2. RAILWAYS
  3. BRITISH RAILWAY LOCOMOTIVE DEPOTS, WORKS AND STABLING POINTS.

BRITISH RAILWAY LOCOMOTIVE DEPOTS, WORKS AND STABLING POINTS.

Photographs in this gallery are of locomotive depots, both steam and diesel, locomotive works, stabling points and withdrawn locomotives but not those being scrapped. Some of these pictures were taken by me, some passed on by friends and others have been bought and are part of my collection. These pictures are published for pleasure/information/research purposes only and are not for sale or copy under any circumstances. Information in captions has been researched as thoroughly as possible but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
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.
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BLETCHLEY TRACTION MAINTENANCE DEPOT (2B/4A/1E/BY) - The original London and North Western Railway locomotive shed in Bletchley was a wooden and galvanised iron building that catered for some twelve engines, with three roads accommodated within the facility opened in 1851. However during the 1870's the shed collapsed in a gale, burying stabled locomotives and was replaced by two gabled roof spans with numerous ducts and chimneys, a 6-road dead-end shed. These sheds were situated just north of the railway station on a siding to the west side of the West Coast Main Line, on a site now occupied by today's carpark. In March 1959, Bletchley had an allocation of 54 engines, mostly goods engines and tank engines for local passenger services, several of them Class 4F 0-6-0's such as 43841 seen here. The end of British Rail steam in Bletchley came in July 1965 when 24 steam engines stabled in the Locomotive Shed departed for other parts of the country, the last one taking the 2pm parcels train to Oxford. This was locomotive LMS Stanier Class 8F 2-8-0 No.48610. With the end of steam, the TMD was relocated to the Bedford side of the Varsity line flyover, in a new purpose built facility. Bletchley TMD began in the modern era in 1965 It closed in June 2008. Bletchley had won awards for the reliability of its trains as recently as March 2007, and was said to deliver six times better than average reliability. London Midland phased in the fleet of 37 Class 350/2 Desiro trains, which are maintained by Siemens at the King's Heath depot in Northampton. These replaced the Silverlink Class 321 fleet which had been serviced at Bletchley. Following the introduction of the Class 230 diesel units, which are used exclusively on the Marston Vale Line, the depot was bought back into use in September 2018.
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BLETCHLEY TRACTION MAINTENANCE DEPOT (2B/4A/1E/BY) - The original London and North Western Railway locomotive shed in Bletchley was a wooden and galvanised iron building that catered for some twelve engines, with three roads accommodated within the facility opened in 1851. However during the 1870's the shed collapsed in a gale, burying stabled locomotives and was replaced by two gabled roof spans with numerous ducts and chimneys, a 6-road dead-end shed. These sheds were situated just north of the railway station on a siding to the west side of the West Coast Main Line, on a site now occupied by today's carpark. In March 1959, Bletchley had an allocation of 54 engines, mostly goods engines and tank engines for local passenger services, several of them Class 4F 0-6-0's such as 43841 seen here. The end of British Rail steam in Bletchley came in July 1965 when 24 steam engines stabled in the Locomotive Shed departed for other parts of the country, the last one taking the 2pm parcels train to Oxford. This was locomotive LMS Stanier Class 8F 2-8-0 No.48610. With the end of steam, the TMD was relocated to the Bedford side of the Varsity line flyover, in a new purpose built facility. Bletchley TMD began in the modern era in 1965 It closed in June 2008. Bletchley had won awards for the reliability of its trains as recently as March 2007, and was said to deliver six times better than average reliability. London Midland phased in the fleet of 37 Class 350/2 Desiro trains, which are maintained by Siemens at the King's Heath depot in Northampton. These replaced the Silverlink Class 321 fleet which had been serviced at Bletchley. Following the introduction of the Class 230 diesel units, which are used exclusively on the Marston Vale Line, the depot was bought back into use in September 2018.

  • BIRKENHEAD MOLLINGTON STREET LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (6C/8H/BC) - Birkenhead Mollington Street was a locomotive depot located on the Birkenhead Dock Branch railway. The depot was situated about 600 yards from Birkenhead Central railway station. Owned and operated by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) and the Great Western Railway (GWR) jointly, the new joint-depot was opened in 1878. The shed consisted of two separate but conjoined 8-road straight sheds, the LNWR shed to the north and the GWR to the south. Each had separate water and coaling facilities. On Nationalisation, the entire depot came under the control of the Midland Region. In 1951, the ex-LNWR shed was reduced in scale by half its width, to allow the construction of a new 2-road straight diesel shed in its place. The LNWR coal stage was removed, meaning all coaling moved to the southern GWR coal stage. A new diesel fuelling stage was built on the entrance throat to the new diesel depot. In March 1959, the allocation was 56 engines, only 2 of which were GWR 0-6-0PT's. Of the remainder, 19 were passenger tank engines for local services, 2 were Class 47000 0-4-0ST's for dock shunting and the remainder were mixed traffic and good locos. There were also 9 diesel shunters. In 1963 as the Beeching cuts were felt, the entire ex-GWR allocation of locos was removed and sent south to Swindon Works for reallocation or scrapping. Nonetheless, up to ninety locomotives on shed could still be seen, on occasion., and the allocation in April 1965 had grown to 75 engines, 32 of which were BR Standard Class 9F 2-10-0's, which worked the heavy iron ore trains from Bidston Dock to the John Summers steelworks in Shotton. The remainder were 5 passenger tank engines, 9 Class 3F 'Jinty' 0-6-0T's for shunting duties and 29 mixed traffic 4-6-0's and 2-6-0's. The final day of steam operations at the shed was November 5th, 1967. During the final years of the depot, locomotives stabled included Classes 03, 25, 40 and 47. In 1984, during the Merseyrail changeover from Class 503 to Class 508 EMU's, those units were also stored at the depot. The depot was closed in November 1985, and demolished in July 1987. Seen here outside the shed is Class 9F 2-10-0 No.92131, an 8H loco, in July 1967.
  • BIRKENHEAD MOLLINGTON STREET LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (6C/8H/BC) - Birkenhead Mollington Street was a locomotive depot located on the Birkenhead Dock Branch railway. The depot was situated about 600 yards from Birkenhead Central railway station. Owned and operated by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) and the Great Western Railway (GWR) jointly, the new joint-depot was opened in 1878. The shed consisted of two separate but conjoined 8-road straight sheds, the LNWR shed to the north and the GWR to the south. Each had separate water and coaling facilities. On Nationalisation, the entire depot came under the control of the Midland Region. In 1951, the ex-LNWR shed was reduced in scale by half its width, to allow the construction of a new 2-road straight diesel shed in its place. The LNWR coal stage was removed, meaning all coaling moved to the southern GWR coal stage. A new diesel fuelling stage was built on the entrance throat to the new diesel depot. In March 1959, the allocation was 56 engines, only 2 of which were GWR 0-6-0PT's. Of the remainder, 19 were passenger tank engines for local services, 2 were Class 47000 0-4-0ST's for dock shunting and the remainder were mixed traffic and good locos. There were also 9 diesel shunters. In 1963 as the Beeching cuts were felt, the entire ex-GWR allocation of locos was removed and sent south to Swindon Works for reallocation or scrapping. Nonetheless, up to ninety locomotives on shed could still be seen, on occasion., and the allocation in April 1965 had grown to 75 engines, 32 of which were BR Standard Class 9F 2-10-0's, which worked the heavy iron ore trains from Bidston Dock to the John Summers steelworks in Shotton. The remainder were 5 passenger tank engines, 9 Class 3F 'Jinty' 0-6-0T's for shunting duties and 29 mixed traffic 4-6-0's and 2-6-0's. The final day of steam operations at the shed was November 5th, 1967. During the final years of the depot, locomotives stabled included Classes 03, 25, 40 and 47. In 1984, during the Merseyrail changeover from Class 503 to Class 508 EMU's, those units were also stored at the depot. The depot was closed in November 1985, and demolished in July 1987. The depot is seen here in 1970 with engines of Classes 40 and 47 in view.
  • BIRKENHEAD MOLLINGTON STREET LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (6C/8H/BC) - Birkenhead Mollington Street was a locomotive depot located on the Birkenhead Dock Branch railway. The depot was situated about 600 yards from Birkenhead Central railway station. Owned and operated by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) and the Great Western Railway (GWR) jointly, the new joint-depot was opened in 1878. The shed consisted of two separate but conjoined 8-road straight sheds, the LNWR shed to the north and the GWR to the south. Each had separate water and coaling facilities. On Nationalisation, the entire depot came under the control of the Midland Region. In 1951, the ex-LNWR shed was reduced in scale by half its width, to allow the construction of a new 2-road straight diesel shed in its place. The LNWR coal stage was removed, meaning all coaling moved to the southern GWR coal stage. A new diesel fuelling stage was built on the entrance throat to the new diesel depot. In March 1959, the allocation was 56 engines, only 2 of which were GWR 0-6-0PT's. Of the remainder, 19 were passenger tank engines for local services, 2 were Class 47000 0-4-0ST's for dock shunting and the remainder were mixed traffic and good locos. There were also 9 diesel shunters. In 1963 as the Beeching cuts were felt, the entire ex-GWR allocation of locos was removed and sent south to Swindon Works for reallocation or scrapping. Nonetheless, up to ninety locomotives on shed could still be seen, on occasion., and the allocation in April 1965 had grown to 75 engines, 32 of which were BR Standard Class 9F 2-10-0's, which worked the heavy iron ore trains from Bidston Dock to the John Summers steelworks in Shotton. The remainder were 5 passenger tank engines, 9 Class 3F 'Jinty' 0-6-0T's for shunting duties and 29 mixed traffic 4-6-0's and 2-6-0's. The final day of steam operations at the shed was November 5th, 1967. During the final years of the depot, locomotives stabled included Classes 03, 25, 40 and 47. In 1984, during the Merseyrail changeover from Class 503 to Class 508 EMU's, those units were also stored at the depot. The depot was closed in November 1985, and demolished in July 1987. The depot is seen here in April 1976 with loco's of Classes 25, 40 and 47 on shed.
  • BIRKENHEAD MOLLINGTON STREET LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (6C/8H/BC) - Birkenhead Mollington Street was a locomotive depot located on the Birkenhead Dock Branch railway. The depot was situated about 600 yards from Birkenhead Central railway station. Owned and operated by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) and the Great Western Railway (GWR) jointly, the new joint-depot was opened in 1878. The shed consisted of two separate but conjoined 8-road straight sheds, the LNWR shed to the north and the GWR to the south. Each had separate water and coaling facilities. On Nationalisation, the entire depot came under the control of the Midland Region. In 1951, the ex-LNWR shed was reduced in scale by half its width, to allow the construction of a new 2-road straight diesel shed in its place. The LNWR coal stage was removed, meaning all coaling moved to the southern GWR coal stage. A new diesel fuelling stage was built on the entrance throat to the new diesel depot. In March 1959, the allocation was 56 engines, only 2 of which were GWR 0-6-0PT's. Of the remainder, 19 were passenger tank engines for local services, 2 were Class 47000 0-4-0ST's for dock shunting and the remainder were mixed traffic and good locos. There were also 9 diesel shunters. In 1963 as the Beeching cuts were felt, the entire ex-GWR allocation of locos was removed and sent south to Swindon Works for reallocation or scrapping. Nonetheless, up to ninety locomotives on shed could still be seen, on occasion., and the allocation in April 1965 had grown to 75 engines, 32 of which were BR Standard Class 9F 2-10-0's, which worked the heavy iron ore trains from Bidston Dock to the John Summers steelworks in Shotton. The remainder were 5 passenger tank engines, 9 Class 3F 'Jinty' 0-6-0T's for shunting duties and 29 mixed traffic 4-6-0's and 2-6-0's. The final day of steam operations at the shed was November 5th, 1967. During the final years of the depot, locomotives stabled included Classes 03, 25, 40 and 47. In 1984, during the Merseyrail changeover from Class 503 to Class 508 EMU's, those units were also stored at the depot. The depot was closed in November 1985, and demolished in July 1987. The depot is seen here in February 1967, the nearest engines to the camera being Class 9F 2-10-0 No.92203 and Class 4P 2-6-4T No.42613, both 8H engines.
  • BIRKENHEAD NORTH MAINTENANCE DEPOT - 73901, a Merseyrail departmental loco, sits on depot at Birkenhead North, 29/01/00. 73901 was built by Eastleigh Works in 1962 as E6001 and renumbered to 73001 in January 1973. Upon withdrawal, This loco and three others were bought by Merseyrail for shunting and sandite duties. Withdrawn in May 2000, the loco is now owned by Locomotive Services. Seen here with 507 032.
  • BISHOPS CASTLE LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT - The Bishops Castle Railway was probably one of the most ramshackle railways ever to exist in Britain. This view of the locoshed in May 1932 shows No.1, an ex-GWR 0-4-2T of 1869 origin, being worked on. The only other loco operational at that time was an equally venerable 0-6-0 called CARLISLE, built in 1869 for Thomas Nelson, contractor, of Carlisle. Should neither loco be available, then the bus on the right, also owned by the railway, would substitute.
  • BLACKPOOL CENTRAL LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (24E/10B) - This locomotive depot, opened by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway in 1885, was a brick 8-road dead-end shed to the south of Blackpool Central Station. Despite its fairly glamorous location, the allocation was fairly ordinary in March 1959. Of 39 locos allocated, 6 were Class 6XP 'Jubliee' 4-6-0's, Nos.45571/80/84/88/45653/45705 but the rest were made up of 13 Class 3P 2-6-2T's/4MT 2-6-4T's for local passenger work and 20 Class 5MT 4-6-0's. Of course, this number would be massively swollen during the summer holiday season with visiting engines from all over the country. Indeed, in September 1961, for the 'Illuminations', there were no less than 51 locos 'on shed', 15 'Jubilee's, 2 'Royal Scot's and a 'Britiannia'. The depot closed to steam in November 1964. Nothing now remains of the depot. It is seen here in April 1950 with plenty of engines on shed.
  • BLACKPOOL CENTRAL LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (24E/10B) - This locomotive depot, opened by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway in 1885, was a brick 8-road dead-end shed to the south of Blackpool Central Station. Despite its fairly glamorous location, the allocation was fairly ordinary in March 1959. Of 39 locos allocated, 6 were Class 6XP 'Jubliee' 4-6-0's, Nos.45571/80/84/88/45653/45705 but the rest were made up of 13 Class 3P 2-6-2T's/4MT 2-6-4T's for local passenger work and 20 Class 5MT 4-6-0's. Of course, this number would be massively swollen during the summer holiday season with visiting engines from all over the country. Indeed, in September 1961, for the 'Illuminations', there were no less than 51 locos 'on shed', 15 'Jubilee's, 2 'Royal Scot's and a 'Britiannia'. The depot closed to steam in November 1964. Nothing now remains of the depot. It is seen herein the early 1960's with several Class 5MT 4-6-0's 'on shed', most of them worked in on excursions, including Nos. 45388, 45414 and 45146.
  • BLACKPOOL CENTRAL LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (24E/10B) - This locomotive depot, opened by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway in 1885, was a brick 8-road dead-end shed to the south of Blackpool Central Station. Despite its fairly glamorous location, the allocation was fairly ordinary in March 1959. Of 39 locos allocated, 6 were Class 6XP 'Jubliee' 4-6-0's, Nos.45571/80/84/88/45653/45705 but the rest were made up of 13 Class 3P 2-6-2T's/4MT 2-6-4T's for local passenger work and 20 Class 5MT 4-6-0's. Of course, this number would be massively swollen during the summer holiday season with visiting engines from all over the country. Indeed, in September 1961, for the 'Illuminations', there were no less than 51 locos 'on shed', 15 'Jubilee's, 2 'Royal Scot's and a 'Britiannia'. The depot closed to steam in November 1964. Nothing now remains of the depot. Seen here in June 1957 is Gresley GNR/LNER Class K3 2-6-0 No.61808, based at 39A Gorton at that time, having worked to Blackpool on an excursion. It was withdrawn from 40E Colwick in September 1961.
  • BLAIR ATHOLL LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT - This small stone-built 2-road dead-end shed was built by the Highland Railway in 1862 at the west end of the station, accessed from the northbound line. The shed replaced a much smaller shed at the east end of the station. The turntable was on the north side of the shed building, approached, like the shed, from the west. The shed was rebuilt in 1940 and closed in 1962 with the end of regular steam on the Highland Main Line. The shed never had a fixed allocation, being a sub-shed of Perth South, but in the later 1950's typical inhabitants might been an LMS 2-6-4T, often Nos.42168 or 42169 and a couple of ex-CR Class 3P 4-4-0's, such as 54489 depicted here.
  • BLAYDON LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (52C) - The depot here was a double roundhouse built by the Nortjh Eastern Railway in 1900 to the east of Blaydon Station. It had sub-sheds at Hexham, Reddsmouth and Alston. In April 1959, it had an allocation of 52 engines, 4 tank engines for local passenger duties, 9 shunting tanks and the remainder were all goods, or mixed traffic engines at best. It closed to steam in June 1963 and was used as an engine dump, playing host to 22 withdrawn engines including 3 Class A3 and 5 Class A2 Pacific's. Seen here in August 1960 is Peppercorn LNER/BR Class K1 2-6-0 No.62060, a Blaydon based engine at that time. it was withdrawn in August 1967 from 52H Tyne Dock.
  • BLETCHLEY TRACTION MAINTENANCE DEPOT (2B/4A/1E/BY) - The original London and North Western Railway locomotive shed in Bletchley was a wooden and galvanised iron building that catered for some twelve engines, with three roads accommodated within the facility opened in 1851. However during the 1870's the shed collapsed in a gale, burying stabled locomotives and was replaced by two gabled roof spans with numerous ducts and chimneys, a 6-road dead-end shed. These sheds were situated just north of the railway station on a siding to the west side of the West Coast Main Line, on a site now occupied by today's carpark. In March 1959, Bletchley had an allocation of 54 engines, mostly goods engines and tank engines for local passenger services, several of them Class 4F 0-6-0's such as 43841 seen here. The end of British Rail steam in Bletchley came in July 1965 when 24 steam engines stabled in the Locomotive Shed departed for other parts of the country, the last one taking the 2pm parcels train to Oxford. This was locomotive LMS Stanier Class 8F 2-8-0 No.48610. With the end of steam, the TMD was relocated to the Bedford side of the Varsity line flyover, in a new purpose built facility. Bletchley TMD began in the modern era in 1965 It closed in June 2008. Bletchley had won awards for the reliability of its trains as recently as March 2007, and was said to deliver six times better than average reliability. London Midland phased in the fleet of 37 Class 350/2 Desiro trains, which are maintained by Siemens at the King's Heath depot in Northampton. These replaced the Silverlink Class 321 fleet which had been serviced at Bletchley. Following the introduction of the Class 230 diesel units, which are used exclusively on the Marston Vale Line, the depot was bought back into use in September 2018.
  • BLETCHLEY TRACTION MAINTENANCE DEPOT (2B/4A/1E/BY) - The original London and North Western Railway locomotive shed in Bletchley was a wooden and galvanised iron building that catered for some twelve engines, with three roads accommodated within the facility opened in 1851. However during the 1870's the shed collapsed in a gale, burying stabled locomotives and was replaced by two gabled roof spans with numerous ducts and chimneys, a 6-road dead-end shed. These sheds were situated just north of the railway station on a siding to the west side of the West Coast Main Line, on a site now occupied by today's carpark. In March 1959, Bletchley had an allocation of 54 engines, mostly goods engines and tank engines for local passenger services. Seen here in November 1959 is Hughes LMS 'Crab' Class 5F 2-6-0 No.42781. At that time it was based a 2B Nuneaton but was withdrawn in December 1962 from 6A Chester. The end of British Rail steam in Bletchley came in July 1965 when 24 steam engines stabled in the Locomotive Shed departed for other parts of the country, the last one taking the 2pm parcels train to Oxford. This was locomotive LMS Stanier Class 8F 2-8-0 No.48610. With the end of steam, the TMD was relocated to the Bedford side of the Varsity line flyover, in a new purpose built facility. Bletchley TMD began in the modern era in 1965 It closed in June 2008. Bletchley had won awards for the reliability of its trains as recently as March 2007, and was said to deliver six times better than average reliability. London Midland phased in the fleet of 37 Class 350/2 Desiro trains, which are maintained by Siemens at the King's Heath depot in Northampton. These replaced the Silverlink Class 321 fleet which had been serviced at Bletchley. Following the introduction of the Class 230 diesel units, which are used exclusively on the Marston Vale Line, the depot was bought back into use in September 2018.
  • BLETCHLEY TRACTION MAINTENANCE DEPOT (2b/4A/1E/BY) - The original London and North Western Railway locomotive shed in Bletchley was a wooden and galvanised iron building that catered for some twelve engines, with three roads accommodated within the facility opened in 1851. However during the 1870's the shed collapsed in a gale, burying stabled locomotives and was replaced by two gabled roof spans with numerous ducts and chimneys, a 6-road dead-end shed. These sheds were situated just north of the railway station on a siding to the west side of the West Coast Main Line, on a site now occupied by today's carpark. In March 1959, Bletchley had an allocation of 54 engines, mostly goods engines and tank engines for local passenger services. The end of British Rail steam in Bletchley came in July 1965 when 24 steam engines stabled in the Locomotive Shed departed for other parts of the country, the last one taking the 2pm parcels train to Oxford. This was locomotive LMS Stanier Class 8F 2-8-0 No.48610. With the end of steam, the TMD was relocated to the Bedford side of the Varsity line flyover, in a new purpose built facility. Bletchley TMD began in the modern era in 1965 It closed in June 2008. Bletchley had won awards for the reliability of its trains as recently as March 2007, and was said to deliver six times better than average reliability. London Midland phased in the fleet of 37 Class 350/2 Desiro trains, which are maintained by Siemens at the King's Heath depot in Northampton. These replaced the Silverlink Class 321 fleet which had been serviced at Bletchley. Following the introduction of the Class 230 diesel units, which are used exclusively on the Marston Vale Line, the depot was bought back into use in September 2018. This view from 1955 shows LMS Class 4P 2-6-4T No.42582, a Bletchley engine, with the sheds in the background.
  • BLETCHLEY TRACTION MAINTENANCE DEPOT (2b/4A/1E/BY) - The original London and North Western Railway locomotive shed in Bletchley was a wooden and galvanised iron building that catered for some twelve engines, with three roads accommodated within the facility opened in 1851. However during the 1870's the shed collapsed in a gale, burying stabled locomotives and was replaced by two gabled roof spans with numerous ducts and chimneys, a 6-road dead-end shed. These sheds were situated just north of the railway station on a siding to the west side of the West Coast Main Line, on a site now occupied by today's carpark. The end of British Rail steam in Bletchley came in July 1965 when 24 steam engines stabled in the Locomotive Shed departed for other parts of the country, the last one taking the 2pm parcels train to Oxford. This was locomotive LMS Stanier Class 8F 2-8-0 No.48610. With the end of steam, the TMD was relocated to the Bedford side of the Varsity line flyover, in a new purpose built facility. Bletchley TMD began in the modern era in 1965 It closed in June 2008. Bletchley had won awards for the reliability of its trains as recently as March 2007, and was said to deliver six times better than average reliability. London Midland phased in the fleet of 37 Class 350/2 Desiro trains, which are maintained by Siemens at the King's Heath depot in Northampton. These replaced the Silverlink Class 321 fleet which had been serviced at Bletchley. Following the introduction of the Class 230 diesel units, which are used exclusively on the Marston Vale Line, the depot was bought back into use in September 2018, as seen in what is probably a drone picture. A Class 230 unit stands to the right of the shed.
  • BLETCHLEY TRACTION MAINTENANCE DEPOT (2b/4A/1E/BY) - The original London and North Western Railway locomotive shed in Bletchley was a wooden and galvanised iron building that catered for some twelve engines, with three roads accommodated within the facility opened in 1851. However during the 1870's the shed collapsed in a gale, burying stabled locomotives and was replaced by two gabled roof spans with numerous ducts and chimneys, a 6-road dead-end shed. These sheds were situated just north of the railway station on a siding to the west side of the West Coast Main Line, on a site now occupied by today's carpark. The end of British Rail steam in Bletchley came in July 1965 when 24 steam engines stabled in the Locomotive Shed departed for other parts of the country, the last one taking the 2pm parcels train to Oxford. This was locomotive LMS Stanier Class 8F 2-8-0 No.48610. With the end of steam, the TMD was relocated to the Bedford side of the Varsity line flyover, in a new purpose built facility. Bletchley TMD began in the modern era in 1965 It closed in June 2008. Bletchley had won awards for the reliability of its trains as recently as March 2007, and was said to deliver six times better than average reliability. London Midland phased in the fleet of 37 Class 350/2 Desiro trains, which are maintained by Siemens at the King's Heath depot in Northampton. These replaced the Silverlink Class 321 fleet which had been serviced at Bletchley. Following the introduction of the Class 230 diesel units, which are used exclusively on the Marston Vale Line, the depot was bought back into use in September 2018. Seen here is 08754, on hire from Freightliner, drawing EMU 321 403 out of the shed in 2004.
  • BLETCHLEY TRACTION MAINTENANCE DEPOT (2b/4A/1E/BY) - The original London and North Western Railway locomotive shed in Bletchley was a wooden and galvanised iron building that catered for some twelve engines, with three roads accommodated within the facility opened in 1851. However during the 1870's the shed collapsed in a gale, burying stabled locomotives and was replaced by two gabled roof spans with numerous ducts and chimneys, a 6-road dead-end shed. These sheds were situated just north of the railway station on a siding to the west side of the West Coast Main Line, on a site now occupied by today's carpark. The end of British Rail steam in Bletchley came in July 1965 when 24 steam engines stabled in the Locomotive Shed departed for other parts of the country, the last one taking the 2pm parcels train to Oxford. This was locomotive LMS Stanier Class 8F 2-8-0 No.48610. With the end of steam, the TMD was relocated to the Bedford side of the Varsity line flyover, in a new purpose built facility. Bletchley TMD began in the modern era in 1965 It closed in June 2008. Bletchley had won awards for the reliability of its trains as recently as March 2007, and was said to deliver six times better than average reliability. London Midland phased in the fleet of 37 Class 350/2 Desiro trains, which are maintained by Siemens at the King's Heath depot in Northampton. These replaced the Silverlink Class 321 fleet which had been serviced at Bletchley. Following the introduction of the Class 230 diesel units, which are used exclusively on the Marston Vale Line, the depot was bought back into use in September 2018. The depot is seen here in 1980 with Class 310 EMU's inside and a Marston Vale Class 117 DMU.
  • BLISWORTH LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT - This is a view from the Stratford & Midland Junction Railway towards to LMS mainline at Blisworth in 1933. This small corrugated iron motive power depot was built in 1882 by the Northampton & Banbury Junction Railway, together with a turntable and other servicing facilities. This was closed in 1929, but locomotives continued to be serviced in the yard until the closure of the station in January 1960. It must have done wonders for the view from the signal box!
  • BOLTON LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (26C/9K) - The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway opened the depot at Bolton in 1874, a 12-road brick-built dead-end shed. From a peak of around 60 engines at its height, the allocation in March 1959 was down to 36 engines, 16 of them tank engines for local passenger services and the remainder goods engines. As steam retreated northwards and many depots closed, the allocation grew again to 57 engines by April 1965. The depot closed to steam in July 1968, just before the end of steam on British Railways, and is seen here in May 1968 with engines mainly of Classes 5MT and 8F on shed.
  • BOLTON LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (26C/9K) - The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway opened the depot at Bolton in 1874, a 12-road brick-built dead-end shed. From a peak of around 60 engines at its height, the allocation in March 1959 was down to 36 engines, 16 of them tank engines for local passenger services and the remainder goods engines. As steam retreated northwards and many depots closed, the allocation grew again to 57 engines by April 1965. The depot closed to steam in July 1968, just before the end of steam on British Railways, and seen here in April 1968 with engines of 5MT 4-6-0 type of both BR and LMS origin. At least 73019 knows where it's going - straight to Cashmore's!
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