The LNER Encyclopedia

First, here are two photos of the late, lamented boarded crossing at Grantham, opposite the former Yard Box at the south end of the station. The crossing remained in commission until, I think, late last year when a lift was installed giving access to the footbridge. Colour photo June 1962; b/w July 1964.

The brand new pram is a Manton (the label reads 'Another MANTON baby carriage’). Does anyone know where Manton prams were made? Yes, I know it's a bit of an odd query for this site, but I've tried a vintage pram collector's website (yes, there are such people - they love their Silver Crosses as much as we love A3s etc.!) and I got nowhere! Presumably having arrived on the down side and being taken across to the parcels office, which was on the up (town) side, it's either come from further south or from the Nottingham/Derby direction.

The third photo (16th April 1964) shows a Pullman guard on an up service apparently being handed an 'extra consignment'. We don't know what's in the box, but my suspicion is that it's a pigeon, which he's taking down south for a training flight (presumably having paid the Pullman supplement!). Note (enlargement) that the box has holes in one of the sides, which also seems to be able to be slid out. Any pigeon experts out there able to say if this seems likely or not?

I googled Manton Prams, and discovered that they were made in the Basford area of Nottingham until the late '70's, I did wonder if they came from Manton (Worksop), but it appears that the name is an anagram of Notman which was the family who owned the firm.

Lovely pictures of bygone era, is that perhaps a pigeon clock?

The human interest in those pictures is wonderful. Those uniforms are very nostalgic reminders of a vanished railway age, along with things like the sound of loose-coupled freight trains. Fortunately today it is still possible to see sights like these on our various preserved railways.

The two men pulling the barrow on the crossing are clearly porters but the man at the back pushing has gold braid on his hat. The station inspector possibly - maybe someone may even be able to put a name to him. A different man, possibly the duty foreman, is seen speaking to the Pullman guard.

If there was a pigeon in that box, where might it have been released? Peterborough would seem a possibility, they surely wouldn't have taken it all the way to Kings Cross.

BTW Manton is also a location on the line between Oakham and Stamford, not that far away from Grantham.

As a former "pigeon man" Its def not a pigeon clock, proably livestock of some description.
They did and still do race from Peterborough & Grantham but even in those days there were "pigeon specials" which collected the baskets from the stations, later on that task was taken over up North at least by the "Up North Combine" where the baskets were transported by lorry to the release point.
This could be a lost or injured racing pigeon being returned home.

As a point of interest "Silver Cross" prams were made until recently at Guiseley on the Leeds - Ilkley line. Factory flattened a couple of years ago.

Thanks everyone for your input. I've always liked the picture of the precariously loaded barrow jolting across the ECML. I hope they noticed that a rolled item has fallen off and lies across the outer rail of the down line. The Station Inspector hasn't been recognised yet by Grantham people who've seen this picture, so maybe he had been transferred from elsewhere to cover a shortage. Two senior Grantham staff, the Station Master and an Inspector, had quite recently retired.

Here's another photo showing a 'carefully balanced' load on a barrow (16th April 1964). I do have the name of the porter on the left as I've met his son. On the down line is a train of ironstone, probably waiting while the loco crew is changed at the north end.

Mention of the demise of the Silver Cross Works has reminded me of a trip I made last month along the Manchester Ship Canal. Overlooking a cleared site near Warrington our commentator told us that it had been the New World cooker factory. How many of us had our first meals warmed on one of those! The Manchester Ship Canal cruise is well worth doing, by the way; you pass under several impressive high level railway bridges, though most disused and derelict now. http://www.merseyferries.co.uk/manchest ... index.aspx .

Glory days Mr Redtoon my old man topped "The Combine" in 1973 a young birds race from Ashford. I well remember his state after the presentation of prizes in the room above the co-op just south of the Haymarket.
I have a Pathe film of Southern pigeons being released from a train at Berwick somewhere and will link to it when i find it.