Shrewsbury (Coleham) Locomotive Depot

Image: © Ben Brooksbank Taken: 28 Aug 1949

View SE of two adjoining Depots of the ex-Great Western (left) and ex-London & North Western (right), which were situated beside the junction of the Severn Valley line (to Bridgnorth, Bewdley etc., closed 2/12/63) with the Shrewsbury - Hereford main line (GW & LNW Joint). They provided motive power for all the local and many of the main-line passenger and freight traffic in the area - except for the moribund Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Railway, which passed just to the east of the Depots as it entered Shrewsbury Abbey Station. In 1950, shortly after this photograph, the combined Depots (coded 84G in the Wolverhampton District of the BR Western Region) had an allocation of 124 locomotives, comprising:- 38 4-6-0s (19 GW, 19 LMS), 4 2-6-0s (all GW), 23 2-8-0s (2 GW, 16 LMS, 5 ex-WD), 5 0-8-0s (all LMS), 25 0-6-0s (7 GW, 18 LMS), 7 2-6-2Ts (3 GW, 4 LMS), 6 0-6-2Ts (5 GW, 1 LMS), 14 0-6-0Ts (12 GW, 2 LMS) and 2 0-4-0Ts (both LMS). There were a remarkable number of ancient engines in the LMS section - one of which (probably ex-LNW 0-6-2T No. 58904) can be seen on the right. The Depot closed to steam on 6/11/67, but was utilised for Diesel locomotive until 1972.

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