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Salford Park Aston cycling

D

dennis

master brummie
While my memory is working in top gear, :) does anyone remember the Cycling Stadium in Salford Park ??
Some very good professional race meeting used to be held there besides excellent amateur ones,.
Reg Harris,Sid patterson,Arie Van Vliet were all there at one time, and as I was also a very keen cyclist,spent many happy times cycling on that track, so much so that a friend & I cycled to London,to see the finish of the six day races held at Wembley Stadium,but that's another story
Regards,
Dennis
 
I used to ride there myself around 1961-62 but had too many pile-ups I think it was safer crossing six-ways in the rush hour. :lol:
 
Athletic Meetings Salford Park and other stories

I always remember the hot summer days walking up the Slade Road,past the Star cinema. (The last film they showed was Pal Joey) past slade road school and after what seemed a hell of a walk, we came to Salford Park. My Uncle Bill McCormick was something to do with the cyling fraternity and was always in the thick of things, so we tagged along important like. Just a couple of little whipper snappers and shouted encouragement as you do. Talking about Salford Bridge which we weren't. Does anyone else remember the fire in a wharehouse on the Tyburn Road, must have been in the 50s. The kind firemen had recovered loads of rountrees sweeties and although they told us not to eat them as the they had used the canal water to put the fire out we didn't believe them and ate them anyway! Never did do as I was told
lynda
 
I remember the fire at Rowntrees warehouse, we came away with armfulls of smoke damaged wine gums, tasted awfull but still went back next day for more, they were piled up in a charred heap with loads of us kids sifting through 'em.
 
Re: Tree Lovers' League

Did you ever know my Uncle Bill McCormick? I think he was among the cycling fraternity around that time. He used to arrange a lot of the races in Salford Park. It may have been in the 50's on thinking about it, so you may be too young. Happy reading though
Lynda
 
Oh David,
Salford Park Cycle track
I was one time member of Birchfield CC
and used to do track racing round there
also watched the Masters,i.e. Reg Harris
Arie VanVleet,SidPatterson
and many others
 
Remember being taken there in my pushchair, I think, to feed the ducks...
then when older and walking past, on the way to visit my aunt in Erdington, mom would hold my hand to help me balance while I walked along the little wall outside the park.
 
Any one remember when they drained the lake. I remember seeing the bigest Pike I ever had seen just laying in the mud at the bottom of the large but very empty lake. I think it may have been around the 1960s.Used to walk around the lake in my lunch hour when working at GEC in Electric Ave;
 
I remember the lake being drained, I think it must have been between 1968-69.......... I'm sure at the time I was at Annexe to UTS in Aston Hall Road. I remember it was a huge muddy area with lots of stuff lying in the mud...
 
Aston I'm sure that story of the Pike appeared in the papers and they saved it I think
fishmlt0ha.gif
 
dont know if this request should be here or in places,does anybody have any pictures of the junction of aston rd/tyburn rd/slade rd before spaghetti around the the fifties or sixties,i only remember the butchers shop as one of my class mates at HGS his dad had a shop called rowberries,since i luckly found this site,i never really thought about the growing up years,but now its become an obsession,anyone who has to care for someone understands when i say you never really fall asleep as you have one ear and one eye open thru the nite,during long periods of being awake,i imagine walking out my house and trying to memorise nearly every step to where i am going,this really works for me,but i do the walk up whitehead rd/bartons bank/tower rd/crossing upper thomas st/onto litchfield turn left /past SKIRMERS the fishing tackle shop on the right just past holborn hill/down to waterworks st(had to meet mom of a nite here when she had a job making cakes in a little bakery,i would get there early and grab the couple of bags she would leave outside for me to hide up an entry to pick up later when she came out) on up to the park,THEN A COMPLETE BLANK ON WHAT THE JUNCTION LOOKED LIKE,i was still awake at 5 00am trying to imagine but the more i try i cant do it,any pics would be great,
 
Thanks for this photo too Cromwell...I remember the No. 2 from Erdington.
We used to catch that if we couldn't find something we needed in the High Street and would head into Town for a look around. The 78 used to really take a lurch on that corner coming out of Slade Road and on to Salford Bridge. The tram drivers drove those trams very fast and when hardly anyone was on board that shook all over the place. The 79 was the Tyburn Road tram. Mom had a friend near to the Dunlop area so had a ride on that also a few times.
 
Seeing those pics of trams at Gravelly Hill reminds of the drivers' tic-tac there. When town-bound trams arrived together from from Pype Hayes, Chester Road or Short Heath, the drivers would use the fingers of both hands to show the time when they were booked to return from Steelhouse Lane, normally just showing the last digit. The purpose was to ensure that that one car didn't get in the way of another leaving the terminus on the return journey, but there was actually more to it than that, The cars reversed on a single track, where cars on route 2 to Erdington loaded on the first bay going north: cars to Short Heath (route 78) loaded at the stop beyond it, and Pype Hayes cars on route 79 to Pype Hayes went up to the end of the track before reversing. So if a number 2 Erdington tram due to return from Steelhouse Lane at 10.03 got in front of a 79 Pype Hayes car due to leave earlier, the latter could be locked in at the terminus until the Erdington car left.
Nuff of that. Below are more two pics, one I took in June 1953 which shows the 'Erdington Arms' quite well. The better picture was taken by my good friend and ex-colleague John Meredith, who came into my local last Tuesday, and is in the pink as ever.
Peter
 
1969 would be about right, i would have been about 15, I was mad for fishing then and was keen to see all the fish from the lake Carp Pike Bream pearch, i followed the truck with the tanks of fish from salford to Brookvale and watch then released it to the lake. I still never managed to catch much when fishing at Brookvale. This pic of that time when Spagetti was under construction
 
Leamington Rd - Salford Bridge

Hi
Can anyone out there help with any information regarding Leamington Rd and in particular the screw factory, any pictures or information would be very much appreciated. My mother worked there durring the 2nd world war making skrews for aircraft, I can not find any info on the web, I have just 1 photo taken from Salford park...Thanx Tony
 
Thanks Alf,

Here's another one for the records; me, Graham Webb, breaking the 10 mile, 25 mile and 1 hour national records at Salford Park track in 1966. This was on a Monday evening after I had been on my insurance rounds all day, and during my record ride Tommy Gowin shouting at me to slow down. Good job I didn't listen! For the 1 hour I took some 400 yds off the old record and it stood for about 16 years and was only beaten on the new wooden track at Leicester with modern equipment and bike positions. Equipment and positions that have since been banned by the UCI and only beaten by Chris Boardman a few years ago. So really my 1966 record at Salford stood for nearlly 40 years! Sorry for being so modest, but it's only for the record.
 
Oh yes while my brain is working. The photo below of the Solihull C.C. pursuit team, we were not only National Team Pursuit champions, but in the same year National Division Team Pursuit champions, making the Birmingham Division National champions. I was National individual pursuit champion too. Roy Cromack was National 10 mile champion. Trevor Bull was National 1/2 mile and 1 mile record holder. Andy King was only about 16 then and National School Boy sprint champion! In 1966 we took just about every National championship and record all for Brum! Sounds unbelievable but those were the days that Brum ruled in cycling.
 
Salford Park Track photos

Thanks Tony, great photos!

I used to go to the track on my Lambretta LI 150. I had made a cycle rack on the back and I could carry two track bikes, 4 wheels on it, + a girl friend and my sports bag inbetween my feet. Was never too late in the evening after work for training , as on the scoot you never got stuck in the evening traffic. Oh yes I was a 'mod' and proud of it!

I may find some more photos in my old box.

Graham.
 
Cool can't imagine anyone riding around on a scooter fully loaded like that nowdays without getting a tug from the law lol
I was about 14 then and use to ride an Easy Rider push bike with cow horns
Another picture of Legoland 1971 1 year before completion with Cycle Track visable
 
Salford Park an old thread but I've just this sec received this from Richard Lodge at British Cycling (BC).

Graham.

Hello All
This note is sent to all clubs/secretaries/contacts I have identified as being located within, or very close to, the Birmingham City Council geographical area.

Background
I circulated information 12 months ago regarding the development of a cycling facility by Birmingham City Council to replace Salford Park track which was lost in 2000. This development is known as Bikeland. The impressive outline plans for this continue to be worked up by the Council officers, and over the last 4 months they have received increased officer commitment to delivering that project. They are now seeking to confirm the funding for the project, following which more specific plans and a planning application will be formulated. While some of you responded positively to being part of a “user-group”, that group has not yet been formally established, as there is nothing yet to comment upon.

Two further projects affecting the sport in Birmingham have also taken place in the last 12 months.

First is that the overall cycling strategy for the City has been refreshed as the last one had expired. Nick Yarworth (BC Regional Development Mgr) and I have worked with the Birmingham Sports Partnership officers to ensure that a cycle sport strategy for the City is also included as part of the overall cycling strategy. This has been important since the cycling strategy (which previously has included only transportation related issues and targets) in its entirety will be signed off by the main board of councillors at the Council, thus giving it very powerful backing and commitment. We have emphasised two key points in that strategy that the Council needs to address – that the City needs to provide cycle sport facilities within the City for the wide range of cycling disciplines (road circuit, MTB trails, BMX track, etc); and that the clubs that provide the volunteers and officials for these cycling activities, need to be supported. The strategy is now in final draft and is timetabled to be approved in the coming weeks. I will circulate a copy once it is signed-off.

The Second project, which the International Events Team at the Council initiated, is the bid to host the UCI BMX world championships at the NIA in 2012. https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/web/site/BC/bmx/News2008/20080509_birmingham_bmx_bid.asp
Although we shall not know until May 2009 whether the City is successful in this bid, the initiative has already galvanised actions to deliver a BMX facility to the City. While the track in the NIA will be a temporary track, Birmingham has committed to providing two permanent tracks as a legacy to the sport locally. It is on this matter that I write to you now.

Meeting on Monday 20th October
There is already an old and disused BMX track at Perry Park. The Council plans now to redevelopment that track and further to support the establishment of a club at the site to provide an increased participation support for all local riders interested in trying or competing in BMX. This will potentially be the first full competition BMX track in the West Midlands so is a particularly exciting development. Of wider interest, is that there are also secondary plans to develop an MTB trail in the adjacent woodlands, as well as considering that a small scale closed road circuit might be achievable there.

Attached is the flier that publicises the first meeting to outline the facility that is planned. There will also be some reference at the meeting to the wider cycling plans that are moving forward, though of course those are ancillary to the main point of the meeting.

You are all very welcome to attend and if you know of others who might wish to be involved (whether they are based within or outside the Birmingham City boundary) please pass on this note.

Should you have any questions at this time, then please let me know.

Regards

Richard Lodge
Chairman/Secretary – BC West Midlands Region
 
Louis,

Once again a brilliant photo. Riding behind those pacers with a bicycle at Salford Park must have been very dangerous as the bankings were far to shallow for motor pacing at any speed. Here is a photo of me on that track in 1966.
2363009620102465904S425x425Q85.jpg
​
 
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Raced on the track a lot in the 50s what happened to it? John Crump OldBrit in Parker. Co USA
 
Before the war Grandad Weaver used to own some coal barges on the canal opposite Salford Resa (That's what we called it.) I was there one day in the thirties when a fellow caught a pike and it grabbed his finger. Us kids thought it the best laugh we'd had in ages , but the fisherman was not impressed.
 
dennis said:
While my memory is working in top gear, :) does anyone remember the Cycling Stadium in Salford Park ??
Some very good professional race meeting used to be held there besides excellent amateur ones,.
Reg Harris,Sid patterson,Arie Van Vliet were all there at one time, and as I was also a very keen cyclist,spent many happy times cycling on that track, so much so that a friend & I cycled to London,to see the finish of the six day races held at Wembley Stadium,but that's another story
Regards,
Dennis
Click to expand...
I also raced at Salford Park in the realy 50s right after it opened. John Crump Midland C&AC now in Parker. Co USA love to hear from you and who you rode for?
 
I remember the fire at Rowntrees but you obviously didn't get the good sweets from the middle. We had a chain of kids with the smaller ones pushed over the top of the piles of boxes. With hindsight I feel sorry for the watchmen but they didn't stand a chance of keeping us out. We lived up the road at no 208 so it was not far to keep going back.
I remember Salford park more for the fishing than the cycling. My dad was forced to take me sometimes and I used to get bored.
Sandra
 
we used to walk down long acre to cuckoo bridge aross the lichfield road and walk or run up what seemed a very long drive stopping at the water fountain for a drink then playing on all the grass that seemed to go on for miles , never cycled on the track but was it made of wood ?
then came spaghetti junction and it all changed progress eh!
phil
 
Hi Folks...I am trying to research a bit of my cycling history from around 1961 to 1966.Does anyone remember the THORNHILL CYCLING CLUB we used to meet at a church hall on the Pershore Rd. Edgebaston Old names Peter Pitt,BarryEagles , Brian "Badger" Lee.Some of our guys raced at Salford Track and we held a road racing series at Tamworh.
Has anyone any info on GARFIELD CYCLES shop, was opposite The Abbey in Erdington.Finally any info on CLIFF PETERS CYCLES Aston.Got my first set of shoe plates from Cliff the slots were so deep I cold never get my feet out of the pedals.Thanks for any info.
 
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