52 Britain’s Depots – Aberdeen Ferryhill
Alex Fisher charts the history of the granite city’s famous locomotive depot.
There are more than 30 Aberdeens scattered throughout the world, but only one, in Northeast Scotland, is known as the Granite City. It is home to the second largest granite building in the world, Marischal College on Broad Street. The Aberdeen Railway opened the city’s first engine shed in 1850 – a two-road building on Polmuir Avenue, which was just south of the station. It included a water tank and turntable. An 1860-built extension was followed by a second extension in around 1880 that, by 1882, had taken the building to 230ft long. In 1896 the Caledonian Railway and North British Railway built a second engine shed in Aberdeen. The relationship between them was far from harmonious, however, and at one point the CR even barred the NBR from using the coaling stage in order to give preference to their own engines.
Into the 20th century it was decided that another, much larger shed was required and it opened in 1908. It stood in the fork of Ferryhill Junction, with the building abutting Duthie Park. The shed overlooked the park’s Hygeia Statue, which was unveiled in 1897 to commemorate Miss Duthie’s
presentation of the Duthie Park to the City of Aberdeen. Running each side were the lines to Edinburgh to the east and the Royal Deeside branch to Ballater to the north. Both older sheds were subsequently closed, with the 1850-built Aberdeen Railway shed being repurposed as a depot for repairing wagons – it is this building that the Ferryhill Railway Heritage Trust is aiming to restore.
Unusually for Aberdeen, the new shed was built from brick and included 12 terminal roads. The main part of the shed had ten stabling roads, while a two-road, heavy lifting, repair and machine shop stood adjoining the main building. At 214ft long by 188ft, it was one of the few CR sheds that could house all of its allocation under cover. To the side of the shed stood a 70ft Ransomes & Rapier turntable while the water tank, offices, stores, sand-drying and kindling furnace occupied the rear portion of the building behind the heavy repair shop. A ramped coaling stage and a house especially built for the loco foreman completed the shed.
It had a shed code of 29B from 1875 but was recoded to ABD in 1925. Into the 1930s it usually had around 45 locos on shed over a weekend as it serviced both LMS and LNER engines. Post-war the shed was recoded as 61B on February 1, 1949 and for such a large shed, it only ever had a modest allocation, standing at just 40 in 1950. Nevertheless, a wheel-drop was installed in 1953 thus obviating the need to take engines to Dundee or Perth or use a breakdown crane for lifting. During this time the 40 or so locos on shed were made up of resident examples along with those from Kittybrewster, Dunfermline, Perth South, Keith, St Rollox, Thornton Junction, Polmadie and Dundee Tay Bridge.
www.railwaysillustrated.com
Diesel developments
The first non-steam unit to come to Ferryhill was the unique Derby Lightweight two-car Battery Multiple Unit, SC79998/9. The North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board was a joint sponsor of the scheme and it promised to supply power at three farthings per unit for a fixed two-year period. It also provided a 6,600V supply to a charger at Aberdeen’s Platform 1, along with an 11kV charger at Ballater. The scheme cost £50,000, with almost half the money being spent on the two-car unit, namely £2,000 to strengthen the unit’s floor due to the eight tons of batteries that were required, and motors, conduits and cabling at a cost of £5,000, including installation. The unit started work on the Aberdeen to Ballater service on April 21, 1958. A new type of battery was installed in the early 1960s but after the unit suffered several small fires it was withdrawn for a while before returning to service shortly before the line’s closure on February 28, 1966. The unit was subsequently withdrawn in December 1966 and taken to Inverurie Works and later Hyndland Shed in Glasgow. It was converted for departmental use as test train ‘Gemini’, or Laboratory 16, in which guise it was used at the Railway Technical Centre, Derby. It was withdrawn in 1984 but, thankfully, its uniqueness meant it was preserved and now runs on the Royal Deeside Railway’s one mile of track from Milton of Crathes to Birkenbaud Crossing on the former Aberdeen to Ballater line.
A diesel allocation first came to Ferryhill in October 1958 in the form of six new Derby Works-built BR 350hp shunters – D354651. After their initial use at Hornsey and Finsbury Park, the BRCW Type 2s that came north to Haymarket in 1960 were also soon noted on shed and were the first main line diesels to work from Aberdeen. They were used alongside the Jubilees, V2s, A1s, A2s, A4s, WDs, 8Fs, BR 4MTs, BR 5MTs and Class 3Fs. July 1, 1961 saw Aberdeen’s shunters reallocated to 61A Kittybrewster. North British
Locomotive Company’s 0-4-0 D2723 came from St Margarets in December 1961 for a short spell into January 1962 before also moving to Kittybrewster. It was presumably being trialled at Aberdeen Harbour.
Ferryhill’s variety was notable in the early 1960s as the shed was one of the few where both Stanier and Gresley Pacifics were serviced side by side. For example, A4 60004 William Whitelaw was noted alongside Coronation 46250 City of Lichfield on July 14, 1962. By this time English Electric Type 4s (Class 40s) were also reaching the shed, with Haymarket again providing the diesel power for Ferryhill. Also noted on shed were the NBL Type 2s. They had been new to Ipswich but came north to Eastfield shed in 1960. With Derby Works turning out BR/Sulzer Type 2s, which were being sent new to Inverness shed, they too were noted at Ferryhill by August 1966. A4s and 7P Britannias, alongside a few 5MT 4-60s, were still visiting the shed at this time, but diesels were now outnumbering their steam counterparts.
Aberdeen’s alterations
With diesels in the ascendancy, a September 1, 1966 plan entitled ‘Conversion to Diesel Maintenance’ showed the changes required to make Ferryhill a full diesel depot. The two ashpits were to be filled in, with one being used for a new fuelling apron while two further fuelling aprons were to be built between roads 1 and 2, along with one between roads 3 and 4. The coaling stage was to be demolished and a new 20,000-gallon fuel tank added alongside a pump house. Behind the lifting shop there was to be an injector testing room, along with an oil analysis room and the Foreman’s office. Inside the lifting shop a 38ft long raised ramp was to be installed along with around 28ft of floor lowered so it was two feet nine inches below rail height, which was to run on raised concrete plinths. At least some of the roads within the main shed were also to receive pit lighting.
JMarch 2021 RAILWAYS ILLUSTRATED
The shed was closed to steam on March 18, 1967, which meant the water columns were soon removed and it had many of its skylights covered over. The shed was a bit of an overprovision, for diesels didn’t really need to be kept under cover except perhaps as a frost precaution in the harsh Scottish winters. It was duly reduced in size to just five roads sometime around 1968. However, the two-road heavy repair shop was left intact, as were the first three roads of the main shed. Three further roads had their entrances bricked up, with two of the tracks left in place up to buffer stops just before reaching the building. The closed roads were then given over to stores and additional working space. A few of the other roads in the shed yard were also retained, as was the former coal stage road complete with incline that was useful for freewheeling a brake van.
Shunter swaps
The shed received a boost in September 1967 when Kittybrewster lost all of its allocation. This meant two Class 05s (D2587/97), two Class 06s (D2420/1) and ten Class 08s (D3550-3/930-6) were all reallocated to Ferryhill. Some reports suggest that the Kittybrewster’s Class 21s were also transferred to Ferryhill shortly before their withdrawal on December 30, 1967. However, other reports suggest Ferryhill never received any resident main line locos. The two Class 05s were soon lost, with D2597 going to 64H Leith Central in November 1967 and D2587 going to 62C Dunfermline Upper the following month. The Class 06s didn’t last long either, with 2421 transferred to Eastfield in January 1969 and classmate 2420 moved to Polmadie in June 1971. With the Inverness Harbour Branch having closed, Class 06 2423 was transferred from Inverness to Ferryhill in June 1971 to work alongside its nine Class 08s. 2423 visited St Rollox Works in 1973 and during that time its work at Aberdeen Dock was covered by Inverness-based D2444. In 1973 the depot’s shunter duties included two Class 08s working as Aberdeen’s station pilots, another two making trips between Guild Street Goods and Craiginches, one at the Aberdeen carriage and wagon works or the carriage sidings near the station and
RAILWAYS ILLUSTRATED March 2021 finally one at Kittybrewster making trips to Waterloo and Craiginches. Class 06 2423 was used as Aberdeen Docks’ pilot, but predominantly on a Wednesdays and Fridays only basis. It was usually kept in an immaculate condition and was renumbered to 06006 in November 1974. If 06006 was unavailable, its duties were covered by Dundee’s spare Class 06.
During this time the depot became AB under TOPS and the usual classes to be seen were 06, 08, 25, 26, 27, 40 and 55, along with the odd Swindon Cross-Country DMU used on Aberdeen to Inverness services. 06006 was re-allocated to Dundee in June 1977 after Aberdeen no longer needed a loco at the Docks.
The weird and the wonderful
Like any depot, Ferryhill had some oddities lying around the shed yard. In the 1960s a venerable six-wheeled coach, possibly a GNR five-compartment, six-wheel Third Class, lettered ‘BR Engineer’s Dept, Sleeping & Messing Van, Aberdeen District DE320564’ languished on shed. DE320245, an eightwheel vehicle lettered ‘Dormitory & Messing Van, Civil Engineers, E.SC Aberdeen Dist’ was also noted on shed. Into the 1970s a flat, open wagon with a small tank, presumably for waste oil, stood on shed and wore the title ‘DEPOT ENGINEER FERRYHILL’. Another oddity included a converted Gresley teak-bodied coach, which formed part of the Ferryhill breakdown train. A couple of ancient grounded coaches stood at the south end of the coaling stage as over the years these versatile sheds have served as everything from a general store, tea bothy and bike shed to an office, training rooms and toilet facilities. In later years the depot’s breakdown train had the ubiquitous yellow coaches and during the winter months, snow ploughs were often based there.
Ferryhill’s freight
In 1977 Ferryhill’s freight work included the 0504 from Craiginches Yard, Aberdeen to Elgin, shunted en-route with calls at Inverurie, Port Elphinstone, Keith and Elgin. A Class 24 or 25 was the usual motive power although a Class 26 or 40 would occasionally be used. At Inverurie grain hoppers would be collected, along with occasional coal traffic, while at Elgin there was a small freightliner terminal alongside the general goods yard. Other freight work included a Type 2 working a daily goods trip from Craiginches Yard to Fraserburgh, along with services
www.railwaysillustrated.com
from Aberdeen’s Freightliner Terminal, Harbour and Guild Street Goods Depot and trips to the Blue Circle and Clyde cement terminal, the SAI chemical works and Port Elphinstone oil terminal.
Ferryhill’s shunter duties had reduced to four by 1979, with a diagram for an air brake Class 08 as station pilot, usually at the south end of the station, making trips to Clayhills Carriage Sidings, while the second pilot worked weekday mornings only. In the afternoon the second loco handled trips to Guild Street freight depot and would stable overnight at Ferryhill. Guild Street retained its own pilot, which made trips to Aberdeen Harbour, Ferryhill sidings and Craiginches Yard as required. Craiginches Yard also retained a shunter duty, with morning trips to Kittybrewster coal yard and the Waterloo freight branch before stabling at Ferryhill in the afternoon, overnight and weekends.
Passenger locos off the Aberdeen to Edinburgh services, and the Aberdeen to Inverness turns after they reverted to loco
www.railwaysillustrated.com haulage, were seen on shed between turns, along with Deltics off the King’s Cross to Aberdeen services until they were taken over by HSTs. To mark the start of the new ‘Flying Scotsman’ HST service from Aberdeen to King’s Cross an open day was held at Ferryhill on May 30, 1981 that saw A4 60009 Union of South Africa along with Deltic 55002 King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry visiting the shed. The last Deltic to attend the shed was probably 55009, which was fuelled there after working the ‘The Grampian Deltic’ from Edinburgh on December 12, 1981.
Bogies and ETHELs
The repair shop continued to be a most useful facility and at times undertook some involved work such as jacking a Class 47 up onto wooden blocks to facilitate bogie changes. Other work included Class 26 5324 being chocked up in the shed yard in January 1973 while a bogie was removed. Perhaps the most interesting work was the use of Ferryhill to convert three withdrawn Class 25s to Electric Train Heating Ex Locomotive units (ETHELs). The newly introduced Mk 3 sleeper coaches of the early 1980s needed an ETH-fitted Class 47, but they were precluded from working in northern Scotland due to their route availability. Eastfield’s steam heat-equipped Class 37s still worked the services and a solution to electrically heat the stock had to be found. Former Glasgow to Edinburgh push/pull service Class 27s were considered, but their poor mechanical condition, not to mention their propensity to catch fire and the fact that their separate Deutz engine/generator was under-powered for the heavy demands of the Mk 3 sleepers, made the option a nonstarter. Really, the Class 37s needed to be converted to ETH, but that would take time. As a stop gap, three Class 25s were converted to ETHELs. The first was former Cricklewood-based 25310. It had been withdrawn on October 11, 1982 while at Tyseley due to bogie damage. It was worked to Ferryhill in late December 1982 and after a prolonged period was renumbered to ADB97250 but was better known as ETHEL 1. It finally worked its first train in July 1983 with a Class 37 providing the power for a carriage set usually used on the Edinburgh to Glasgow services. The second loco was Bescot’s 25305, which had been withdrawn in July 1983. Ferryhill converted it to ADB97251 ETHEL 2. The third engine, 25314, was withdrawn on March 20, 1983 and stored at Crewe. About three months later it was sent to Derby for generator and bogie work prior to moving to Aberdeen to join ADB97250 as a generator vehicle. 25314 was allocated to Eastfield during July 1983 and by September 1983 it had reached Ferryhill where work was underway to convert it to ADB97252 ETHEL 3. The subsequent fitting of ETH to create Class 37/4s meant the ETHELs never really fulfilled their original remit and found more use on steam specials before their ultimate withdrawal.
Ferryhill’s fade
Ferryhill’s shunter duties in 1981 included the two Aberdeen station pilots, a third worked as Guild Street pilot and a fourth in Craiginches Yard. In June 1982 there were just six Class 08s allocated to the depot, but this number had increased to seven by April 1984 even though only the four duties as outlined above were still required in 1985. However, by May 1987 the duties had been halved, with just one acting as station pilot and one in Craiginches Sorting Sidings with trips to Clyde Cement Terminal, Guild Street, Kittybrewster and Waterloo Goods. In the depot’s final years a weekend would usually see a Class 08 or two alongside Classes 26, 27, 37 and 47.
JMarch 2021 RAILWAYS ILLUSTRATED
RAILWAYS ILLUSTRATED March 2021 site was developed for housing, while the 1850 shed became part of the Ferryhill Railway Heritage Trust’s (FRHT) facilities.
Ferryhill’s Phoenix
In 2008 the FRHT became a charity, with the aim of restoring the two sites owned respectively by Aberdeen City Council and Network Rail. One of its priorities was to restore the turntable, which along with basic facilities for coaling and watering would return Aberdeen to the main line steam map. Longer term ambitions include the reopening of the 1850 Grade B-listed shed as a working museum in which visitors can see first-hand the restoration being undertaken on several ex-GNSR coaches stored inside. An additional attraction would be the Aberdeen Model Railway Club that also shares the site.
On March 14, 2019 a selection of invited guests witnessed the turning of A1 60163 Tornado on the newly refurbished and commissioned 70ft Ransomes & Rapier turntable. It marked the culmination of many years of hard work by volunteers, supporting charities and local companies. Tornado was the first steam engine to be turned at Ferryhill since B1 61624 was routed from/to Inverness on September 30, 2000, a charter for the Scottish Highlands Rail Festival. Tornado has subsequently visited four times, along with A4 60009 Union of South Africa twice in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic during 2020 lead to no visits, but it is hoped that at least seven visits will be made this year. The return to use of Ferryhill’s Grade A-listed turntable means that Hygeia Statue once again looks over visiting steam engines, as the site seems to have a brighter future ahead of it thanks to the FRHT.
www.railwaysillustrated.com