Low Moor engine shed

The first depot to serve the needs of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (LYR) in southern Bradford, was opened in 1850 near to the Drake Street (later Exchange) railway station.{{cite book |last1=Whitaker |first1=Alan |title=Bradford railways remembered |date=1986 |publisher=Dalesman |location=Clapham |isbn=0-85206-870-0 |pages=62, 69}} This was soon replaced by a new engine shed at Low Moor, which later become an important railway junction. Bradford was directly to the north, the Great Northern Railway's Bradford avoiding line via {{rws|Dudley Hill}} (and the line to Wakefield) to the east, with Halifax to the south, and the Spen Valley Line to the south east.{{cite book |last1=Body |first1=Geoffrey |title=Railways of the Eastern Region |date=1989 |publisher=P. Stephens |location=Cambridge |isbn=1-85260-072-1 |page=110}}

The depot at Low Moor was opened by the LYR in 1866 and was located to the northern side of Low Moor railway station.{{sfn|Batty|1989|p=163}} This had replaced an earlier structure built in the 1860s which was nearer the tunnel mouth.{{sfn|Hawkins|Reeve|1982|p=80}}{{#tag:ref|Low Moor is {{convert|66|chain}} south of Bowling Tunnel, on the direct line into Bradford Interchange railway station.{{cite book |last1=Padgett |first1=David |title=Railway Track Diagrams, Bok 2 - Eastern |date=2016 |publisher=Trackmaps |location=Frome |isbn=978-0-9549866-8-1 |edition=4|at=41}}|name=Tunnel|group=note}} The engine shed was subject to alterations in size and structure in 1890 and 1945, by the LYR and London Midland and Scottish Railway respectively.{{sfn|Batty|1989|p=146}} During the First World War, many of the traditional male-orientated jobs were being undertaken by women due to most of the shed's able bodied men volunteering for war work.{{cite news |title=Women in Rail: How WWI created rare career opportunities for women |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/uknews/11133091/Women-in-Rail-How-WWI-created-rare-career-opportunities-for-women.html |access-date=4 February 2020 |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=1 October 2014}}

In the 1940s, the shed had a turntable at the northern end, and twelve roads inside the shed,{{sfn|Hawkins|Reeve|1982|p=81}} with access to the depot only from the northern end.{{sfn|Whitaker|Myland|1993|p=88}} By the 1960s, twelve roads still ran into the shed area, but the six most western lines had the overall roofing removed by then.{{sfn|Whitaker|Myland|1993|p=88}} As the drawdown of steam took place in the late 1960s, steam engines from the Leeds and Bradford area were sent to Low Moor as they were either supplanted by diesels or their steam depot closed down.{{sfn|Batty|1989|p=147}} Moving engines to Low Moor had been going on since the early 1960s; just before their withdrawal, the shed was allocated four Royal Scot 4-6-0s after they were no longer needed for Settle and Carlisle workings.{{sfn|Batty|1989|p=138}}

Originally, the depot had been designated as Shed No. 2 under the LYR.{{sfn|Hawkins|Reeve|1982|p=83}} It was coded as 25F between 1948 and 1956, then 56F from 1956 until its closure.{{sfn|Bolger|1981|p=122}} The 56X code determined that Low Moor was a sub-shed of 56A at Wakefield.{{cite news |last1=Lloyd |first1=Chris |title=Those shedplates in full |url=https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/8814383.shedplates-full/ |access-date=4 February 2020 |work=The Northern Echo |date=3 February 2011 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=GAZETTEER: BRITISH RAILWAYS MOTIVE POWER DEPOTS AND CODES (AMENDMENTS MAY 2016) |url=http://www.britishrailways.info/MOTIVE%20POWER%20DEPOTS%20AND%20CODES.htm |website=britishrailways.info |access-date=4 February 2020}}

• 1933 - 65 steam engines{{sfn|Batty|1989|p=155}}
• 1950 - 37 steam engines{{sfn|Whitaker|Myland|1993|p=87}}
• 1955 - 31 steam engines{{sfn|Batty|1989|p=158}}
• 1962 - 50 steam engines{{sfn|Whitaker|Myland|1993|p=87}}
• 1966 - 14 steam engines{{sfn|Whitaker|Myland|1993|p=87}}
• 1967 - 12 steam engines{{sfn|Batty|1989|p=159}}

Closure of the shed came in October 1967. Low Moor was the last surviving steam shed in the Bradford area.{{cite news |title=Victoria's ancestry can be revealed |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&t=&sort=_rank_%3AD&fld-base-0=alltext&maxresults=20&val-base-0=Low%20Moor%20Engine%20shed&docref=news/1553334FC0DCC3A0 |access-date=4 February 2020 |work=infoweb.newsbank.com |date=8 May 2015|url-access=subscription}} After closure, the site was earmarked for a Freightliner intermodal terminal, though this came to nothing, and all the lines were removed.{{sfn|Whitaker|Myland|1993|p=86}}

{{reflist|group="note"}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book|last=Batty|first=Stephen|title=Rail Centres: Leeds/Bradford|year=1989|publisher=Ian Allan|location=Shepperton|isbn=0-7110-1821-9}}
• {{cite book|last=Bolger|first=Paul|title=BR Steam Motive Power Depots LMR|year=1981|publisher=Ian Allan|location=Shepperton|isbn=0-7110-1019-6}}
• {{cite book|last1=Hawkins|first1=Chris|last2=Reeve|first2=George|title=LMS Engine Sheds; Their History and Development. Volume Three - the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway|year=1982|publisher=Wild Swan publications|location=Upper Bucklebury|isbn=0-906867-07-X}}
• {{cite book|last1=Whitaker|first1=Alan|last2=Myland|first2=Brian|title=Railway Memories No. 4; Bradford|year=1993|publisher=Bellcode Books|location=Todmorden|isbn=1-871233-03-8}}

{{commons category|Low Moor engine shed}}

• [http://www.lostrailwayswestyorkshire.co.uk/images/donations/Bernard%20Coomber/Mirfield%20Low%20Moor%202/Picture%204.jpg Image of a steam engine 'on shed']

Category:Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway

Category:Rail transport in West Yorkshire

Category:Buildings and structures in Bradford

Category:Railway depots in Yorkshire