Hornsey Loco Shed 1960

Comment by Hugh on January 16, 2015 at 12:43

Thanks for the photo.

I imagine there was a fair bit of noise too. Do please add anything more you have to say. 

Comment by Stephen Holliday on January 16, 2015 at 13:28

Hornsey Shed, as it was usually known, was opened piecemeal but was fully operational by 1900. One of the problems with steam locos was that it took several hours after lighting the fire before enough steam was raised to draw it properly. During this time a lot of smoke was produced. Complaints about smoke nuisance were first noted in July 1901! Rather than face the cost of fighting legal actions the Great Northern Railway (as it was then) decided to use the more expensive Welsh steam coal for lighting-up rather than the harder coal from the north. Although this helped the situation (at Nationalisation in 1948 there were 70 locos allocated to Hornsey but not all of them would be at the shed at any one time) several actions from Borough of Hornsey resulted in fines.

On the subject of coal the prominent concrete coaling tower resulted from improvements in 1928/9. It could hold 200 tons of coal of two grades (usually bad and worse!). The coal wagons would be lifted one by one up the sloping ramp at the side and the contents tipped into the hopper. This resulted in a great crash and a cloud of coal dust. It is doubtful if the locals appreciated the feature of the red-tiled roof on the tower ("so it would blend into the residential area") but it did stop the dust (a bit!). I am not sure if it ever happened at Hornsey but it has been known for the wagon to try to follow the coal into the hopper.

The shed provided steam locos for local freight and some of the local passenger traffic and also turning and maintenance facilities for locomotives bringing the many freight trains from the north to the Ferme Park Marshalling Yard as it was officially known. On the turntable is a class 9F freight loco (known to some of the crews as "space ships") that would have brought in such a train. It has been under the coal hopper to have its tender filled and is now on the turntable ready to be turned for its return journey. One problem with the turntable was that the Foreman's office was on the other side of it so that on occasion a loco running on to it a bit too fast would end up in the office.

The shed closed to steam in June 1961 (probably much to the relief of the residents in Wightman Road) but was used for diesels for another 10 years. It was incorporated into the electric train maintenance depot that later covered the sidings.

Comment by Hugh on January 16, 2015 at 14:00

Thanks for this wee window into our past, Stephen; fascinating.

Comment by Gordon T on January 16, 2015 at 18:16

Judging by the piled-up coal on the tender, the fireman would have some work to do levelling it before the next job. Otherwise coal everywhere at the first overbridge.....

Comment by StephenBln on January 16, 2015 at 21:50

No Coffee Pots to be seen..

Comment by Stephen Holliday on January 17, 2015 at 13:29

The coal heap on the tender certainly looks precarious. A piece of coal flying off while passing through a station could easily kill someone. Before the loco left the shed the fireman would have used quite a lot of coal to build up the fire which would have hopefully resolved the problem. At Kings Cross "Top Shed" certain drivers were known to go back under the coaling tower before leaving to top up the tender much to the displeasure of the Shedmaster.

Comment by Stephen Holliday on January 17, 2015 at 14:44

The "Coffee Pots" or J52s as they were officially known were a thing of the past in the area when I took the photo, the last two 68831 and 68846 having left Kings Cross in 1959. They were part of the local scene for many years - in 1923 there were 24 at Hornsey rising to 41 in 1935, dropping to 33 in 1948.
I had seen 68846 looking very smart at a railway exhibition in Noel Park Goods Yard held between the 12th and 14th September, 1958 as part of celebrations to commemorate the 750th anniversary of Wood Green as a Chartered Borough. Standing on the bridge at Hornsey Station on May 7th,1959 I was amazed to see a highly polished 68846 running fast (for a shunting loco) from Harringay on the main line with a two coach train.
What had happened was that Peter Townend the Shedmaster at Kings Cross "Top Shed" (who was quite an enthusiast) had been asked to provide locos for the Noel Park exhibition. He found 68846 under a thick coat of grime at Hornsey, had it cleaned, repainted and lined out for the exhibition after which he had it transferred to be shed pilot at Top Shed. It was from here that Capt.W G Smith RNR managed to buy it from British Railways. The train I saw, which included the Traffic Manager's Saloon, was going to a private siding at Marshmore south of Hatfield where 68848 was handed over during lunch in the siding!
After some years Bill Smith presented it to the National Railway Museum so it can be seen today as GNR no.1247.

NRM

Comment by Straw Cat on January 19, 2015 at 0:39

There seems to be a lot of reconstruction and what looks like development of new railway servicing facilities at this site in the last few weeks. Anyone in the know know more?

Comment by Martin brown on February 20, 2015 at 22:08

I lived in Tottenham Lane in the 50s and 60s and spent many happy hours on that bridge with my mates, watching the engines on the turntable and getting drenched in that lovely smoke! I wonder what my lungs look like now. Still here though!

Comment by matthew cuthbert on December 17, 2015 at 10:07

Very interested in Images of Hornsey and Harringay Stations, (and station approaches.)

According to the station attendant, Hornsey station had a lift on the platform where the ticket office is, but I can't see any visual evidence of this.

Add a Comment

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page