What's Not In Nottingham (5)

 Happy With Weekday Cross

Just south of the tunnel that led from Nottingham Victoria station is Weekday Cross Junction. Here the Great Northern Railway east to Grantham (etc) forked left via London Road High Level station whilst the Great Central main line ran straight on, across the top of Nottingham Midland station and on via Arkwright Street.

Weekday Cross marked the ancient centre of the town ...

... but it collapsed way back and has recently been replaced with a similar stone pillar, arguably less attractive than the original.

Maybe that is because it needs a few hundred tears of weathering? 

Just across the road from the cross was the brickwork that marked a tunnel portal, the exit from the south end of Victoria station.

But, like fbb, you will find it difficult to identify anything of junction and tunnel today. But it was there once, honest.

In passing, note the footpath on the left.

But, after closure, a lot happened.

The viaduct was demolished and land nearby was shored up with new retaining structures, leaving a gurt big hole. Then there was this tram!

From Midland Station, it began by continuing on the Great Central viaduct northbound.

But the tracks needed to climb up from rail height to make their way at street level into the city centre.  So the tram got a new viaduct initially on the site of its historic progenitor.

It then veers off left to join its street running route on Middle Hill. 

So what do you do with the hole?

You leave the tunnel mouth in place and fill the hole with a building, an Arts Centre to be precise ...

... better viewed from Weekday Cross, showing it supplanting the former brick parapet.

And down the left hand side of the building as pictured above ...

... is a set of steps (Garners Hill) ...

... which directly replaced those in the puzzle picture that provoked this series of blogs.

The actual junction was where the flat bit is in the "now" Picture ...

... from where more steps lead back up to the end of the tram viaduct at he start of its street running.

Down there, on the left, there used to be a railway junction.

You would never know today!

The window above the apex of the signal box roof is the window above the trees in the 'today' view from down below!

 PLEASE NOTE 

From tomorrow we take a break from "normal" blogging (if ever an fbb blog is normal!) and start a short series entitled "Pubic Transport Promotes Christmas". Our alphabetical seasonal series will be concluded from Boxing Day onwards with letters S to Z.

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 R ejection and  R esurrection

Quirky Answer : 36 hours or less! Surprised? Jesus body was parked temporarily in Joseph of Arimathea's tomb at sunset on Friday (1800 in the new money). The tomb was guarded throughout the Sabbath (Saturday). When the women went to the tomb very early on Sunday morning, the guards had fled and the tomb was empty. The Bible tells is that Jesus rose on the third day, not after three days in the tomb.

There was nothing pretty about a crucifixion! 

Most pictures show Jesus as far too healthy, far too clean. He would have been in huge pain, found it difficult to breathe and covered with "stripes" (a polite word to sanitise pictures of the wounds from repeated lashings) and a great deal of dried blood. 

He was there as a result of an illegal trial, inconsistent witnesses, a fake charge and political expediency from the Roman judge (one Pontius Pilate).

But the Magi knew ...

... which is why one of their gifts was embalming fluid (myrrh).

At Jesus' dedication (aged 1 year), Simeon knew ...

... when he thanked God that he had lived to see God's gift of Salvation. He told Mary that her son would pierce her heart.

Bit none of them realised in detail how it would happen, a death and a resurrection to save mankind from the curse of its sin.

There has been a trend to condemn the story of the resurrection, saying that it is 'obviously, impossible'. You author agrees 100% - it is impossible but with one caveat, it is impossible by human standards. But a God who exists outside of our universe, space and time and is not restricted by human science and technology can do anything.

Don't forget - so far, after nearly 2000 years, no one has come up with a better explanation that fits the facts as we have them. Of course, we may have incorrect facts but the opponents of Jesus at the time failed to find an alternative so ...

... why reject the resurrection?

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  Next  Coventry Christmas blog : Fri 19th Dec

What's Not In Nottingham (4)

Another Deleted Station

It was the above picture that provoked this series of intriguing investigative intrusions into the history of railways in central Nottingham. Reference to an old Burrows street map suggests we may be looking at the junction shown on the extract below.

That left hand turn is what carried GNR trains from Victoria station off to the east, notable to Grantham. The chord was almost all on viaduct until the line lowered itself to the complex junctions on the east.

An aerial view shows no sign of the line whatsoever, but the map implies a curve on embankment and bridge over the junction of Radcliffe Street and Canal Street ...

... having also crossed the present site of the Nottingham College. 

At the road junction there is a clutch of older indistrial clutter that may have once been infill under those bridges.

Having crossed the canal (to the right of the newbuild opposite the yard) ...

... roughly on the site of the new footbridge (above), the viaduct would have run alongside the canal ...

... eventually crossing London Road and the canal on a girder bridge.

The island platform appears above the tram.

Once again, there is nothing left but a possible bit of bridge abutment at the dormer canal basin.

The London Road High Level station building was beyond that canal pond.

The station building is at ground level with its small car park showing above and on the right.

The facilities at platform level were quite lavish seen below with canal basin on the left ...

... and then with a DMU for Grantham, canal now on the right.

The warehouses on the left stood an a short canal branch which has now disappeared. See the street map extract above!

Below is the only picture available on line of the High Level station's low level building in use fo passengers.

It became an antique station containing an antiques centre ...

... then also a trendy (?) Caff or bar ...

... complete with small steam loco (not working).

London Road High Level opened in 1899, a few months before Victoria was operational, and closed in 1967. A Google Earth view shows nothing left, not even that station building! 

P

Trains from Grantham then used Nottingham Midland. They still do ...

... but no longer run by Stagecoach as seen above at Aslockton.

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 Q ueries and  Q uibbles

Quirky Answer ; it was the encounter with the rich young ruler.

Once a man came to Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what good thing must I do to receive eternal life?”

Jesus answered, “Do not commit murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not accuse anyone falsely; 19 respect your father and your mother; and love your neighbour as you love yourself.”

“I have obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else do I need to do?”

Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me.”

We are told that the rich young ruler (the Biblical 'yuppie') went away sad "because he was very rich". We are also told that Jesus looked at him sternly.

Whatever happened to Gentle Jesus Meek and Mild?

He did not exist!

Of course Jesus showed love, care and kindness to those who were in desperate circumstances, but he railed against the hypocrisy and corrupt religion of the Temple Leaders. He warned people of the dire eternal consequences of disobeying God's code of conduct and he promised a fiery judgement for those who refused to repent and saw no need to God's forgiveness.

He violenty turned the money making scam merchants out of the Temple courtyard ...

... and he condemned the rich young ruler because, when push came to shove, his riches were more important than obeying God.

Which is more important, spending lots of money at CHRIST-mas or remembering Jesus on his birthday?

Would Jesus be gentle, meek and mild as he observes what the modern world has done to His-mas, CHRIST-mas?

Quirky Question : how long did Jesus spend in the tomb?

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  Next Nottingham blog : Thurs 18th December 

What's Not In Nottingham (3)

 Arkwright Street Interchange?

Above is an aerial view of Arkwright Street station, first stop southbound for local trains from Nottingham Victoria. Arkwright Street itself runs of top to bottom of the above photograph. fbb has had a fairly ineffective attempt to boost the picture ...

.. and reveal the station in all its glory. The distinctive feature was the two pagoda like brick structures which were the top of the stairs access from the street.

Top right is the bridge across Arkwright Street itself ...

... whilst upper left on the fuzzy enlargement is the bridge across the side street, then called Westernwray Street West.

A coal train rumbles across. Note the building peeping in from the right which lasted longer than the railway!

Here it all is on a map. In practice, the station platforms stretched south west from the entrance pagodas ...

... with the luxury of covered waiting rooms.

There is better cover on the northbound side where what we now call commuters would wait; with just a hut on the southbound side as he majority of passengers would be going home to their wife and dinner!

The station closed in 1963 with the Nottingham Victoria route in terminal decline. At the end the only service was a sporadic diesel unit from Rugby. But in 1967 Victoria station closed for good and the minimalist diesel services should have closed with it.

But the protests from Rugby, Leicester and Loughborough were loud and vehement. So BR was told by the Inspectors to maintain the service; which they did by re-opening Arkwright Street in 1967 allowing the demolishers to obliterate Victoria.

This is a view from Arkwright Street just after reopening.

Those pagoda stair head buildings are well hidden, but, using the wonders of modern computing technology, we can take the taxi office away just leaving the retaining wall behind it.

Later the bridge over Arkwright Street was removed,

Terminating trains had only used one platform ...

... hence the short section cleared of snow and the railings!

The up side pagoda was left to rot ...

... and latterly one track remained to allow access tor recovery of track and other salvage.  But soon everything was demolished and the area south of the station became the redeveloped Meadows Estate.

Back then ...

... becomes now.

... with all signs of station, bridges, embankments and track expunged from history.

As you descend by tram from the former Victoria route over the bridge at the (Midland) railway station ...

... (seen in the distance on the above picture) you then pass close to the site of Arkwright Street station before turning left to trundle tramwise along the historic Queens Walk en route to the Clifton terminus.

It was quieter back in the day!

In both pictures the railway station (once Midland) can be seen in the distance.

Queens Walk runs parallel to the former Great Central railway line, but it just isn't the same!

SIGH!

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 P urposeful  P arables

Quirky Answer, is here in a parable.

A man has been robbed and left to die. A priest and a Levite (a professor or religious law) passed by, fearful of being made unclean by the blood of the injured man, such were the rules of the day. Then along came a Samaritan. His people had been despised by the Jews since the two kingdoms split apart a millennium earlier. The despised Samaritan stopped to help, took the injured man to an inn and paid for his stay.

The open criticism of the religious leadership in Jerusalem ultimately led to Jesus death sentence.

The "Good Samaritan" is not a pretty story but it does show how doing things God's way is the best way, whatever your status or situation.

So another question. What is Darnel?

It is an inedible weed which, before the time of ripening, looks very much like an ear of corn.

In this Parable, Jesus tells of a farmer who notices that someone has sowed tares/weeds/darnel in amongst his corn. His minions ask, "Shall we go and pull the tapes/weeds/darvel out of the ground?"  

"No," says their boss, "you might pull up some of the wheat with the bad crop. Wait until harvest and we will sort it out".

Helpfully, Jesus explains the meaning!

For many, it is not a pretty story!

The man who sowed the good seed is God; the field is the world; the good seed is the people who belong to His Kingdom; the weeds are the people who belong to the Devil. The harvest is the end of time, and the harvest workers are God's heavenly servants, the angels.

Just as the weeds are gathered up and burned in the fire, so the same thing will happen at the end of the age: the Son of Man will send out his angels to gather up out of his Kingdom all those who cause people to sin and all others who do evil things, and they will throw them into the fiery furnace.

Then God's people will shine like the sun in their Father's Kingdom.

It is called "The Day of Judgement" and, for many, it will NOT be pretty!

Maybe best have a good think about this Parable, just in case.

Quirky Question : What was the Biblical yuppie's hang-up?

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  Next Nottingham blog : Weds 17th December