Easter Trip Out to Barrow Hill Roundhouse Centre 🚂 8th April 2023

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Easter Trip out to Barrow Hill Roundhouse Centre
8th April 2023

Always worth a trip out up to the roundhouse 👍


A brief history of Barrow Hill

The North Midland Railway reached Staveley by 1841 when the original Barrow Hill station opened on April 6th. It closed on November 15th 1888 and with the opening of the Clowne and Mansfield branch the new station opened the same date. The station was renamed “Barrow Hill & Staveley Works”. An engine shed was built near the station in 1865 with a capacity for four engines.

In 1866 the Midland Railway signed an agreement with Staveley Works whereby they purchased and would operate the works internal private railway for 100 years. The vast increase in traffic created a need for more locomotives and a much larger shed. The result was the present Roundhouse.

The former steam roundhouse located at Barrow Hill near Chesterfield, is a unique example of 19th century railway architecture. It is the last surviving operational roundhouse engine shed in Great Britain.

Construction commenced in July 1869 and it was completed in November 1870. The Midland Railway Company contracted I.E. Hall to build the depot. The final cost being £16,445 4s 9d. It comprises 24 roads of which the longest is 80 feet and the shortest 60 feet. Following the opening in 1870 it was in continuous use until it finally closed its doors in 1991 after a working life of 121 years.

When the Midland Railway introduced their system of shed codes in 1898, Barrow Hill was given the code M24. This was later changed by the LMS to 18D in 1935. In February 1958 it changed again to 41E when the area was taken over by the Eastern region of British Railways. On October 4th 1965 after the depot closed its doors to steam it was given the code letters BH

Depot allocations

Although it was clearly designed to house 24 steam locomotives the allocation peaked to 90 engines it the 1920’s. The most powerful of which were the Johnson 3F 0-6-0’s and Kirtley double framed 0-6-0’s. A total of 26 were allocated. Johnson 1P 0-4-0T’s were allocated for working the branches to Mansfield via Clowne and Doe Lea valley.

The allocation then settled down to around 75 locomotives throughout the 1940’s and 50’s. It then reduced to approximately 30 locomotives before closure to steam on October 4th 1965. Diesel locomotives were then allocated for the following years.

The allocation in 1983 was just 5 diesel shunters. This further declined to 3 by 1987 and by 1988 there was no allocation at all. The Roundhouse became a stabling and signing on point for locomotive crews on coal traffic workings. This was how it was to remain until its closure by British Rail in February 1991.

The Final Hours?

The final hours of the 9th February were well documented. The last shed foreman was Pete Hodges and the last person to sign on at Barrow Hill was Joe Denston for the up sidings preparer.

The final BR movements were:-

58016 came on shed at 11:00
58027 came on shed at 11:30 and coupled up to 58016
Both class 58 locos left for Worksop at 11:40
20197 & 20073 arrived on shed at 12:00
Both class 20 locos left for Worksop at 12:10 driven by driver Bob Hill.

One hundred and twenty one years of continuous use had finally come to an end.


















































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