Railways around Coventry

Hi all Some archive amateur film which incudes the Foleshill Line from Nuneaton to Coventry as well as along the Kenilworth line. Peter Lee the author. Nuneaton area railway clips.

Hello I think the cars came from Linwood in Scotland. My father was a lorry driver for Rootes and I would go with him. Gosford Green was busy back then. Maybe I have it wrong about Linwood, age works wonders.

Robio, you are not wrong - this from "Warwickshires Railways": Gosford Green Gosford Green Goods yard was located off the Binley Road in the district of Stoke in Coventry. Opened on 10th August 1914 as one of two goods yards on the Coventry Loop Line its location close to an industrial district of Coventry meant that it would be in much use for many years. In fact its closeness to the car factory in Humber Road operated by the Rootes Group, later the Chrysler Corporation, to move cars between Linwood near Paisley in Scotland meant that it remained open until the 1970s. The yard had six sidings arranged in three pairs and handled a wide variety of goods with machined products outward and materials inward. After approximately six years in service the facility at Gosford Green was taken out of use when Avenger production at Ryton ceased on July 1st 1976. Much of the plant was then shipped to Linwood by rail! With the loss of this traffic the Gosford Green branch was worked on an 'as required' basis twice weekly using a Class 25 stabled at Coventry.

Thanks so much Philip for including the Nuneaton clip. Lovely to see a glimpse of Foleshill and then the Sandy Lane bridge at Radford Halt. My pals and I always walked to Foleshill to travel to Nuneaton for a day of spotting. I remember the machine that, for a penny, stamped a narrow strip of lead with letters. I still have no idea of any practical use for it. Very happy days. Thanks again.

This may bring back some memories I well remember the one on the old Coventry Station, although I think it was a different model from this one

Well played! Just the job.

Interesting that the train is arriving in Coventry from Nuneaton on the "Up and Down Goods" which, despite having colour light signals, wasn't passed for passenger trains as there was no protection at the Nuneaton end from any runaway wagons from the yard or head shunt (and probably reduced overlaps). It did however have the advantage of keeping the up main into platform 2 clear. Peter.

The young boy clutched his father's hand at the level crossing in Alderman's Green Road, the road being only a cart track with an asphalt topping that led up and over the hump backed Tusses Bridge. From the crossing down to a small brook was a single sided road with houses one side, the other side a deep ditch and tall hedgerow, beyond fields. On the shoulder of the road two diagonal posts marked 'rail crossing', there were lamps fixed to the posts. The boy felt the tremor and closed his hand tighter in his father's hand. The rails ran parallel and gleaming faintly towards the coal pits on the south side. The gravel bed was compacted and matted with weeds, a path ran alongside one of the rails. There was a silence and stillness, then the ground began to shake and the rails began to sing; the coal train coming on fast, half mile to the south, the rails hummed, the sleepers moved the gravel around them, clicked and shuddered, the rails howled. The train's whistle blew long and loud, the little boy held his father's hand more tightly. Then the train was on them, the air whipped and battered them, deafened by squealing metal. The locomotive passed them, an endless sequence of coal laden wagons, hammering and juddering, then the train was gone, on its way to Hawkesbury sidings. The man and boy walked down the pathway at the side of the track. This was the miners' path, when their shift was over they would hand in their lamps, walk down the pathway, some would branch off at Lady Lane down to Bell Green, some at the main cottages that led down over the 'slough' to A.G. Road mill. Further on some went by the slough to Jackers Road and the remainder walked to Tusses Bridge. About 1926 the collieries closed, the rails and the sleepers were taken away, the whole lot went back to nature, the end of an era.

But by taking up the rails as far as across A.G. Road, they created a problem, they erected a wooden fence of split timber along the pavement then erected great buffers on the end of the line. Now the Power Station still had to be fed coal, by train from Hawkesbury sidings, but the distance from the buffers to the railway points of the power station could only be four wagons plus the engine. The guard(?) jumped down from the engine with a long pole with a hook, uncoupled the first four wagons and the engine reversed up to the buffers with the four wagons, the guard then unlocked the lever and pushed it with some energy parallel with the ground that changed the points, the guard then undid the wide gates over the rails and the engine then pushed the four wagons on to the power station line, where the guard uncoupled them, the engine reversed back to the buffers, the guard then threw the points the other way and the engine came down for the next four wagons. This rigmarole went on until all the wagons were on the power station line. The engine then pushed the whole lot right round the power station to the siding next to the canal. Here men manhandled each wagon into a circular steel cage that lifted and turned the coal wagon upside down into a steel hopper, the hopper fed the coal onto a conveyor that went up and over the canal and dumped the coal in the field the other side of the canal. Meanwhile the engine picked up a load of empty wagons and reversed back to the buffer and went through the same procedure until it had all the empty wagons on the Hawkesbury line. This went on for months until the field was covered in twenty feet of coal.

Two black fives (44871+45407) are due through Coventry Saturday (26th) evening at 20:37 (timings) with the coaches for a Birmingham International to Cardiff special on Sunday via the Lickey incline and Hereford. The back fives will return to London through Coventry with the empty coaches at 23:13 Sunday evening (timings). Advance notice: The black fives are due to run from London to Scotland through the Midlands on Friday 16th December. No route/timings available yet. Peter.

Quite impressive going through Canley yesterday evening, despite having a diesel on the front. A couple of students on the down platform looked like they'd seen a ghost train. Peter.

Is it me? Am I the only person whose brain jars whenever I come across the words 'train station'? Whatever happened to railway stations? Was it when the railways were privatised and track and train separated? I hope I'm not on one when track and train really do separate.

No, it is not just you

Train Station has been used in the UK for a few decades now and is used as much as Railway Station. Most people just use 'Station.' I'd find it a bit strange to hear someone use 'Railway Station'.

The VivaRail text train 230 001 (refurbished London Transport sub-surface lines stock) is currently sitting in the sidings at Nuneaton ready to do driver training between Nuneaton and Coventry. More details on the VivaRail Blog The train is scheduled to run tomorrow (Saturday 17th December) at the following times: Nuneaton dep 09:44, 10:54, 11:55, 12:57, 14:59 Coventry Yard dep 10:32, 11:34, 12:36, 14:37, 15:39 It does not call at Coventry station. It was due to run today and didn't, so no promises. There are no times showing for any test/training runs next week. Peter.