Toton TMD
Encyclopedia
Toton Traction Maintenance Depot (Nottinghamshire) is one of the largest rail depots in the United Kingdom
. Toton TMD is bordered by Long Eaton
and Sandiacre
in Derbyshire
and Toton
in Nottinghamshire
. The official depot code for Toton TMD is TO, previously shed code 18A.
Since privatisation of the UK rail network, Toton TMD has been operated by EWS, recently rebranded as DB Schenker Rail (UK)
. Toton TMD has been the home of freight trains supporting many British industries, most notably coal and metals. For many years, Toton TMD was the home of Class 20
, Class 56
and Class 58
.
Nowadays, and mainly due to the rationalisation of rail freight by EWS the TMD is home to the Class 60
and Class 66
diesel locomotives. The older traction has been taken out of service by EWS/DBS and nearly 90% of the Class 60 fleet is in storage, many at Toton.
Changes in the maintenance of locomotives have also meant that Toton is now the only TMD within DBS where heavy maintenance is carried out on locomotives. More recently a number of locos at Toton have been modified for use in France with EWS/DBS subsidiary Euro Cargo Rail
.
; the bulk of the traffic that was dealt with was domestic coal and iron ore, and steel from the nearby Stanton Ironworks.
Many of the yards were lifted during the 1970s and 1980s as the domestic coal traffic declined and the Stanton traffic ceased.
During the 1980s the yards were rationalised to the basic shape seen today, mainly due to the workflow at the depot which now consists coal from Yorkshire
and Nottinghamshire being transported via Toton to the local power stations.
As the virtual shutdown of the domestic coal industry gathered pace during the 1990s, Toton's primary coal traffic changed to mainly imports from Immingham
, Avonmouth and Liverpool
. However coal is still worked to Toton from Daw Mill
Colliery in Warwickshire
.
The changes in the coal flows have meant changes in the way the traffic is handled by the yards at Toton, primarily because the great majority of the trains now originate from south of the yards and therefore have to be propelled into either the North Yard or the Old or New Bank sidings. Following the remodelling of the 1970s and '80s there is no connection directly into Toton Yards from the south; the yards were rationalised due to the cessation of coal
traffic originating from the collieries of Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire.
From 2009 both the North Yard and the New Bank sidings became accessible from the south after the whole of the Toton area was re-signalled with a certain amount of remodelling also taking place.
It is now also possible to depart south from the North Yard which, as its name would suggest, was designed for trains heading North.
Nowadays, in the privatised era, the yards are a shadow of their former selves, with only a small amount of traffic actually originating here. The main flows are now rail infrastructure services for Network Rail
, and weekend ballast and engineering trains. Coal is mainly long-distance traffic: either from Scotland
, which arrives via Milford, or imported coal which stables in North Yard (down side) sidings for onward transit to Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station
.
The traincrew depot has also declined as a result of the loss of traffic and now has a depot complement of 48 drivers (in 2010), which contrasts with the depot's complement on privatisation when around 170 drivers were based here.
As of 23:59 on 26 April 2009, Old Bank and New Bank yards on the up side of the main lines (below the bank) were closed due to the economic situation and the associated decline in freight traffic. Since then all trains have been handled on the down side in Toton North Yard. The mothballed yards will be used for storage of assets not currently in use, including locos and wagons. It is hoped that the yards will be brought back into use once the financial climate improves and freight traffic picks up.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Toton TMD is bordered by Long Eaton
Long Eaton
Long Eaton is a town in Derbyshire, England. It lies just north of the River Trent about southwest of Nottingham and is part of the Nottingham Urban Area...
and Sandiacre
Sandiacre
Sandiacre is a town in the Borough of Erewash in Derbyshire, in the East Midlands region of England adjoining the border with Nottinghamshire....
in Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
and Toton
Toton
Toton is a small suburb of Nottingham. It forms part of the Greater Nottingham urban area, and is in the Borough of Broxtowe. The inhabited area is contained within the electoral ward of Toton and Chilwell Meadows...
in Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
. The official depot code for Toton TMD is TO, previously shed code 18A.
Since privatisation of the UK rail network, Toton TMD has been operated by EWS, recently rebranded as DB Schenker Rail (UK)
DB Schenker Rail (UK)
DB Schenker Rail , before 2009 known as English, Welsh and Scottish Railway is a British rail freight company. EWS was established by a consortium led by Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation in 1996 by acquisition of five of the six freight companies created by the privatisation of British...
. Toton TMD has been the home of freight trains supporting many British industries, most notably coal and metals. For many years, Toton TMD was the home of Class 20
British Rail Class 20
The British Rail Class 20, otherwise known as an English Electric Type 1, is a class of diesel-electric locomotive. In total, 228 locomotives in the class were built by English Electric between 1957 and 1968, the large number being in part because of the failure of other early designs in the same...
, Class 56
British Rail Class 56
The British Rail Class 56 is a type of diesel locomotive designed for heavy freight work. It is a Type 5 locomotive, with a Ruston-Paxman power unit developing 3,250 bhp , and has a Co-Co wheel arrangement...
and Class 58
British Rail Class 58
The British Rail Class 58 is a class of Co-Co diesel locomotive designed for heavy freight. Introduced in 1983, they followed American practice of modularisation. From new they were painted in grey Railfreight Sector livery, instead of BR blue...
.
Nowadays, and mainly due to the rationalisation of rail freight by EWS the TMD is home to the Class 60
British Rail Class 60
The British Rail Class 60 is a class of Co-Co heavy freight diesel-electric locomotives built by Brush Traction. They are nicknamed Tugs by Rail Enthusiasts.-History:...
and Class 66
British Rail Class 66
The Class 66 is a six axle diesel electric freight locomotive developed in part from the British Rail Class 59, for use on the railways of the UK. Since its introduction the class has been successful and has been sold to British and other European railway companies...
diesel locomotives. The older traction has been taken out of service by EWS/DBS and nearly 90% of the Class 60 fleet is in storage, many at Toton.
Changes in the maintenance of locomotives have also meant that Toton is now the only TMD within DBS where heavy maintenance is carried out on locomotives. More recently a number of locos at Toton have been modified for use in France with EWS/DBS subsidiary Euro Cargo Rail
Euro Cargo Rail
Euro Cargo Rail is a French rail freight operator formed in 2005 as a subsidiary of English, Welsh and Scottish Railway .-History:Euro Cargo Rail was founded in February 2005, in April 2005 EWS InternationalEWS International was the division of EWS responsible for operations through the Channel...
.
Toton Marshalling Yards
The associated yards at Toton (the Old/New Banks, North Yard, West Yard and Sandiacre Ballast Sidings) have declined massively over the past 50 years. At one stage Toton had the largest marshalling yards in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
; the bulk of the traffic that was dealt with was domestic coal and iron ore, and steel from the nearby Stanton Ironworks.
Many of the yards were lifted during the 1970s and 1980s as the domestic coal traffic declined and the Stanton traffic ceased.
During the 1980s the yards were rationalised to the basic shape seen today, mainly due to the workflow at the depot which now consists coal from Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
and Nottinghamshire being transported via Toton to the local power stations.
As the virtual shutdown of the domestic coal industry gathered pace during the 1990s, Toton's primary coal traffic changed to mainly imports from Immingham
Immingham
Immingham is a town in North East Lincolnshire, located on the south bank of the Humber Estuary...
, Avonmouth and Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. However coal is still worked to Toton from Daw Mill
Daw Mill
Daw Mill is a coal mine located near the village of Arley in the English county of Warwickshire. The mine is Britain's biggest coal producer, mining a five-metre thick section of the Warwickshire Coalfield in the north of the county...
Colliery in Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
.
The changes in the coal flows have meant changes in the way the traffic is handled by the yards at Toton, primarily because the great majority of the trains now originate from south of the yards and therefore have to be propelled into either the North Yard or the Old or New Bank sidings. Following the remodelling of the 1970s and '80s there is no connection directly into Toton Yards from the south; the yards were rationalised due to the cessation of coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
traffic originating from the collieries of Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire.
From 2009 both the North Yard and the New Bank sidings became accessible from the south after the whole of the Toton area was re-signalled with a certain amount of remodelling also taking place.
It is now also possible to depart south from the North Yard which, as its name would suggest, was designed for trains heading North.
Nowadays, in the privatised era, the yards are a shadow of their former selves, with only a small amount of traffic actually originating here. The main flows are now rail infrastructure services for 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 weekend ballast and engineering trains. Coal is mainly long-distance traffic: either from Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, which arrives via Milford, or imported coal which stables in North Yard (down side) sidings for onward transit to Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station
Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station
Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station is a coal-fired power station operated by E.ON UK at Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire, England. Commissioned in 1968 by the then Central Electricity Generating Board, the station has a capacity of 2,000 MW...
.
The traincrew depot has also declined as a result of the loss of traffic and now has a depot complement of 48 drivers (in 2010), which contrasts with the depot's complement on privatisation when around 170 drivers were based here.
As of 23:59 on 26 April 2009, Old Bank and New Bank yards on the up side of the main lines (below the bank) were closed due to the economic situation and the associated decline in freight traffic. Since then all trains have been handled on the down side in Toton North Yard. The mothballed yards will be used for storage of assets not currently in use, including locos and wagons. It is hoped that the yards will be brought back into use once the financial climate improves and freight traffic picks up.
External links
- An overhead view of the depot.
- Toton-Rail website Images of the infrastructure and trains in the Toton area.