8B – WARRINGTON

This month we look at both Warrington (Dallam) and its subshed at nearby Arpley.

The first mention of an engine shed at Warrington is thought to have been circa 1850, shortly after the Grand Junction Railway became the London & North Western Railway (LNWR) in 1846. Initially adjacent to Bank Quay station, a new shed was proposed by Francis Webb in 1875. This was to be constructed from the fabric of the soon‑to‑be‑demolished and nearby Jockey Lane works, and was estimated at a cost of £13,140 – a not inconsiderable sum at the time. The dead‑ended building – designed to accommodate 40 engines – was approved in May 1887 and opened for traffic a year later.

Regular readers of this column will note that Webb favoured a northlight roof for his sheds, and this new shed at Dallam was to be no different. It provided the usual facilities including a water tank, 42ft turntable, coal stage and offices at the shed’s rear. The choice of a shed at Dallam was a wise one for the LNWR, as it was situated neatly among the lines that led between Manchester and Liverpool. This meant it housed mainly freight and mixed traffic engines, with the expected 0‑8‑0 heavy goods, and smaller 0‑6‑0 coal tanks being prevalent. With around 60 engines being allocated to Dallam, traffic was busy, yet – despite a re‑coding to 8B in 1935 by the LMS – it was not until 1957 under British Railways that the near‑derelict original roof was replaced and the shed moderately updated.

By 1954, the majority of the LNWR types had gone and, as with many other LMS‑owned sheds, that company introduced ‘strangers’ from other parts of its network, including Midland Railway and Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway designs. These in turn were supplanted by the hardy and reliable Stanier ‘Black Fives’ and ‘8Fs’, and later on by ‘WD’ 2‑8‑0s.

Given its importance, 8B had subsheds at Over and Wharton (allocated to Dallam in 1909 and closed in 1947) and at nearby Arpley. This latter deserves mention, being a two‑road building dating from possibly 1854 as part of the Warrington & Altrincham Junction Railway.

Unlike Dallam, Arpley also catered for passenger work, being allocated a variety of tank engines for various duties, including the Ditton Junction‑ Manchester Oxford Road motor train workings, which it inherited from Sutton Oak shed in 1961. This new route was not enough to sustain the depot however, and it closed its doors on May 27 1963.

The parent shed at Dallam eked out its days until virtually the bitter end of steam, being effectively closed from October 2 1967. Officially abandoned in August 1968 with the end of steam, the building – perhaps by virtue of its new roof – is still extant and in use today for industrial purposes.

ABOVE An undated view of ‘Black Five’ No. 45180 at 8B, although it can be guessed that it is prior to 1957 when the shed was re-roofed and modernised by British Railways. A stranger to the shed, the Stanier 4-6-0 soldiered on until September 29 1965 when it was withdrawn from 5B (Crewe South). P. HUGHES/ COLOUR RAIL

COLOUR RAIL LEFT Inside the gloom of Dallam shed on July 11 1965, and two ‘9Fs’ together with ‘Crab’ 2-6-0 No. 42827 are undergoing maintenance. The ‘Mogul’ was allocated to 8H (Birkenhead Mollington Street) and had less than a month left in traffic, being withdrawn on August 21 that year. The picture graphically illustrates the deplorable condition of sheds during the rundown of steam, while all three engines show neglect.