BR Years
In 1948 Stratford depot became the responsibility of British Railways following nationalisation.
In the early years of British Rail Stratford shed was host to visiting Southern Railway Battle of Britain class 4-6-2 locomotives before the introduction of the Britannia class. In the early 1950s. the opening of the Ford factory in Dagenham saw the depot finding it difficult to attract labour - a problem that continued throughout the fifties and, despite dieselisation, into the 1960s.
In February 1948 the locomotive allocation totalling 414 locomotives was as follows:
| Railway Company/Class | Wheel Arrangement | Number Allocated |
|---|---|---|
| LNER B1 | 4-6-0 | 8 |
| GER B12 | 4-6-0 | 39 |
| LNER B17 | 4-6-0 | 7 |
| GER D15 | 4-4-0 | 2 |
| GER D16 | 4-4-0 | 3 |
| GER F4 | 2-4-2T | 12 |
| GER F5 | 2-4-2T | 23 |
| GER F6 | 2-4-2T | 12 |
| NER G5 | 0-4-4T | 1 |
| GER J15 | 0-6-0 | 33 |
| GER J17 | 0-6-0 | 10 |
| GER J20 | 0-6-0 | 9 |
| LNER J39 | 0-6-0 | 29 |
| GNR J50 | 0-6-0T | 7 |
| GER J65 | 0-6-0T | 1 |
| GER J66 | 0-6-0T | 2 |
| GER J68 | 0-6-0T | 15 |
| GER J67/J69 | 0-6-0T | 48 |
| GN K2 | 2-6-0 | 16 |
| GER N7 | 0-6-2T | 124 |
| LNE V1 | 2-6-2T | 9 |
| LNE V3 | 2-6-2T | 3 |
| LNE Simplex Y11 | 0-4-0T | 2 |
KEY: GER - Great Eastern Railway, GN - Great Northern, LNER - London North Eastern Railway NER - North Eastern Railway
As a result of war damage and general wear and tear, the mechanical coaler was starting to become uneconomic. A replacement was mooted in 1955 but never built and the monstrous edifice of the old coaler lasted until the end of steam and was demolished in 1963.
Read more about this topic: Stratford TMD, History
Famous quotes containing the word years:
“I, who cannot stay in my chamber for a single day without acquiring some rust,... confess that I am astonished at the power of endurance, to say nothing of the moral insensibility, of my neighbors who confine themselves to shops and offices the whole day for weeks and months, aye, and years almost together. I know not what manner of stuff they are of,—sitting there now at three o’clock in the afternoon, as if it were three o’clock in the morning.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)