St Philip's Marsh is an industrial inner suburb of Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is bounded by River Avon

River Avon, Bristol

The River Avon is an English river in the south west of the country. To distinguish it from a number of other River Avons in Britain, this river is often also known as the Lower Avon or Bristol Avon...

 and Harbour feeder canal

Bristol Harbour

Bristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of . It has existed since the 13th century but was developed into its current form in the early 19th century by installing lock gates on a tidal stretch of the River Avon in the centre of the city and...

 making it an almost island area, unlike the other two areas surrounded by water, it was historically part of Gloucestershire. The site is home of Avonmeads Retail Park, a large retail and leisure park with Showcase Cinemas

Showcase Cinemas

Showcase Cinemas is a movie theater chain owned and operated by National Amusements. Operating more than 1,354 indoor screens in the United States, United Kingdom and Latin America.-USA:* Connecticut* Massachusetts* Ohio* New Jersey* Rhode Island...

 and a Hollywood Bowl ten-pin bowling

Ten-pin bowling

Ten-pin bowling is a competitive sport in which a player rolls a bowling ball down a wooden or synthetic lane with the objective of scoring points by knocking down as many pins as possible.-Summary:The lane is bordered along its length by semicylindrical channels Ten-pin bowling (commonly just...

 centre among its tenants. It was extensively redeveloped in the 15 years to 2007. A bypass runs over the River Avon

River Avon, Bristol

The River Avon is an English river in the south west of the country. To distinguish it from a number of other River Avons in Britain, this river is often also known as the Lower Avon or Bristol Avon...

 creating a major transport link from the A4 road in south east Bristol, to junction 3 of the M32 motorway

M32 motorway

The M32 is a motorway in South Gloucestershire and Bristol, England. It provides a link from Bristol city centre to the M4 and is part of the Bristol Parkway. At about , it is one of Britain's shortest motorways...

 near the city centre.
In past years St Philip's marsh was a housing development for the workers of Bristol's market area (now known as Old Market

Old Market, Bristol

Old Market is a Conservation Area of national significance, to the east of the city centre in Bristol, England. Old Market Street and West Street form the central axis of the area, which is approximately bounded by New Street and Lawfords Gate to the north, Trinity Road and Trinity Street to the...

). One of St Philip's' more influential residents during the early 1900s was George Townsend

George Townsend

George Townsend was a U.S. Representative from New York.Born in Lattingtown, township of Oyster Bay, New York, Townsend engaged in agricultural pursuits....

, a major property developer of the South Bristol area. His family home situated in the St Anne's area of Bristol is still standing today and a reminder of Bristol's history. Today there is very little housing in the area making it almost deserted at night, and other than the retail area it does contain one shop, pub, takeaway and Sparke Evans Park.

Sparke Evans Park

Sparke Evans Park is situated on the riverside not far from the retail park. The land was donated by P.F. Sparke Evans and Jonathan Evans, local tannery owners, in 1902. It is a survivor from a time when the Marsh was a residential area. Since the area has become almost totally industrial it now gets very little use, what use it does get is by workers on breaks there and from the residents of Arno's Vale as there is a bridge linking the two areas. A shelter dating from 1925 is still extant on the far west of the park featuring wrought-iron pillars, with ornate and decorative brackets.

Railways

St Philip's Marsh is located close to Bristol Temple Meads railway station

Bristol Temple Meads railway station

Bristol Temple Meads railway station is the oldest and largest railway station in Bristol, England. It is an important transport hub for public transport in Bristol, with bus services to various parts of the city and surrounding districts, and a ferry service to the city centre in addition to the...

, on the Great Western Main Line

Great Western Main Line

The Great Western Main Line is a main line railway in Great Britain that runs westwards from London Paddington station to the west of England and South Wales. The core Great Western Main Line runs from London Paddington to Temple Meads railway station in Bristol. A major branch of the Great...

. St Philip's Marsh (Bristol) Traction and Rolling Stock Maintenance Depot or St Philip's Marsh T&RSMD is a traction and rolling stock maintenance depot

Traction maintenance depot

In the United Kingdom, a traction maintenance depot, or TMD, is a railway depot where locomotives are serviced and maintained. A traction and rolling stock maintenance depot, or T&RSMD, is a maintenance depot where locomotives, multiple units and rolling stock are serviced and maintained. Each rail...

 located here.

St Philip's Marsh T&RSMD is owned by Network Rail

Network Rail

Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...

 and leased to major local operator First Great Western

First Great Western

First Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....

 and is used entirely for the maintenance of First Great Western InterCity 125

InterCity 125

The InterCity 125 was the brand name of British Rail's High Speed Train fleet. The InterCity 125 train is made up of two power cars, one at each end of a fixed formation of Mark 3 carriages, and is capable of , making the train the fastest diesel-powered locomotive in regular service in the...

 trains operating between London, Bristol and South Wales. Both Class 43 power cars

British Rail Class 43 (HST)

The British Rail Class 43 is the TOPS classification used for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train power cars, built by BREL from 1975 to 1982....

 and Mark 3 coaching stock

British Rail Mark 3

British Rail's third design of standard carriage was designated 'Mark 3' , and was developed primarily for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train...

 are serviced here.

Following the merger of the old First Great Western (FGW) and Wessex Trains

Wessex Trains

Wessex Trains was the primary passenger rail operator in the South West of England. The company operated trains in the region bounded by Penzance, Cardiff, Gloucester, Worcester and Brighton...

 operations into one new franchise, now entirely called First Great Western, a decision has been made to use an extended St Philip's Marsh depot to maintain FGW's fleet of diesel multiple units, previously maintained at Cardiff Canton TMD

Cardiff Canton TMD

Cardiff Canton TMD is a diesel locomotive Traction Maintenance Depot which is situated in Cardiff, Wales. The depot code is CF. In steam days the depot was known as Cardiff Canton and its shed code was 86C. Originally built as the main maintenance base for the South Wales Railway, it became the...

 by Arriva Trains Wales

Arriva Trains Wales

Arriva Trains Wales is a train operating company, owned by Arriva, that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches...

 on behalf of FGW.

This move will remove the need for trains to travel through the congested Severn Tunnel

Severn Tunnel

The Severn Tunnel is a railway tunnel in the United Kingdom, linking South Gloucestershire in the west of England to Monmouthshire in south Wales under the estuary of the River Severn....

 to reach the depot in south Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 from their operating area in the south west of England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. This will free up capacity through the tunnel, but will ultimately lead to job losses at Canton due to the decreased workload.

The official depot code for St Philip's Marsh T&RSMD is PM.

External links

• Map of St Philip's Marsh circa 1900
• An overhead view of St Philip's Marsh T&RSMD.