Steam Age Depots That Made It Into The 1970s

[RichmondCommu]

G'day everyone,

Hopefully the title needs no further explanation. I'll kick things off with Westhouses in Derbyshire which was just north of Alfreton on the Erewash line. By the time I first visited in 1978 the old steam shed was missing its roof although there was some rudimentary shelter for those carrying out simple maintenance / refueling. As young teenage spotters we were always made welcome at weekends with ten to twenty class 20s on shed.

Any other suggestions?

Kind regards,

Richmond Commuter!

 

[theageofthetra]

Tunbridge Wells West.

 

[Cowley]

There was Workington shed that ended up being dismantled for further use at the Great Central potentially.

 

[Harbornite]

Barrow Hill, which stayed open until 1991 but is obviously back in use.

 

[Drogba11CFC]

Lostock Hall/Rose Grove carried on into the 1970s.

 

[steamybrian]

Ashford (Kent)- preservation centre until the late 1970s
Faversham
Redhill (demolished in the 1970s)

 

[Andy873]

Yes, Rose Grove (Burnley) was still around somewhere between 72 & 73, I have seen photos of it in the early 70's. It was in a sorry state, and I remember going past it once on a train, when my grandfather pointed it out and told me that was where they kept the steam engines.

Most of it is now buried under the M65 mortorway

 

[steamybrian]

Swanage...The small loco shed for one loco which was subsequently restored by the Swanage Railway Society.
Should the other restored sheds be listed-
Carnforth
Didcot
Aberystwyth,(restored for VoR in 1968)
Aviemore

 

[yorksrob]

Weren't Neville Hill and Slade Green originally steam sheds. Infact, that must be the case for a lot of existing depots.

 

[shredder1]

You might be as well listing the ones that didnt survive into the 70`s In many cases they filled them with diesels, if not in use then withdrawn ones, saw a load of BTH locos in Cambridge former steam depot just dumped in the 70`s, Ardrossen was the same only full of Claytons, hes a full list with dates,

http://abrail.co.uk/good_shed_guide.htm

 

[AM9]

You might be as well listing the ones that didnt survive into the 70`s In many cases they filled them with diesels, if not in use then withdrawn ones, saw a load of BTH locos in Cambridge former steam depot just dumped in the 70`s, Ardrossen was the same only full of Claytons, hes a full list with dates,

http://abrail.co.uk/good_shed_guide.htm

Yes, I was surprised at the question, I was going to say Stratford (30A), one of the larger ones in the UK. Surely most of the larger ones did survive until the real rationalisation of the '80s came. It was the little outposts that went first as diesels didn't need that much nurturing and could usually get through the day's diagram without refuelling/other servicing actions.

 

[RichmondCommu]

Yes, I was surprised at the question, I was going to say Stratford (30A), one of the larger ones in the UK. Surely most of the larger ones did survive until the real rationalisation of the '80s came. It was the little outposts that went first as diesels didn't need that much nurturing and could usually get through the day's diagram without refuelling/other servicing actions.

I concur that many depots survived but I'm looking for facilities that retained some or all of their original buildings. So in other words Old Oak Common qualifies but Cricklewood doesn't. Apologies if I didn't make this clear ☺

 

[RichmondCommu]

Weren't Neville Hill and Slade Green originally steam sheds. Infact, that must be the case for a lot of existing depots.

I concur but was the depot rebuilt in the late 1960s?

 

[yorksrob]

I concur but was the depot rebuilt in the late 1960s?

The old steam shed was extended but still remains intact.

 

[Clarence Yard]

If we are talking original main sheds, on ER (or former ER) Hornsey, Doncaster, Hammerton Street, Colwick and Norwich were all used for traction maintenance in the 1970's.

 

[AndrewE]

Springs Branch?

 

[Bevan Price]

Sutton Oak survived until 2000, with the inside being converted to a supermarket.

Warrington Dallam - I think that still survives in industrial use, but with new cladding panels covering the original structure.

 

[Harbornite]

Other examples include Pwllheli (one of the last, if not the last built/rebuilt steam MPDs for the Western Region) and Cheltenham Spa Malvern road, which has recently been demolished.

 

[GusB]

Inverness? It has been a while since I was through that way, but as far as I'm aware the old shed is still in place. I'm not sure if it sees any use these days, though.

 

[RichmondCommu]

Other examples include Pwllheli (one of the last, if not the last built/rebuilt steam MPDs for the Western Region) and Cheltenham Spa Malvern road, which has recently been demolished.

One example in your neck of the woods would be Bescot where at least one shed building dated back to the steam age. From what I can remember it was only demolished a year or two a go.

 

[Poolie]

While the buildings didn't survive, the land and footprint of West Hartlepool (51C) is still visible on the down side, although overgrown. The concrete radial roads of the roundhouse are still in place and can clearly be seen from the train.

 

[Harbornite]

One example in your neck of the woods would be Bescot where at least one shed building dated back to the steam age. From what I can remember it was only demolished a year or two a go.

One I forgot about. It was demolished in december 2013, unfortunately I never got a pic of it.