A B1 No. 61220 plus a collection of unidentifiable steam locomotives outside Stockton locomotive shed. 1959A scene outside Stockton locomotive shed with a collection of unidentifiable locomotives. No. 61220 B1 steam locomotive in centre of picture. 1959A clock on the front of Stockton Railway engine shed. A selection of steam locomotives are shown outside the shed. 1959 
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
As a result of the depression of the 1930s the Stockton goods yards and shed suffered loss of work and there was closure of some freight facilities. War in 1939, however saw an expansion and rejuvenation of Stockton goods yards, as now the railways had more traffic than they could handle. The shed”s allocation rose to more than fifty engines. Thornaby Depot took over the shed”s remaining work on closure of Stockton, B R shed code 51E, in June,1959 and the goods yards closed with the opening of Tees Yard in the early 1960s.
In the 1950s Stockton sheds had an allocation of some forty to fifty engines, ranging from small shunting engines to heavy freight and mixed traffic locos. As well as local goods and passenger workings the shed”s engines also travelled further afield to York,Whitby,Newcastle and the Leeds area.One two day working took a Stockton B1 engine – like 61220 in the photograph – to March in East Anglia on a fast freight train, returning with a balancing working the following evening. Quite often larger express engines would visit Stockton, but as the turntable at the shed could not accommodate them it was necessary to send them to Norton Junction to turn on the triangle. An interesting account of life as an engine cleaner at Stockton sheds in the early 1920s can be found in “Yorkshire Locoman” by Norman Dixon (1983).It touches on the often harsh and sometimes unjust discipline in the workplace during the “good old days!”.