Stafford Road Works

Unfortunately, further ongoing and long-term difficulties still had to be overcome, such as backlogs of maintenance of all kinds, severe shortages of coal, staff, and other resources. This long period of slow recovery did little to assist, as some degree of material decline had already started to become apparent at Stafford Road shed. By 1946 its allocation had been reduced to 74 locomotives, which continued to decrease, but there were still 99 locomotives allocated over at Oxley. Table One below offers an overview of the changing allocation at the shed from the last summer of the Great Western Railway, in 1947, through to May 1962. By then the home fleet had been reduced by a third and just nine classes were represented by the 47 locomotives on the books.

To compound these difficult times, the long and bitter winter of 1947 was not far off, and this brought Britain's railways to a virtual standstill. The old wartime anti-glare canvas sheets were soon brought out of the shed storage lockers and pressed into service to provide some degree of protection on the footplate from the freezing weather. Ultimately, following the election of the new Labour Government, nationalisation of the 'Big Four' companies became unavoidable, and a new era dawned at Stafford Road depot from 1 January 1948.

By April of that year British Railways adopted a new motive power and shedcode numbering system, and as a consequence Stafford Road was now designated 84A and Oxley depot was 84B, having previously been identified as SRD and OXY in GWR days. Otherwise, very little appeared to change for some years, apart from the words BRITISH RAILWAYS starting to appear on the sides of tank engines and on locomotive tenders.

In August 1950 the number of engines allocated to Stafford Road depot was down to 66, and by the mid-1950s building maintenance had also become of less importance, with roof and gable-end repairs to the old lower yard broad gauge shed, and the adjacent 'Arcade' being fitted with pieces of corrugated-iron sheeting, large sections of which had rusted through and fallen off by the early 1960s.

Wolverhampton Works-built 0-6-0PT No 2110 is at rest on its home shed of Stafford Road in 1947. This '2101' class engine was built in 1902/03 as a saddle tank with a domeless boiler, notably as one of the last inside-cylinder GWR 0-6-0Ts to be constructed for many years. This class harks back to the '850' class and more recently the '2021', an extended version of the former to accommodate a larger firebox, while the '2101s' were built with Belpaire fireboxes. It was the provision of Belpaire fireboxes for the '2021s' that saw their widespread conversion as pannier tanks from the early Churchward years, and No 2110 was clearly converted too. It would serve until July 1950, being one of the early withdrawals - some remained on the British Railways books until 1958, as the last surviving pre-Grouping 0-6-0 tank engines in service.

A transient visitor to Stafford Road shed on 4 September 1949 is former War Department 0-6-0 No 8236, an ex-L&NWR Webb '17in coal engine' or 'Cauliflower Goods'. This was one of three such engines that had a stopover at Wolverhampton on route to Swindon Works for scrapping. British Railways acquired these engines in 1949 having latterly been in use by the War Department to serve the Central Ammunition Depot at Nesscliffe on the Shropshire & Montgomeryshire line. This particular engine emerged from Crewe Works as L&NWR No 2422 in June 1881, and it was withdrawn from LMS stock and sold to the Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Railway in July 1932, passing to the WD in 1941; it was scrapped in July 1950. Author's Collection.

Former LMS 'Princess Royal' Pacific No 46207 Princess Arthur of Connaught stands alongside Stafford Road shed's coaling plant during February 1956. This was one of four ex-LMS Stanier 'Princess Royal' and 'Coronation' Pacifics brought in to work the London expresses when the 'King' class locomotives were temporarily withdrawn for repair, due to cracking to their bogies and frames. Author's Collection.

Fitted with a double-chimney in March 1956, 'King' class No 6010 King Charles I is on the turntable near the Stafford Road coaling plant on 18 October 1959. The view is taken looking north, the distant coaches being stabled beside the Shrewsbury line. Note the empty coal wagons moved to the rear of the inclined approach into the main coaling stage building; the coaling process and movement of the turntable were carried out manually. New to traffic in April 1928 at Plymouth's Laira shed, King Charles I served until June 1962, its final allocation being Cardiff (Canton). Author's Collection.

As with the vast majority of steam locomotive depots, the threat of closure appeared on the horizon in January 1955 when British Railways published a 'Modernisation Plan' with a view to bringing in diesel and electric traction to replace steam as soon as possible, but few realised that the end would come at Wolverhampton in less than six years. In the meantime, steam power remained the dominant force, and from April 1959 the Collett 'King' class 4-6-0s were even allowed to work onwards from Wolverhampton as far as Shrewsbury, with a few immaculate engines still being seen on those workings. However, the infrastructure back at Stafford Road shed was continuing to fall into disrepair, and likewise the working environment there was now becoming somewhat dirty and unkempt.

Across the country, increasingly large numbers of steam locomotives were now being withdrawn for scrapping every month. However, as from the beginning of 1960 the stage was set for an Indian summer of steam services from Wolverhampton (Low Level), followed rapidly by a period of change and decay. An early warning of things to come as a result of the 'Modernisation Plan' was the decision to electrify the West Coast main line. Due to the disruption being caused between London (Euston) and Birmingham (New Street) while this work was carried out, the frequency of services from Paddington to the Midlands was increased to help compensate. By early 1962, in order to cope with the extra trains, no less than 12 'King' class locomotives were now allocated to Stafford Road shed, instead of the usual stock of five or six.

Back in September 1960 the Western Region had also acquired its prestigious blue and white liveried Metropolitan-Cammell-built Pullman trains, one of which was used to operate weekday services from Wolverhampton (Low Level) to London (Paddington). When not in use, this 'Birmingham Pullman' stock was stabled at Cannock Road sidings for servicing, only a short walk away from the old order at Stafford Road shed, providing clear evidence of things to come. Nonetheless, at the start of 1962 the Western Region 'Kings' and 'Castles' continued to provide the mainstay of motive power for express services between Paddington, Birmingham, and Wolverhampton.

Local goods trains, suburban passenger and secondary expresses also continued to be steam-hauled, although diesel-multiple-units and diesel shunters, and a large number of former LMS main line steam engines of all sorts, had also started to make inroads into what had, up until now, remained an old Great Western-style landscape. In addition, British Railways Standard class locomotives, both large and small, were now becoming a regular sight at Stafford Road and Oxley sheds, with BR 'Britannia' Pacifics and '9F' 2-10-0s soon becoming common visitors.

Sadly the Indian summer turned out to be of a short duration and the next few months would usher in a vast and irreversible change. Construction of diesel locomotives had continued apace, and by May 1962 the first examples of the new diesel-hydraulic 'Western' class locomotives had arrived at Oxley, sometimes supplemented by 'Warships' in preference to Stafford Road shed, which was by now becoming very run-down and badly maintained.

An early 1960s view looking north records former GWR '5400' class 0-6-0PT No 5416 outside the entrance to a derelict-looking No 1 shed, Stafford Road's last active roundhouse. The building to the upper left was the old GWR Mechanics Institute fronting the main Stafford Road itself, which assists in locating this less common viewpoint within the Stafford Road complex. The longer building seen just to the right of the Institute was used as the works drawing office. Most of the 25 '5400' class engines were withdrawn by 1960, as victims of the dieselisation of passenger services. No 5416's career began at Southall shed in June 1932 and concluded at Yeovil Town in August 1963. Author's Collection.

A general view of Stafford Road shed yard on 21 October 1962 records the sorry state of much of the infrastructure, with many of the patched-up building repairs using corrugated iron sheeting falling away. The two-road 'Arcade', or No 5 shed, is to the far left, the 1870s extension to the four-road broad gauge shed is next, and the buildings beyond the mothballed 'King' had seen use as the lifting shop and erecting shop. Author's Collection.

During the summer of 1962, Stafford Road allocated, Hawksworth-designed and BR-built 'Modified Hall' No 7902 Eaton Mascot Hall is stabled just inside the 'Arcade', shed No 5. The scene provides a rare three-quarter view of the adjoining 1857-built brick building that started out as a broad gauge locomotive shed, became a tender shop, and then standard gauge running shed No 4. The original building only extended as far as the corner support pillar seen above No 7902's firebox, but the 1870s saw the shed extended forwards to over double its original length after its conversion for use as a tender shop, this extension was by way of timber-covered framework as opposed to extending the actual brickwork. Simon Dewey.

No 6011 King James I is the subject to some discussion among the shed staff prior to working the 3.35pm Wolverhampton (Low Level) to Paddington express in the summer of 1962. Due to the general lack of space at the shed, light repair work and maintenance was even carried out in the shed yard, a tradition that was evident when removal of the 'King' class bogies was required during 1956 in order to rectify fatigue cracks by way of adding stiffening strips to the bogie frames. Positioned alongside the 'King' is No 7019 Fowey Castle, which bears the head code 'H22', chalked on to the smoke box door; this relates to the 2.05pm Saturdays only Kingswear to Wolverhampton (Low Level) service. King James I was for much of the 1950s a Stafford Road asset and was ultimately credited with 1,718,295 miles when withdrawn from traffic in December 1962. Simon Dewey.

Although occasional Oxley-allocated 350hp 0-6-0 diesel shunters could sometimes be seen on site, the only main line diesel ever to be officially allocated to Stafford Road shed was the white-painted Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Works Type 4 diesel-electric test locomotive No D0260 Lion. It is debatable as to whether it ever ventured across the canal bridge into the actual shed yard, and more than likely it was simply turned at the coaling plant in order to maintain the forward position of the 'A' -end cab, and possibly fuelled at Cannock Road sidings during its brief spell of work on the Western Region's Paddington to Birkenhead trains.

During the course of 1962 an executive decision was taken to affect a complete wholesale withdrawal of the 'King' class locomotives, to be replaced by the 'Western' diesel-hydraulics on the expresses to and from Paddington, and by the autumn of that year they had all been taken out of service. On 5 November 1962 'Kings' Nos 6001 King Edward VII, 6002 King William IV, 6007 King William Ill, 6012 King Edward VI, 6014 King Henry VII, 6015 King Richard Ill, 6017 King Edward IV and 6022 King Edward III were noted in store at Stafford Road shed, awaiting removal for disposal.

The severe winter of 1962/63 brought widespread disruption, which carried on well into March and, perhaps as a result, it was autumn 1963 before the last two derelict 'King' and 'Hall' class locomotives were hauled out of their hiding place in Stafford Road yard and sent off on their final journeys to Cox & Dank's at Oldbury and Cashmore's at Great Bridge, Tipton, for scrapping.

Earlier on, during the latter part of 1962 it was announced by British Railways that various regional boundaries were to be re-drawn, and as from 1 January 1963 the Paddington-Birmingham-Shrewsbury main line came under the jurisdiction of the London Midland Region north of Banbury. The new management very soon arranged for the closure of Stafford Road shed, effective from 9 September 1963, bringing over a century of local railway tradition to an end. The remaining reduced compliment of steam locomotives and footplate crews were then re-located to Oxley depot, which in turn would only last until 4 March 1967. Some employees saw this as an opportunity to either retire or seek alternative employment in other industries in the town. In the interim, Stafford Road locomotive works had also closed down, on 1 June 1964, with former GWR 2-8-0 No 2859 being the last engine to be overhauled and out-shopped, on 11 February that year.

Former GWR 'Castle' class 4-6-0 No 5050 Earl of St. Germans is seen, circa 1962, alongside the coaling plant at Stafford Road shed, the coaling process recently completed. Named Devizes Castle from its completion in May 1936 through to August 1937, this Collett engine would be withdrawn from service in August 1963 from St. Phillips Marsh shed in Bristol. Earl of St. Germans, in the county of Cornwall, is a title in the peerage of the United Kingdom that dates back to 1815. The site of the coaling stage and oil-gas plant would be demolished a few years after the closure of Stafford Road shed in September 1963, although the final remains would not be buried until the late 1980s, when the area was landscaped as a local park. J. B. Bucknall.

The only main line diesel to be allocated to Stafford Road shed was No D0260 Lion. In this scene, Lion, a Type 4 diesel electric test locomotive built in 1962 by the BRC&W Co at its Smethwick Works in Birmingham, is positioned on the turntable at the coaling plant on 14 May 1962. It had previously worked the 12.10pm Paddington to Birkenhead service (1M13) as far as Wolverhampton (Low Level) station during its first day of revenue-earning service on the Western Region. It is being turned so that it can be driven from the 'A' end cab on its return to Paddington, ensuring that the white painted buffers remain clean, for publicity purposes during its inaugural workings. Soon transferred away to the Eastern Region for further evaluation, Lion would be withdrawn from service in about February 1964, being cut up sometime in 1965 at T. W. Ward's yard in Sheffield, after being stripped of major components. Ned Williams Collection.

Previously, back in July 1959 the British Transport Commission announced plans to set up of a diesel repair works at Stafford Road, and this was reinforced by further positive comments in 1962. However, nothing was to come of this and even had this proposal actually materialised it is very unlikely that the old steam shed and running yard areas would have been included in the new scheme. With this in mind, it is interesting to note that the old 84A Stafford Road shed code went on to be applied to many diesels as from January 1963 it was transferred south-west to Plymouth (Laira) diesel depot, which was selected in 1961 as the Western Region's first main line diesel maintenance depot.

Although a purchaser was soon found for the 10½ acre works site, it was a long time before clearance and redevelopment work was finalised in that respect. Likewise, with the shed and yard site, where the remains of the lower yard erecting shop were photographed some twelve years later, in February 1975, it was still awaiting final demolition, although the shed had been demolished by then. Nowadays there is scant remaining evidence available to pin-point the exact location of Stafford Road shed other than the survival of the blue-brick wall that ran alongside the edge of the shed yard at the rear of the now long-gone Dunstall Park station.

As is so often the case these days with redevelopments, both the shed and works areas at Stafford Road are now used by light industrial and trade outlet units. The dual twin-bridge sections across the BCN canal, of which one half had provided the entrance into the shed yard, are still in existence at the time of writing, but that section is now blocked with rubble, is overgrown and fenced off.

The historical importance of those few architectural and industrial remains still found alongside the canal close to what used to be the site of the Stafford Road shed has recently been noted by the local council. Hopefully such evidence as still exists will now continue to be preserved and signposted as best as possible within the scope of the Wolverhampton Locks Conservation Area.

John Bucknall and Simon Dewey must both be given due credit for their invaluable assistance and photographic input in connection with this article. The contribution to early railway history at Wolverhampton, as can be derived from the photographs taken at Stafford Road by R. H. and R. E. Bleasdale, must also be taken into account as many of the photographs that are reproduced here have been taken from some of their original sepia prints. Thanks also go to Colin Moss with regard to his help regarding diesel workings in the Wolverhampton area in the 1960s. Finally, my thanks go to Mrs E. B. Jeff for her permission to quote and use material from the publications by her grandfather, Harold Holcroft.

References

The Armstrongs of The Great Western - Harold Holcroft.
Locomotive Adventure - Harold Holcroft.
An oudine of Great Western Practice and Performance 1837 to 1947 - Harold Holcroft.
The Wolverhampton Railway Gazette - published by John Bates and Mervyn Srodzinsky.
Rail Centres: Wolverhampton - Paul Collins.
Brunel's Broad Gauge in the Black Country - Michael Hale.
The Locomotives of The Great Western Railway - published by The RCTS.
The Wolverhampton Chronicle and Express & Star newspapers.

Stafford Road shed yard on the eve of closure, Saturday, 7 September 1963. The last two locomotives awaiting removal are 'King' class 4-6-0 No 6012 King Edward VI and No 5910 Park Hall. Both are allocated to Stafford Road shed, the closure of their home depot ended their careers. The 'King' would be scrapped at the hands of Cox & Danks of Oldbury, with the demise of Park Hall undertaken by Cashmore of Great Bridge. Viewed from the elevated position of the Stour Valley viaduct, the line to Shrewsbury can be seen passing through Dunstall Park station, to the right. The shed yard could easily be viewed by looking over the wall running alongside the rear of the down platform. On the far left is roundhouse No 3, and beyond the roofs of the 'Arcade', shed No 4 and the lifting and erecting shops is the dominant outline of Stafford Road Works, which would close in February 1964. This view makes a very interesting comparison to the 1883 scene shown below. Simon Dewey.

Stafford Road Works and shed yard, as photographed circa 1883 from the L&NWR Stour Valley Railway viaduct. Author's Collection.


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