[Source: John Stevenson]
shed6.jpg) Wigston motive power depot was opened in 1873 by the Midland Railway as a classic single roundhouse, with an initial allocation of about 40 engines made up almost entirely of MR 0-6-0 tender goods type. Until 1900 there were also half a dozen small MR tank locomotives, which it is assumed were used to transfer the through MR coach service from St Pancras to Birmingham. During the next ten years streets of terraced houses were built to accommodate railway workers and the employees of nearby factories, which opened following the establishment of the railway works. At one time The Midland Railway was the largest single employer of labour in Wigston. The MR was the first company to introduce the numbered shedcode system to identify the home depots for locomotives, and Wigston was given the code No.11 which it kept into the LMS era until closure on 5 May 1935. After this date the depot was used as a wagon
store.
The shed was reopened in 1943 to cope with an influx of locos from nearby Leicester, whilst their old MR engine facilities were replaced with a new LMS roundhouse. Even after this was completed, the facilities at Wigston were used as a stabling point until April 1955 when they gradually fell into disuse. During the mid 1960s some of the locos from the National Collection at Clapham were stored here while in transit to other locations, but these had to be relocated when the shed was scheduled for demolition in the late 1960s. After demolition a wagon repair facility occupied the sidings adjacent to the shed, and this remained in use for another decade.
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shed1.jpg)
shed4.jpg)
Inside the roundhouse in 1934. 3420 is seen on the right, possibly in temporary store with a sack tied over the chimney. This loco is a Johnson 2F built by Dubbs and Co in January 1892, a design for the Midland Railway. This class was introduced in 1875, with 103 locos passing to BR in 1948. 3420 was one of these and was renumbered to 58260 at nationalisation, lasting until withdrawn from Royston shed in November 1960 and scrapped at Derby Works shortly afterwards. Two Sentinal steam railcars are also seen.shed5.jpg)
shed2.jpg)
Wigston depot c.1960 when it was in use for the storage of wagons, in this case newshed6.jpg)
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