 Bristol Bath Road TMD in 1984 | |
 | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Location | Bristol, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°26′46″N2°34′45″W / 51.4461°N 2.5792°W |
| OS grid | SP870344 |
| Characteristics | |
| Owner | Great Western Trains |
| Depot code |
|
| Type | Steam (1852-1960) and diesel |
| History | |
| Opened | 1852 |
| Closed | 1995 |
| Original | B&ER |
| Pre-grouping | GWR |
| Post-grouping | GWR |
Bristol Bath Road depot was a railway traction maintenance depot in central Bristol, England, which was in use from 1852 until 1995.
The Bristol and Exeter Railway opened workshops at Bath Road in January 1852. 35 locomotives were built in the workshops between 1859 and 1876. Part of the site was an engine shed with six tracks. [2] It was rebuilt under the Loans and Guarantees Act (1929) in 1934 by the Great Western Railway. The site's scale meant that although the depot was to be the major repair and maintenance point for the Bristol divisional area, the shed was restricted to a steel-frame straight 8-road with northernlight roof pattern form, as opposed to the GWR standard-pattern turntable model like Old Oak Common. Secondly, as the depot was so close to Bristol Temple Meads, it was required to keep the depot in full operation while construction took place. The twin-ramp coal stage was of standard GWR pattern but used concrete beams and brick piers to restrict ramp width. The divisional repair shop was to the far north of the site, close to the River Avon. There were two 65-foot (20 m) standard-pattern over-girder turntables on site, one to the rear of the shed, and one to the northeast of the repair shop. [3]
While Bath Road handled passenger traffic locomotives, St Philip's Marsh depot on the eastern throat handled freight types. Post nationalisation, under British Railways both Bath Road (Code: BR) and St Philip's Marsh gained additional allocation from the closure of the local London Midland and Scottish Railway sheds. By 1950 it had an allocation of 93 locomotives, half of them classic GWR 4-6-0s, and most of the others 2-6-2Ts for running local and regional passenger traffic. [3]
However, as it was located on a main national route, with an equally large-scale shed on the opposite throat of the station, Bath Road was one of the first sheds to be closed to steam locomotives from September 1960. Rebuilt as a diesel depot, it retained one of the turntables. [3]
The depot ceased all operation on 28 September 1995, when its last operator Great Western Trains transferred all operations to St Philip's Marsh T&RSMD. [4]
In 2011, the railway-level depot site was named as part of the 70-hectare (170-acre) Bristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone, where reduced taxes and planning controls would encourage development of new businesses. It was hoped that around 40 businesses would provide employment for 4,000 people within five years. [5] The site was also considered to become the location for the Bristol Arena, a new 12,000 seater entertainment venue, with construction expected to start in late 2016 and set to open in 2018. [6] [7] [8] Development of the Arena was repeatedly delayed, and at the end of 2018 the plans to build it here were dropped; the future for the site remains unclear.
Bristol Temple Meads is the oldest and largest railway station in Bristol, England. It is located 118 miles 31 chains away from London Paddington. It is an important transport hub for public transport in the city; there are bus services to many parts of the city and surrounding districts, with a ferry to the city centre. Bristol's other major station, Bristol Parkway, is a more recent station on the northern outskirts of the conurbation. It is the busiest station in South West England.
Didcot Railway Centre is a railway museum and preservation engineering site in Didcot, Oxfordshire, England. The site was formerly a Great Western Railway engine shed and locomotive stabling point.
Newton Abbot railway station serves the market town of Newton Abbot in Devon, England. It is 214 miles 5 chains (345 km) from London Paddington. The station today is managed by Great Western Railway, who provide train services along with CrossCountry.
A motive power depot (MPD) or locomotive depot, or traction maintenance depot (TMD), is where locomotives are usually housed, repaired and maintained. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine sheds" or just "sheds". Facilities are provided for refuelling and the replenishing of water, lubricating oil and grease and, for steam engines, the disposal of ash. There are often workshops for day-to-day repairs and maintenance, but locomotive building and major overhauls are usually carried out at locomotive works.
Wolverhampton railway works was in the city of Wolverhampton in the county of Staffordshire, England. It was almost due north of the city centre, and is commemorated with a small display of level crossing gates and a plaque. Known as the Stafford Road Works, it was opened by the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway in 1849 to maintain bought-in locomotives.
British Rail Class D3/10 was a single experimental diesel-electric shunter locomotive commissioned by the Great Western Railway (GWR) in England, and later taken over by British Railways.
St Blazey engine shed is located in Par, Cornwall, United Kingdom, although it is named after the adjacent village of St Blazey. It was built in 1874 as the headquarters of the Cornwall Minerals Railway but for many years was a depot of the Great Western Railway. The current depot operator is DB Cargo and the depot TOPS code is BZ.
Birkenhead Mollington Street was a former traction maintenance depot located at Mollington Street in Birkenhead, England, on the Birkenhead Dock Branch railway. Although never directly connected by rail, the depot was situated less than 200 m (660 ft) from Birkenhead Central railway station. The depot serviced steam and subsequently diesel locomotives until 1985, when it was closed and demolished. As of 2018, the site of the depot is still disused.
Old Oak Common TMD was a traction maintenance depot located west of London Paddington, in Old Oak Common. The depot codes were OC for the diesel depot and OO for the carriage shed. In steam days the shed code was 81A.
Laira Traction and Rolling Stock Maintenance Depot is a railway traction maintenance depot situated in Plymouth, Devon, England. The depot is operated by Great Western Railway (GWR) and is where their fleet of High Speed Trains are overhauled along with those belonging to CrossCountry. These will be withdrawn in 2023 but it will then become the principal depot for GWR's Class 802 InterCity Express Trains. Other trains visit for daily servicing.
Tyseley TMD is a railway traction maintenance depot situated in Tyseley, Birmingham, England.
Cardiff Canton TMD is a diesel locomotive traction maintenance depot in Cardiff, Wales. Its depot code is CF. It is operated by Transport for Wales. The depot is used by Transport for Wales fleet and some Cross Country Class 170s.
Penzance TMD, also known as Long Rock TMD, is a railway traction maintenance depot situated in the village of Long Rock east of Penzance, Cornwall, England, and is the most westerly and southerly rail depot in the country. The depot operator is Great Western Railway. The depot code is PZ.
Exeter Traction Maintenance Depot is a railway Traction Maintenance Depot situated in Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom and is next to the city's main St Davids station. The depot is operated by Great Western Railway and has an allocation of diesel multiple units.
Stratford TMD was a traction maintenance depot located in Stratford, London, England, close to the Great Eastern Main Line. It was located just west of Stratford station, on a site now occupied by Stratford International station. The depot was, at one time, the biggest on the London and North Eastern Railway with locomotives covering duties from express services to freight workings in London's docks.
Shrewsbury TMD is a railway traction maintenance depot (TMD) situated in Coleham, Shrewsbury, England. The TMD forms part of Coleham Depot, a permanent way depot operated by Network Rail. The code for the TMD is 'SB'.
St Philip's Marsh depot is a railway depot located in the St Philip's Marsh district of Bristol, England. It was established as a steam locomotive shed in 1910 but this facility closed in the 1960s. A new diesel facility opened nearby at Marsh Junction in 1959. This has since been combined with a new shed which was opened in 1976 to maintain new InterCity 125 trainsets.
Oxley Traction and Rolling Stock Maintenance Depot is a railway depot located in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, operated by Alstom to maintain Avanti West Coast's British Rail Class 390 Pendolino stock for the West Coast Main Line.
Stewarts Lane is a large railway-servicing facility in Battersea in London, England, founded by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) in 1862, to serve London Victoria railway station. It is sited in the midst of a maze of railway lines between 'Factory Junction' and 'Stewarts Lane Junction', adjacent to the site of the former Longhedge Railway Works and the Stewarts Lane Chord formerly used by Eurostar trains from the Kent freight lines to Waterloo International station. Prior to 1962 it was one of the largest motive power depots in the UK. Following the end of steam traction in the early 1960s it was converted into a traction maintenance depot which is currently operated by Govia Thameslink Railway.
Southport MPD (Motive Power Depot) is a former LMS railway depot located in the town of Southport, Merseyside.
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