BRITISH RAILWAY LOCOMOTIVE DEPOTS, WORKS AND STABLING POINTS.
PLEASE NOTE : IMPORTANT MESSAGE : Please be aware that I do not sell copies of ANY of my pictures, DO NOT email copies to viewers or allow re-posting on other sites. Neither do I wish to enter into correspondence with any individual or group regarding my pictures or their captions. All comments reflect my personal opinions and I am not prepared to discuss these with anyone or to spend the rest of my life answering inane questions. I apologise for this disclaimer but I'm afraid it has been forced upon me. I have no wish to offend anyone and I hope you will continue to enjoy my pictures at your leisure.
COLWICK LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (38A/40E/16B) - Colwick marshalling yard was designed for the concentration of coal traffic from the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Coalfield for transfer to other marshalling yards in London. It was built by the Great Northern Railway in the triangle formed by the Nottingham-Grantham line, and the Nottingham-Derby line. It was built in stages from 1872 and was closed by British Railways in April 1970. Until the 1870's the Midland Railway had a monopoly of the coal traffic from the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Coalfield. From the 1850's, the GNR had gained access to Nottingham from Grantham and quickly set about invading Midland territory. In 1870 the GNR purchased 150 acres of land at Colwick to create a new marshalling yard, motive power depot, repair workshop and staff accommodation. By 1876 sidings for 1150 wagons were completed. The GNR line from Nottingham to Derbyshire and Staffordshire was opened in 1878 and the new marshalling yard was situated in the ensuing triangle of lines. By 1879 914,000 tons of coal were being handled, and the continued growth necessitated further extension to the sidings in 1881. The completion of the GNR routes into the coalfield brought about further growth in 1890 and 1900. Colwick was one of the largest marshalling yards of the London and North Eastern Railway after 1923. During the 1950's, the fortunes of the yard matched the decline in use of coal. In 1954 100,000 wagons were handled each month, but this had fallen to 90,000 by 1957 and 70,000 in 1959. The closure of Mapperley Tunnel after a rockfall in April 1960, further reduced the traffic using Colwick, so that barely 50,000 wagons were being handled by 1960. The yard was transferred to the London Midland Region of British Railways in 1966 and its remaining traffic was diverted to the nearby marshaling yards at Toton. The facility was almost entirely closed by April 1970.
To deal with this volume of traffic, a substantial motive power depot was required. The first locomotive servicing depot at Colwick predates the marshalling yard and was opened in 1858. However, the GNR greatly extended the facility to an 18-road dead-end shed in line with the growth of the yard. Facilities included repair shops, coaling plant and a turntable. In December 1922, when the GNR handed over to the LNER, there were 231 locomotives allocated to Colwick, almost entirely heavy freight and suburban passenger locomotives. The depot was closed to steam in December 1966. Seen here in July 1932 is Class O4 2-8-0 No.6324, withdrawn from 31B March as Class O1 No.63687 in October 1963.