Due to the local topography Arnold can never have been a haunt of eagles, because they inhabit areas of rocky outcrops, which have formed cliffs; the nearest such location being Creswell Crags, some 20 miles north-west as the eagle flies, although the fish-eating European White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) could have caught fish in the River Trent, which lies a mere 4 miles south-east of Arnold, on the other side of the Mapperley Plains ridge.
From Gedling and Carlton, the line climbed through Mapperley Tunnel between the Trent and Leen valleys, reaching the first summit of the line at Arno Vale.
The NSR was built mainly for the brickworks of Mapperley and Thornywood; however, there were passenger services to Daybrook and Sherwood Station.