Trainspotting on The Lyndhurst Estate, Erdington early 60s - The NE boundary of the estate is marked by a railway track (originally designated The Sutton Colfield Branch, L&NWR), the main traffic being passenger DMUs (Diesel Multiple Units) but very occasionally an LMS steam loco was seen on the line (by the early 60s steam had been largely replaced by diesel). The track ran in a cutting so you had to be close to see passing trains, but, if the conditions were right, you could hear an approaching steam engine from my parents flat in Kentmere Tower and could see the smoke trail, if you were quick and ran upto the top landing of the stairwell you might glimpse the top of the loco's chimney, with a pair of binoculars, in winter when there were no leaves on the trees! Nothing to write home about, right? Well, applying trainspotting rules, as long as you had glimpsed the actual loco (even a small part of it) you could rightly claim to have spotted it and record the sighting in your Ian Allan Loco Book, I know what you are thinking: If you could only see the tip of the chimney how could you know what loco it was?  I would dash down to the railway line and hope a fellow trainspotter was still around who had identified the loco, I  remember this happening on one particular occasion when a Britannia Class Steam Loco (John O' Gaunt, if I remember correctly) passed by.
Peg.
P.S. The estate has changed a lot since the 1965 map: The school has gone, the playing field built on, Rowden Hall (The estate's village hall) has gone, Burcombe Tower has gone, together with Harlech Tower (the tallest block on the estate at 16 stories) and finally The Lyndhurst Pub has long been demolished.

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Hope this is OK to post here.


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Anyone know the name of the pub in photo 2?

When I lived in Heaton St, Hockley our local swimming baths was Grove Lane (side of Handsworth Park) and sometimes Monument Road, when we moved to the Lyndhurst Estate our local baths was Erdington, about 15 mins walk. My mom was a good swimmer and taught me, but I wasn't a natural; on the other hand my dad drank like a fish but swam like a brick, bless him.
Peg.

Heaton St - 1950s Although we only had a tiny backyard my dad still managed to grow a spectacular display of dahlias each year, at the end of their season he would lovingly dig up the tubers and store them in the cellar for next year, if I remember correctly next season's crop comes from a shoot from the tuber.
Peg.