van wolfswinkel Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 The frying pan moose! i thought that was Crayford ? i went there only once when Paul Woods was the star was New Cross that small? moose.! From what I remember New Cross was tiny...certainly compared to the other London tracks, and Swindon's Abbey where I go fairly regularly now, and have done on and mainly off since 68 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 I think it was New Cross that featured in the 1948(ish) film Once a Jolly Swag Man with Dirk Bogarde and 'Compo' Bill Owen . I think its on Youtube - can't check at the moment though due to work access restrictions. It was indeed. I remember seeing some of the filming for action shots and crowd scenes which took place after the main match. It was in 1948. Overall though, at the time it was felt that 'Once A Jolly Swagman' was not a good advert for speedway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longlivefrankie Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 my top three 1. belle vue (hyde road) 2. wimbledon 3. newport (queensway meadows) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratton Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 From what I remember New Cross was tiny...certainly compared to the other London tracks, and Swindon's Abbey where I go fairly regularly now, and have done on and mainly off since 68 .Thanks Moose!,! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george.m Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 Just a short clip on YouTube (2mins 33 secs). Full film available on www.fulltv.tv apparently! You can buy the film on DVD as well. Great clip thanks for that. Surprised those riders had any teeth left. You'll know what I mean if you watched it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevePark Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 Great clip thanks for that. Surprised those riders had any teeth left. You'll know what I mean if you watched it. There was a great piece in one of the monthly speedway mags about the making of the film (It may have been an interview with Bill Owen). Some of the action scenes were done in a studio where they built a bit of track (a straight and a bend, I think) to film some of the close-ups. I can't remember which (real speedway) rider it was, but in one of the scenes he came a cropper and broke a leg. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arson fire Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 The shay was superb aswell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g13webb Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 (edited) To pick out one specific track, I liked, that has closed is a difficult task, cause there are so many. Unlike today, I use to go to many away tracks, not necessary because I actually liked the track, but because of the entertainment on offer. An example of what I mean was Wimbledon. Every Whit Bank Holiday we went to see the class field assembled for the INTERNATIONAL. Riders trying their hardest to win the Jawa Bike on offer. Another date in the dairy, that was never missed, was Hyde Road, for the BLRC. The track created far better racing then that Plough Lane, but both the occasions were looked upon as the same. I would never class Wembley as a good track, but again The World Finals were always paramount and were never missed from ’63 till the close. I used to followed the Stars to many away meetings and regularly went to other places like:- Ipswich, Leicester, West Ham, Hackney, Exeter, Halifax, Reading, Cradley, all of which could offer it's merits to the best closed track, all have either closed or changed from what they were. But to get back to the question in the thread title I would have to go with White City just ahead of Blackbird Road, Leicester, both good race tracks which generated exciting speedway meetings… Edited January 15, 2014 by GRW123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratton Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 To pick out one specific track, I liked, that has closed is a difficult task, cause there are so many. Unlike today, I use to go to many away tracks, not necessary because I actually liked the track, but because of the entertainment on offer. An example of what I mean was Wimbledon. Every Whit Bank Holiday we went to see the class field assembled for the INTERNATIONAL. Riders trying their hardest to win the Jawa Bike on offer. Another date in the dairy, that was never missed, was Hyde Road, for the BLRC. The track created far better racing then that Plough Lane, but both the occasions were looked upon as the same. I would never class Wembley as a good track, but again The World Finals were always paramount and were never missed from ’63 till the close. I used to followed the Stars to many away meetings and regularly went to other places like:- Ipswich, Leicester, West Ham, Hackney, Exeter, Halifax, Reading, Cradley, all of which could offer it's merits to the best closed track, all have either closed or changed from what they were. But to get back to the question in the thread title I would have to go with White City just ahead of Blackbird Road, Leicester, both good race tracks which generated exciting speedway meetings… I really only went to White City for individual and World Cup events, so never really see league racing there when Kennett was in his prime.A great size and shape and was often slick there but there was some entertaining racing produced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsunami Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 Trelawny, The Shay, New Cross and Custom House, Hyde Road, BV. All memorable for different reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiheke1 Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 Hyde rd, the shay, odsal and wembley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigerite Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 Belle Vue (Hyde Road) - awesome track Bradford (Odsal) - for the sheer size of the stadium Exeter (County Ground) - for the speed and Sheffield generally used to go fairly well round there Trelawny (Moto-Parc) - like having speedway on the moon and a good little racetrack (still don't know how Scud Smith didn't end up in the 3rd bend lake there ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Panda Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 Dudley Wood..........Hyde Road...........The Shay..........White City though only ever went there for the big meetings not league............ RP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Stadia Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 Stadium was tatty at the end, but Rayleigh, as I recall, was a good race track. I did like Hackney and Wimbledon. Hackney was banked, but had some good racing. Wimbledon had good racing too, although only saw top flight there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.