LMS Route: Nuneaton to Birmingham New Street

LMS Route: Birmingham New Street to Tamworth

Saltley Shed: mrsalt431

Thought to be an 1868 internal view of Saltley shed's new No 2 roundhouses with the turntable completely enclosed in the foreground. The cleanliness and light streaming through the roof lights together with the posed locomotives and men seem to confirm the view that the shed was new and the scene was posed for official records. Its evident that the photographer is looking two roundhouses as their is another turntable in the distance behind the turntable seen immediately in the foreground. This means the furthest roundhouse was the original structure at Saltley now described as No 1 shed or roundhouse. The locomotives appear to be Sharp Stewart 2-2-2s which Hawkins & Reeves noted were the mainstay of Birmingham to Bristol expresses up to the early 1870s

Whilst the Midland Railway used the term 'Roundhouses' to describe its engine sheds, reflecting their practice in the early years of the company to build circular sheds with the turntable in the centre, the term was applied to describe any shaped shed which had a turntable in the centre. Saltley shed's were built as oblong structures with some of the radiating tracks being longer than others which in fact reflected the many different lengths of locomotives on the railway in later years. The LNWR by comparison had sheds without a turntable inside with tracks in parallel to each other. The turntable being sited outside in the yard.

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