After stumbling across this place on the forum, we decided that we had to give it a try. After a long walk from Newcastle city centre, we eventually found our way there, ready to take on our next explore.
History
Heaton Traction Maintenance Depot is situated in Heaton, a residential suburb in the east end of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located approximately two miles away from the East Coast Main Line. The shed was originally constructed by the North Eastern Railway (NER) in the mid-1800s, to house steam locomotives that mainly served a considerable section of local passenger traffic from the main line and the Heaton Marshalling Yards. Although Heaton was a busy depot, it was disliked by many of the train crews on account of the needs to pass through three tunnels; toxic smoke would enter the train cabs and this led to breathing difficulties in later life. This problem was resolved in 1905, however, when the railway was electrified.
Following a period of rail nationalisation, which brought the ‘Big Four’ British railway companies together, the Heaton shed was taken over by British Railways in 1954. During this time the shed had ninety five locomotives assigned to it. It is believed that the shed featured in this report closed sometime in the late 1980s, owing to a rapid decline in locomotive hauled services. The shed did, however, remain in service through the 1990s to store non-operational coaching stock. By the early 2000s, the shed was disconnected from the mainline and is not cut off from the remainder of the working depot.
Following a period of rail nationalisation, which brought the ‘Big Four’ British railway companies together, the Heaton shed was taken over by British Railways in 1954. During this time the shed had ninety five locomotives assigned to it. It is believed that the shed featured in this report closed sometime in the late 1980s, owing to a rapid decline in locomotive hauled services. The shed did, however, remain in service through the 1990s to store non-operational coaching stock. By the early 2000s, the shed was disconnected from the mainline and is not cut off from the remainder of the working depot.
This was the only history I could find on the place – credit to WildBoyz. You can check out their report here: Heaton TMD - WildBoyz
The Explore
On arrival we noticed that the current depot was situated next door, so straight away we knew we had to be careful. As cars came and went, we searched around for a way inside, which eventually we found. We had to suffer a few nettle stings, however it was worth to get inside. The main part of the depot was empty and overgrown, but it was still a wonderful site to see. Train tracks, although overgrown, were still present to see along with a lot of wooden platforms.
There was some exceptional graffiti on show, which made the trip all the more worthwhile. We looped round the depot and started to make our way to the exit, when we stumbled across a huge spider’s nest. It was as though Aragog and his goons had taken shelter in the depot. We had a look in some of the rooms that were in the depot, which included a boiler room and the toilets. The rest of the rooms were pretty empty, with not much to see. We made our way out, sure to avoid being spotted by any workers who were passing by. All in all, this was a great explore and a great experience for us as a group.
Photos from the visit
Thanks for reading!
Photos from the visit
Thanks for reading!
