Brian Swancott, a former passed fireman at Monument Lane,
writes "the shed was accessed by a gate at the corner of Sheepcote St and St
Vincent St with quite a steep path leading down to the shed. The shed's
turntable was vacuum powered whilst servicing of the engines was carried out
via full length pits inside the shed or pits about the length of one loco
outside the shed. The tank engines were used mostly on local passenger service
but also on semi fast trains whilst the Black 5s were used mainly on the
Manchester expresses such as the 7.10 am and the 12.10 pm plus other turns of
work which for now escapes me".
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. Films on other aspects of railway operations can
be viewed via our Video and Film Clip
section.
Tony has produced a book on the history of
the shed called 'Monument Lane Loco Shed' which can be obtained from Tony at 22
Maxstoke Close, Matchborough West, Redditch B98 0EJ. Price is £11.95 plus
£1.40p&p.