Gateshead Locomotive Depot - A depot remembered

[TK421]

In 1852 the North Eastern Ralway built it's HQ and locomotive works on 'Greensfield' meadows, in what would ultimatley become shed 52A, Gateshead locomotive depot, ending it's days in 1991 as Gateshead Traction Maintenance Depot. Famous for building steam locomotives, having an allocation of Gresley A4 Pacifics, and also class 55 Deltic locomotives, Gateshead depot served the East Coast Mainline and local area for 139 years. It was also famous for never keeping it's loco's clean, and being a difficult depot to bunk, I visited once and asked the foreman if we could look around, without lifting his head he uttered the immortal phrase "No F*ck off", fair enough

As you will expect it is now a set of expensive flats under the guise of 'Ochre Yards', whatever that means, so knowing that the writing was on the wall, during 2001 a friend and I spent some time capturing the depot on numerous visits before it was gone forever. My one regret is having never got inside, but like in it's days as a working depot, till the last it remained difficult to get round.

The depot as I remembered it as a lad in the 80's:



The fuelling shed:



Map showing the main areas before we go on tour:



The fueller derelict:



The main shed seen from Chaters bank:



The signing on point and traincrew supervisors offices:



Side view of the offices:



Overall view:



Back of the offices:



The depot up front, as you can see it was a 'big un', I would have loved to have the clock in the centre:



Back of the fuel tanks, Gateshead often was the principle cause for polluting the Tyne, if these babies overflowed, about a week later a mysterious 'oil slick' would appear!!



Back of the fueller and washer:



Another shot of the fuel tanks:



Hiding inside had been these two long term residents (08515 & 08618), I turned up one day to see they had been pushed outside for some reason:



And then about a week later I found the reason, the scrapman commeth:



Shot of the back of the depot known as the 'ashbanks', where I used to spend many a happy warm summer Sunday sitting in one of the withdrawn locomotives eating my sarnies:



The original loco works and station buildings (sorry about the poor photos, I was 'disturbed' on this visit by some rather angry pikies, so clicky clicky and run away):







And then the inevitable came, demolition:



The pale bridge is the one that carries the Metro across the Tyne:





Another sad end of industrial history in the pursuit of modernisation, but glad I got to visit a few more times before it was raised to the ground.

Hope you enjoyed these.

Cheers