Laira was the location of the temporary terminus of the South Devon Railway from 5 May 1848 when a small engine shed would have been provided.

[3] A sewerage treatment facility and poor ground conditions constrained the site of the shed to the north west corner of the triangle (near Lipson Junction) .

[4] A small railway station known as Laira Halt was opened on the adjacent main line on 1 June 1904 but closed again on 7 July 1930.

[6] At the same time additional sidings were laid near the coaling stage (which was doubled in length) and a second track connected to give a separate exit route from the roundhouse.

[7] During World War II a covered extension was added on the south side of the coaling stage to give an additional place to refuel locomotives.

[6] The Laira marshalling yard alongside Embankment Road was closed in 1958 to make room for carriage sidings and a new diesel shed, which was fully opened on 13 March 1962, although parts had been in use since 1960.

It also handled the local diesel electric shunter and DMU fleets, although servicing of the latter was done initially at Belmont sidings at Millbay.

The central building was the Heavy Maintenance Shed; engines can be removed and repainting undertaken on the two roads, numbers 5 and 6.

A number of Class 43s continued to be based at Laira to operate four-coach services to Penzance and Cardiff Central.

In Edinburgh, the depot at Craigentinny was no longer able to maintain CrossCountry's Class 43s as the space was needed by Hitachi for IETs so the 12 power cars and 5 sets of coaches were transferred to Laira.

The depot was designed to maintain and service the Western Region of British Rail's diesel-hydraulic locomotives.

They were transferred to other depots after a few months but Laira received a fresh allocation in 1964 and by October 1971 the whole fleet of 74 locomotives were based here.