Exeter TMD

Exeter Traction Maintenance Depot (or Exeter TMD) is a railway Traction Maintenance Depot situated in Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom and is next to the city's main St Davids station. The depot is operated by Great Western Railway.

Exeter
Location
LocationExeter, Devon
Coordinates50.7300°N 3.5452°W / 50.7300; -3.5452
Characteristics
Operator(s)Great Western Railway
Depot code(s)
  1. EXE (GWR)
  2. 83C (1950-1963)
  3. EX (1976 - date)
History
Opened1844 (1844)
OriginalBristol and Exeter Railway
Pre-groupingGWR
Post-groupingGWR

There are 12 roads, the maintenance building itself can hold 2 sets of 2 × 23 m vehicles. Behind a remaining wall from the previous Steam shed is where the Civil Shed is located, and the Premier shed (seldom used) is nearest the station.

History
Exeter St David's Locomotive Depot 12 April 1953

An engine shed was opened at Exeter by the Bristol and Exeter Railway when it opened the line to here in 1844. A second facility was added a few years later by the South Devon Railway and the two were combined under the Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1876. The Bristol and Exeter had been worked by the GWR until 1849 but then purchased its own locomotives. Temporary workshops for these were built at Exeter but a permanent facility at Bristol was opened in 1851.[1]

When British Railways introduced new shed codes in 1950, Exeter-based locomotives carried an oval cast plate with the code '83C'. The last locomotives based here were sent elsewhere from 14 October 1963, but the shed area was kept as a fueling and stabling point for locomotives and diesel multiple units (DMUs) working in the area.[2] From 29 December 1976 it was recognised as a depot again, even though no locomotives were allocated there at the time, and given a new code 'EX'.[2] The shed was used for many years without a roof, but in 1980 a new covered maintenance area was built.[3] New facilities were provided at the depot in 2011, including a new fueling point, and also jacks so that DMUs do not have to be sent empty to Bristol when they require lifting.[4]

Allocation

The depot's fleet of DMUs at the start of 2010 comprised 74 coaches formed as:[5]

The Class 142s had been based here since December 2007, on lease from Northern Rail. They were returned in November and December 2011 after second-hand Class 150/1 sets were received from London Midland.[4] The Class 143s were transferred from St Philip's Marsh to Exeter in December 2008, but three of the units worked in the Bristol area each day for several years on services on the Severn Beach Line and the Bristol to Taunton Line, returning to Exeter every other day for servicing.[6]

New buildings in 2020
The new depot buildings taking shape in 2019

In January 2018, it was announced that £40 million was being invested into a new train maintenance depot at Exeter TMD, which is to act as an expansion to the current depot at Exeter TMD. The new depot is set to be a part of the rail upgrades to the South West with the ability to accommodate the increased fleet size of GWR, with more modern servicing, cleaning and maintenance facilities available for use.'[7][8] The work was set to be completed with the new expansion opening in summer 2019, but it is not open yet as of January 2020.[9]

See also

References
  1. MacDermot, E T (1931). History of the Great Western Railway. 2 (1863-1921) (1 ed.). London: Great Western Railway.
  2. Harris, Roger (1985). The Allocation History of BR Diesels and Electrics (2nd ed.). Bromsgrove: Roger Harris.
  3. Kennedy, Rex (1981). Diesels and Electrics on Shed – Western Region. Oxford: Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 0-86093-042-4.
  4. Miles, Tony (April 2012). "More breathing space on FGW". Modern Railways. Vol. 69 no. 763. Key Publishing. pp. 48–53. ISSN 0026-8356.
  5. Marsden, Colin J (2010). Rail Guide (2010 ed.). Hersham: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-3457-0.
  6. "West Coast dominates timetable changes". Modern Railways. Vol. 65 no. 723. Ian Allan. 2008. pp. 46–50. ISSN 0026-8356.
  7. "Work on new 40 million rail depot for Exeter due to start". www.gwr.com. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  8. "Plans finalised for GWR's new £40m Exeter depot". www.railtechnologymagazine.com. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  9. "Hochtief wins £40m Exeter rail depot revamp | Construction Enquirer". www.constructionenquirer.com. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
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