The Gedling railway can be said to be the result of the production of coal at the Gedling mine, which beginning in 1903 increased rapidly. It consisted mostly of freight trains, and was worked to its full capacity: several important express trains would pass through Gedling each night on route from London to Manchester and Liverpool.
The first passenger trains came in 1876. Before Nottingham Victoria station was opened nearly all Great Northern passenger trains from Nottingham to the west came through Gedling, but afterwards some of these were diverted, and the line was closed in 1960, owing to the rivalry between the Railway companies involved.
At first the railway and pit did not affect Gedling very much; all the railway employees employed at Colwick had to live in Netherfield and most of the miners lived in Nottingham, although some had their homes in Netherfield and Carlton. The miners living in Nottingham were provided with a workman's train - "The Paddy Mail" to and from work. The large outcrop of streets and houses on the other side of Arnold Lane from the pit came at a later date. A station, the platform of wood, and sidings were built at Gedling. About a mile north of the station there was a cutting 70 feet deep: over 300,000 cubic yards of soil was excavated. This led to a tunnel (called Mapperley Tunnel) 1,132 yards long where it passed under the Plains road. In January 1935 a section of the roof of this tunnel fell in, completely blocking the line for several months, and although repaired, was in such poor condition that the line was closed in 1960.
At one period, when the Victoria station was opened there were two possible routes to Basford, by direct route three miles, by the Gedling route 10 miles, both at the same fare, thus forming a circle. So for about one and a half or two (pre-decimalisation) pence, children when they had saved that amount could have a a train ride, and many children, especially from the poorer districts of Nottingham, such as St. Anne's, used to enjoy this treat on Saturdays and Sundays.
Now, in 1979, only one engine a day uses the line as far as the Colliery: a pitiful reminder of the days when hundreds of trains used the line daily.
Transcribers note: And now not even that. The colliery closed in 1989 and with its going went the only reason to retain the line.