Ipswich engine shed

It was located just south of Stoke tunnel and the current Ipswich railway station.

Locomotive activity started on the depot site with the opening of the original Ipswich station located at Croft Street and (presumably the newly named) Station St in June 1846 by the Eastern Union Railway.

The site was always cramped and poorly equipped with every day servicing of engines taking place in the open.

In August 1878 there was a fire in the four road engine shed which resulted in a number of workmen losing their tools.

Working conditions in the shed were extremely poor and the Shed Foreman later wrote "The conditions in which the boiler washers and tube cleaners worked in winter beggared description with boilers being emptied and blown down, others being washed out and steam and water everywhere" [7] This state of affairs led to the preparation of plans to modernize the depot.

Later that year the first Diesel Multiple Units worked in the area and no other members of this class were allocated.

[14] Fuelling facilities for locomotives were then provided at Ipswich railway station, and maintenance of the remaining shunter fleet was undertaken at Colchester.

The depot remained empty for about a week before a number of engineers' maintenance trains were stabled there.

[16] During the early 1980s the site was used as the electrification depot for the extension of the overhead wiring from Colchester to Harwich, Ipswich (May 1985) and Norwich.

Class 37 locomotive 37379 was named 'Ipswich WRD, Quality Approved' in recognition of the work the depot undertook.

During BR days Ipswich shed was in the Norwich division and was allocated the code 32B.

The train departed at 08:30 calling at Bury St Edmunds, Ely, March (where two carriages for Birmingham were detached), Spalding, Sleaford (water stop), Lincoln (where carriages for York were detached), Worksop, Sheffield Victoria to Wooley Bridge (where Manchester drivers took over).

The shed was capable of carrying out repairs to steam locomotives and the following facilities were located on site.

[17] Ipswich men John Barnard (driver) and William Macdonald (fireman) were killed in the 'Westerfield Junction boiler explosion' on 25 September 1900.

A wagon coupling had broken at Bealings station and when the engine stopped at Woodbridge, the rear portion running downhill smashed into the back of the stationary train.

[19] The Ipswich-based driver of B1 4-6-0 61057 locomotive was involved in a rear-end collision in foggy conditions in Witham on 7 March 1950.