Willesden TMD
Encyclopedia
Willesden TMD is a railway locomotive Traction Maintenance Depot
situated in Willesden
, north London. The depot is visible from the West Coast Main Line
, to the south-east of Willesden Junction, on the way into London's Euston Station
. The depot code is WN.
at Willesden was on the south side of the main line, west of the station, which closed in 1965. It was replaced by the present facility.
The arrival and departure sidings contain two connections to the West Coast main line onto the up slow. At the east end of the depot, there is a trailing crossover to permit access onto the down slow when coming off depot.
In more recent years, especially since the loss of AC electric locomotives, the fuel siding was promoted to other train operators as a facility at Willesden and a means to generate some revenue, this meant for instance that Gospel Oak to Barking Line
DMUs did not need to travel to and back each night for 'A' examinations and fuelling which could instead be carried out at Willesden.
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...
situated in Willesden
Willesden
Willesden is an area in North West London which forms part of the London Borough of Brent. It is situated 5 miles north west of Charing Cross...
, north London. The depot is visible from the West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
, to the south-east of Willesden Junction, on the way into London's Euston Station
Euston railway station
Euston railway station, also known as London Euston, is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden. It is the sixth busiest rail terminal in London . It is one of 18 railway stations managed by Network Rail, and is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line...
. The depot code is WN.
History
The original locomotive servicing facilityMotive power depot
Motive power depot, usually abbreviated to MPD, is a name given to places where locomotives are stored when not being used, and also repaired and maintained. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine sheds", or, for short, just sheds. Facilities are provided for refuelling and...
at Willesden was on the south side of the main line, west of the station, which closed in 1965. It was replaced by the present facility.
Shed Layout
The depot was designed in the 1960s, to service electric locomotives AL1 to 6 (tops classes 81 to 86) and subsequently class 87s, and consists of 6 parallel shed roads (each holding 4 locomotives inside the shed) and several arrivals and departure sidings externally. There is also a road that runs round to the north of the shed and this provides access to the fuel siding, (which for many years was used only for the occasional fueling of diesel shunters), and also to the DC lines of Willesden Junction Low Level station, which is used to move multiple units from the shed onto the North London Line after servicing.The arrival and departure sidings contain two connections to the West Coast main line onto the up slow. At the east end of the depot, there is a trailing crossover to permit access onto the down slow when coming off depot.
Facilities
These include offices, a workshop and reasonably large stores. The workshop contains high quality facilities for pantograph overhaul, tap-changer overhaul and brake equipment test and servicing.In more recent years, especially since the loss of AC electric locomotives, the fuel siding was promoted to other train operators as a facility at Willesden and a means to generate some revenue, this meant for instance that Gospel Oak to Barking Line
Gospel Oak to Barking line
The Gospel Oak – Barking Line is a railway line in north and east London which connects Gospel Oak in North London and Barking in East London as part of the London Overground network. It is sometimes known as the Goblin , although this is a nickname rather than an official title...
DMUs did not need to travel to and back each night for 'A' examinations and fuelling which could instead be carried out at Willesden.
Allocation
- Class 09British Rail Class 09The British Rail Class 09 is a class of 0-6-0 diesel locomotive designed primarily for shunting and also short distance freight trips along branch lines....
- Class 172British Rail Class 172The Class 172 is a type of diesel multiple unit of the Turbostar family, similar to the Class 168, Class 170 and Class 171.-Technical details and variants :There will be four sub-types:*Class 172/0 - two-car units in operation with London Overground...
- Class 378British Rail Class 378The Class 378 Capitalstar is a type of electric multiple-unit train, part of Bombardier Transportation's Electrostar family. These trains are operating on the new London Overground network...