More 'Nuckle' memories

I FOUND the Nicola Fox article in the April edition of The RM fascinating for rekindling many childhood memories.

Growing up in 1950s Coventry I was within cycling distance of Coundon Road station where I was allowed to venture from an early age.

The station master's house and ticket office always had awarm fire going, even if the limited waiting area was often shared with baskets of pigeons awaiting their next train.

Goods traffic consisted mainly of lengthy coal trains, which would occasionally shunt the goods yard for deliveries to Porettas, the local coal merchant.

The yard is long gone but the railway connection lives on in the names of roads allocated to the housing development on the site.

The passenger service in the mid-1950s was, I distantly recalled, operated in pushpull fashion, so I was so pleased to read Dick Blenkinsop's mention in this May edition of acquiring a chimney from a Stanier'2P'.

I believe these were the two locos working the Nuneaton to Leamington service, unusually with the locos sandwiched between carriages. Later they were to be replaced by Stanier 2-6-2s, Nos.41321/322, from Nuneaton.

Workers'trains to the Daimler Halt were well patronised, usually three trains morning and evening, with the carriages given athorough external clean (by hand) in Coventry's Quinton Road sidings.

The view of Coundon Road towards Coventry is interesting in that on rare occasions atrain could be signalled up to the semaphore starter, with the gates closed; I doubt that could happen today!

I attended the local Bablake school, where the music room offered the best'spotting opportunities'-the highlight was just after 4pm when the three locos for the evening return works' services ran through light engine.

Dieselisation came in the 60s in the form of Met-Cam Class 101 DMUs, but it is so good to see the line go some way to its former glories.

Brian Lerigo Tring