Colin Aldworth

Nottingham & Melton Railway 1872 - 2017, 50 Years After Passengers Colin Aldworth

The Nottingham & Melton Railway 1872 to 2017 is the latest update to a comprehensive publication covering every aspect of this section of the former Midland Main Line from Nottingham to Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire. Most of the line is now used as a Test Track (still referred to by some as the Old Dalby Test Track), home of the 1984 nuclear flask crash, test bed for the Advanced Passenger Train (APT) & the Virgin Pendolino. First published in 1989 & described by the British National Archives as a "definitive piece of research," it has since been upgraded five times, this edition taking us to 2017, Fifty Years After Passengers. The book opens with a Mile by Mile journey, particularly popular with local historians, as we travel the line from Nottingham through West Bridgford, Edwalton, Plumtree, Widmerpool, Upper Broughton, Old Dalby, Saxelby, Grimston & Holwell, concluding at Melton Mowbray. Each station has its own Fact Tables, and the illustrations include photographs of the line taken by BR Research just before closure. The next section cover the history of the line, these chapters are of particular interest to rail enthusiasts. The third section covers Holwell Works, Asfordby Mine, and the iron-ore branches to Eaton & Waltham. The book then concludes with a complete summary of the passenger services on the line. The book is illustrated with approximately 170 charts/drawings and 180 photographs including pictures of the CEGB Train Crash and the demolition of Asfordby colliery.