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As a child, Eric Richards’ bedroom overlooked Friargate railway line which gave him a special affection for the comings and goings over the wall. Now living in Belper, Eric recalls those happy days when the station was a bustling hive of activity.'

I have an affinity with the local foundry man Andrew Handyside’s historic Friar Gate railway bridge as I was born at the aptly named Slack Lane in 1921, at the corner of Findern Street, in the shadow of the coaling shed and water tower.

As a young boy, happy times were spent reviewing railway activities from the grandstand position of my bedroom window.

During the 1920s-30s, the area was the scene of a bustling, thriving industry. The smoke, steam and noise of passing trains was part of everyday life as most materials were transported by rail in those days.

Passenger travel was cheap and well patronised. The summer excursions to Skegness proved very popular with people like me as they gave us our first glimpse of the sea.

Likewise, the evening trips to the October Nottingham Goose Fair were always full.

Perhaps the Friar Gate line’s claim to fame was the daily milk train, which collected evening milk from farms in the Etwall-Mickleover area and transported it to London in time for their breakfast tables the following morning – some achievement in those early times.

Railways played a great part in transport during the Second World War but things began to decline with the increasing use of the car.

Owners found they could take their families out into the countryside, on day trips to the coast or on their annual holidays with much more ease. The heyday of the railways was over.

In 1948, the Government nationalised the railways but the so-called People’s Railways continued to decline further with the phasing out of steam locomotives in favour of the more modern diesel-engined trains.

Eventually, in 1963, the Beeching plan was introduced, designed by the chairman of British Railways Board to ruthlessly prune the railway network, closing stations with the ensuing loss of thousands of jobs, in order to make the operation self-financing again.

It didn’t work, of course. It couldn’t; it simply drove more people to use their own transport. Friar Gate station closed to passenger traffic in 1964, continuing to be used for freight only.

In the final years, the surviving line between Derby and Mickleover became a track signals testing facility.

The Friar Gate bridge, having survived 130 years, now deserves remedial attention.

Neglect of the bridge would lead to not only the loss of a great architectural construction but would signal the demise of West End heritage.

Do you have memories of Friar Gate? Add them here by going to the Discussion link at the top of the page.

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County:  Derbyshire

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