Heading away East from Mapperley Tunnel, the line had been backfilled further along and this was a surviving access bridge over the formation

All that remained of LNWR Terrace at Colwick - the foootpath and a few lighting columns. This used to be a row of Railwaymen's Cottages but by the early 1980's, this was the sad scene.

Mapperley Tunnel - Western appoaches. Unlike the Eastern portal, at the Western end Mapperley Tunnel had been concealed and this was the view down the cutting leading to it, from the local scout hut

Gedling Station, looking East, by now a youth club in the 1980's. The line to Gedling Colliery was still extant at this time but no trains while I was there!

The once frenzied Colwick marshalling yard, by the early 1980's just a weed strewn wilderness with a few bits of railway metalwork

Tramrails from horsedrawn days, alongside the arches leading to friargate Station, between Friargate and Agard Street in Derby. The elegant friargate bridge can be seen in the distance. The tramrails still exist but sadly the arches alongside have since been demolished in the last decade or so

Breadsall Viaduct, taken from the parapet, already broken by vandals, looking towards Derby Friargate, Sun. 27 Jan. 1974

Breadsall Viaduct, already in a parlous state, less than a decade after closure. Sun. 27 Jan. 1974, the skew span to the left being the point where the Little Eaton branch of the Derby Canal once passed beneath. Beyond lay the line back to Derby Friargate

Kimberley Station, Sun. 30 Dec. 1973 from the access crossing which was next to the demolished overbridge, which formerly took the line over the main road. I last travelled over this section in Autumn 1964, behind an Ivatt Mogul "Pig" and a rake of three suburbans!

A view towards Basford at Kimberley Station, with the footbridge still intact, Sun. 30 Dec. 1973

Kimberley Station viewd from the access road, with few changes since it last saw service in 1964. Taken Sun. 30 Dec. 1973

I took this shot of Kimberley Station from the overbridge. Platform 1 has been cut back but the station is in quite good condition. Sun. 30 Dec. 1973

A view from the public footbridge, at Kimberley Station, looking back towards Awsworth. Note the washing line strung ignominiously across the trackbed! Sun. 30 Dec. 1973

West Hallam Station main building, seen from the access road, Sun. 30 Dec. 1973. The rest of the station had completely gone by this time and the cutting to the left back towards Derby completely filled in and returned to agriculture. It was as if the railway had never been there less than a decade before. The restored pithead gear from Stanley Colliery can be seen on the left.

Kimberley Station on Sunday 30 Dec. 1973, when I cycled from Derby with the old Ensign folding camera, to see what remained of "The Friargate Line"

Breadsall Viaduct is blown up by Ogdens of Otley at 10am. Sun. 23 Sept. 1979. The blast blew out some of the shop windows behind us as we watched, due to low cloud and the pressure wave!

This is the Eastern portal of Mapperley Tunnel, on the long-disused "Back Line" of the Great Northern, to the North-West of Nottingham, under Mapperley Plains. Disused since closure due to subsidence in 1960, it was still accessible in very damp conditions in the 1980's. I always found this a spooky place to visit, more than most

Wellies on, I'm standing by the entrance to Mapperley Tunnel, at the Eastern end, nearest to Gedling. The other end is sealed off

A 1975 view of Breadsall Viaduct in Derby. The steel skew span indicates the point at which the Little Eaton branch of the long-gone Derby Canal once passed beneath. There is no trace of the viaduct today and a road passes through the area. The viaduct was blown up by Ogdens of Otley at 10am. on Sun. 23 Sept. 1979

Mapperley Tunnel Eastern portal looks somewhat foreboding here

Mickleover Tunnel, to the West of Derby Friargate, seen on Wed. 8 Nov. 1978. Both portals are now sealed over with spoil

Mickleover Tunnel, looking out towards Mickleover, Wed. 8 Nov. 1978

Mapperley Tunnel Eastern portal is still accessible in March 2007 I'm told, although increasingly derelict and overgrown

A view of the Western Portal of Mickleover Tunnel, now long hidden with spoil. The BR test track was to the right of the picture, also now closed