Finsbury Park TMD was a railway traction maintenance depot situated in London, England. It was the first purpose built main line diesel locomotive depot opened in England and it was fully commissioned in April 1960.[2] Finsbury Park was allocated British Railways depot code 34G under the original alphanumeric system; the two letter code of the depot was FP. The nearest railway station is Finsbury Park.
.jpg) 55008 "The Green Howards" at Finsbury Park depot on 14 November 1981 | |
 | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Location | Finsbury Park, Greater London |
| Coordinates | 51°33′30″N 0°06′36″W / 51.5582°N 0.1099°W |
| OS grid | TQ310861 |
| Characteristics | |
| Owner | British Rail |
| Depot code | FP (1973 - 1983)[1] |
| Type | Diesel |
| History | |
| Former depot code | 34G (1960 - 1973) |
The maintenance shed held six roads. Roads seven to eleven were located to the east, with number ten road also accommodating the breakdown train shed. Additionally there were five roads of stabling in Clarence Yard, which was nearest to the main running lines.
The depot was downgraded in June 1981 and closed in October 1983.[3] The site is now covered in residential flats which can be seen to the south-west of Finsbury Park station.
The Deltics
editFollowing the closure of Kings Cross Top Shed and the withdrawal of steam locomotives, much of the traction power for express passenger workings on the East Coast Main Line was taken over by Class 55 Deltic diesel locomotives. Those allocated to Finsbury Park were named after famous racehorses, whilst those allocated to Haymarket TMD and Gateshead TMD were named after British Army regiments.
Finsbury Park's Deltics
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References
edit- ^ "The all-time guide to UK Shed and Depot Codes" (PDF). TheRailwayCentre.com. 5 May 2006. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Baker, p 23
- ^ Baker, p 97
- ^ Rumours persist that Nimbus was not scrapped and was sighted intact afterwards. However there are also photographs of it already dismantled, as officially claimed."Photographs of 55 020 Nimbus being scrapped".
- British Rail Locoshed Directory. Shepperton: Ian Allan Ltd. 1981. ISBN 0-7110-1143-5.
- Finsbury Park Diesel Maintenance Depot 1960 - 1983. Chesterfield: The Deltic Preservation Society Ltd. 2010. ISBN 978-0-9565544-0-6.
- Baker, Allan. Deltics At Work. ISBN 0-7110-1536-8.
Further reading
edit- Johnston, Howard; Wylie, Andrew (December 1983). "Finsbury Park: The end of an era". Rail Enthusiast. EMAP National Publications. p. 15. ISSN 0262-561X. OCLC 49957965.