Trams | The Northern Vicar Blog

September 10, 2023

northernvicar August 2023

We started the month with a trip north over the Border to Melrose, and a visit to the Roman Museum at Trimontium – https://www.trimontium.co.uk/. It reminds us that the Romans did move north – by 79 AD they were pushing into southern Scotland and constructed their fort at the place of the three hills, the three peaks of Eildon. There were Iron Age forts here, indeed several thousand people may have lived in the area the Romans conquered. This same site was to be used several times over the next hundred years or more, as the site was abandoned...

National Trust/Northumberland/Personal/Railway History/Roman Britain/Scotland/Trams Comments: 0

February 2, 2020

northernvicarwalks – January 2020 (everything else)

I started the year with a 7 mile walk – into town via Chester Green and back via Markeaton Brook – and on 3rd I did 5 miles which included a wander past Darley Abbey Mill. A bit more over the next few days. On Saturday 11 I followed some of the paths opposite the University which I had not done before. The following day I had the afternoon off and went to Rotherham to visit the South Yorkshire Transport Museum. They run a connecting bus from the station, but I missed it and therefore had a walk along...

1,000 mile walking/Derbyshire/London/Northumberland/Railway History/Trams/World War 1/Yorkshire Comments: 0

September 11, 2019

Crich, Derbyshire – St Mary the Virgin

Last summer my blog readers will remember that I did a lot of work on The Carriage of Mail on Trams for an exhibition at the Tramway Museum at Crich. Over the winter they made it into an exhibition. I went over on Wednesday 17 July – and was given a tour. I was impressed with what they have done. It’s well worth a visit. I stopped at the parish church on my way home – SK348546. I have driven past it many times. It is a church with a permanent Easter Garden – that’s class. I am going...

Derbyshire/Trams/World War 1 Comments: 2

December 30, 2018

Derwent Valley Heritage Way 7 – Matlock to Whatstandwell

On Thursday 13 December I caught the 1259 from Duffield to Matlock to set off and do the next bit of the Derwent Valley Mills Trail. I avoided the railway bookshop at Matlock station, crossed the river, and walked through the park. A display board reminded me that this was the bottom of the Matlock Cable Tramway – this is an 1891 set of pictures licensed by Commons.wikimedia. It was opened up Matlock Bank in 1893 and lasted until 1927 – there was a continuously moving cable under the road and the trams had a speed of 5 mph....

1,000 mile walking/Derbyshire/Derwent Walk/Railway History/Trams Comments: 0

September 20, 2018

London, Brooke Street, EC1 – St Alban the Martyr

A day in London, with breakfast on East Midlands Trains. For my Crich project on “The Carriage of Parcels and Mail by Tram” I needed a few hours in the Archives of the National Postal Museum – transport of postmen and women on the trams in Glasgow and Portsmouth, mail bags in Mansfield and Kettering, and letter boxes on the trams in Coventry. I then visited their museum – website – and had a ride on Rail Mail. I had visited this when it was still in operation, and was prepared to be a bit sniffy about it as...

London/Railway History/Trams Comments: 0

September 19, 2018

Northernvicarwalks – Manchester buses, trams, metro and a signal box

Friday 3 August 2018 – Happy Birthday Me. Having left northernreader with our friend Sue, I caught the train from Northwich into Manchester, and the tram north to Queen’s Road. I walked along to Boyle Street bus depot, and photoed the War Memorial on the front, before going to the Greater Manchester Transport Society Museum at the back – website. Julie and I are both doing the MA in Public History and Heritage at Derby University – website – and my Public History Consultation is to put together a paper for the National Tramway Museum at Crich – website...

1,000 mile walking/Manchester/Railway History/Trams Comments: 0