Lillie Bridge Depot was built on derelict land to the west of Earl's Court, to provide stabling and maintenance facilities for the District Railway's rolling stock.

A pioneering electro-diesel locomotive spent long periods at the depot from 1940, undergoing repairs, and after the demise of steam, the works shunter was an 0-6-0 diesel hydraulic machine obtained from Thomas Hill of Rotherham.

Engineering facilities will be moved to Acton Works, and it will be replaced by stabling for twelve S7 Stock trains at a lower level, with redevelopment taking place above it.

The scheme has not been universally popular, attracting criticism from the Mayor of London, the current Hammersmith and Fulham Council, local housing associations and residents.

It did not at the time need depot facilities, because the service was worked by the Metropolitan Railway, using their own stock, who received 55 per cent of the receipts.

[6] Access was by a junction on the Earl's Court to Olympia tracks, and required trains to reverse up a slope to reach the depot.

[9][10] In 1906, the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway opened, running from Finsbury Park to Hammersmith,[10] with its engineering offices headquartered from 1907 in the neo Georgian building that is currently 16-18 Empress Place.

The organisation of the site was haphazard, and the facilities were primitive, but the location was well-placed, enabling works trains to reach most parts of the system relatively easily.

The sidings and marshalling tracks left behind after the District Railway moved their works were used to assemble engineering trains, before they were dispatched onto the network.

[13] A major reconstruction of the site took place in 1931–32, which was complicated by the fact that the depot was supporting a large new-works programme at the time, and so needed to remain operational throughout the rebuilding process.

Space for the overhaul of signalling equipment and other permanent way work was provided by a new workshop and stores building, while a 10-ton Goliath crane with a reach of 100 feet (30 m) enabled anything in the stacking area and the crossing makers yard to be moved around as required.

[14] When the Victoria line was being constructed, a new rail welding machine was purchased from the Swiss company H A Schlatter, and installed at Northumberland Park depot.

[15] This enabled the Piccadilly buildings to be repurposed as a maintenance facility for battery locomotives and a welding shop for the production of track equipment.

[14] Prior to 1935, the site was flanked to the east and the west by Earl's Court exhibition grounds, with a bridge crossing over the car shed to join the two sections.

As part of that work, the southern end of the depot site was covered with a raft, which eventually became the base for Earl's Court Two, a second exhibition building opened in 1991.

In 1898 they decided to conduct a joint experiment, and to run an electric train on the tracks between High Street Kensington and Earl's Court.

[18] London Underground retained three steam locomotives until 1971, which were used to convey steel tyres and other heavy materials between Lillie Bridge and Acton Works until February 1971.

The last working trip was on 4 June 1971, when L90 left Lillie Bridge with a crane, bound for Neasden, but failed at Harrow, when its fusible plug blew, and it had to be rescued by battery locomotives.

[24] In 2008, with the election of a Conservative Mayor of London, plans were drawn up for the redevelopment of the Earls Court Exhibition Centre site, including Lillie Bridge depot and other surrounding land, covering an area of 44 acres (18 ha).

[25] Outline planning consent was granted to the redevelopment "masterplan" by the adjacent Conservative-controlled local authorities in November 2013, and Transport for London made an agreement with Capital and Counties PLC (Capco) to carry out the redevelopment of Earls Court exhibition halls 1 and 2, including Lillie Bridge Depot, as a joint venture, ECPL (Earls Court Properties Limited).

[28] Following reports in November 2018 that the developers were in talks to sell most of their stake in the giant scheme to a Hong Kong billionaire, the stalemate with Hammersmith and Fulham Council deepened.

In February 2019 news emerged that the council was considering a compulsory purchase order for the site to increase the amount and accelerate the delivery of badly needed affordable housing.

16–18, (currently, Capco's Project Rooms) and other Victorian retail outlets on nearby Lillie Road have been given a certificate of immunity by Historic England, which prevents them being granted listed building status.

Control of Hammersmith and Fulham Council changed in 2014 from Conservative to Labour, who were unhappy with the deal they inherited, and the housing associations for the two council estates that are due to be demolished continued to oppose the plans,[36] as did the RMT union, who represent workers at the depot,[37] and the Save Earl's Court campaign, a local pressure group.