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25-713: The equivalent of such depots in German-speaking countries is the Bahnbetriebswerk or Bw , which has similar functions, with major repairs and overhauls being carried out at Ausbesserungswerke . The number of those was reduced drastically following the changeover from steam to diesel and electric traction, and most modern Bw in Germany are specialised depots, often responsible for a single locomotive class . Engine sheds could be found in many towns and cities, as well as in rural locations. They were built by

50-481: A layer of coal dust covering them and the bed". Another key requirement of the steam engine is a supply of water which is carried in the tenders or tanks of the engines. In Australia, water was also carried in water gins (a water tank mounted on a wagon) due to longer distances covered and scarcer water resources. In depots where the limescale content of water was high (known in some areas as ‘Hard Water'), water softening plants were introduced. At Norwich engine shed in

75-536: A number of shunting locomotives. Normally 0-4-0T or 0-6-0T tank engines, they would be allocated to shunting duties in goods yards, carriage sidings, goods depots and docks. Many large rail connected industrial sites also had engine sheds, primarily using shunting locomotives. Each railway company had its own architectural design of engine shed, but there were three basic designs of shed: The turntables for straight and dead end sheds were generally outside. Those in roundhouses could be inside, such as those at York in

100-474: A number of single ended locomotives and turntables are still in use. Engine sheds would carry out basic maintenance and the bigger sheds would carry out more complex repairs. Locomotives that required further repair were sent to the company's locomotive works. Withdrawn locomotives could often be found at some depots before their final trips to the scrapyard. In the UK, the general practice is that one shed would have

125-485: A number of smaller sub-sheds where there were fewer facilities. When engines allocated to sub-sheds required repairs, they were often exchanged for a similar engine or perhaps just visiting the main depot on a Sunday when traffic levels were considerably lower. In terms of locomotive allocation, it seems to have been the practice that for some railways locomotives were all allocated to the main shed but in others each shed had its specific allocation of locomotives. A list of

150-487: A variety of positions: Class 42s on the underframe below the cab but near-identical Class 43s on the front next to the left buffer; after 1967 the code was generally painted on the bodywork near the cab door. On the London Midland Region, from June 1968 until 1973 main line diesel locomotives were given a divisional allocation in which locomotives were allocated to a nominal district, although in practice

175-435: The privatisation of British Rail , some depots are now operated by the train builders who maintain the trains under contract with train operators. Around railway networks, there are locations just used for the coaling/fuelling of locomotives and the stabling of stock, either overnight or between duties. These are generally not regarded as engine sheds. Bahnbetriebswerk Too Many Requests If you report this error to

200-418: The 1950s and 1960s, the rise of manufacturing industry saw many staff leaving the railway for better working conditions (and pay) and many railways started to modernise as a result. The maintenance of the new diesel locomotives in filthy steam sheds soon proved difficult and, although some old sheds survived, many new diesel depots were built on new sites or on the sites of the old steam sheds. The major problem

225-454: The British sub-sheds can be found here . The drivers and fireman were the visible face of the engine shed and, as such, certain sheds had reputations for clean locomotives thanks to the dedication of those men. Many companies allocated a specific main line locomotive to a crew and they would usually take a personal interest in the cleanliness of their engine; some companies offered a prize to

250-654: The Inverness district had five sheds and seven sub-sheds in 1950 but these had been reduced to a single shed by 1967. On 6 May 1973 all the remaining depot codes were replaced by new two-letter codes . These no longer included any kind of district hierarchy, but were more suitable for use with the TOPS operating management computers. Each steam locomotive was allocated to a particular shed and an oval, cast metal plate (usually 4 + 5 ⁄ 8  in ×  7 + 1 ⁄ 2  in (120 mm × 190 mm)) with

275-597: The UK, or outside, such as that at the East Broad Top Railroad & Coal Company in Rockhill, Pennsylvania , USA. There were six primary activities that took place at sheds. When a steam engine arrived on shed, it would drop its fire and the ash that had built up would be removed. Disposal of the ash was a filthy job and carried out at quiet times, although some bigger depots had facilities for disposing of ash more efficiently. Study of photographs from

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300-411: The UK, the sludge was discharged into a tank and emptied every three years or so with the sludge being dumped into the sea at Lowestoft. Tender locomotives required turning so they were facing the right way before their next duty. In the early days, these were typically around 45 feet long. As the technology improved and engines got bigger, then the turntables got longer. In order to turn a locomotive

325-610: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.237 via cp1104 cp1104, Varnish XID 206783041 Upstream caches: cp1104 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:48:34 GMT List of British Railways shed codes British Railways shed codes were used to identify the engine sheds that its locomotives and multiple units were allocated to for maintenance purposes. The former London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) alpha-numeric system

350-615: The crew of the best kept engine. Many drivers would spend their own time on improving their knowledge and sharing best practice with younger drivers. The footplate staff (as drivers and fireman were known) were unionised from the 19th century and in the UK were generally in the ASLEF whilst other shed staff tended to be in the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants (later National Union of Railwaymen ). Many engine shed workers put up with very poor conditions for many years. In

375-525: The depot code was bolted to the smokebox on the front of the locomotive. When a locomotive was reallocated to a different shed the plate was taken off and replaced with one from the new shed. Locomotives moved between a parent depot and its sub-sheds did not need this change as they shared the same code. With the introduction of diesel and electric motive power the system of allocation became changed. Main line locomotives were capable of operating greater distances between servicing and, very often, depots only held

400-480: The engine had to be balanced quite precisely on the turntable and it could then be literally pushed around. Some turntables could be powered by fixing the vacuum brake of the engine to the turntable and using that to turn the engine. Later turntables were electrically operated. Many diesel locomotives in the UK have a cab at each end removing the need for the turntables. However, in Australia and America, there are

425-623: The equipment and spare parts for servicing a limited range of locomotive classes. This resulted in them being allocated to a smaller number of depots and reallocations became less common. For instance, the 74 Western Region Class 52 diesel-hydraulics were only ever allocated to six depots and were eventually all based to just one ( Laira ) rather than spread around more than 60 depots on the region, although they could often be found at many of these others. This meant that many depots only had allocations of shunting locomotives, and some locomotives did not carry allocation plates. Those that did had them in

450-475: The facilities for intermediate or heavy overhauls. The extension of the system to all regions was brought into use in 1950, each region being given a block of district numbers: Many codes changed as districts were re-organised and as regional boundaries changed over the years. For example, the former LMS shed at Goole was initially 25C as part of the Wakefield District. In September 1956 the district

475-692: The locomotives received major attention at the principal depot in the Division. For example, locomotives in the D01 London (Western) Division were effectively based at principal depot Willesden . Other divisions were D02 Birmingham Division ( Tyseley ), D05 Stoke-on-Trent Division ( Crewe ), D08 Liverpool Division ( Allerton ), D09 Manchester Division ( Longsight ), D10 Preston Division ( Lostock Hall ), D14 London (Midland) Division ( Cricklewood Depot ), D16 Nottingham Division ( Toton ). The North Eastern became part of an enlarged Eastern Region in 1967, however

500-441: The outer walls constructed of dry blocks much in the style of a dry stone wall with smaller pieces behind these. As technology advanced and the bigger sheds got busier, this process became mechanised and huge coaling towers above the neighbourhoods indicated where the engine shed was. The sheds were not clean places to work. The large east London depot of Stratford had an engineman's dormitory and its occupants would "wake up with

525-689: The railway companies to accommodate the locomotives that provided their local train services. Each engine shed would have an allocation of locomotives that would reflect the duties carried out by that depot. Most depots had a mixture of passenger, freight and shunting locomotives, but some, such as Mexborough , had predominantly freight locomotives, reflecting the industrial nature of that area in South Yorkshire . Others, such as Kings Cross engine shed in London, predominantly provided locomotives for passenger workings. Nearly all depots at that time had

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550-420: The steam era show it was not uncommon for piles of ash to be scattered around the depot site. After completing their last duty and arriving on shed, locomotives would have a regular boiler washout to remove scale, improve efficiency and protect safety. Locomotives generally ran on coal. Initially this job was done by hand and many depots had significant coal stacks on site. These would be neatly constructed with

575-566: Was extended to cover all regions and used until replaced by alphabetic codes in 1973. The coding system had its origins in a reorganisation of locomotive operation and maintenance on the LMS in the 1933-35 period. It grouped all sheds into districts with a main shed, given the district number followed by the letter A as its code, and subsidiary sheds with the same number followed by B, C, or D etc. Many sheds were also responsible for sub-sheds where day-to-day servicing could be carried out but which lacked

600-458: Was the disposal of oil, which initially was left lying around causing pollution and safety issues. The new depots were equipped to deal with diesel fuel and the ability to access the underside, as well as upper body work, was improved. The tasks were not that much different in that diesel locomotives were fuelled rather than coaled, although they did require water as early diesels were equipped with steam generators for train heating purposes. Since

625-652: Was transferred to the North Eastern Region and split between districts 53, 55 and 56; Goole became 53E in the Hull District. This district was itself merged with the York District in January 1960 and so Goole was re-coded again to become 50D. The changes accelerated with the contraction of the railway network and modernisation, both of which reduced the number of locomotives in use. For example,

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