Crewe Works. Whats currently in there?

[Jon Fitness]

I regularly pass Crewe Works on the train but I haven't spied so much as a pair of wheels within the "grounds" for many years. So, what's currently taking place in there? Anything rail related or is it just engineering bits and bobs? Or is it nowt nowadays....? The last time I was in there was an open day in the 90's. They were still overhauling Paxman engines for HSTs and a test rig was set up so you could have a quick "rev-up"! Last of the glory days I would imagine.......

Jon F.

[TheSignalEngineer]

I think the bit where I worked for a short while is now a roundabout and Morrisons supermarket.

[Jon Fitness]

I think the bit where I worked for a short while is now a roundabout and Morrisons supermarket.

Was that The Melts?

JF

[TheSignalEngineer]

Semaphore signal posts were being assembled in The Melts at that time, the Signal Shop where other stuff was done was at the corner of Richard Moon St and Goddard St. My bench was about where Morrisons car wash is now.

Edited October 26, 2013 by TheSignalEngineer

[Jon Fitness]

Would like to have seen that! Of all the pics of the inside of Crewe works I've seen, few of them show much in the way of signal work. I lived in Crewe for 10 years and watched as a lot of the works was pulled down but there's still a lot of it left even now.

It's still a mystery what goes on in there ..........

JF

[big jim]

Bombardier are still in there but everything comes in by road, its all bogies though coming in for overhaul and maintainance, no "trains" any more, i believe the traverser has gone now too, the line linking in from the mainline is still there, only accessable from the up line so its a shunt into the etd and back across to get in however the wall between the mainline and works building has recently been pulled down towards the works and the rubble left on the track

 

The 1960 style offices that are off west street (by the old main entrance) are used by bentley now, morrisons is on the old paint shop near flag lane and there is a leisure complex the other side of the bridge at the back of what i believe are the old drawing offices on edleston road which are long gone but the bricked up doorway is still in the wall

 

"The dell" is still clearly visible as you enter the leisure complex, basically a cutting where the old works line used to go, they stored a load o class 40s in there back in the 80s

 

Next time i go into town i'll get some pics if anyone is interested

[TheSignalEngineer]

Would like to have seen that! Of all the pics of the inside of Crewe works I've seen, few of them show much in the way of signal work. I lived in Crewe for 10 years and watched as a lot of the works was pulled down but there's still a lot of it left even now.

It's still a mystery what goes on in there ..........

JF

I was there in 1967/8 for about 7 months split between the Training School, next to the Electric Depot, and in the Signal Shop. During that time I went over the Eagle Bridge at least once a day when I was in work.

In The Melts a few locos were being cut up, but one side of it had been given over to semaphore signals. At that time the LMR were still using LMS bolted-through-the-post fittings with every hole drilled and red leaded. We actually spread it as a paste on the onside of the saddles that went onto the post. I remember the whole place being locked up when the loco from Hixon came in. The cab was cut off by contractors behind closed doors at night.

 

In the Signal Shop I spent a lot of time making up Ground frames for the Saltley/Derby/Trent resignalling, but my best job was to work on the new 35 lever frame for Colwyn Bay. There was also a lot of fettling of old stuff for obsolete equipment, such as a regular job doing levers for the overhead box at Chester. I think there were only a couple of spares in existence so the depot locking fitter would bring two in about once a fortnight and we would recondition them for him to pick up the following week.

 

On the loco side at that time new deliveries were parked by the Signal Shop during acceptance trials. I saw the last 11 Class 20s and the first 19 Class 50s during that time. The works was doing the Class 74 EDs at the time as well. There were a few relics around at the time like a stationary boiler between us and the paint shop, which was reputed to come from an original Royal Scot, and a pair of bogies from the SR Triplets which were used as transport trollies when bogies were removed to receive attention in the old Tender Shop.

[Jon Fitness]

Bombardier are still in there but everything comes in by road, its all bogies though coming in for overhaul and maintainance, no "trains" any more, i believe the traverser has gone now too, the line linking in from the mainline is still there, only accessable from the up line so its a shunt into the etd and back across to get in however the wall between the mainline and works building has recently been pulled down towards the works and the rubble left on the track

 

The 1960 style offices that are off west street (by the old main entrance) are used by bentley now, morrisons is on the old paint shop near flag lane and there is a leisure complex the other side of the bridge at the back of what i believe are the old drawing offices on edleston road which are long gone but the bricked up doorway is still in the wall

 

"The dell" is still clearly visible as you enter the leisure complex, basically a cutting where the old works line used to go, they stored a load o class 40s in there back in the 80s

 

Next time i go into town i'll get some pics if anyone is interested

 

Thanks for the info Jim!

The dell by the old drawing offices is where I used to walk my dog. Sadly the offices had gone by the time I moved there but there were still a few bits of track in the undergrowth. I lived in Crewe from 1988-99 so I missed all the old works stuff but saw a lot of the remaining buildings. I'm pretty sure I used to hear EE power units being tested during the night from my house!

[Jon Fitness]

I was there in 1967/8 for about 7 months split between the Training School, next to the Electric Depot, and in the Signal Shop. During that time I went over the Eagle Bridge at least once a day when I was in work.

In The Melts a few locos were being cut up, but one side of it had been given over to semaphore signals. At that time the LMR were still using LMS bolted-through-the-post fittings with every hole drilled and red leaded. We actually spread it as a paste on the onside of the saddles that went onto the post. I remember the whole place being locked up when the loco from Hixon came in. The cab was cut off by contractors behind closed doors at night.

 

In the Signal Shop I spent a lot of time making up Ground frames for the Saltley/Derby/Trent resignalling, but my best job was to work on the new 35 lever frame for Colwyn Bay. There was also a lot of fettling of old stuff for obsolete equipment, such as a regular job doing levers for the overhead box at Chester. I think there were only a couple of spares in existence so the depot locking fitter would bring two in about once a fortnight and we would recondition them for him to pick up the following week.

 

On the loco side at that time new deliveries were parked by the Signal Shop during acceptance trials. I saw the last 11 Class 20s and the first 19 Class 50s during that time. The works was doing the Class 74 EDs at the time as well. There were a few relics around at the time like a stationary boiler between us and the paint shop, which was reputed to come from an original Royal Scot, and a pair of bogies from the SR Triplets which were used as transport trollies when bogies were removed to receive attention in the old Tender Shop.

It all sounds extremely interesting and if any pics of all this signal work going on are available, I'd love to see them. It sounds like the care taken to assemble the bits on to the signals helped them last long enough to be re-used in the preservation era!

No.6 box at Chester had the locking behind the levers so I suppose thats what made the frame a bit rare. I would have loved to work the old boxes at Chester but they'd long gone by the time I got there...

Thanks

JF

[big jim]

i only moved here in 2005 by then the rail traffic into the works had ceased, there were however a couple of fuel tankers sat in the sidings next to "dunwoody way" but i dont know how they left the works or if they have just moved within the site

 

i can hear stuff from my house, 67s on the ETD mainly or stuff heading towards chester (DRS 37s and 20s on the flasks mainly, even heard the 56 on the logs a few times!)

[40044]

The tankers would have been Esso TTAs which used to travel from Fawley to Crewe for general repair. I think the last of them left Crewe around 2007ish. Work on the TTAs is now done by a company called Channel Commercials.

[dvdlcs]

I have the following book in my library -

 

"Crewe Locomotive Works and its Men" by Brian Reed (David & Charles 1982)

 

- which would prove interesting to someone looking at the history of the site.

 

Although published in 1982 the emphasis is on the pre-1947 period with the post-nationalisation period covered in a single chapter. Lots of pictures but none of the signalling work in the 1960s as requested above.

[Jon Fitness]

I have the following book in my library -

 

"Crewe Locomotive Works and its Men" by Brian Reed (David & Charles 1982)

 

- which would prove interesting to someone looking at the history of the site.

 

Although published in 1982 the emphasis is on the pre-1947 period with the post-nationalisation period covered in a single chapter. Lots of pictures but none of the signalling work in the 1960s as requested above.

Ah. Got that one, and a few others. There's a few pics of lever frames being assembled in Fosters LNWR signalling book, but that's it.

JF

[TheSignalEngineer]

When the old works was open the Signal Shop was down there. That would probably be where the frame pictures in Richard Foster's book would be taken.

 

It's a pity that photos in my days there were not as cheap as now. It cost the equivalent of a pint of bitter for one colour slide in those days.

[big jim]

Managed to get some pics earlier around crewe which may be of interest....

 

Starting at the bottom of market st, this is the remains of the drawing office

 

And bridge, which is filled in underneath, it still retains its metal finials

 

I then drove round to the phoenix leisure park which is built on part of the old works site

 

This is looking back along the old trackbed towards the bridge in the pictures above

 

Retaining wall

 

Impressive building ive never noticed before, the front of which is on market st (to the left of the bridge in the first photo)

 

Turning 180 degrees here we are looking back towards the dell, the now infilled trackbed being somewhere around the red car is

 

In the dell, i am stood on the "new" bank looking down about 10ft to the trackbed

 

And out the other side looking from flag lane towards the town, trackbed to the left of the white sign

 

Again turning 180 degrees we are looking back towards flag lane bridge

 

The left portal is the crewe-chester line, the bricked up one has the remaining lines within the works on the other side and the road portal is i believe a new hole for "dunwoody way"

 

The other side of the bridge is what i remember the works as being when i was little, the 1987 open day access went all the way down there past the rows of withdrawn class 40s

 

However these days its morrisons and eagle bridge medical centre which has retained a bit of local heritage outside

 

And futher along to morrisons car park......

 

Looking back towards eagle bridge, the line that went up and over the chester line was i believe roughly where the landrover is parked on the right

 

Turning 180 degrees we can see the remaining part of the works at the this end, they have basically chopped the buildings back, cladded the end and built a road, you can still see the tracks within the works

 

 

Hope those are of interest, i can get more if they are

Edited November 19, 2013 by big jim

[Jon Fitness]

Thanks for those Jim!

I took a few off Flag Lane bridge myself in the late 80's but they're black and white and will need scanning when I have the time.

JF

[big jim]

No probs john, glad you like them, as an idea for those who dont know the area, here is roughly the same area as the morrisons car park pics back in 1987!!

 

The class 40s are sat on what is now dunwoody way and the LL 47 in the distance is near as damn it sat right where the eagle is outside the medical centre!

 

the line closest to the wall is still there within the works area

 

 

And in this picture the class 40s are pretty much sat on "market street" within the morrisons store!!

Edited November 19, 2013 by big jim

[APOLLO]

Have a look at my thread below "Apollo's Grand Days Out" for some pix of Crewe in the late 60's early 70's.

 

Brit15

[Jon Fitness]

Have a look at my thread below "Apollo's Grand Days Out" for some pix of Crewe in the late 60's early 70's.

 

Brit15

Thanks for that link to your pics, some lovely stuff on there fella!

JF

[black and decker boy]

No probs john, glad you like them, as an idea for those who dont know the area, here is roughly the same area as the morrisons car park pics back in 1987!!

The class 40s are sat on what is now dunwoody way and the LL 47 in the distance is near as damn it sat right where the eagle is outside the medical centre!

the line closest to the wall is still there within the works area

And in this picture the class 40s are pretty much sat on "market street" within the morrisons store!!

And what looks like an APT on the right in the ETD sidings?

 

I had not appreciated just where these scrap roads had been in relation to the new road & store. Thanks for providing the clarifications in the photos.

[class"66"]

Interesting information  

[big jim]

To add to this thread, this is the latest work being done on the old works site...

 

 

That is the old entrance to the works off west street (where the 'new' road diverges off), they have demolished the old black and white LNWR gate house and built a new housing estate comprised of 'affordable housing' and housing authority homes, the road stretches back almost as far as the works buildings

 

Similarly they are building houses on land nearer to the morrisons and are also clearing the narrow strip between dunwoody way and the chester line for futher development, basically building on what was the old access line so we can safely say crewe works will never see a train again by rail!!

[AngryMeerkat]

RIP the UKs capability to engineer new rolling stock and power units.

 

I remember Crewe in the late 80s still being a massive site for railways (well, many large sites scattered around the station area) but even then you could see the decline. Such a perfect location, with the right facilities and skills, now gone.

 

Mark

[peak experience]

in 2007 i attended the great gathering event at crewe works. despite massive reductions in area since i visited in the 80s as a teenager i was still surprised how much remained. what has happened in 7 years for it to go from a fully fledged locomotive works to not even rail connected?

[woodenhead]

Trains have got more component based and reliable - they don't need a big works anymore just somewhere to send bits to for servicing.

 

Wolverton and Springburn owned by Knorr-Bremse still service/upgrade stock as does Eastleigh but the work volume of work is nothing like it was.

 

You've also got work being done by LNWR at Crewe, Brush in Loughborough, EMD have a siding in Longport,Stoke plus DB does it's own heavy engineering at Toton.