![Ipswich engine shed](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Ipswich_engine_shed.jpg)
Ipswich engine shed was an
engine shed
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
Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...
,
Suffolk on the
Great Eastern Main Line. It was located just south of
Stoke tunnel and the current
Ipswich railway station
Ipswich railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line in the East of England, serving the town of Ipswich, Suffolk. It is down the line from London Liverpool Street and, on the main line, it is situated between to the south and to the no ...
. Locomotives accessed the site from
Halifax Junction which was also the junction for the Griffin Wharf branch of Ipswich docks. The depot opened in 1846 and closed in 1968 although the site remained in railway use for a further thirty years.
In
British Railways days it was allocated the code 32B.
History
Opening and early years
Locomotive activity started on the depot site with the opening of the
original Ipswich station located at Croft Street and (presumably the newly named) Station St in June 1846 by the
Eastern Union Railway
The Eastern Union Railway (EUR) was an English railway company, at first built from Colchester to Ipswich; it opened in 1846. It was proposed when the earlier Eastern Counties Railway failed to make its promised line from Colchester to Norwich. T ...
. Locomotives belonging to sister company the Ipswich and Bury Railway would also have used the facilities when their line opened in November 1846 although the two railway companies were worked as one from January the following year.
In June 1851 the EUR had 31 locomotives breaking down thus:
All locomotives carried a green livery.
In 1854 the EUR was taken over by the
Eastern Counties Railway
The Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) was an English railway company incorporated in 1836 intended to link London with Ipswich via Colchester, and then extend to Norwich and Yarmouth.
Construction began in 1837 on the first nine miles at the Lond ...
and in 1860 the new
Ipswich railway station
Ipswich railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line in the East of England, serving the town of Ipswich, Suffolk. It is down the line from London Liverpool Street and, on the main line, it is situated between to the south and to the no ...
opened after the tunnel was completed.
[Jill Freestone and Richard W Smith "Ipswich Engines and Ipswich Men" (1998)] It was at this time a carriage and wagon works was established on the site of the old station.
The initial engine shed was a two road shed with associated sidings and a small (befitting the size of engine of the time) turntable. The history of the shed for the next 90 or so years was a case of poor facilities being provided for what was a busy engine shed, and head of a significantly sized organisational district including major sub-sheds at Colchester and Parkeston as well as a host of smaller sheds.
The site was always cramped and poorly equipped with every day servicing of engines taking place in the open.
Great Eastern
The
Great Eastern Railway was formed in 1862 by the amalgamation of several East Anglian Railways.
In August 1878 there was a fire in the four road engine shed which resulted in a number of workmen losing their tools. The company replaced these with a grant and the shed was repaired.
At the end of 1922 the shed at Ipswich had an allocation of 131 locomotives being the third biggest shed on the Great Eastern behind Stratford (555) and Cambridge (178) sheds. The allocation consisted of:
London North Eastern years
The
London and North Eastern Railway came into existence in 1923.
Whilst Great Eastern types provided the majority of the types allocated to Ipswich shed, newer LNE types and engines from other LNER constituent companies were allocated.
* B1 4-6-0
* B17 4-6-0
* C12 4-4-2T Ivatt Great Northern locomotive some of which were used on
Felixstowe Branch Line[H.I. Quayle & G.T. Bradbury ''The Felixstowe Railway'' The Oakwood Press (1977)]
* C14 4-4-2T Robinson/GC - From 1936. Three of which allocated to Felixstowe shed the other two to Ipswich. Included 6123, 6128 & 6130
* L1 2-6-4T
* N5 0-6-2T Parker/M,S & L - 5913 allocated to Ipswich in 1938
* N7 0-6-2T
During the Second World War a US Army Class S160 (
USATC S160 Class
The United States Army Transportation Corps S160 Class is a class of 2-8-0 Consolidation steam locomotive, designed for heavy freight work in Europe during World War II. A total of 2,120 were built and they worked on railroads across much of t ...
) 2-8-0 was allocated to the shed for a few weeks in 1943. Most of the class were allocated to Stratford and March and other members of the class visited Ipswich during this time.
BR years
In the early years of
British Rail, Ipswich shed was host to visiting
Southern Railway Battle of Britain class 4-6-2 locomotives before the introduction of the Britannia class in the early 1950s.
Working conditions in the shed were extremely poor and the Shed Foreman later wrote "The conditions in which the boiler washers and tube cleaners worked in winter beggared description with boilers being emptied and blown down, others being washed out and steam and water everywhere" This state of affairs led to the preparation of plans to modernize the depot.
The shed was completely rebuilt in 1954 into a concrete 6 track straight through road shed. In 1955 the locomotive allocation totalling 79 locomotives was as follows:
The 0-6-0T engines were generally used for shunting and local trip work. J15, J39 and J17 were freight locomotives. All other locomotives were primarily passenger but it was not unknown for some of them to work freight trains as well. The Ivatt designed 2MT 2-6-2T no 41200 was allocated to the shed for tests on local branches including the
Aldeburgh Branch Line. Later that year the first
Diesel Multiple Units worked in the area and no other members of this class were allocated.
In 1959 Ipswich received its first allocation of mainline diesels.
On 11 June 1959 class J19 0-6-0 locomotive number 64641 was the last steam locomotive to be repaired at the depot.
On 5 March 1960 the last steam working from Ipswich shed was headed by J15 0-6-0 no 65389 which worked the last freight train to Snape.
However a pair of B1 4-6-0s (61059 numbered departmental 17 and 61252 numbered 22) were retained as a carriage heating units. No. 17 operated between 1964 and succeeding No. 22 which had undertaken the role since December 1963.
In November 1963 Class 15 No. 8221 crashed through the buffer stops and into Croft Street.
The following diesel classes were allocated to Ipswich engine shed.
*
British Rail Class D1/1
*
British Rail Class 03
The British Rail Class 03 locomotive was, together with the similar Class 04, one of British Railways' most successful 0-6-0 diesel-mechanical shunters. 230 were built at Doncaster and Swindon works between 1957 and 1962, and were numbered D2 ...
*
British Rail Class 04
The British Rail Class 04 is a 0-6-0 diesel-mechanical shunting locomotive class, built between 1952 and 1962 and was the basis for the later Class 03 built in the British Railways workshops.
History
The prototype locomotive was built in 194 ...
*
British Rail Class 05
The British Rail Class 05 is a class of 0-6-0 diesel-mechanical shunters built by Hunslet Engine Company from 1955 to 1961. They were used on the Eastern and Scottish Regions of British Railways. The first two batches were delivered as 11136- ...
*
British Rail Class 15
The British Rail Class 15 diesel locomotives, also known as the BTH Type 1, were designed by British Thomson-Houston, and built by the Yorkshire Engine Company and the Clayton Equipment Company, between 1957 and 1961. They were numbered D8200-D ...
*
British Rail Class 21
Two separate types of diesel locomotive operating in Great Britain have been given the TOPS classification Class 21.
*British Rail Class 21 (NBL) - a class of 58 diesel-electric locomotives produced by the North British Locomotive Company from 1 ...
*
British Rail Class 24
The British Railways Class 24 diesel locomotives, also known as the Sulzer Type 2, were built from 1958 to 1961. One hundred and fifty-one were built at Derby, Crewe and Darlington, the first twenty of them as part of the British Railways 1955 M ...
*
British Rail Class 31
The British Rail Class 31 diesel locomotives, also known as the Brush Type 2 and previously as Class 30, were built by Brush Traction from 1957-62. They were numbered in two series, D5500-D5699 and D5800-D5862. Construction of the first locomot ...
*
British Rail Class 37
The British Rail Class 37 is a diesel-electric locomotive. Also known as the English Electric Type 3, the class was ordered as part of the British Rail modernisation plan. They were numbered in two series, D6600–D6608 and D6700–D6999.
Th ...
*
British Rail Class 40
*
British Rail Class 47
In 1963 the diesel allocation at Ipswich consisted of 55 locomotives which broke down thus:
The Class 03, 04, 05 and DY1/1 locomotives were all shunting engines. The Class 15 engines were generally employed on local freight workings whilst Class 24 and Class 31s were employed on mixed traffic (i.e. both freight and passenger workings).
Closure
The depot was closed on 6 May 1968 with fuelling facilities for locomotives being provided at
Ipswich railway station
Ipswich railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line in the East of England, serving the town of Ipswich, Suffolk. It is down the line from London Liverpool Street and, on the main line, it is situated between to the south and to the no ...
. The last diesel locomotive - a Class 15 - underwent maintenance at the depot on 5 May 1968.
Maintenance of the remaining shunter fleet was undertaken at Colchester.
The depot remained empty for about a week before a number of engineers maintenance trains were stabled there.
A number of withdrawn
British Rail Class 15
The British Rail Class 15 diesel locomotives, also known as the BTH Type 1, were designed by British Thomson-Houston, and built by the Yorkshire Engine Company and the Clayton Equipment Company, between 1957 and 1961. They were numbered D8200-D ...
locomotives were stored on site during the 1970s.
During the early 1980s the site was used as the electrification depot for the extension of the overhead wiring from Colchester to Harwich. Ipswich (May 1985) and Norwich.
The site was used for the celebration of 150 years of the
Eastern Union Railway
The Eastern Union Railway (EUR) was an English railway company, at first built from Colchester to Ipswich; it opened in 1846. It was proposed when the earlier Eastern Counties Railway failed to make its promised line from Colchester to Norwich. T ...
in 1996.
After closure of the depot the Carriage and Wagon Works continued for many years closing in 1994. The site was used to store some locomotives between 2000 and 2001 before demolition c 2003. Wagon repairs were carried out in Ipswich Lower Yard after this date.
Class 37 locomotive 37379 was named 'Ipswich WRD, Quality Approved' in recognition of the work the depot undertook.
The site today is occupied by a housing estate.
Operations
During BR days Ipswich shed was in the Norwich division and was allocated the code 32B. It had a number of sub-sheds including Felixstowe, Framlingham, Aldeburgh and Laxfield.
Staffing
After signing on and before signing off engine crew would often have to walk to or from Ipswich station before commencing duty or finishing their duties. This must have meant some shifts must have not been very productive in terms of time worked.
In the 1950s shed staff numbered 440-450 although by 1959 this had reduced to just under 200.
Details and stories of Ipswich enginemen can be found in the 1998 book "Ipswich Engines and Ipswich Men" published by the local Over Stoke History Group.
Routes worked
The following routes were worked by Ipswich men. These may have varied from year to year and are not specific to any one era.
Main Lines
* London to Norwich on the
Great Eastern Main Line
* London to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft on the
East Suffolk Line
*
Mayflower Line to Harwich
*
Ipswich to Ely Line
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...
to Cambridge
* Ipswich - Doncaster (Parkeston boat train which started running in 1885 to Doncaster and in 1892 to York).
* Ipswich - Manchester (later route of Parkeston Boat train named
North Country Continental
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north'' is ...
)
In 1929 the Manchester working was one of the most prestigious workings starting at 06:30 on a Monday morning. The train departed at 08:30 calling at Bury St Edmunds, Ely, March (where two carriages for Birmingham were detached), Spalding, Sleaford (water stop), Lincoln (where carriages for York were detached), Worksop, Sheffield Victoria to Wooley Bridge (where Manchester drivers took over). The Ipswich drivers overnighted at the dormitory at Gorton then after working a local train returned to Ipswich later that day. This train was worked by a LNER B17 4-6-0 locomotive.
Branch Lines
*
Felixstowe Branch Line
*
Aldeburgh Branch Line
*
Hadleigh Railway
The Hadleigh Railway was a long single track branch railway line in Suffolk, England, that connected Hadleigh to the main line railway network at Bentley Junction. It was built by the nominally independent Eastern Union and Hadleigh Junction Ra ...
*
Mid-Suffolk Light Railway
The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway (MSLR) was a standard gauge railway intended to open up an agricultural area of central Suffolk; it took advantage of the reduced construction cost enabled by the Light Railways Act 1896. It was launched with consi ...
*
Framlingham Branch
*
Eye Branch
The Eye Branch was a two miles 72 chains long single track branch railway line in Suffolk, England that ran from Mellis railway station on the Great Eastern Main Line to Eye (Suffolk) railway station, Eye via one intermediate station, . It was th ...
*
Snape Branch Line
Shunt turns
A shunt turn is where a shunting locomotive is allocated to shunting a yard or set of sidings. Some shunt turns required 'trip' working between yards or sidings.
1943
* Ipswich Upper Yard (2 turns)
* Ipswich Lower Yard
* Ipswich Grffin Wharf/Upper Yard
* Ipswich Docks (4 turns) - all allocated to tram engines (J70 class)
* Stowmarket
1968 (shortly after closure)
* Ipswich Upper Yard (2 turns)
* Ipswich Lower Yard
* Ipswich Cliff Quay (Docks)
* Ipswich Wagon Shops (former depot)
* Stowmarket
Engineering Facilities
The shed was capable of carrying out repairs to steam locomotives and the following facilities were located on site.
* Tube shop
* Smith shop (containing 8 forges and a steam hammer) - forgings produced/repaired, motions straightened, springs forged
* Coppersmith shop (also white metal work carried out in here)
* Lathe shop
Incidents
Ipswich men John Barnard (driver) and William Macdonald (fireman) were killed in the 'Westerfield Junction boiler explosion' on 25 September 1900. Further information on that accident can be found on the
Westerfield railway station
Westerfield railway station is on a branch line off the Great Eastern Main Line, in the East of England, serving the village of Westerfield, Suffolk. It is down the line from and measured from London Liverpool Street. It is situated at a jun ...
page.
John Barnard's son William Barnard (driver) and Stanley Keeble (fireman) were killed in a collision at Colchester in 1913.
On 1 January 1927 there was a train crash at Woodbridge station. A wagon coupling had broken at
Bealings station
Bealings railway station was a station in Little Bealings, Suffolk on the line between Ipswich and Lowestoft. It was down the line from Ipswich. While the station was shut on 17 September 1956, the line remains open, and both the station build ...
and when the engine stopped at Woodbridge, the rear portion running downhill smashed into the back of the stationary train. Only one minor injury was recorded. Fireman L Rayner of Ipswich was recorded as being knocked off his feet - the driver's name is unknown, but it is almost certain he came from Ipswich as well.
The Ipswich-based driver of B1 4-6-0 61057 locomotive was involved in a rear-end collision in foggy conditions in Witham on 7 March 1950. The driver was seriously injured and the fireman W 'spot' Haggar was killed.
Class 15 locomotive D8221 overran the buffer stops and ended up in Croft Street in 1963. It was rescued by one of Ipswich's B1 departmental steam locomotives No. 22.
[Great Eastern Railway Society Journal No 82 page 29 The Ipswich Breakdown Train by Percy Wilby(April 1995)]
See also
*
Ipswich TMD
References
{{coord, 52.0451, N, 1.1524, E, display=title, region:GB_type:landmark
Transport in Ipswich
Railway depots in England
Great Eastern Railway
London and North Eastern Railway
Rail transport in Suffolk