BULLDOZERS MOVE IN

After the end of steam, there was no need for the Southern to retain its major sheds, and most were marked for speedy demolition. Salisbury remained a signingon point for diesel drivers until early 1969, when the few dozen remaining crews moved to the upper floor of the station. Engineering staff switched to permanent way or signal and telegraph duties, and some administrative staff secured jobs as porters and platform staff. Most of the lofty piles of ash had already been cleared during the final year, and a small mobile crane, popularly known as HMS Redundant, was employed to remove the remaining coal in locomotive tenders and bunkers. Work commenced on March 26 but, as Mike Pearce reports, the contractors managed to knock out a large section of the side retaining wall into Churchfields Road. Nobody was injured, but it blocked the thoroughfare for a day. Later, the whole of the grime-coated, asbestos-clad roof caught fire, creating quite a spectacle as local firemen clambered through the rubble to douse the flames. Now, nothing remains above ground level, but the long roadside retaining wall can still be seen today, and so can the entrance steps. Trees cover the contaminated area, which is securely fenced off.