I was one of 14 members lucky enough to book a place on this walking tour of various railway structures in situ at Derby. This included some that once made up the vast 51 acre site of the Midland Railway Derby Works; a place I have never visited before and knew little of its long history of loco and carriage construction. Starting on a cold Derby P1a, we were met at the appointed time by our tour leader, Adam Turner, and East Midlands Railway Area Station Manager, Jason Cocker, who welcomed the group to Derby with open arms and gleefully announced that the tour had raised £250 for YMCA, Derbyshire. This was Young Men's Christian Association historically, now a homelessness charity for all, not just 'young men'.

An invited guest on the tour was involved in Japanese railways and, in recognition of his attendance, Jason arranged a special musical jingle to play over the entire station public announcement system. This was a tune played prior to a train departure at Tokyo station (on the Yamanote Line 山手線 to be precise), a much more exotic equivalent to our somewhat more basic 'bing bong'! A nice touch, I thought.

Jason brought to our attention the fact that P1 at Derby station has no concrete 'slab' toppings on it. This is because there are basement areas under P1 which were used as air raid shelters during WWII. They contained bunk beds and associated facilities, long since removed in 2018, when the station was remodelled. The hollow basement structure would not be able to support the weight of slabs. There also used to be a subway joined to the one between the platforms at Derby, giving direct access to the adjacent Midland Hotel basement, which is now believed to be filled in.

Jason bade us a fond farewell and Adam took us to P2a, opposite P1a, pointing out the remaining buildings at this Birmingham end extremity of P1, where a circus once arrived at Derby in the 1950s (railway 'lions'?). There were also the remnants of the original back wall of P1 (now forming part of the surviving John Ellis House and Paul Duval House), including evidence of an original entrance on to the platform, with a decorative lintel. Although most of the apertures are now blocked in and painted over, in a drab grey colour, the outlines of the grand arched windows and doorways could be made out, showing how spectacular the entrance would have been in its day.

Outside the station, on the Loco Works side, very few buildings remain of the once thriving, bustling, noisy Derby Locomotive Works. Even those who visited the area in the 1980s would find little evidence of the extensive sidings, scrap lines and associated works buildings on view in the Work's heyday.

The original Derby Works Office Building with its magnificent locomotive style weathervane has been retained and is in daily use by Derby College students. Inside, we were met by a College representative, Naomi Johnson, who escorted us around the buildings used by the College. She was able to answer questions put to her by the group relating to these buildings, without stealing Adam's thunder.

We were led into the Locomotive Roundhouse, opened in 1839. This 16-sided, 140ft diameter structure is the oldest roundhouse in the world. The turntable and adjoining service roads have been boarded over in tastefully aged planking, to now become a refectory and student assistance point. One road off the turntable has been glazed over, enabling a view of the 12ft deep, stone sided examination pit. The roof is the magnificent rotunda, with beams containing some of the overhead cranes and hooks which were used to carry out works on locos in this wonderfully preserved structure. The roundhouse is available to hire and is a popular wedding venue - it would be very suitable for a future Society AGM.

Two workshops adjoined the Roundhouse; one (the Engine Shop) was sadly destroyed by fire in the 1950s then demolished, the other workshop, the Carriage Shop, has been completely refurbished to accommodate the students. If you look closely, evidence of entrances and structures giving access to once adjoining shops are visible. An old spiral staircase leading to what was the first floor of the 'shop' is still in situ but, alas, not in use. It was manufactured by Hayward Brothers of Borough, London.

The Carriage Shop now has classrooms at first floor level and, at ground floor, a small library. On part of the library floor was a black and white carpet that, on closer inspection, and highlighted by Naomi, is the text from a German newspaper with music which is the notes played by the railwayman's hornpipe!

The tour then moved onto the Midland Counties Workshops, passing original locomotive drawings from the Derby Drawing Office. The shed is split into two halves; clearly visible are the original arched windows and brickwork to once adjoining workshops and arched locomotive entrances. The building is now a classroom facility. The other half of the 'Engine Shed' has original wooden beams supported by cast iron pillars; a very well restored area also now used for classrooms and lectures.

Adam and Naomi led us back through the labyrinth of corridors housing various modern college offices, to the L-shaped office block and Clock Tower from 1840 next to the Roundhouse. Here we saw where the famous long footbridge from the station used to connect. It once crossed over the numerous railway tracks and the Works area. Today, there is a clever hologram in the window giving a visualisation of the original footbridge. The staircase at this location still has its original wooden handrails and iron banisters that undoubtedly would have been used by some workers entering the Works (although there was also an external staircase down from the footbridge).

One member on the tour shared that, in 1970, a second wooden floor was added to the bridge walkway at the station end as the original cement deck was considered unsafe. After a quick head count by Adam to ensure we were all together, he thanked Naomi on our behalf for her assistance and produced a large packet of biscuits from his bag as a 'thank you'.

Outside, it was difficult to imagine how all the space around would have been occupied by various buildings and trackwork that went to make up what was affectionately known as 'The Loco'. Crossing the station, we arrived at a building now known as John Ellis House (the first Chairman of the Midland Railway). It is another nondescript office but inside traces of past grandeur are visible in the form of ornate plasterwork on the ceilings and an original wooden door on the first floor that would have given access to the original range of station buildings prior to their redevelopment.

Strategically mounted on the wall of the reception area are various war memorial plaques dedicated to the men of various Midland Railway departments who lost their lives in the Great War. The building is now used by Great British Railway Transition Team, which is working out how the railway will be reorganised in partnership with the Government and the rail sector. [Good luck with that!] The occupiers of the building kindly surrendered a large meeting room for us to eat our packed lunches in, including the adjoining kitchen with complementary tea and coffee making facilities. As the group merrily chomped on their array of sandwiches, crisps and cakes, Adam produced yet another large packet of assorted biscuits for everyone to enjoy (where on earth does he keep magicking these up from and how big is his bag really‽).

For his next trick... When we had finished lunch, Adam showed us, through the window, where an enclosed footbridge once linked Midland House at first floor level with Derby station. Access had kindly been granted to an upstairs office with windows allowing unusual bird's eye views of the comings and goings at the station, also a rear and side view of a stone carving in situ, a relic of the old station. We descended to ground level via a baby grand staircase with an original wooden balustrade with very large brass knobs on it, presumably fitted to stop mischievous apprentices from sliding down it.

Moving on with the tour and back into the cold, we passed the former home of the Midland Railway Accounts Offices and the Goods Manager. It has been given the name Midland House and is now occupied by offices associated with Derby Cathedral. The next building passed was an ex-railway office block now converted into residential use, at the junction of Carrington Street and Midland Road, called Churnet House. Further along Midland Road was the 1921 Midland Railway War Memorial, now in NR ownership, dedicated to all railway staff of the Midland Railway who lost their lives in the Great War. It is made of Portland stone and designed by Lutyens, who also designed the Cenotaph in London.

Next was a view of the Midland Hotel, with its entrance facing directly what would have been the old railway station. At one time, there was a covered canopy leading from the station entrance to the hotel reception, alas long gone. The building is still in use as a hotel but was sold off by the railway in 1982.

The Waterfall Public House was the former Midland Institute. The building set amidst railway workers' houses was a cultural centre for off duty recreation, where workers could read in the extensive (for the time) library, attend lectures and concerts or play billiards when not relaxing in the coffee room.

The North Midland Railway Houses in the area of the Institute were in a bad state of repair in the 1970s and were earmarked for demolition to create a new road. Fortunately, they were restored in the 1980s, are inhabited and bear the maroon and cream paint scheme of the Midland Railway. A well-known member used to live in one. Adam mentioned that some of the houses once had pulleys at eaves level with bells attached, enabling the 'knocker up' to wake early shift rail workers from their slumbers.

At the end of the station car park, the pediment* from the original station façade has been re-erected, containing a clock and surmounted by the Midland Railway emblem, the Wyvern. Although saved from being scrapped, the ornate coloured stonework needs some TLC. We then had a quick look at Duesbury House, at the far north end in Siddals Road, the old lodging house for engine men (now converted into flats) and the nearby Amber House, a block of old railway offices, that have been similarly converted.

[*Pediment: The triangular upper part of the front of a classical building, typically surmounting a portico.]

Opposite the Alexandra Public House, we visited the skewed Five Arches Bridge dating from 1840, taking the railway from the station over the River Derwent. Adam showed us a picture from the 1950s depicting a large, handsome, gantry of semaphore signals, standing proudly at the bridge approach.

A short break was then taken in the Alexandra Public House where the walls are adorned with numerous items of railway memorabilia from various periods. Adjacent to the public house was the site of the former branch of the Derby Canal, now long gone. This completed the Derby station area part of the tour. Adam had researched this part well and was able to provide old photographs on his tablet of the buildings and areas that we had visited, together with potted histories in a clear and concise way, which made this part of the tour easy for me to understand and interesting. When we were eventually prised out of the Alexandra Public House, we boarded a bus to Derby Bus Station.

This was the first time I had used my bus pass since turning 66 in November. I always like a 'first'.

At the bus station, after a very short wait, we boarded a bus for Ashbourne. This second use of my bus pass found us at the spectacular Friar Gate Bridge, adjacent to what was the Great Northern Railway (later part of the London & North Eastern Railway) Derby station at Friargate. Members were saddened to see the bulldozers busy at work knocking down the remnants of the station and beyond the site of extensive goods sidings, ready for a new housing development. One member last visited the working station in 1962, when this line was in use between Derby and Nottingham (CP from 7 Sep 1964).

Fortunately, the purpose of our visit here was to see two 1878 built Grade II listed bridges still in situ, that led from the station over the busy Friar Gate. They mirrored the split of tracks serving the island platform of Friargate station. It seemed that the road under the bridge had been lowered, maybe to accommodate high lorries or the overhead trolleybus wires of the green and cream Derby Corporation vehicles, which ceased to pass there in 1960. Admiring the Victorian filigree sides of the bridge, currently covered in netting to presumably protect it from birds, it must have been a grand spectacle in its day.

Our group then walked the short distance around what is now a fenced off working demolition site but used to be a large siding complex, to view the severely neglected multistorey enormous Grade II listed Friargate Goods Warehouse, also of 1878. This is to be renovated and repurposed as part of the site redevelopment (in a previous plan it was to have been a Morrisons). Meeting the road is a matching hydraulic pump house with an Italianate accumulator tower that once operated warehouse equipment.

Our tour finished here and I personally would not have missed this experience with Adam for all the tea in China [or biscuits in Adam's bag?]. I came away, as I'm sure the other members did, fully satisfied that all the many structures visited had been comprehensively explained and brought to life with the aid of Adam's research, historical photographs and maps. Many thanks, Adam. I would recommend anyone who has not done this tour to book it, should another one be undertaken by the Society. [Apologies for lack of photos, many were received but in 'HEIC' format which wasn't appreciated until too late - PAS.]