PROJECT INSPIRATION
1 LEEDS HOLBECK
The remains of the Midland Railway’s Holbeck shed provided the main inspiration for George’s depot diorama. The partly demolished structure, with its exposed whitewashed interior walls, makes for a dramatic backdrop. This was the scene in July 1969. RAIL PHOTOPRINTS
BR region: London Midland/ Eastern (from 1958)
Origin: Midland Railway
BR
Shed
codes: 20A (1948-58), 55A (1958-67)
Status: Steam shed closed 1967, diesel maintenance depot opened in 1977. Since the 1990s the site has been used by a variety of railway maintenance companies, and for stabling track machines and MPVs.
Key steam traction: LMS ‘4F’ 0-6-0, LMS ‘5MT’ 4-6-0, ‘Jubilee’ 4-6-0, ‘Royal Scot’ 4-6-0, ‘8F’ 2-8-0, ‘A3’ 4-6-2
Key diesel traction: Class 08, Class 24/25, Class 45/46 ‘Peaks’, Class 47
What makes it interesting?
Catering for a range of duties around the Leeds area, Holbeck also supplied traction for services over the Settle-Carlisle route. After transferring to the Eastern Region, Gresley ‘A3s’ arrived. Following steam’s demise, the shed was demolished, save for sections of the outer wall, with the rubble used to infill the ash pits. The turntable and roundhouse arrangement remained for almost a decade, providing an unusual stabling facility for diesel locomotives, until the site was remodelled around an unremarkable two-road servicing depot.