Leamington Shed

GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

Leamington provided accommodation locomotives from the opening of the Oxford to Birmingham line in 1852 until the shed was closed in June 1965. The code for locomotives allocated to Leamington was 'LMTN' during the shed's ownership by the Great Western Railway and after nationalisation '84D' from January 1948 to August 1963 and '2L' from September 1963 to June 1965. The first shed was located a little to the north of the station and was single road in construction measuring 237 ft long by 20 ft wide. It was built using timber for the framing as well as for the side sheeting and it is recorded as being covered by a gable style slate roof. A messroom, measuring 16 ft 0 ins by 12 ft 3 ins located to the right of the entrance, was provided for the workforce. In 1898 two additional rooms were built; one, measuring 13 ft 3 ins by 13 ft 8 ins, being used for stores whilst the other, measuring 13 ft 3 ins by 6 ft 8 ins, was used as an office for the shed foreman. Part of the shed's facilities was a coaling platform, measuring 40 ft 0 ins by 12 ft 10 ins, which was formed with stone walls and timber deck. In 1881 a 41 ft 10 ins turntable was removed from Stafford Road shed and installed at Leamington. On 10th March 1902 the shed burnt down which compelled the authorities to keep the locomotives out in the open. Temporary accommodation for the messroom, office and stores was provided by the erection of corrugated iron huts.

This arrangement lasted until September 1906 when the new shed, situated south of the station, was opened. The shed was located between the former LNWR's Leamington to Rugby branch line and the GWR's main line to Banbury. Between the shed and the GWR mainline were five carriage sidings although in reality one had to be kept free to allow the locomotive to be released. The second shed was built to Churchward's new standard straight road shed design and it was 180 ft long by 66 ft wide accommodating four roads. Offices, messroom and stores were located along the northern wall for some 166 ft of its length. A separate building measuring 12 ft by 10 ft housing the sand furnace was located on the north-west corner of the shed and was accessed via a short siding which radiated off the turntable. In all probability the short siding was used by wagons transporting the sand to the furnace. The western side wall was built to allow future extension although this facility was never required. The 30 ft by 32 ft coaling stage was also of a new design being a brick-built copy of the stone coal stage at Truro and included a 45,000 gallon tank on top of the coal stage. There was a pit between the rails of all four roads immediately in front of the shed's doors as well as one beneath the road adjacent to the coaling stage. A turntable was provided which allowed locomotives to be turned either after being coaled or by accessing the turntable from one of the straight roads which lay in front of the shed.

Robert Ferris writes 'The new Leamington shed commenced construction during 1905 and was completed before December 1906, when an article in the in-house magazine appeared. According to the magazine the shed was equipped with a 65 ft 'under-girder' type turntable which came into use in July 1906. However the photographs show an 'over-girder' turntable and 65 ft 'over-girder' turntables appears to be the standard size installed from 1904 onwards (GA Drwg 16789). The 65 ft 'under-girder' types were more normal inside round house engine sheds (e.g. Tyseley) as the 'over-girder' type were apparently considered a hinderance to workings, but there were also external 'under-girder' types around. An 'under-girder' type required constructing of a deeper pit, so it was more expensive. Where they were installed, the pit was also normally 'tabled' (i.e. boarded over). In 1903 the 2-8-0 28xx class freight locomotive had been introduced and I suspect that these as well as the larger 4-6-0 passenger locomotives will have dictated the turntable size chosen by Churchward for his engine shed rebuilding programme (which lasted until 1920 when Stourbridge Shed was built)'.

Leamington's 1852 Shed

Ref: gwrls237 Anon View of the northern approach to Leamington station looking south with the site of the first engine shed on the left

Ref: gwrls237a Anon Close up showing the approach road to the original locomotive shed and the standard GWR water tank

Ref: gwrls2141 Ordnance Survey Part of the 1886 OS map showing the location and layout of the original Leamington Engine Shed

Ref: gwrls2164 J Copsey Schematic drawing showing the layout of the 1852 engine shed including turntable, water tower and coal plant

Leamington's 1906 Engine Shed

Views of the shed and its infrastructure

Ref: gwrls2165 GWR Photographer The three main components of the 1906 engine shed, the coal stage, the turntable and the four-road shed

Ref: gwrls2165a GWR Photographer Close up of the standard designed coal stage and water tank as viewed from the western side of the shed

Ref: gwrls2165b GWR Photographer Close up of the 65 ft over-girder turntable with 3 buffer stops including on the right the siding to the sand furnace

Ref: gwrls2165c GWR Photographer Close up showing the sixty-six feet wide four-road engine shed with lean-to offices built on the left hand side

Ref: gwrls2200 D Cooknell A general aerial view showing the coaling stage, ash roads, turntable and shed in May 1965

Ref: gwrls2200a D Cooknell Close up of the coaling stage showing wagons stabled at the top of the ramp despite the track being overgrown

Ref: gwrls2200b D Cooknell Close up of the shed showing two ex-LMS 2-6-0 and one BR Standard 2-6-4T locomotives stabled outside the shed

Ref: gwrls2066 RS Carpenter Panoramic view of Leamington shed and carriage sidings circa 1963 showing two locomotives being prepared

Ref: gwrls2066a RS Carpenter Close up showing the fan of tracks leading to the coaling stage, the turntable and the four road shed

Ref: gwrls2066b RS Carpenter Close up showing all of the five roads which made up the carriage sidings at Leamington shed

Ref: gwrls808 Anon A general view of the shed in GWR days with a pair of GWR 2-6-2T Prairie tank engines standing in the yard

The shed at work

Ref: gwrls807 Anon Ex-GWR 2-6-2T Prairie No 4112 stands under the coaling stage with its enlarged coal tipping mechanism

Ref: gwrls2068 AWV Mace Leamington shed's coaling stage viewed from the eastern end of the former LNWR Leamington to Rugby branch

Ref: gwrls818 RS Carpenter An unidentified GWR 2301 Class 0-6-0 locomotive is seen being turned on Leamington shed's turntable

Ref: gwrls229a RS Carpenter Close up showing the the timber steps used by staff to reach the coaling platform from rail level

Ref: gwrls817 HJ Stretton-Ward Ex-GWR 2301 Class 0-6-0 No 2328 is seen standing beneath the coaling stage in September 1911

Ref: gwrls230a L Hanson Close up showing the coal tipping mechanism which projected outwards from the coaling stage

Ref: gwrls230b L Hanson Close up showing one of the GWR's steel 'loco' wagons standing empty with the doors in the open position

Ref: gwrls236 Anon View of the shed showing a number of locomotives standing on storage road adjacent to the coaling stage

Ref: gwrls236a Anon Close up showing locomotives and loco coal wagons standing on the siding adjacent to the road leading to the turntable

Ref: gwrls236b Anon Close up showing enthusiasts standing next to the locomotives stabled in front of the four road shed

Ref: gwrls808a Anon Close up showing the door to the office located on the ground floor of the three-storey coaling stage

Ref: gwrls808b Anon Close up which provides a nice three-quarter perspective of Leamington Shed showing its overall length

Ref: gwrls805 WoW Leamington shed on the 12th June 1965, the very last day of operation, with at least one ex-LMS interloper in view

Ref: gwrls230 L Hanson GWR Prairie 2-6-2T No 5134 is seen stabled on the siding used to store empty loco coal wagons on 22nd March 1936

Ref: gwrls231a RS Carpenter Close up showing the two standard GWR water columns and the 'fire-devils' used to protect them from freezing

Ref: gwrls229 RS Carpenter Former Cambrian 4-4-0 No 1100 stands next to the water hydrant awaiting its turn to be coaled circa 1929

Staff of Leamington Engine Shed

Ref: gwrls1605 A Holden GWR 33xx Class 4-4-0 No 3443 'Birkenhead' is posed in front of the coaling stage with shed staff

Ref: gwrls1606 LA Holden GWR 2-6-2T No 3115 stands with members of the shed's staff posed on the running and footplate

Locomotives on Shed

Ref: gwrls233 L Hanson GWR 2251 Class 0-6-0 No 2281 is seen coupled with a ROD tender at Leamington shed on 22nd March 1936

Ref: gwrls2161 P Myhill Ex-GWR 2251 Class 0-6-0 No 2291 is seen standing outside Leamington shed in bright sunlight

Ref: gwrls2162 P Myhill Ex-GWR 61xx Class 2-6-2T No 6169 stands outside Leamington shed with other ex-GWR locomotives

Ref: gwrls2163 P Myhill Ex-LMS 8F 2-8-0 No 48035 is seen out of commission with damaged cylinders at Leamington shed

Ref: gwrls2059 R Postill Ex-GWR 56xx Class 0-6-2T No 6644 is seen blowing off steam by Leamington coaling stage on 13th March 1965

Ref: gwrls2051 R Postill British Railways Standard Class 4MT 2-6-4T No 80072 stands outside the shed on 13th March 1965

Ref: gwrls2052 K Parker Ex-GWR 5101 Class 2-6-2T No 5184 is stabled on the short siding adjacent to the coaling road one Sunday

Ref: gwrls232 L Hanson GWR 2-8-2T No 7226 is seen stabled on the siding adjacent to the coaling stage road on 4th December 1938

Ref: gwrls234 L Hanson GWR 4-4-0 No 3218 is seen prepared for its next trip whilst on the left is an unknown 0-6-0PT locomotive

Ref: gwrls2088 R Postill Ex-GWR 56xx Class 0-6-2T No 6671 and BR 4MT 2-6-4T No 80072 stand outside the shed on 13th Match 1965

Ref: gwrls235 RS Carpenter A rear ¾ view of GWR 2-6-2T Prairie No 8100 showing the nearly new condition of the locomotive

Ref: gwrls231 RS Carpenter GWR 28xx Class 2-8-0 No 2838 plus two other locomotives stand outside the shed on 12th February 1939

Ref: gwrls2042 PJ Kelly A solitary 0-6-0 Diesel shunter stands on the right hand road alongside a number of ex-GWR locomotives

Ref: gwrls2042a PJ Kelly Close up showing ex-GWR 2-6-2T No 8100 and 2-6-2T No 4118 in steam outside Leamington shed

Ref: gwrls2058 R Postill Ex-GWR 56xx Class 0-6-2T No 6639 stands on one of the roads in front of the shed on 5th October 1963

Ref: gwrls2087 J Aviator Ex-GWR 68xx Class 4-6-0 No 6823 'Oakley Grange' stands in front of Leamington Shed in August 1962

Ref: gwrls228 L Hanson GWR 2-6-2T No 8100, the first of a class of ten locomotives, is seen at Leamington on 12th February 1939

Ref: gwrls2055 R Postill British Railways built 2-6-2T No 4176 stands on the road outside Leamington shed on 5th October 1963

Ref: gwrls2067 G Coltas GWR 36xx Class 2-4-2T No 3610 stands 'cold' on the shed road one Sunday afternoon circa 1932

Leamington East Junction Signal Box

Ref: gwrls2053 R Postill Ex-GWR 68xx Class 4-6-0 No 6879 'Overton Grange' runs light engine to Leamington shed on 13th March 1965

Ref: gwrls806 Anon Ex-GWR 2-6-2T Prairie No 5170 runs light engine past Leamington East Junction Signal Box

Maps of Leamington's 1906 Engine Shed

Ref: gwrls2166 J Copsey A schematic plan showing the layout of Leamington shed, coaling stage, turntable and carriage sidings

Ref: gwrls2044 Ordnance Survey Map showing Leamington shed and the carriage sidings which were adjacent to the main line to Paddington

Ref: gwrls2125 Ordnance Survey Part of the 1939 OS map showing Leamington's second engine shed located between the LNWR's and GWR lines

The LMS and its successor, British Railways, undertook to film various aspects of operating steam locomotives and other railway operations. We have provided below links to some of the films related to shed operation that we know exist. When we ascertain films on GWR operations we shall add these to the website too. Films on other aspects of railway operations can be viewed via our Video and Film Clip section.

	"Wash and Brush Up" 1953 Shows the procedures that a steam engine goes through as part of its regular maintenance cycle. The locomotive being featured in the film is a British Railways Standard Class 5MT 4-6-0 No 73020 at 6D Chester (Midland shed. (25 minutes 19 seconds)
	LMS On the Shed - Part One of Two Various shots of an engine being prepared and serviced ready for its next trip. Includes actions and responsibilities of crew. (9 minutes 44 seconds)
	LMS On the Shed - Part Two of Two Various shots of an engine being prepared and serviced ready for its next trip. Includes actions and responsibilities of crew. (9 minutes 31 seconds)