Great Northern Railway's Leicester arm E-W (disused railway fly-through)

Using Google Earth, we fly along the course of the former Great Northern railway's Leicester arm. We travel from east to west, from its junction with the GN & LNWR joint railway at Marefield, to the site of its Leicester terminus at Belgrave Rd station. Intermediate stations are Lowesby, Ingarsby, Thornby & Scraptoft, and Humberstone. Yellow labels indicate the sites of stations and other features of the former line, and white labels are used for modern street names and landmarks.
The trackbed is easy to discern as far as Ingarsby, but beyond there it vanishes under a re-contoured farm field as far as the eastern portal of Ingarsby tunnel. The remainder of the route is either hidden below trees or vanished under buildings, with very little to suggest that the line ever existed. Exceptions are two surviving over-bridges at the Leicester end, carrying the Midland railway main line, and the former Great Northern Road (now Ulverscroft Rd).

[@lalalepus]

After Forest Rd, where it states “formerly Gt Northern Rd” before this massive factory unit was built, this area was a car park for the firm Richards. My childhood back garden looked out over this patch. I remember the tunnel on the left of my view point from Forest Rd and the tunnel to my right view point that Ulverscroft Rd was above (leading to Boston glue). My old Dad used to say trains ran past here when he was boy. Thank you for creating this.

[@davidshaw3303]

Great video! Strange for me to think that although I have no memory of it, I have travelled on the these these tracks several times as a toddler for holidays on the east coast. Starting at Humberstone Rd station.

[@johnharrison3489]

Brilliant video and maybe someone can help with a question that my uncle and I have been trying to clarify for years. @Thebigfella53 - you are right, the tunnel went under the Uppingham Road / Colchester Road junction and was a cut and cover tunnel. It was locally known as 'Black Bridge' as it was very deep. When I was a little boy, I lived on Withcote Avenue and I remember crossing the remains of the footbridge adjacent to the tunnel from Uppingham Road to Jennett Close. The cutting was simply filled in leaving the arches of the footbridge visible. Today it is merely an alleyway but you are in fact still crossing a footbridge. I was reliably informed a child fell from the parapet of Black Bridge onto the track below around 1972/3 and survived. My uncle and I are trying to find a photo of this tunnel with zero success. It's become a bit of a mission for us now to solve but trying to trace anyone with knowledge or photographs is proving difficult. Any help would be appreciated.

[@brianwillson9567]

I walked this line in 1969, the track had only been lifted a couple of years. Thanks for this faster and easier revisit,

[@petersharp7644]

Fascinating video. Thankfully the stations at Lowesby and Ingarsby have survived and restored as houses. It is incredble how much of the course of the line has been expunged, particularly at the Leicester end with the pressure on land for redevelopment. The Colchester Rd / Uppingham Rd junction being a good example. It is strange to think that at one time a railway line passed under the road there. I travelled on the line in 1960 on one of the Belgrave Road - Mablethorpe holiday services but was too young at the time to have any memory of it now.

[@TheBigfella53]

you missed the tunnel under the uppinham road/goodwood junction i think

[@flymuzza9205]

Thanks, I hadn't realised it was a tunnel, assumed it was an elaborate overbridge.

[@stephen9863]

Colchester Road was not a tunnel it was built as a bridge and had an over fill.....@@flymuzza9205

[@andrewmarch7891]

Thanks that's fascinating. Is it a usable right of way or cycle track?

[@flymuzza9205]

Unfortunately most of the route is over private land

[@davidtomlinson6138]

Isnt it amazing the way the past can be totally obliterated , like it was never there !! 🤔😳😔

[@flymuzza9205]

I agree,. there's scarcely any evidence of the Leicester end of the line.

[@None-zc5vg]

Much of the GN network around Leeds and Bradford has similarly been erased from the map, along with the industries that it supported.