SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

As a kid I was curious about a back- yard opposite the police station at Whingate.It was crammed with railwayana. Closer to home near the bottom of Kirkdale Cres. was a fabulous front garden: tiered fish ponds and a mini windmill. The garden wall had glass marbles fastened in the mortar as decoration. I think the owner made model buildings from matchsticks. He also drove the mini steam train on a trestle, carrying passengers around the annual Toc H gala; in a field off Dixon Lane. Talk about a busy man.

That little garden with the full size railway signals opp. the Nick was still there into the 80s, then overnight all the railway gear had gone.

There's a garden on the Hawksworth estate in Kirkstall with what looks like an Anderson shelter for a garage, big arched roof made of corrugated iron - just needs some sandbags and a couple of Dad's Army types to complete the picture I've been meaning to add it to SL since before we launched the site - maybe this thread will prompt me to finally get round to taking a photo of it!

j.c.d. wrote: That little garden with the full size railway signals opp. the Nick was still there into the 80s, then overnight all the railway gear had gone. I used to walk past that small front garden with the full size railway signals in 1960's. Thinking of it again for the first time in 50 years on brought a to my face.

Long gone now, but in the early 1980s a house in Bramhope had lots of railway memorabilia from the closed-down Arthington Station in the front garden, including a large "Arthington" sign and a signal. It was an amazing sight and I wish I'd taken a photo of it at the time. I wonder what happened to it all - it's certainly no longer there, although the house still exists.

Potty Cottage, Aberford Road, Garforth.

j.c.d. wrote: That little garden with the full size railway signals opp. the Nick was still there into the 80s, then overnight all the railway gear had gone. I always remember that little garden when visiting my family on Benson Gardens further down the road. I always wanted to get off the bus and go play there, but obviously never did.    

simonm wrote: j.c.d. wrote: That little garden with the full size railway signals opp. the Nick was still there into the 80s, then overnight all the railway gear had gone. I always remember that little garden when visiting my family on Benson Gardens further down the road. I always wanted to get off the bus and go play there, but obviously never did.     Have they no gnome to go to !!

I imagine if anyone had anything like that in their gardens these days it would vanish within the hour either by scrap metal thieves or vintage collectables dealers given the premium that railwayania stuff fetches. Sadly nowts safe these days. A couple of years ago a father and son team were caught on CCTV pinching items from the Keighley and Worth Valley railway to sell on Ebay. The pair were prosecuted and jailed I believe but its hardly likely to stop other opportunists.