 |
|
Sheds
- Stratford Midland Junction
Industrial
Railways
Colliery
Lines
Mishaps
Rail Art
|
|
Bournville Shed
Although Bournville station opened in 1876, Bournville shed
did not open until 1895 reflecting the traffic being generated by the
industrial expansion of Birmingham in the last decade of the 19th century.
Located on the Birmingham West Suburban Railway opposite the junction of
the Lifford Canal branch, Bournville shed was a standard Midland roundhouse
initially equipped with a 50 foot turntable and a single coal stage. It had an
allocation of approximately twenty-five locomotives which were outstationed
from Saltley shed. Hawkins & Reeve in their book LMS Engine Sheds Volume
Two - The Midland Railway claim that the accommodation was more than
adequate and the expected increase in traffic, for which the shed was to be
responsible, never fully materialised. The shed was also close to the junction
of the Camp Hill line with the Birmingham to Gloucester main line.
In 1929 the complement of locomotives stood at only fifteen:
four 2-4-0s, two 4-4-0s; six 0-6-0s; three Deeley 0-6-4T tank engines and two
Johnson 0-6-0 1F tank engines. By the end of the Second World War the number
had increased notably with the introduction of several 2-6-4Ts which were
engaged on local passenger services. The Deeley 0-6-4Ts were initially engaged
on local passenger services and as late as 1924 even some quite important trips
such as the Birmingham to Leicester expresses. However, following a number of
mishaps in the 1930s they were downgraded and subsequently withdrawn with
several of the class being placed in store for a time alongside the shed. The
shed's importance suffered a decline when the Birmingham Suburban service
around the Camp Hill line was abandoned and the depot became something of a
backwater notable for its allocation of a number of very old Kirtley
double-framed 0-6-0s mainly employed on the Halesowen branch.
Three of these Kirtley 0-6-0s were equipped with Johnson
boilers - Nos 22630, 22818 and 22834 whilst another three - Nos 22846, 22853
and 22863 were equipped with the more modern Belpaire boilers. Hawkins &
Reeve note that the last of the Kirtley's to be allocated to Bournville shed
was No 22846 being withdrawn in 1949 before it could carry its allocated
British Railways number. The distinctive horseshoe tender from No 22834
was transferred to the preserved 2-4-0 No 158A now placed in the National
Collection at York which was placed on show during New Street stations
centenary celebrations (see image 'lnwrbns_br1798').
During the 1930s the LMS undertook a major programme to
upgrade its engine sheds to improve engine availability and to reduce labour
costs. Bournville was not considered by the LMS as sufficiently important to be
involved in the modernisation programme although it is probable had the Second
World War not intervened it might have benefitted later. It did however receive
a mobile canteen 'presented by the men of the Argentine Railways' which was
located inside the shed. Sometime around the nationalisation of the railways in
1948 the shed's turntable was increased in size from fifty foot to fifty-seven
foot which was more than adequate for the locomotives allocated to the shed.
The turntable was damaged in 1956 when a locomotive fell into the pit causing
the roundhouse to be out of action for the period the turntable was being
repaired at the former GWR works in Swindon.
During this period the shed's allocation of engines had to
travel to Saltley and Bromsgrove for their scheduled boiler inspections and
wash-outs. Closure was scheduled for 1959 and then deferred to January 1960 but
in fact it was not closed until 14th February 1960 with the site cleared very
soon afterwards. The last locomotive officially to leave the shed whilst still
in service was Stanier 4-6-0 'Black 5' No 44843 leaving behind in store for
scrapping the following locomotives: Four 4-4-0s - Nos 40439, 40443, 40511 and
40568; and eight 0-6-0 - Nos 43490, 43675, 43693, 43858, 44084, 44227, 44406
and 44515. They were removed shortly afterwards although Nos 40439, 40443 and
40511 managed to escape the scrapman's torch for a brief period being
transferred to Toton, finishing their days on freights in January 1961.
We apologise for any inconvenience to visitors caused by
the engineering work to the site
Select an image below to view the larger version with
accompanying text:
|
