tyseley

Tyseley Locomotive Depot 1908-1998

A short review collated by Brian Wilson

This item was first published in Steam In Trust the Journal of The Friends of Birmingham Railway Museum Number 3 – Summer/Autumn 1998. Illustrations are of locomotives in the Locomotive Collection of the Birmingham Railway Museum.

Tyseley depot began its life as an operational steam depot in July 1908, and replaced an earlier and smaller shed located at Bordesley closer to the centre of Birmingham. It was a standard brick built Great Western Railway two turntable shed. The original plans made provision for a further two turntable shed units (roundhouses) to be added at the rear (Warwick Road end), but these were never built. On the west side of the shed, there was a large repair shop (known as ‘the factory’) and this was equipped with heavy lifting gear, an electric traverser for moving locomotives between workshop ‘roads’, and various smiths’ shops. Following the GWR’s tradition of standardisation, the whole design was similar to that of sheds at other locations in the network including Old Oak Common (the main GWR London shed close to Paddington).

The turntables were 65 feet in diameter and were originally manually operated. The arrangement allowed for the addition of electrical drive later on if needed (it was needed, and now is electrical). Twenty-eight engine roads radiated from each turntable and these were all provided with inspection pits. The roads were of varying length and gave accommodation for approximately thirty-six tender engines and twenty-eight tank engines The two turntables were linked internally by one road from each turntable running through to the corresponding road on the other turntable.

The east roundhouse catered for passenger engines, whilst the west one catered for goods (freight in 1990’s railway parlance) engines. Tyseley initially was the home of seventy-two engines. Most of these were smaller types and were used for goods duties, local passenger work and some express work. Tyseley always had to play ‘second fiddle’ to Wolverhampton Stafford Road, which handled the important expresses from the West Midlands to London Paddington. Consequently its allocation of engines was mainly tank engines and mixed traffic types.

Tyseley’s existence owed a lot to the opening of the North Warwick Line (also in 1908) which gave a more direct route between Tyseley South Junction and Bearley leading on to Stratford, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Bristol, South Wales and the West Country.

The depot was equipped with a standard GWR coal stage with a two road ramp approach. The coal stage was built in between the entrance roads to the two roundhouses. Above this was a water tank with a capacity of 98,000 gallons and this supplied all the watering facilities within the yard and shed.

So what remains of the original depot? Well, principally the passenger (east) turntable and radiating roads, the coal stage and water tank. Strictly speaking the turntable is not the original as a new turntable was installed in 1958.

In 1957 Diesel Multiple Units were introduced by BR’s Western Region (the latter day GWR) on the Birmingham area suburban and local services. So work began on building a new BR DMU depot and office block on the extreme west of the site. The freight roundhouse was closed in 1963. In 1964 the GWR works (the factory) was demolished and new Diesel Repair facilities were built.

Steam officially lasted at Tyseley until 1967 with many ex-LMS and BR locomotive types then appearing on the shed. The new masters (‘the Midland’ who took control in January 1963) purged the GWR classes by the end of 1965, or at least tried. Defiant to the end, ‘the Western’ managed to hang on in there with a few ex-GWR pannier tanks retained for shunting the Halesowen Basin. The depot became known as Tyseley Traction Maintenance Depot, but nevertheless steam engines still continued to visit the site for wheel turning in the new factory until the ‘final’ demise of steam on BR in Summer 1968.

While all this was going on GWR Castle Class 4-6-0 7029 Clun Castle (which had starred in the 1964 Western Region steam finale and reached 96 m.p.h.) was saved from the scrap heap. It was originally intended that she should be the centre piece of a museum at Buckfastleigh on what was then known as the Dart Valley Railway. However, she was in fairly good shape and there was great demand for her on special trains. It was decided to keep her running for as long as BR would allow. She was moved into Tyseley’s passenger shed after shed master, Tommy Field, offered her a home.

‘Clun’ was then used on special charter trains, and was the last steam engine to work out of the old Snow Hill station. In the Autumn of 1967, she also ran on ‘the Eastern’ visiting Kings Cross, York, Newcastle and Leeds, and on ‘the Midland’ to Carlisle over the Settle & Carlisle line and also up Shap! She was even used on the mainline hauling ‘normal’ Banbury freight trains!

However, time was running out! The old passenger roundhouse was deteriorating fast especially as its Siamese twin, the freight roundhouse, had gone. The passenger roundhouse was demolished by the end of 1968. Fortunately, the coaling stage building was leased to 7029 Clun Castle Limited and this was adapted to form a new home for ‘Clun’ and her newly acquired stable mate LMS Jubilee Class 4-6-0 5593 Kolhapur. A tool room was formed within this building (which is now known as ‘Top Shed’). Saved! The tradition of stabling, maintaining and servicing steam engines at Tyseley Loco Depot continued.

But around that time, BR imposed a total ban on standard gauge steam operations. Only Flying Scotsman escaped this for a time under the terms of a pre-existing contract with BR. So it looked as though the Tyseley engines would be incarcerated in their shed, or at best allowed to stretch their legs on bits of the remaining steam loco yard if BR so had the mind to do.

Undaunted the Tyseley visionaries pressed on in the hope that one day steam would be back where it belongs, earning its keep on the mainline. So the modern day steam works and shed building was started in 1969, wheel-drop pit and other machinery installed and the new works became operational in 1971. The depot became home to more preserved engines and the Tyseley collection grew.

And the return to steam on the main line did happen on 2^nd October 1971 when GWR King Class 4-6-0 6000 King George V pulled a special train from Hereford to Newport, through the Severn Tunnel, on to Didcot before heading north and ending up at ………. Tyseley, of course! Steam was back and, fingers crossed, is here to stay on the mainline. The act of faith was vindicated.

Since the creation of the new Tyseley Steam Locomotive Depot as an island within the BR site, there have been many changes. The exact detail of how and when the changes were made will not be covered here.

New running lines laid and platforms have been built. AG WR wooden signal box (obtained from the Bristol area) was re-erected at Tyseley to control the running lines, which were fully signalled. The workshop has been equipped with a viewing gallery so that the public can safely look down on the restoration work. A Visitor Centre displaying a variety of railway artefacts and including a shop has been built in traditional form. A new restaurant “Chuffs” has been constructed under the original coaling stage. A further small non-operational signal box from nearby Cradley Heath has been relocated opposite the Visitor Centre.

The present depot is bounded by the “BR” diesel depot on the west, and this is now used by Central Trains. On the east the depot is bounded by the original loop lines, which are more or less in their original form. These see occasional use today as a run round loop so that freight trains originating in nearby sidings can be reversed. Beyond that are the carriage sidings which have been upgraded to serve as diesel multiple unit storage.

So, Tyseley Loco Depot can justifiably claim to have been an active steam shed continuously for 90 years! And in this new age of railway privatisation, it is now also a maintenance and repair depot for heritage diesels owned by Fragonset. These are hired out to Virgin Rail for use on its scheduled services. However, Tyseley is first and foremost a steam depot! Here’s to Tyseley’s Centenary!

This article is reproduced courtesy of Steam In Trust, Vintage Trains/ Birmingham Railway Museum illustrations by Brian Wilson show some members of the locomotive collection. Further details about these can be found on their site (see previous link).