Hither Green marshalling yard, is a large railway marshalling yard designed for the concentration of freight traffic to and from South East London, and for transfer to other yards in London. It is situated on the north side of the South Eastern Main Line between Hither Green and Grove Park stations. The facility was conceived and built by the South Eastern Railway after 1895, but by the time it opened in 1899 this railway had become part of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway.
Freight traffic was considered to be of minor importance for much of the existence of the South Eastern Railway, but during the early 1890s the situation began to change. [1] [2] A growth in freight traffic was experienced to and from London, Kent and the Continent, and also for transfer to other railways in the north of England. This traffic was beginning to overwhelm the existing facilities at Bricklayers Arms which was also poorly sited with respect to transfer freight using the East London Line. Following the opening of Hither Green railway station in 1895 plans were therefore made for the construction of a new marshaling yard nearby. This location gave excellent access to the South Eastern Main Line and also had a connection with the Dartford Loop Line. It provided easy links to the neighbouring London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, and the Great Eastern, Great Northern, and Midland Railways via East London Line. The new facility opened in 1899 after the formation of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway. [3]
The yard passed in to Southern Railway (SR) ownership in 1923 and fulfilled an important part in its plans for the re-organisation of freight traffic in South London, and connections with other railways. New junctions were created in the period 1927–1933. [4] During the Second World War the rail yard was also a frequent target of enemy action.
The yards passed into British Railways ownership in 1948, and in 1960 a new freight depot opened south of St Mildreds Road, handling at its peak over two million tonnes a year of continental fruit and vegetables. [5] However, following the decline of rail freight the St Mildreds site was developed to become the Up side Electric Multiple Unit stabling roads of Grove Park depot. [6] [7] All roads provide Third rail 750 volt DC traction current. The Southeastern Safety Training Centre was also built here.
The Southern Railway opened a new motive power depot to the south of the station in 1933. [8] In 1947, the sheds were the scene of a serious boiler explosion, where both driver and fireman were severely scalded, but survived. [9] The depot closed to steam in 1961 and was converted to Hither Green Traction Maintenance Depot.
The Southern Railway (SR), sometimes shortened to 'Southern', was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent. The railway was formed by the amalgamation of several smaller railway companies, the largest of which were the London and South Western Railway (LSWR), the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) and the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SE&CR). The construction of what was to become the Southern Railway began in 1838 with the opening of the London and Southampton Railway, which was renamed the London & South Western Railway.
Severn Tunnel Junction railway station is a minor station on the western side of the Severn Tunnel in the village of Rogiet, Monmouthshire, Wales. It is 123.5 miles (198.8 km) from London Paddington and lies at the junction of the South Wales Main Line from London and the Gloucester to Newport Line.
The SR Z class was an 0-8-0T 3-cylinder tank engine designed by Richard Maunsell and intended for heavy shunting on the Southern Railway, the first eight entering into service in 1929. It was a successful design and would have been built in greater numbers, but an order for a further ten was cancelled in 1930 due to the reduction in freight traffic as a result of the Great Depression.
The SR Class W were 3-cylinder 2-6-4T tank engines designed in 1929 by Richard Maunsell for use on the Southern Railway. They were introduced in 1932 and constructed at Eastleigh and Ashford. The class was intended for short distance, inter-company/regional freight traffic transfer in London, and were standardised with parts from the N, N1, U and U1 classes.
The Dartford Loop Line is one of three lines linking London with Dartford in Kent, England. It lies to the south of the other two: the North Kent Line and the Bexleyheath Line.
Hither Green is a railway station located in Hither Green in the London Borough of Lewisham, south-east London. It is 7 miles 16 chains (11.6 km) down the line from London Charing Cross and is situated between Lewisham and either Grove Park or Lee depending on the route.
The South Eastern Main Line is a major long-distance railway route in South East England, UK, one of the three main routes crossing the county of Kent, going via Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Ashford and Folkestone to Dover. The other routes are the Chatham Main Line which runs along the north Kent coast to Ramsgate or Dover via Chatham and High Speed 1 which runs through the centre of Kent to the coast at Folkestone where it joins the Channel Tunnel.
The LSWR S15 class is a British 2-cylinder 4-6-0 freight steam locomotive designed by Robert W. Urie, based on his H15 class and N15 class locomotives. The class had a complex build history, spanning several years of construction from 1920 to 1936. The first examples were constructed for the London and South Western Railway (LSWR), where they hauled freight trains to the south coast ports and further west to Exeter, as well as occasional passenger work in conjunction with their larger-wheeled N15 class counterparts.
Tinsley was a railway marshalling yard near Tinsley in Sheffield, England, used to separate railway wagons from incoming trains and add them to new trains. It was sited immediately west of the M1 motorway, about one mile north of the Catcliffe junction. It was opened in 1965, as a part of a major plan to rationalise all aspects of the rail services in the Sheffield area; it closed in stages from 1985, with the run-down of rail freight in Britain. It was also the site of Tinsley Traction Maintenance Depot (TMD), which was closed in 1998; at its peak, 200 locomotives were allocated to this depot.
British Rail class D3/12 was a class of three experimental diesel-electric shunting locomotives designed by Richard Maunsell of the Southern Railway in 1937. They quickly proved their effectiveness, and although they were not immediately replicated due to the advent of the Second World War, the class were the basis for a larger class of similar locomotives introduced by Oliver Bulleid in 1949.
Toton Traction Maintenance Depot or Toton Sidings is a large traction maintenance depot located in Toton, Nottinghamshire. The TOPS depot code for the depot is TO. Before TOPS, the shed code was 16A.
Hither Green (London) Traction Maintenance Depot or Hither Green (London) TMD is a railway depot used for the maintenance and servicing of freight trains adjacent to the Hither Green marshalling yard. The depot is a hub for moving freight around southeast England. Hither Green TMD is owned and operated by DBS. The official depot code is HG. In steam days the shed code was 73C.
The Widened Lines is a double-track railway line forming part of the Thameslink route between St Pancras and Farringdon within Central London.
The LSWR G16 class was a class of steam tank locomotives with a 4-8-0T wheel arrangement. It was designed by Robert Urie and introduced in 1921 specifically for heavy shunting over humps at Feltham marshalling yard, on the London and South Western Railway (LSWR). They were based upon Urie's previous S15 class freight design, and apart from several periods of operating elsewhere on the LSWR and Southern railway network, they remained at Feltham for most of their operational careers.
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.
There were a number of engine sheds and railway works located in York. The large York North engine shed became the National Railway Museum in 1975.
Feltham marshalling yard, also known as Feltham hump yard, was a large railway marshalling yard designed for the concentration of freight traffic to and from South West London, and for transfer to other marshalling yards in London. It was built on the Waterloo to Reading Line. It opened in 1918 and was closed by British Railways on 6 January 1969.
Slade Green Depot is a major railway depot in Slade Green, South East London. The depot is situated south of Slade Green railway station.
Healey Mills Marshalling Yard was a railway marshalling yard located in the village of Healey, south west of Ossett in West Yorkshire, England. The yard was opened in 1963 and replaced several smaller yards in the area. It was part of the British Transport Commission's Modernisation plan, and so was equipped with a hump to enable the efficient shunting and re-ordering of goods wagons. The yard lost its main reason for existence through the 1970s and 1980s when more trains on the British Rail system became block trains where their wagons required less, or more commonly, no shunting.
Basford Hall Yard is a railway marshalling yard near the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. The yard, which is 0.93 miles (1.5 km) south of Crewe railway station, was opened in 1901 by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). Initially used to marshal trains, the site now acts as a hub mainly for Freightliner intermodal trains, but also houses departmental sidings as used by Freightliner Heavy Haul, and other operators. For a period in the 1930s, Basford Hall was the busiest marshalling yard in Europe, handing between 28,000 and 47,000 wagons every week.