History of British Rail Workshops

When British Rail was formed in 1948, it inherited a large number of workshops that were used by the Big Four railway companies. They were located all over the country, and British Rail would set about closing some of the smaller locations. The workshops were used to build, repair, overhaul and scrap various British Rail locomotives, multiple units and carriages. While many of the smaller workshops were to close, some would go on to become major engineering hubs for British Rail.

Main Workshops and Their Locations

The main workshops were located in different regions, with the biggest being Crewe, Doncaster, Derby, Eastleigh, Swindon, St Rollox, Wolverton and York. These workshops would last, largely untouched, until Swindon closed in 1986.

Ownership and Privatization

The workshops came under the British Rail Engineering Limited banner in 1969, and were eventually privatised in 1989. BREL would be sold in 1992, becoming Bombardier. Today only the workshops at Crewe, Eastleigh, Wolverton and St Rollox, later called Springburn, remain in use.

Focus of the Book

This book tries to show these workshops in their everyday use, and shows locomotives in various states of repair.