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Photographs in this gallery are of locomotive depots, both steam and diesel, locomotive works, stabling points and withdrawn locomotives but not those being scrapped.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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WOODFORD HALSE LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (38E/2F/1G) - Woodford Halse, situated in the middle of nowhere, had been the main freight concentration yard of the Great Central Railway en route to London. Thus, it supported a large locomotive depot with an allocation of 54 engines in 1950. But the writing was on the wall! Since the formation of BR in 1948, the Great Central mainline had been seen as somewhat surplus to requirements and it was slowly wound down. In 1958 it was transferred to the Midland Region as a sub-shed of Rugby and it's ex-LNER allocation was slowly replaced by ex-LMS engines, mainly goods types as most of the premier expresses were by now disappearing. The depot closed to steam in June 1965, it's allocation by now only 12 Class 8F's. However, it was still in use as a stabling point and here, in 1963, were see 'Royal Scot' Class 7P No.46169 THE BOY SCOUT, withdrawn in May, on depot with a WD 8F. The 'Royal Scot' class had been displaced from WCML duties by electrification and, worn out, were transferred to Annesley depot to work the sad remnants of the GCR passenger services.
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WOODFORD HALSE LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (38E/2F/1G) - Woodford Halse, situated in the middle of nowhere, had been the main freight concentration yard of the Great Central Railway en route to London. Thus, it supported a large locomotive depot with an allocation of 54 engines in 1950. But the writing was on the wall! Since the formation of BR in 1948, the Great Central mainline had been seen as somewhat surplus to requirements and it was slowly wound down. In 1958 it was transferred to the Midland Region as a sub-shed of Rugby and it's ex-LNER allocation was slowly replaced by ex-LMS engines, mainly goods types as most of the premier expresses were by now disappearing. The depot closed to steam in June 1965, it's allocation by now only 12 Class 8F's. However, it was still in use as a stabling point and here, in 1963, were see 'Royal Scot' Class 7P No.46169 THE BOY SCOUT, withdrawn in May, on depot with a WD 8F. The 'Royal Scot' class had been displaced from WCML duties by electrification and, worn out, were transferred to Annesley depot to work the sad remnants of the GCR passenger services.

  • WIGAN SPRINGS BRANCH LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (10A/8F/SP) - This depot was opened by the London & North Western Railway in about 1847. It was eventually composed on two 6-road dead-end sheds and was located to the east of the main line, about a mile south of Wigan North Western Station. In March 1959, the allocation was 67 engines, nearly all of them goods engines, including 5 ex-LNER Class J10 0-6-0's. 10 were 2-6-4T's for local passenger duties. The depot closed to steam in December 1967, by which time it had a good sized diesel allocation and the steam locos were withdrawn and dumped. It continued in service as a diesel depot but in around 1996 the depot closed and it became Wigan CRDC, which I think means Component Recovery and Disposal Centre. Withdrawn locos were towed here from all over the network, cut up and whatever was reusable salvaged for further use. Once this task was completed, the depot was taken over in 2020 by Northern Trains, rebuilt and renewed, and used to stable and service EMU's and DMU's. Seen here in April 1999, as 37065 passes on a train of empty oil tanks for Lindsey Oil Refinery, the depot stands packed out with locomotives for demolition.
  • WIGAN SPRINGS BRANCH LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (10A/8F/SP) - This depot was opened by the London & North Western Railway in about 1847. It was eventually composed on two 6-road dead-end sheds and was located to the east of the main line, about a mile south of Wigan North Western Station. In March 1959, the allocation was 67 engines, nearly all of them goods engines, including 5 ex-LNER Class J10 0-6-0's. 10 were 2-6-4T's for local passenger duties. The depot closed to steam in December 1967, by which time it had a good sized diesel allocation and the steam locos were withdrawn and dumped. It continued in service as a diesel depot but in around 1996 the depot closed and it became Wigan CRDC, which I think means Component Recovery and Disposal Centre. Withdrawn locos were towed here from all over the network, cut up and whatever was reusable salvaged for further use. Once this task was completed, the depot was taken over in 2020 by Northern Trains, rebuilt and renewed, and used to stable and service EMU's and DMU's. Seen here in June 1967 is Class 05 Hunslet 0-6-0DM Shunter No.2569, seen here acting as depot pilot with Class 40 D305, the sort of work they were designed for. The loco was withdrawn from 8F Wigan Springs Branch in August 1967.
  • WIGAN SPRINGS BRANCH LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (10A/8F/SP) - This depot was opened by the London & North Western Railway in about 1847. It was eventually composed on two 6-road dead-end sheds and was located to the east of the main line, about a mile south of Wigan North Western Station. In March 1959, the allocation was 67 engines, nearly all of them goods engines, including 5 ex-LNER Class J10 0-6-0's. 10 were 2-6-4T's for local passenger duties. The depot closed to steam in December 1967, by which time it had a good sized diesel allocation and the steam locos were withdrawn and dumped. It continued in service as a diesel depot but in around 1996 the depot closed and it became Wigan CRDC, which I think means Component Recovery and Disposal Centre. Withdrawn locos were towed here from all over the network, cut up and whatever was reusable salvaged for further use. Once this task was completed, the depot was taken over in 2020 by Northern Trains, rebuilt and renewed, and used to stable and service EMU's and DMU's. Seen here in LNWR days packed out with locomotives, mostly 0-6-0 goods engines.
  • WIGAN SPRINGS BRANCH LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (10A/8F/SP) - This depot was opened by the London & North Western Railway in about 1847. It was eventually composed on two 6-road dead-end sheds and was located to the east of the main line, about a mile south of Wigan North Western Station. In March 1959, the allocation was 67 engines, nearly all of them goods engines, including 5 ex-LNER Class J10 0-6-0's. 10 were 2-6-4T's for local passenger duties. The depot closed to steam in December 1967, by which time it had a good sized diesel allocation and the steam locos were withdrawn and dumped. It continued in service as a diesel depot but in around 1996 the depot closed and it became Wigan CRDC, which I think means Component Recovery and Disposal Centre. Withdrawn locos were towed here from all over the network, cut up and whatever was reusable salvaged for further use. Once this task was completed, the depot was taken over in 2020 by Northern Trains, rebuilt and renewed, and used to stable and service EMU's and DMU's. Seen here is Class 25 BR Type 2 Bo-Bo DE No.D7592, which became 25242 under TOPS. It was withdrawn from Longsight TMD in May 1984 and scrapped.
  • WILLESDEN LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (1A/WN) - Willesden Locomotive Depot was opened by the London & North Western Railway in 1873 and was their principal London depot. It eventually grew to encompass a 12-road, brick-built, dead-end shed and a roundhouse, on the south side of the line, west of Willesden Junction Station. In March 1959 it had an allocation of 130 engines of all types including 47 tank engines for local passenger services. with the dieselisation and electrification of lines out Euston, the allocation reduced considerably as the 1960's progressed, reduced to only 65 by April 1965, 18 passenger tanks and the remainder mostly good engines. The steam shed closed in August 1965 and was replaced by a modern traction depot of 6 roads with a large yard to service the modern fleet of diesel and electric locos. April 1958 in a corner of the shed yard with a Black 5 and 2-6-4T on the left and a brand new Class 20 in the foreground.
  • WILLESDEN LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (1A/WN) - Willesden Locomotive Depot was opened by the London & North Western Railway in 1873 and was their principal London depot. It eventually grew to encompass a 12-road, brick-built, dead-end shed and a roundhouse, on the south side of the line, west of Willesden Junction Station. In March 1959 it had an allocation of 130 engines of all types including 47 tank engines for local passenger services. with the dieselisation and electrification of lines out Euston, the allocation reduced considerably as the 1960's progressed, reduced to only 65 by April 1965, 18 passenger tanks and the remainder mostly good engines. The steam shed closed in August 1965 and was replaced by a modern traction depot of 6 roads with a large yard to service the modern fleet of diesel and electric locos. Here in June 1964, still packed with steam locos, they are, from the extreme left, 'Britannia' Class No.70034 THOMAS HARDY, Class 5MT's Nos.45056 and 45328, Class 8F No.48479, Class 2MT No.78033, Class 4P No.42431 and Class 5MT No.73033.
  • WILLESDEN LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (1A/WN) - Willesden Locomotive Depot was opened by the London & North Western Railway in 1873 and was their principal London depot. It eventually grew to encompass a 12-road, brick-built, dead-end shed and a roundhouse, on the south side of the line, west of Willesden Junction Station. In March 1959 it had an allocation of 130 engines of all types including 47 tank engines for local passenger services. with the dieselisation and electrification of lines out Euston, the allocation reduced considerably as the 1960's progressed, reduced to only 65 by April 1965, 18 passenger tanks and the remainder mostly good engines. The steam shed closed in August 1965 and was replaced by a modern traction depot of 6 roads with a large yard to service the modern fleet of diesel and electric locos. Looking south from the bridge at Willesden Junction, 26/09/96.
  • WILLESDEN LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (1A/WN) - Willesden Locomotive Depot was opened by the London & North Western Railway in 1873 and was their principal London depot. It eventually grew to encompass a 12-road, brick-built, dead-end shed and a roundhouse, on the south side of the line, west of Willesden Junction Station. In March 1959 it had an allocation of 130 engines of all types including 47 tank engines for local passenger services. with the dieselisation and electrification of lines out Euston, the allocation reduced considerably as the 1960's progressed, reduced to only 65 by April 1965, 18 passenger tanks and the remainder mostly good engines. The steam shed closed in August 1965 and was replaced by a modern traction depot of 6 roads with a large yard to service the modern fleet of diesel and electric locos. Seen here in 1962 is Riddles BR Class 2MT 2-6-0 No.78063 and withdrawn from 6D Shrewsbury in December 1966.
  • WILLESDEN LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (1A/WN) - Willesden Locomotive Depot was opened by the London & North Western Railway in 1873 and was their principal London depot. It eventually grew to encompass a 12-road, brick-built, dead-end shed and a roundhouse, on the south side of the line, west of Willesden Junction Station. In March 1959 it had an allocation of 130 engines of all types including 47 tank engines for local passenger services. with the dieselisation and electrification of lines out Euston, the allocation reduced considerably as the 1960's progressed, reduced to only 65 by April 1965, 18 passenger tanks and the remainder mostly good engines. The steam shed closed in August 1965 and was replaced by a modern traction depot of 6 roads with a large yard to service the modern fleet of diesel and electric locos. Seen here in about 1958 with many LMS classes on display as well as a Britannia Pacific on the left and Class 20 and 25 diesels in the left background.
  • WILLESDEN LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (1A/WN) - Willesden Locomotive Depot was opened by the London & North Western Railway in 1873 and was their principal London depot. It eventually grew to encompass a 12-road, brick-built, dead-end shed and a roundhouse, on the south side of the line, west of Willesden Junction Station. In March 1959 it had an allocation of 130 engines of all types including 47 tank engines for local passenger services. with the dieselisation and electrification of lines out Euston, the allocation reduced considerably as the 1960's progressed, reduced to only 65 by April 1965, 18 passenger tanks and the remainder mostly good engines. The steam shed closed in August 1965 and was replaced by a modern traction depot of 6 roads with a large yard to service the modern fleet of diesel and electric locos. Seen here in August 1965. The steam locomotives in the foreground are all almost certainly withdrawn although there still seem to several in steam in the background. The Class 20 and Class 24 point the way forward.
  • WILLESDEN LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (1A/WN) - Willesden Locomotive Depot was opened by the London & North Western Railway in 1873 and was their principal London depot. It eventually grew to encompass a 12-road, brick-built, dead-end shed and a roundhouse, on the south side of the line, west of Willesden Junction Station. In March 1959 it had an allocation of 130 engines of all types including 47 tank engines for local passenger services. with the dieselisation and electrification of lines out Euston, the allocation reduced considerably as the 1960's progressed, reduced to only 65 by April 1965, 18 passenger tanks and the remainder mostly good engines. The steam shed closed in August 1965 and was replaced by a modern traction depot of 6 roads with a large yard to service the modern fleet of diesel and electric locos. Seen here in March 1961 at its home depot is Stanier LMS Jubilee Class 4-6-0 No.45672 ANSON, withdrawn from 8A Edge Hill in November 1964.
  • WILLESDEN LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (1A/WN) - Willesden Locomotive Depot was opened by the London & North Western Railway in 1873 and was their principal London depot. It eventually grew to encompass a 12-road, brick-built, dead-end shed and a roundhouse, on the south side of the line, west of Willesden Junction Station. In March 1959 it had an allocation of 130 engines of all types including 47 tank engines for local passenger services. with the dieselisation and electrification of lines out Euston, the allocation reduced considerably as the 1960's progressed, reduced to only 65 by April 1965, 18 passenger tanks and the remainder mostly good engines. The steam shed closed in August 1965 and was replaced by a modern traction depot of 6 roads with a large yard to service the modern fleet of diesel and electric locos. Seen here in May 1960, the depot is packed with steam locos, many of them ex-KMS 4F 0-6-0's it seems, the only diesel in sight being the Class 08 on the right.
  • WILLESDEN LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (1A/WN) - Willesden Locomotive Depot was opened by the London & North Western Railway in 1873 and was their principal London depot. It eventually grew to encompass a 12-road, brick-built, dead-end shed and a roundhouse, on the south side of the line, west of Willesden Junction Station. In March 1959 it had an allocation of 130 engines of all types including 47 tank engines for local passenger services. with the dieselisation and electrification of lines out Euston, the allocation reduced considerably as the 1960's progressed, reduced to only 65 by April 1965, 18 passenger tanks and the remainder mostly good engines. The steam shed closed in August 1965 and was replaced by a modern traction depot of 6 roads with a large yard to service the modern fleet of diesel and electric locos. Seen here inside the roundhouse is Class 5XP 'Patriot' 4-6-0 No.45517, looking as though it may have just worked a special, as does the 'Jubilee' next to it, in August 1956.
  • WILLESDEN LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (1A/WN) - Willesden Locomotive Depot was opened by the London & North Western Railway in 1873 and was their principal London depot. It eventually grew to encompass a 12-road, brick-built, dead-end shed and a roundhouse, on the south side of the line, west of Willesden Junction Station. In March 1959 it had an allocation of 130 engines of all types including 47 tank engines for local passenger services. with the dieselisation and electrification of lines out Euston, the allocation reduced considerably as the 1960's progressed, reduced to only 65 by April 1965, 18 passenger tanks and the remainder mostly good engines. The steam shed closed in August 1965 and was replaced by a modern traction depot of 6 roads with a large yard to service the modern fleet of diesel and electric locos. Seen here on October 1964, there is still plenty of steam activity with Class 3F 'Jinty' 0-6-0T No.47561 nearest the camera, Class 4MT 2-6-0 No.43018 to its left and Class 5MT No.73014 left of that.
  • WILLESDEN LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (1A/WN) - Willesden Locomotive Depot was opened by the London & North Western Railway in 1873 and was their principal London depot. It eventually grew to encompass a 12-road, brick-built, dead-end shed and a roundhouse, on the south side of the line, west of Willesden Junction Station. In March 1959 it had an allocation of 130 engines of all types including 47 tank engines for local passenger services. with the dieselisation and electrification of lines out Euston, the allocation reduced considerably as the 1960's progressed, reduced to only 65 by April 1965, 18 passenger tanks and the remainder mostly good engines. The steam shed closed in August 1965 and was replaced by a modern traction depot of 6 roads with a large yard to service the modern fleet of diesel and electric locos. Taken from the vantage point as the 1965 picture, the 1960 view shows steam still well in evidence, most of it smoking quietly. Only the two Class 20's and a Class 24 but about a dozen Black 5's or 8F's and a Midland 0-6-0.
  • WINCHESTER LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT - This very small depot was built by the London & South Western Railway in 1928 and was a single track through shed built of corrugated iron, located in the goods yard on the west side of the station. It was a subshed of Eastleigh and so had no fixed allocation but was usually home to a Class B4 0-4-0T, one of which is lurking in the shadows in this picture from May 1953. It closed in 1963.
  • WISBECH EAST LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT - The small depot at Wisbech was there primarily to house and service the Class J50 0-6-0T's and Class Y6 0-4-0T's of the Wisbech & Upwell Tramway. It was opened in 1883 by the GER and was a sub-shed of Kings Lynn, although the locos were often to be found at March Loco Depot. It was a 2-road, dead-end brick shed which closed to steam in March 1953. The depot remained open until May 1966 to service the Class 04 shunters that ran the Tramway until it closed. Seen here are Class J50 Nos.68217 and 68223 (I think) outside the depot in 1950.
  • WISBECH EAST LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT - This tiny depot was a sub-shed of Kings Lynn and was located at Wisbech East Station. After the steam locos were replaced by diesels in the mid-1950's, the old and very rundown shed was rebuilt, as seen here. All of this is now gone and is now a housing estate.
  • WOODFORD HALSE LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (38E/2F/1G) - Woodford Halse, situated in the middle of nowhere, had been the main freight concentration yard of the Great Central Railway en route to London. Thus, it supported a large locomotive depot with an allocation of 54 engines in 1950. But the writing was on the wall! Since the formation of BR in 1948, the Great Central mainline had been seen as somewhat surplus to requirements and it was slowly wound down. In 1958 it was transferred to the Midland Region as a sub-shed of Rugby and it's ex-LNER allocation was slowly replaced by ex-LMS engines, mainly goods types as most of the premier expresses were by now disappearing. The depot closed to steam in June 1965, it's allocation by now only 12 Class 8F's, such as 48005 seen here in 1964.
  • WOODFORD HALSE LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT (38E/2F/1G) - Woodford Halse, situated in the middle of nowhere, had been the main freight concentration yard of the Great Central Railway en route to London. Thus, it supported a large locomotive depot with an allocation of 54 engines in 1950. But the writing was on the wall! Since the formation of BR in 1948, the Great Central mainline had been seen as somewhat surplus to requirements and it was slowly wound down. In 1958 it was transferred to the Midland Region as a sub-shed of Rugby and it's ex-LNER allocation was slowly replaced by ex-LMS engines, mainly goods types as most of the premier expresses were by now disappearing. The depot closed to steam in June 1965, it's allocation by now only 12 Class 8F's. However, it was still in use as a stabling point and here, in 1963, were see 'Royal Scot' Class 7P No.46169 THE BOY SCOUT, withdrawn in May, on depot with a WD 8F. The 'Royal Scot' class had been displaced from WCML duties by electrification and, worn out, were transferred to Annesley depot to work the sad remnants of the GCR passenger services.
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