close
Jump to content

Gosforth Depot

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from South Gosforth TMD)

Gosforth Depot
BERJAYA
Class 599 Metrocars stabled alongside the old Gosforth Depot shed
Gosforth Depot is located in Tyne and Wear
Gosforth Depot
Location within Tyne and Wear
Location
LocationGosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne
England
Coordinates55°00′39″N 1°36′32″W / 55.010969°N 1.608857°W / 55.010969; -1.608857
OS gridNZ251685
Characteristics
OwnerTyne and Wear PTE
OperatorTyne and Wear Metro
TypeLight rail
Roads17[1]
Rolling stock
History
OpenedOctober 1923; 102 years ago (1923-10)
OriginalLondon and North Eastern Railway
Post-grouping
Former depot code
GF

Gosforth Depot is a vehicle cleaning, maintenance and stabling facility used by the Tyne and Wear Metro, located in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne in Tyne and Wear, England. It is owned by Nexus but maintained by Stadler.

The depot is located in a triangle of land between Longbenton, Regent Centre and South Gosforth, and can be accessed by trains from all three adjacent stations.

History

[edit]

Pre-Tyne and Wear Metro

[edit]

In 1904, the North Eastern Railway (NER) started to electrify some of its lines in what is now Tyne and Wear, using the third rail system. Initially electric trains operated only from Newcastle New Bridge Street to Benton station, but in stages electrification was extended to create the system known as the Tyneside Electrics. The trains for this system were, at first, stabled at carriage sheds in Heaton.[2]

The year after the first electric trains ran, the 8+1⁄4-mile (13 km) single-track branch line of the Gosforth and Ponteland Railway was opened, connecting to the NER line by a triangular junction just north of South Gosforth station. The line closed to passengers in 1929, only to reopen as part of the Metro, but freight services continuing to serve the line until the late 1980s, latterly sharing the track with Metro trains.[2][3]

In 1918, a fire broke out at the Heaton carriage sheds, which destroyed the building, as well as 34 units.[4][5] A replacement depot was required, and the NER acquired a site on the northern side of the South Gosforth triangular junction in 1921. The replacement depot opened in October 1923.[6] At the time, there were ten lines in the depot building, with a further two serving the repair shop.

The depot was originally used to house rolling stock for the Tyneside Electrics network, which served Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, North and South Tyneside. Owing to falling passenger numbers during the 1960s, as well as rising costs, and the need to renew life expired infrastructure and rolling stock, the network was de-electrified and converted to diesel multiple unit operation in 1967.[7] Following this, Class 101, 104 and 105 DMUs were a common sight at the depot.

Tyne and Wear Metro

[edit]

In 1978, passenger service on the North Tyneside Loop ceased, in order to facilitate its conversion to become part of the Tyne and Wear Metro. The South Gosforth depot was transferred to the Metro in 1980, to be used for stabling, cleaning, maintaining and repairing the fleet of Class 599 Metrocar.

On 19 July 2016, the North East Combined Authority (now the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority) approved Nexus' "Metro Futures" strategy which, in addition to a new fleet of trains that became the Class 555 fleet, also included an interest in updated depot facilities.[8][9] On 8 June 2018, an open tender was launched for a contract to build the new fleet and to build and run a new depot at the existing site in Gosforth.[10][11] To stable some of the fleet while the new Gosforth Depot was being built, Nexus also ordered that a temporary second depot, Howdon Satellite Depot, would be built.[12] On 28 January 2020, it was announced that Stadler had won this contract, and that the new Gosforth Depot would cost £70 million.[13][14] On 15 June 2020, Stadler appointed VolkerFitzpatrick as the principal engineering and construction firm for the new Gosforth Depot, and many of the new facilities planned for Gosforth Depot were made public.[15][16][17]

As part of the depot refurbishment project, the first phase of demolition of the depot was completed in May 2021, with final closure in January 2023.[18][19] Construction of the new 12-acre (49,000 m2) depot was completed in January 2024.[20][21][22] The new facility provides facilities for preventative and corrective maintenance, overhauls, train presentation, storage space for parts and materials supplies and office space for training and support functions. In addition, there are inspection roads and pits, a separate wheel lathe building, a wash-plant to clean train exteriors, a component drop, monorail cranes on light maintenance roads, an overhead crane on heavy maintenance roads for lifting roof components and a new control room to manage train movements.[22]

Notes

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ Stade, Christian (2025). Newcastle Upon Tyne Gleisplan [Newcastle Upon Tyne Trackmap] (PDF) (Map). Gleisplanweb.de. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 April 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  2. 1 2 "South Gosforth Station". Disused Stations. Archived from the original on 10 September 2024. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  3. ↑ Abbott, Vernon; Chapman, Roy (1990). The Great Metro Guide to Tyne and Wear. Leading Edge Press & Publishing Ltd. p. 13. ISBN 9780948135156.
  4. ↑ Abbott, Vernon; Chapman, Roy (1990). The Great Metro Guide to Tyne and Wear. Leading Edge Press & Publishing Ltd. p. 17. ISBN 9780948135156.
  5. ↑ "The NER Tyneside Electric Multiple Units". The London & North Eastern Railway Encyclopedia. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  6. ↑ Wells, J. A. (1990). The Blyth and Tyne Branch, 1874–1989 (Blyth and Tyne): Part 2. Northumberland County Council. ISBN 9780951302750.
  7. ↑ Young, Alan (1999). Suburban Railways of Tyneside. Martin Bairstow. p. 20. ISBN 978-1871944204.
  8. ↑ "Bold ambitions for Metro and local rail services". Nexus. 19 July 2016. Archived from the original on 14 November 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  9. ↑ "Metro plans get the green light from authority chiefs". ITV News. 19 July 2016. Archived from the original on 22 July 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  10. ↑ "Bidders invited to design and build a new Metro fleet". Nexus. 8 June 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ↑ Briginshaw, David (11 June 2018). "Nexus launches Tyne & Wear metro fleet replacement project". International Railway Journal. Archived from the original on 12 September 2025. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  12. ↑ "Nexus wins approval to build a temporary Metro depot in North Tyneside". Nexus. 27 November 2018. Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  13. ↑ "Nexus unveils £362m new Tyne and Wear Metro trains". Nexus. 28 January 2020. Archived from the original on 28 January 2020.
  14. ↑ "Tyne and Wear Metro: Swiss firm Stadler to build new fleet". BBC News. 28 January 2020. Archived from the original on 6 February 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  15. ↑ "Firm appointed to build Metro's £70m new train depot". Nexus. 15 June 2020. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  16. ↑ "Stadler appoints VolkerFitzpatrick to build Gosforth depot". VolkerFitzpatrick. 16 June 2020. Archived from the original on 14 July 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  17. ↑ Wordsworth, Nigel (17 June 2020). "VolkerFitzpatrick will build Gosforth depot for Stadler and Tyne & Wear Metro". Rail Engineer. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  18. ↑ White, Chloe (20 January 2023). "Old Gosforth Metro depot closure marks the end of an era for the Tyne and Wear Metro". RailAdvent. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  19. ↑ "It's the end of an era as the old Gosforth Metro depot closes". Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive. 20 January 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  20. ↑ Button, Jason (24 January 2024). "Metro's new £70 million Gosforth Depot successfully completed to house new trains". Shields Gazette. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  21. ↑ Booth, Janine (25 January 2024). "New Tyne & Wear Metro Gosforth Depot is completed". RailAdvent. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  22. 1 2 Pashby, Tom (29 January 2024). "New £70M Tyne and Wear Metro depot completed". New Civil Engineer. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
[edit]
  • Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to Tyne and Wear Metro depot at Wikimedia Commons
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gosforth_Depot&oldid=1367018229"