Stock from the old Friargate Line

[Heinz57]

Hi all,

A couple of you may recall last year I asked for a bit of infomation on the old lines that used to run through my local area.

I've been thinking about it again recently, this time I'm interested in knowing about the stock that could be found on the old Derby Friargate Line.

As I understand it, the line was Great Northern/LNER. So thus the stock would have been GN/LNER stock, and then during BR days there would have been some BR standard stuff. But that doesn't narrow it down much for me, realy the only LNER stock I know of were the A series, and I can't imagine them on the Friargate!

So can anybody help me in exactly what stock could be found on the line? Both LNER and BR.

Cheers,

Heinz

 

[Bevan Price]

In the early 1960s, before closure to passengers, suburban services around Nottingham Victoria (including Derby Friargate) would mainly (but not exclusively) be non-corridor stock. Could be of LNER, BR or LMS origin. I had a complete set of 3 ex-LMS non corridor coaches on one trip (to Pinxton, not Derby, but they used the same pool of stock.) The RCTS book series "The Great Northern Railway in the East Midlands" includes several photos of passenger trains in the area, with random mixed formations (LNER/LMS/BR), sometimes with mixtures of corridor & non-corridor coaches. Summer saturday services to the Lincolnshire coast would be more likely to be all corridor stock. Motive power would be anything that Colwick had available (typically B1, L1, Ivatt 4MT 2-6-0, etc.)

If you are modelling the area, then just about any combination of LNER, BR & LMS coaches would be realistic for that period.

 

[Philip Elliott]

To Pinxton with the GNR Erewash line? What was it like? There is so little left of it now! 'Forty bridges' viaduct must have been spectacular!

 

[Wyvern]

In the latter half of the 'forties I went to Skeggy for my holidays from Friargate (rather than from, as now, Derby Midland)

Try and get hold of "The Friargate Line" by Mark Higginson. THe history andadetailed description with copiuos illustration - plus track diagrams.

A smashing model would be the sidings east of Friargate station that ran down to a headshunt where tye Derby Rowing Club now is then back under the bowstring bridge to a number of workss including Handyside's.

 

[Heinz57]

Thanks for the replies chaps.

Would the Standard Class 5s (are these the black 5s?) have been found on this line, or would these have been more on the midland lines?

I'm not personaly modeling the area, but my model railway club is producing a model of Kimberley Station. So my curiosity wants me to find out more about the stock on the line.

 

[Bevan Price]

Black 5s were the LMS Stanier 5MT 4-6-0s. The Standard 5s were effectively an updated version of the Black 5. Neither would be common at Friargate, but may well have made some visits, maybe on summer saturday services to North Wales, or freights to/from the connections at Eggington Junction with the LMS lines to Stoke & Burton, etc. LMS 4F 0-6-0, 8F 2-8-0 and "Crab" 5MT 2-6-0s are also amongst other possible visitors.

Search the BR database for locos allocated to Colwick to get an idea of what might have visited the area. In later years, if Colwick was short of power, it may have borrowed locos from Nottingham LMS (16A) shed.

http://www.brdatabase.info/index.php

 

[Heinz57]

Very interesting website there. It certainly helps my reasearch alot. Thanks.

During the late 50s, would the early green diesels be found on this line, or would they have been more on the main line services?