British Rail Thornaby Middlesbrough & Darlington open day. c1992 
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
British Rail Thornaby Middlesbrough & Darlington open day. c1992
I passed Thornaby Locomotive Depot this morning in its last few days of existence before closure. Officially opened on June 5th, 1958 it was the last steam age depot built for British Railways, though with the the idea of easy conversion for the service and repair of diesel locomotives. Thornaby was originally designed to handle up to 220 locomotives and built at a cost of £1.25 million. It must have been a huge improvement amenity wise for the staff of the depots it replaced. One of these, Middlesbrough sheds, just to the east of the station, was literally a ruin! The train bringing B.R officials to the opening of the depot in June 1958 was hauled to Thornaby by one of the first main line diesel electric locos delivered under the 1955 Modernisation Plan.In April,1959 the depot had 109 steam locomotives on its allocation,mainly for freight duties, though it did have a “star turn” from late 1959 to 1961 when one of its locomotives worked the short lived “Tees-Thames” named express, complete with headboard on the locomotive, from Saltburn to York, in the course of its journey to King”s Cross. Thornaby Depot closed to steam power in late 1964 – the original plan had been December,1 962 – though steam locos continued to operate in our area until September,1967. One personal disadvantage for Stockton locomen of the depot”s opening was that for many of them instead of a short walk to Stockton sheds near Tilery – closed 1959- they now had to make their way over to Thornaby to sign on for work.