Finsbury Park TMD

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.

Finsbury Park TMD

55008 "The Green Howards" at Finsbury Park depot on 14 November 1981
Location
Location	Finsbury Park, Greater London
Coordinates	51.5582°N 0.1099°W / 51.5582; -0.1099
OS grid	TQ310861
Characteristics
Owner	British Rail
Depot code	FP (1973 - 1983)[1]
Type	Diesel
History
Former depot code	34G (1960 - 1973)

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

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Original Number TOPS number Name Withdrawn Status D9001 55 001 St. Paddy 5 January 1980 Scrapped BREL Doncaster February 1980. D9003 55 003 Meld 31 December 1980 Scrapped BREL Doncaster March 1981. D9007 55 007 Pinza 31 December 1981 Scrapped BREL Doncaster August 1982. D9009 55 009 Alycidon 2 January 1982 Preserved - Mainline Registered D9012 55 012 Crepello 18 May 1981 Scrapped BREL Doncaster September 1981. D9015 55 015 Tulyar 2 January 1982 Preserved D9018 55 018 Ballymoss 12 October 1981 Scrapped BREL Doncaster January 1982. D9020 55 020 Nimbus 5 January 1980 Scrapped BREL Doncaster January 1980.[4]

References

1. "The all-time guide to UK Shed and Depot Codes" (PDF). TheRailwayCentre.com. 5 May 2006. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
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."Photographs of 55 020 Nimbus being scrapped".

• British Rail Locoshed Directory. Shepperton: Ian Allan Ltd. 1981. ISBN 0-7110-1143-5.
• Finsbury Park Diesel Maintenance Depot 1960 - 1983. Chesterfield: The Deltic Preservation Society Ltd. 2010. ISBN 978-0-9565544-0-6.
• Baker, Allan. Deltics At Work. ISBN 0-7110-1536-8.

Further reading

• Johnston, Howard; Wylie, Andrew (December 1983). "Finsbury Park: The end of an era". Rail Enthusiast. EMAP National Publications. p. 15. ISSN 0262-561X. OCLC 49957965.