Railway Roundabout series shows British Rail Locomotive sheds during the end of the 1950's. This is Saltley Shed in Birmingham during 1959.

Although steam traction was still in evidence the decision had been made by British Rail not to build any more steam engines and instead experiment with different types of new diesel engined locomotives which were now being produced. As a result the once tidy and well kept Traction Sheds were now becoming old and very run down, little or no maintenance was carried out save for safety critical factors. It took the introduction of the Modernisation Programme before money was released for the building of new structures to house the new engines which were a lot cleaner than their older counterparts.

This film shows a variety of engines including the last class of engines to be built, the Class 9 F. It was designed for BR by Robert Riddles and was intended for use on fast freight on long distance work, it proved itself capable for all types of traffic and was to be seen on freight and fast passenger runs. It was the most powerful of all locomotives built by British Rail. They were massive engines weighing in at nearly140 tons with tender and almost 150 tons when fully coaled and watered.

superb filming highlights the grimy and oily conditions found on the sheds and the working conditions found therein.

please note;if you don't like steam locomotives you'd be well advised to give this vid a miss, sorry.