Railway Engine Sheds

Name	Railway Engine Sheds
Date	1845 to 1846
Location	East Station Road, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire PE2 8AD
Type	Industry
Original use	Railway engine sheds and workshops

History:

• In June 1845, Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) opened its station at Peterborough.
• In August 1845, due to stations facilities being inadequate, an additional line was constructed to accommodate the amount of traffic.
• In 1846, the enlargement of the railway infrastructure continued with the addition of goods warehousing and an engineering works.
• In 1847 to 1850, Earl Fitzwilliam built a large flourmill complex north of the railway sheds. It was positioned to take advantage of the transportation opportunities provided by both the river and the Great Eastern Railway (GER).
• In 1847, the Eastern Counties Railway built the west goods shed.
• In 1848, the London and North Western Railway Company constructed the Great Eastern Railway sheds.
• In 1848 Great Eastern and Midland Railway Companies jointly used the sheds even thought the operations of each company were kept separate. There was a spine wall that separated all of the workshop spaces other than those of the western extension.
• In 1849, The Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) approached ECR with a view to the purchase of the buildings. The proposal fell through and in December, GNER had decided to build a station on the north side of the city.
• In 1849, the east shed was completed by the Midland Railway Company and this structure remains largely extant.
• In 1850, August the new station (now existing mainline station) opened after which time GNER trains ceased to use the ECR station.
• In 1856, Michael Cadge and Samuel Coleman, the name by which it is still referred, leased the mill.
• In 1872 the Great Eastern took over the whole shed and remained in railway use until the 1950's. The workshop, which comprises of 2 large volumes with a central smaller store, was apparently added.
• In 1875, offices in the northern elevation of the Good sheds were built.
• In 1914, the Engine shed was used to house the stores, smithies, carpenter's shops and boilers.
• In 1920's, maps show a foundry and wagon works are on the south side of the running track representing a largely new development area where previously there had been little rail infrastructure works.
• In 1929 the engine works were recommended for closure due to the construction of new premises on the south side of the running track. The building was however retained in some form of use until the 1960's.
• In 1936 the Whitworth Brothers bought out Michael Cadge and Samuel Coleman and took over the production of the mill. They started making improvements, replacing 19th century beam engine, renewing old machinery and building new silos.
• In the 1940's the tunnel connecting the Mill and the river was bricked up.
• In 1950 the site went into disuse apart from the engine sheds, goods sheds and workshops.
• During the 1960's, all except the east most bay of this structure was demolished with the subsequent stables and office that had been attached to the west elevation.
• In 1965, Peterborough East was retained by ECR and there were about 40 trains a day calling at the station but this declined following the closure of the Rugby line from Yarwell Junction to Seaton.
• In 1966, due to the drop in passengers the station closed. The station buildings were converted for use as a parcel centre and soon became the base for the East Anglia British Rail Universal Trolley Equipment (BRUTE) service dealing with some 15,000 parcels a day.
• In 1969, maps show that the use of the former station as a parcel depot. The foundry and wagon works of the 1920's has been retained and apparently remained in use. The former goods shed is shown in use as a granary and significant parts of the former west sheds have been removed. They were used for storage and not transit. The south exit has been closed and truncated by a new track servicing a coal depot. New warehousing was erected to the west on the site of the 19th century wagon works. The 19th century mill has been retained in part as a timber yard. The flourmill to the east of the goods shed has been extended and the new buildings have been erected to the east along the riverbank.
• On 29 June 1970, the station became finally redundant following the opening of the new British Rail Express Parcel Terminal.
• In 1972, the Station building was demolished after numerous uses were proposed for the station; even a base for the National Railway Museum was rejected. The gods shed and engine shed were however retained in light commercial use.
• In 1989 the site attained essentially its present appearance with only the goods shed, engine shed and flour mill retained.

Architecture:

In 1901, a survey map showed that there was an intense rail and manufacturing industry located on the south side of the River Nene, north of East station and east of the city centre. The station was accessed from off Station Road, alongside a sawmill, wagon works and associated travelling crane. A Goods shed and other ancillary buildings were attached to the west side of the station. The existing goods shed and other ancillary buildings are shown to the north east of the station serviced by an extensive network of track with numerous crossings and turntables. The existing flourmill (identified as a corn mill) is also shown.

The railway sidings and all other railway and associated buildings have been removed and the 2 remaining railway buildings as well as the mill are retained within a derelict landscape with vestigial traces of past use, such as track beds and the remains of the former East Station.

The railway sheds and mill are located within an area used as a car park and open container storage facility. There are vestigial traces of the former rail lines and the remains of the former East Station platforms. Access is to the west, along East Station Road from Bridge Street, and passes to the south of large retail sheds built overlooking the river to the north. There are 6 running tracks, which enter the building from the east and further running tracks that pass by to both the north and south sides. The tracks stop within the building.

The Goods shed is has a number of running tracks running north south through the building. The tracks originate from running parallel to the river and are shown to join the main network just to the south of the station by means of a turntable. Even though the map does not show any wharf or crane, it can be assumed that the goods shed was used for the transit of goods from rail to river.

To the south of the station is an extensive marshalling yard, which is largely free of buildings.

There are 2 railway buildings and the largest is the engine shed, which is located to the existing running track. It is presently unoccupied but was used as a timber merchant. Some of the surrounding land is being used for pallet storage in association with the business that presently occupies the adjacent former railway goods shed. Adjacent to the railway track are the remains of the former Peterborough East Railway station.

North of the engine shed, close to the river, is the Goods shed. This has also been vacant for some years, but is now presently in use for storage and manufacture of pallets.

South of the railway track, the land is vacant and further south is part developed by the Peterborough United football ground and leisure centre with mid to late 20th century residential development to its south off Glebe Road.

Railway Good sheds

The Railway Goods sheds were constructed in 2 phases in 1847 by ECR and in 1849 by Midland Railway Company.

The railway goods shed is a single-storey structure made out of yellow stock brick and has corrugated asbestos sheet roofs, and coped gabled ends with corbelled brick kneelers.

The 2 parallel ranges are aligned north-south, extending for 5 bays. The east elevation comprises of 3 large double recessed segmental arched entrances, under segmental brick arches, and 2 narrower round arch blind bays, break forward to left and right of centre with a broad brick pilaster on the right.

At the south elevation there are 3 double recessed round arch casement windows within cast iron frames at the centre and a single larger segmental arch entrance to the right, blocked with late 20th century red brick. On the north elevation is a timber structure with weather boarding cladding.

This building retains internal timber detailing, and was probably was built in 1875 by the Eastern Counties railway. There are some pane hung sash windows in the north and east elevations.

The west shed slightly projects south of the east shed. On the south elevation is a single arch headed casement with to the side a large opening under an RSJ, blocked with late 20th century red brick. The north elevation contains a single large opening under a steel girder lintel with roller shutter door. The west elevation has been largely rebuilt with corrugated sheeting to the upper levels. The space is undivided and the trusses are supported on hollow section iron stanchions. Within the east sheds, the trusses are a normal queen post type and in the west, are 'A' frame type trusses with diagonal supports running between the tie beams.

The office building to the north elevation is divided into 3 rooms with an office to the east, workshops to the west. The internal elevations have tongue and groove horizontal boarding, which retains its original 2-tone colour scheme. There are fireplaces in 2 of the rooms, desks, workbenches, although the grates themselves have been removed.

Railway engine sheds, workshops and stores

The building comprises 2 linked single-storey sheds aligned east west. At the west end of the sheds, and aligned perpendicular to them are arranged a series of workshops. These workshops are a later addition and were initially detached from the sheds but are now linked by means of a brick built infill with lean-to roof.

The railway engine sheds are of yellow stock brick with some stone dressings. The louvered roof is of slate with coped gable ends and brick kneelers. They have brick axial and lateral stacks with stone cornices. The first storey of the exterior on the north and south sides of the engine sheds each has an arranged series of 11 bays of double tall recessed round-arched openings. Most of these windows have retained their cast-iron window frames with glazing bars, but most have been blocked internally.

Access to the engine sheds was principally from the east. The now blocked, existing pair of entranceways have steel girder lintels and retain evidence for hinge pins on the external reveal. As shown in the 1901, ordnance survey plans; they have been rebuilt as the building previously positioned there, contained 3 arched openings to each shed with a single large window above. A brick built spine wall divided the sheds - these have been removed as well as the grates and chimneybreasts that were evident along each of the long elevations. There is evidence of the former track beds within each of the sheds and some are laid to cobble or timber.

The workshops and stores are attached at the west end of the sheds. They are also made out of yellow stock brick and there is a parapet cornice. The 9 bay west front has broad windows that are set beneath segmental arches with stone banding. The range is set perpendicular to the earlier building north and south gables and an elevated louver. Most of the windows are now blocked. Each side of the spine wall that separates the halves of the building and comprises a range of 3 parallel spaces each with access to the main shed and each with access to the former external area to the west. A narrow un-roofed (external) passage runs immediately alongside the spine wall. To the centre of the spaces is a pair of small back-to-back offices with oblique fireplaces in the corner. To each side of these offices are large through workshops. The outer sets of workshops are full height and open to the roof, the inner sets of spaces are of a tall single floor. A pair of steel sectioned water tanks is located above the workshops.

Internally there are no fittings within the building. The existing partitions within some of the workshop spaces are all recent. In one of the office spaces there is some timber panelling but these were added during a film set, where faux Tudor timber details, panelling and doors were inserted.

All buildings were listed as Grade II buildings on the 6th August 1992.

Flour Mill

The land to the front of the railway sheds is used for container parking associated with the flourmill. The mill is located further east within the site adjacent to the river and remains in use as a flourmill. East of the mill building along the riverbank there are a series of other ancillary structures and silos.

Originally there was a tunnelled access from the river into the mill allowed barges to unload directly within the building. This was bricked up in 1940's due to the silting of the river and forced the closure of this feature.

The building was divided with the main range in the centre and offices to the west. To the east was the boiler house, which connected directly to the engine house within the main building. Situated on the opposite side of the engine was the mill itself with a granary/warehouse to the north, bordering the river. Direct access to the waterway was provided by a short barge tunnel, which ran the entire width of the warehouse.

The mill was originally constructed with 10 pairs of millstones, but these were superseded in 1885 with the installation of steel rollers, being only the second mill in England to acquire them. The mill is still in operation currently under the control of Whitworth Bros.

The flourmill is included on the local authority's register of buildings of local interest.

Social History :

• Between 1845 and 1866, 5 railway companies had established tracks and built depots in the town, turning it into a major rail centre. There were 2 main centres, the East station and the North Station.
• The East station had engine sheds, goods sheds and other facilities were shared by the LNWR. GER and the MR.
• The North station extended to a further site at New England a couple of miles to the north, operated by GNR and later included the MR. In addition to the station, goods yard and engine works there were stores, the engineer's office, coal stores, carriage works and 200 workers houses as well as a hotel.
• The growth of the railway contributed to the economy and growth of Peterborough. It provided mobility, employment, housing and distribution of jobs. The brick industry became the more dominant industry for much of the 20th century as the railway facilitated the distribution of the materials.