Stratford TMD was a traction maintenance depot located in Stratford, London, England close to the Great Eastern Main Line. It was located just west of Stratford station, on a site now occupied by Stratford International station. The depot was at one time the biggest on the London and North Eastern Railway with locomotives covering duties from express services to freight workings in London's docks.
Locomotive construction took place at the adjacent Stratford Works and Stratford TMD was initially located on this site in the V between the Lea Bridge and Great Eastern Main Lines. In 1871 the depot moved to the 'teardrop' of lines to the west of the present Stratford Regional station. The depot closed in 2001, as part of the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
History
Opening and early years
Stratford Depot was built by the Northern and Eastern Railway whose line from Stratford to Broxbourne opened in 1840. By 1843, the main building was a 16 road roundhouse which eventually became known as the Polygon, with outbuildings including workshops, a blacksmith and saw pits all contained within the shed complex. On 19 February 1846 additional accommodation was authorised, which resulted in completion of the Erecting Shop the following year. It was in 1847 that the Eastern Counties Railway works in Romford were shut and moved to this site. From this time, the accommodation grew by accretion so that by 1867 the carriage department - later Stratford Works - was using a building 370 ft by 80 ft (113m by 24m) attached to the north side of the Polygon.
The development of Stratford Depot and Stratford Works are intertwined and as the site developed new sections of the works were opened away from the original shared site that lay between the Great Eastern Main Line and the Lea Valley line.
Great Eastern
The Great Eastern Railway was formed in 1862 by the amalgamation of several East Anglian Railways.
In the 1860s moves were made to increase the locomotive accommodation with a new shed for forty locos proposed. The cost of the most desirable land and perceived difficulties with alternative sites led to delays, so that it was not until 1871 that land to the west of the existing shed was made available and erection of the new building commenced. During construction the Engineer reported on 30 August 1871 that "during a gale on 24th instant both the gable ends blew down", and the "New Shed" opened later that year, retaining its epithet throughout its life.
In 1877 the Jubilee shed (named after Queen Victoria's jubilee was opened. This was a straight-through shed (engines could enter and leave from either end) and with capacity for 130 engines.
In 1917 during World War I the site was bombed by a Zeppelin and one driver was killed and two others injured. Three engines were also damaged by other bombs.
L P Parker
In 1920 locomotive superintendent LP Parker wrote about the depot.. Some of the key facts are reproduced below:
There were 550 locomotives allocated to Stratford of which 110 were allocated to sub-sheds (see below). The main line services were dealt with B12 4-6-0 and D15 4-4-0's. Main line freight was in the hands of the J15 class and local freight in and around East London was in the hands of 0-6-0Ts belonging to classes J67, J68 and J69. One of these engines is preserved as part of the national collection at York. Stratford was responsible for all the suburban services working out of Liverpool Street station and these were in the hands of 2-4-2Ts (F5, F6 etc.) and. the N7 0-6-2Ts.
There was a 70-foot turntable installed a few years before Parker's article and part of a re-modelling scheme improving access to the depot. There was also a 65-foot turntable and both were electrically powered.
The locomotive coaling plant was one of the biggest in the country and had opened in 1915. Up to that point all coaling had been done by hand with 36 men being employed on each shift. It is possible that with the demand on men in the war that women may have been employed in this role as they certainly were in some other depots. The provision of the new coaling plant that could see an engine coaled in seconds, was the solution to congestion in the area caused by the long wait for coal.
There were also oil storage tanks on the site as at this time some 30 Great Eastern locomotives were oil fired.
Parker reported some 330 repair staff (115 of which were skilled mechanics) but it is likely that some of these were technically on the works payroll.