Finsbury Park TMD explained

Finsbury Park TMD
Coordinates:51.5582°N -0.1099°W
Grid Ref Uk:TQ310861
Location:Finsbury Park, Greater London
Owner:British Rail
Depotcode:FP (1973 - 1983)[1]
Type:Diesel
Former Depot Codes:34G (1960 - 1973)

Finsbury Park TMD was a railway traction maintenance depot situated in London, England. It was the first purpose built main line diesel locomotive depot opened in England and it was fully commissioned in April 1960.[2] Finsbury Park was allocated British Railways depot code 34G under the original alphanumeric system; the two letter code of the depot was FP. The nearest railway station is Finsbury Park.

The maintenance shed held six roads. Roads seven to eleven were located to the east, with number ten road also accommodating the breakdown train shed. Additionally there were five roads of stabling in Clarence Yard, which was nearest to the main running lines. The depot was downgraded in June 1981 and closed in October 1983.[3] The site is now covered in residential flats which can be seen to the south-west of Finsbury Park station.

The Deltics

See main article: British Rail Class 55. Following the closure of Kings Cross Top Shed and the withdrawal of steam locomotives, much of the traction power for express passenger workings on the East Coast Main Line was taken over by Class 55 Deltic diesel locomotives. Those allocated to Finsbury Park were named after famous racehorses, whilst those allocated to Haymarket TMD and Gateshead TMD were named after British Army regiments.

Finsbury Park's Deltics

Original
Number
TOPS
number
NameWithdrawnStatus
D900155 001St. PaddyScrapped BREL Doncaster February 1980.
D900355 003MeldScrapped BREL Doncaster March 1981.
D900755 007PinzaScrapped BREL Doncaster August 1982.
D900955 009AlycidonPreserved - Mainline Registered
D901255 012CrepelloScrapped BREL Doncaster September 1981.
D901555 015TulyarPreserved
D901855 018BallymossScrapped BREL Doncaster January 1982.
D902055 020NimbusScrapped BREL Doncaster January 1980.[4]

References

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The all-time guide to UK Shed and Depot Codes. 5 May 2006. TheRailwayCentre.com. 19 August 2016. usurped. https://web.archive.org/web/20131217221651/http://www.therailwaycentre.com/Resource_data/AllTimeShedCodes.pdf. 17 December 2013.
  2. Baker, p 23
  3. Baker, p 97
  4. Rumours persist that Nimbus was not scrapped and was sighted intact afterwards. However there are also photographs of it already dismantled, as officially claimed.Web site: Photographs of 55 020 Nimbus being scrapped .