South Gosforth TMD

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South Gosforth Traction Maintenance Depot
Location
Location Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne
England
Coordinates 55°00′22″N1°36′30″W / 55.006°N 1.6084°W / 55.006; -1.6084
OS grid NZ251680
Characteristics
Owner Tyne and Wear PTE
Operator Tyne and Wear Metro
Type Light rail
Rolling stock
History
OpenedOctober 1923;100 years ago (1923-10)
Original London and North Eastern Railway
Post-grouping

South Gosforth Traction Maintenance Depot is a vehicle cleaning, maintenance and stabling facility used by the Tyne and Wear Metro, located in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne in Tyne and Wear, England.

Contents

The depot is located in a triangle of land between Longbenton, Regent Centre and South Gosforth, and can be accessed by trains from both east and west. There is also a depot avoiding line running from east to west, which is not regularly used in public service.

History

Pre-Tyne and Wear Metro

In 1904, the North Eastern Railway (NER) started to electrify some of its lines in what is now Tyne and Wear, using the third rail system. Initially electric trains operated only from Newcastle New Bridge Street to Benton station, but in stages electrification was extended to create the system known as the Tyneside Electrics. The trains for this system were, at first, stabled at carriage sheds in Heaton. [1]

The year after the first electric trains ran, the 8+1⁄4-mile (13 km) single-track branch line of the Gosforth and Ponteland Railway was opened, connecting to the NER line by a triangular junction just north of South Gosforth station. The line closed to passengers in 1929, only to reopen as part of the Metro, but freight services continuing to serve the line until the late 1980s, latterly sharing the track with Metro trains. [1] [2]

In 1918, a fire broke out at the Heaton carriage sheds, which destroyed the building, as well as 34 units. [3] [4] A replacement depot was required, and the NER acquired a site on the northern side of the South Gosforth triangular junction in 1921. The replacement depot opened in October 1923. [5] At the time, there were ten lines in the depot building, with a further two serving the repair shop.

The depot was originally used to house rolling stock for the Tyneside Electrics network, which served Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, North and South Tyneside. Owing to falling passenger numbers during the 1960s, as well as rising costs, and the need to renew life expired infrastructure and rolling stock, the network was de-electrified and converted to diesel multiple unit operation in 1967. [6] Following this, Class 101, 104 and 105 diesel multiple units were a common sight at the depot.

Tyne and Wear Metro

In 1978, passenger service on the North Tyneside Loop ceased, in order to facilitate its conversion to become part of the Tyne and Wear Metro. The South Gosforth depot was transferred to the Metro in 1980, and has been used by them since then for stabling, cleaning, maintenance and repair of the current fleet of class 599 Metrocar, as well as an increasing number of class 555 Metro, which are yet to enter service. [7]

In October 2020, prior to the arrival of the new class 555 rolling stock and the depot refurbishment needed to accommodate them, the Howdon satellite depot was constructed near Howdon in North Tyneside. The site is currently being used as a temporary stabling and maintenance facility for up to 10 units. [8] [9] [10]

As part of a £70 million depot refurbishment project, the first phase of demolition of the depot was completed in May 2021, with final closure in January 2023. [11] [12] Construction of the new 12-acre (49,000 m2) depot was completed in January 2024. [13] [14] [15] The new facility provides facilities for preventative and corrective maintenance, overhauls, train presentation, storage space for parts and materials supplies and office space for training and support functions. In addition, there are inspection roads and pits, a separate wheel lathe building, a wash-plant to clean train exteriors, a component drop, monorail cranes on light maintenance roads, an overhead crane on heavy maintenance roads for lifting roof components and a new control room to manage train movements. [15]

Notes

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    References

    1. 1 2 "South Gosforth Station". Disused Stations. Archived from the original on 10 September 2024. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
    2. ↑ Abbott, Vernon; Chapman, Roy (1990). The Great Metro Guide to Tyne and Wear. Leading Edge Press & Publishing Ltd. p. 13. ISBN   9780948135156.
    3. ↑ Abbott, Vernon; Chapman, Roy (1990). The Great Metro Guide to Tyne and Wear. Leading Edge Press & Publishing Ltd. p. 17. ISBN   9780948135156.
    4. ↑ "The NER Tyneside Electric Multiple Units". The London & North Eastern Railway Encyclopedia. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
    5. ↑ Wells, J. A. (1990). The Blyth and Tyne Branch, 1874–1989 (Blyth and Tyne): Part 2. Northumberland County Council. ISBN   9780951302750.
    6. ↑ Young, Alan (1999). Suburban Railways of Tyneside. Martin Bairstow. p. 20. ISBN   978-1871944204.
    7. ↑ "Tyne & Wear Class 555s delayed again". Headline News. Rail Express . No. 334. March 2024. p. 13.
    8. ↑ "Work starts on a temporary Metro depot in North Tyneside". Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive . 11 July 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
    9. ↑ "Temporary Metro depot takes shape in North Tyneside". Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive . 2 January 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
    10. ↑ "Temporary Metro depot becomes operational in North Tyneside". Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive . 17 December 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
    11. ↑ White, Chloe (20 January 2023). "Old Gosforth Metro depot closure marks the end of an era for the Tyne and Wear Metro". RailAdvent. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
    12. ↑ "It's the end of an era as the old Gosforth Metro depot closes". Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive . 20 January 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
    13. ↑ Button, Jason (24 January 2024). "Metro's new £70 million Gosforth Depot successfully completed to house new trains". Shields Gazette . Retrieved 15 April 2024.
    14. ↑ Booth, Janine (25 January 2024). "New Tyne & Wear Metro Gosforth Depot is completed". RailAdvent. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
    15. 1 2 Pashby, Tom (29 January 2024). "New £70M Tyne and Wear Metro depot completed". New Civil Engineer. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
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