Holbeck TMD is a
traction maintenance depot
The motive power depot (MPD) or locomotive depot, or traction maintenance depot (TMD), is the place where locomotives are usually housed, repaired and maintained when not being used. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine shed ...
located in
Holbeck
Holbeck is an inner city area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It begins on the southern edge of Leeds city centre and mainly lies in the LS11 postcode district. The M1 and M621 motorways used to end/begin in Holbeck. Now the M621 is the o ...
,
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, England. The depot is located on the west side of the line from
Woodlesford
Woodlesford () is a suburban village in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, south-east of Leeds city centre. Formerly part of the Rothwell Urban District, it is now within the Rothwell ward of Leeds City Council. The village sits ...
, and is south of
Leeds railway station
Leeds railway station (also known as Leeds City railway station) is the mainline railway station serving the city centre of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is the fourth-busiest railway station in the UK outside London (as of March 2020). I ...
.
The site has been used to stable trains since the 1860s.
History
Having housed steam locomotives since opening in May 1868, the introduction of diesels in the 1950s led to steam and diesel being serviced side by side. However, by 1977 a new two-road diesel maintenance facility had replaced the original brick sheds, so that in 1978 Holbeck was typically host to up to 20 diesel locomotives on weekdays, and up to 30 at weekends,
and around this time locomotives allocated here were outstationed at Skipton as well as being used for duties around Leeds City station.
However, there were changes in the way that British Rail was working, so that the allocation from 1977 of 18
Class 47s, 39
Class 45s, 3
Class 31s and 11
Class 08 shunters had changed by 1985 when Holbeck had no allocated locomotives with Leeds being provided with shunters and
HSTs allocated to
Neville Hill located on the other side of Leeds City station.
Around 1987, Holbeck had an allocation of
Class 08 shunters, and Classes
31,
45 and
47 could also usually be seen at the depot.
By 1989, the depot had an allocation of ten Class 08 shunters, which, due to the downturn in freight operations in the area, were transferred away in February 1990.
Present
The site is used by railway maintenance companies, and between 2018 and early 2020, all 16 units of the
Class 333s have been refurbished on site.
References
Sources
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Railway depots in Yorkshire
Rail transport in West Yorkshire
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