back in the days of the chopper bike when days were longer i recon the bank top hill was good for 40 mph..seemed like a hundred at the time but that was before the zrx 1100 was invented..

one time i blew up the front wheel with too much pressure at the bank top garage and it blew out on me half way down..i was flaking it..."boomshanka"..that was the end of that tyre and the handle bars were never the same..it was a purple chopper i remember and with two mirrors..it was the end of the mirrors too..lol

years later i went down on a mountain bike.. it was not as fast i think..the small wheel on the chopper gave it more of an edge..

i know there are loads who have done the same and that kids these days are still getting the fear blasting down the bank top hill..why not lets all get together in the summer ..get the cops to close the road and have a bogey race like the days of old..can any one remember a bogey race happening on the bank top or was it just me ?

i remember skateboarding the hill too on one of my frequent trips to back to bebside from an illicit meeting with a dorty station lass or two..

i would be delighted to read of any horror stories regarding the bank top hill and all its glory..cheers..team wonky

Wonk - I was just about to challenge the so-called bravery of those bike riders and skateboarders by throwing in the true heroes of daring-do were the bogie boys, but you slipped-in a reference.

When I was a young teenager in the early 60s building and racing bogies was an all-consuming passion for most of us but sourcing good wheels was always a problem. Obviously, old pram wheels were widely used but their availabilty soon dried-up. I've mentioned before here that my old man was friends with the boss at the Remploy factory at Bedlington Station where they made and serviced invalid carriages (those old blue three-wheelers) and wheel chairs. Anyway, he came home one day with four brand new pneumatic 12" wheels on steel-rod axles from a wheel chair for us to use and let me say they proved to be fantastic in use. Just a construction detail ... how to make the bolt hole for the steering pivot - remember back then DIY tools weren't that common, including 1/2" drills to make the hole for the pivot bolt. Solution ... heat-up the poker in the fire to cherry red and burn the hole through the wooden front axle mount. We also tried mounting a car starter motor on the bogie with the drive via the motor's Bendix directly to the tyre ... it was quite successful but the systems always let us down 'cos the battery never lasted long. We should have patented the system ... just imagine the scene now with Sym living in his mansion living off the royalties from the Toyota Prius.

We used to hold the axles in place with yarking great metal staples, that would eventually work themselves loose, making the big back wheels, small front wheels or both, separate entities from the chasis, careering the pilot off onto the gravelly road & certain pain.

When wooden boxes weren`t forthcoming I used to make a limited bogie. I suppose it was Citreon 2 CV class version. No box to sit in & limited luxuries- brakes.

Just a big main plank with smaller piece of wood at the rear to fix the big wheels on & a pivoting one at the front for the steering.

In the absence of rope I used to lay face down on my bogie & steer with my hands.

The number of times I got my fingers trapped in the intricate steering mechanism- piece of wood, held in place by 6 inch nut & bolt pivet.

Ouch!

Two of my brothers whent down the Furnace bank on the wide plank version John described. They were going at a fair old tilt when one of them lost his bottle near the bottom and stuck a stick in the front wheel spokes, not a good thing to do. No broken bones but plenty of bruises and gravel rash.

I saw someone go down on his honkers on rollerskates. Not a pretty sight.

belter lads..!! and aye the poker was some piece of kit and was the only way you could make the hole in them days (pre black and decker)..lol..fencing staples were the way to go alright but like mentioned ..they would rattle out and youd get a wonky axle..lol.. the lunatic on rollerskates could also have been me..been there done that..lol

i have memories of a propper organised bogey race happening there once a long time ago..i supose i was very young or dreamt it....

back in the early 80s i remember taking a short cut through the oval and my mate robbed some kiddies trycicle for a blast doon the bank..it was mental but only made it down once..some nosey neighbour had told the kiddies old man we`d nicked it and he came down after us and took it back..my mate reggie got a clip roond the lugg..and rightly so.

i was a bit gutted i didnt get a go but delighted it wasnt me going home getting laughed at for crying like a girl...

i think on my next visit i might bring my bike leathers and helmet and give it another go...kids toys are cheap these days and a lot less hassle than burning a half inch hole in a plank...

rest in peace silver cross..lol.

In the absence of rope I used to lay face down on my bogie & steer with my hands.

The number of times I got my fingers trapped in the intricate steering mechanism- piece of wood, held in place by 6 inch nut & bolt pivet.

Ouch!

No wonder I can`t play the piano!

Now let us praise the NHS for dealing with all the injuries from 'Gannin doon the furnace bank.'

Obviously everyone on the sight was too skilled to need any first aid etc

Great days Gannin doon the furnace bank with our cossers to swim in the river in the 1950,s

We took our custom enclosed 3 man bogey doon the Bedlington bank more than a few times, and went skidding into the field at the bottom to slow down, we needed spotters at top and bottom to give us a nod when the traffic was clear, it was a longer ride than the bank top and with the wood panels enclosing us we got knocked aboot but nee real bad scrapes, once we made the turn to go over the bridge on the river. we called it the Supabogie!!

Sorry 3 bairn bogie

The Supabogie Blues by Blind Lemon Symptoms (sung to the tune of Pearl Harbour Blues by Doctor Clayton and His Buddy)

The hiyellas screamin' as they'd rumbled and a tumbled

The hiyellas screamin' as they'd rumbled and a tumbled

Pottsie's four-wheeled bogie rollin' doon the bank

As the lads aboard ain't comin' back

Oh Lord, they ain't comin' back

No Lord, they ain't never comin' back.

2nd vorse same as the forst

No, I haven't written it yet.

Here it is:

Aroond the bend they rattled by

Aroond the bend they rattled by

Screeching an' a hollerin' as the wheels spun round

Screeching an' a hollerin' as the wheels spun round

Pottsie took his grip to the steering ties

And the hiyellas gigin' as they slowed on by.

Might a thord varse be in the mekin?

The Bank Top Races (from a well known tune)

Aw went to Bank Top races, 'twas on the ninth of Joon,

Nineteen hundred an' sixty-two, on a summer's efternoon;

Aw tyuk the wheels of Prambulator, an' she wis left a standin,

Away we went doon Furnace Bank, with shin pads savin skinnin.

(chorus)

Ah me lads, ye shud only seen us gannin',

We pass'd the foaks doon the road just as they wor stannin'

Thor wes lots o' lads an' lasses there, all wi' smiling faces,

Gannin doon the Furnace Bank, with shin pads savin skinnin.

We flew past Wonky's boomshanka, pointin at the Hairpin bend",

Just gannin' doon te the white bridge, the 'pram wheels flew off the end.

The lasses lost their crinolines off, an' the veils that hide their faces,

An' aw got two black eyes an' a broken nose in gan te Bank Top races.

(chorus)

Ah me lads, ye shud only seen us gannin',

We pass'd the foaks doon the road just as they wor stannin'

Thor wes lots o' lads an' lasses there, all wi' smiling faces,

Gannin doon the Furnace Bank, with shin pads savin skinnin.

When we gat the wheels put on away we went agyen,

But them that had their noses broke they cam back ower hyem.

Sum went to the Oval clinic an' uthers to Doctor Broon,

An' sum sought out their mutha to mend their broken croons.

Edited June 17, 201313 yr by Eggy1948

Very good Eggy!

aye it will do me eggy...beats the pants off the big bedlington song..lol

you will go as fast down the bank as your buggy will go dont know what speed that will be good look on your journew ?

The Bank Top Races (from a well known tune)

Aw went to Bank Top races, 'twas on the ninth of Joon,

Nineteen hundred an' sixty-two, on a summer's efternoon;

Aw tyuk the wheels of Prambulator, an' she wis left a standin,

Away we went doon Furnace Bank, with shin pads savin skinnin.

(chorus)

Ah me lads, ye shud only seen us gannin',

We pass'd the foaks doon the road just as they wor stannin'

Thor wes lots o' lads an' lasses there, all wi' smiling faces,

Gannin doon the Furnace Bank, with shin pads savin skinnin.

We flew past Wonky's boomshanka, pointin at the Hairpin bend",

Just gannin' doon te the white bridge, the 'pram wheels flew off the end.

The lasses lost their crinolines off, an' the veils that hide their faces,

An' aw got two black eyes an' a broken nose in gan te Bank Top races.

(chorus)

Ah me lads, ye shud only seen us gannin',

We pass'd the foaks doon the road just as they wor stannin'

Thor wes lots o' lads an' lasses there, all wi' smiling faces,

Gannin doon the Furnace Bank, with shin pads savin skinnin.

When we gat the wheels put on away we went agyen,

But them that had their noses broke they cam back ower hyem.

Sum went to the Oval clinic an' uthers to Doctor Broon,

An' sum sought out their mutha to mend their broken croons.

Eggy,

Do you mind if I use most of that?

Malcolm - I received an email from you, via this site, today, and I have replied, via the link in the email to you. No problems using what I did.

I assume you have the email as a post on this site, but I have not worked out how this site's mailing system works so I can't see where my reply appears.