindly made a dvd of it and sent it to me. Please let me know when you post your "full" version, I shall await it with interest, Dave.
