Carlisle Upperby TMD


Carlisle Upperby TMD is a former railway Traction Maintenance Depot situated in Carlisle, England. The depot is owned by DB Cargo UK. The depot was originally of service to steam locomotives. The depot code is now CL. The old steam shed used to be known colloquially as "the Lanky", a reference to its origins as the main depot of the Lancaster and Carlisle railway.

History

Constructed by the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway, the depot passed into London, Midland and Scottish Railway ownership as part of the 1923 Grouping. The LMS rebuilt Upperby in 1948, replacing the original shed with a large concrete roundhouse. The LMS also constructed an enginemen's hostel on the hill adjacent to the depot.
In the 1960s, Upperby was allocated diesel locomotives including Sulzer Type 2 and the unsuccessful Metro-Vic Co-Bo Type 2. However, once the new purpose-built diesel depot, Kingmoor TMD was completed, work was transferred there and Upperby closed as a locomotive depot on 1 January 1968. The roundhouse was demolished in 1979, but the remaining buildings continued in use as a carriage maintenance and servicing facility until closure in the early 1990s.
When British Rail was privatised in 1994–7, the disused depot became the property of EWS as part of a nationwide portfolio of sites which also included the nearby Currock wagon repair depot.

Present day

Upperby is no longer an operational depot, although some sidings are still present and used to store redundant wagons. Part of the land formerly making up the site is now used by Network Rail for office space and storage of equipment.
The former carriage shed was demolished in December 2016.