Newhaven Engine Shed

In the 1888 edition of Bradshaw's Railway Manual, Shareholders' Guide and Directory, it was remarked that, in the half year ended 31st December 1887, an estimated £5,000 had been spent by the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) on new engine sheds at Norwood Junction, Battersea, and Newhaven. Another estimated £38,130 was to be spent in subsequent half years on these depots. The shed erected at Newhaven was a four-track dead-end structure comprising two pitched roofs clad with corrugated sheeting, and was equipped with four sets of double doors of timber construction. It sat on a site sandwiched in-between Newhaven Town station and the Harbour, residing almost perpendicular to the former, resulting in a tight curve linking the depot with the running lines.

Under the Southern Railway (SR), Newhaven came under shed code "N" (ref: RCTS' The Railway Observer, May 1932). The shed's allocation as of Spring 1932 was as per the below table.

*Modified for motor-trains.

(ref: RCTS’ The Railway Observer, May 1932 and June 1932 editions)

A year later, a notable change to the allocation had been the loss of the two H1 "Atlantics": Nos. 2037 and 2041 had both gone to Eastbourne. "2000" had also been added to the locomotive numbering series, as shown in the table below.

(Ref: RCTS' The Railway Observer, June 1933)

Locomotive Allocation: 18th August 1939

(Ref: RCTS' The Railway Observer, September 1939)

As a result of revised workings that came into effect on 13th December 1947, "Atlantic" 4-4-2 engines allocated to Newhaven Shed were booked to work the following services: the 8:21 AM Lewes to London Bridge and the 5:40 PM London Bridge to Lewes (both running Monday to Friday); the 5:09 PM Victoria to Lewes (Saturdays only); and the boat train on alternate days (ref: RCTS' The Railway Observer, January 1948). As of February 1948, it was believed that all H2 "Atlantics" were officially allocated to Newhaven (ref: RCTS' The Railway Observer, February 1948). In summer of that year, the shed's "Atlantics" had four booked workings to the capital: two services on the Oxted line and day and night boat services (ref: RCTS' The Railway Observer, October 1955). The night boat service had been reinstated on 17th June 1948 and was scheduled to run until 2nd October, three times a week (ref: RCTS' The Railway Observer, July 1948).

Access to the shed at Newhaven was by means of a tight curve that was fed by the running lines that passed through Town station. On 14th July 1948, trials were run that involved testing a "Schools" and "King Arthur" Class (the latter No. 796) on this curve, to verify their suitability for traversing it (ref: RCTS' The Railway Observer, August 1948). At that time, "King Arthurs" had been appearing on the boats train in lieu of the usual "Atlantics"; however, the turntable at Newhaven Shed was not large enough to accommodate the former, which required them to run light to Brighton for turning (ref: RCTS' The Railway Observer, May 1948).

On 2nd October 1948, the first working of a "Schools" Class to Newhaven took place, when No. 929 "Malvern" hauled the 7:50 PM night boat train from Victoria, the last of the season (ref: RCTS' The Railway Observer, November 1948). Stewarts Lane-allocated "Schools" took over the boat workings from Newhaven's "Atlantics"; then, in May 1949, electric locomotives debuted on the services, although "Atlantics" could be found on summer relief boat trains (ref: RCTS' The Railway Observer, October 1955).

By Spring 1949, proposals to close Newhaven Shed had surfaced. In the June 1949 edition of the RCTS' The Railway Observer magazine, it was reported that the closure decision was deferred to September of that year, when it would be reviewed. As it transpired, the shed remained open.

13th April 1958

A roughly westward view of the locomotive depot captures the twin corrugated pitches of the shed, dwarfed from the left background by a marine engineering depot. On the left can be seen the rear of H2 "Atlantic" No. 32424 "Beachy Head", which is being rotated on the turntable after arriving from Victoria with the RCTS’ "The Sussex Coast Limited" rail tour. No. 32424 had hauled the train to Newhaven Harbour and, after a short stop there, "Terrier" 0-6-0T No. 32640 — also pictured above, facing away from the camera left of centre — brought the carriages back to Newhaven Town. BR Standard Tank No. 80154, pictured just right of centre above, had been prepared to haul the rail tour to Brighton, whence "King Arthur" No. 30796 "Sir Dodinas le Savage" completed the final leg back to Victoria. No. 80154 had the distinction of being the last engine to be built at Brighton Works (ref: RCTS’ The Railway Observer, May 1958) and was the first Standard Tank to be adorned with the "Late" British Railways emblem (ref: The Railway Magazine, May 1957). Lurking in the shadows of the engine shed, in the right background, is what appears to be a "Schools" 4-4-0, presumably one of those members of the class used to haul relief boat trains over that Easter weekend (ref: RCTS’ The Railway Observer, May 1958). This was the final day in service for No. 32424, which was the last active British "Atlantic" (a locomotive with a 4-4-2 wheel arrangement) in service (ref: The Railway Magazine, June 1958). The former engine shed and marine engineering buildings were still standing in 2014, but the sites of both were redeveloped the following year. © David Glasspool Collection

For Oxted line workings, a pair of 2-6-4 tanks from the London Midland Region were allocated to Newhaven. However, their stay at the shed only lasted until the following year, when the services they worked were taken over by Brighton (75A) (ref: RCTS' The Railway Observer, October 1955). These trains were:

• 8:22 AM Lewes to London Bridge (this was revised to start from Brighton rather than Lewes).
• 5:40 PM London Bridge to East Grinstead.
• 8:23 AM Uckfield to Victoria.
• 6:10 PM Victoria to Uckfield.

The Uckfield services were worked by a "Brighton" engine stabled at Newhaven (ref: RCTS' The Railway Observer, October 1955).

During the 1951 to 1952 period, Newhaven was listed with its own shed code of "75H"; however, this was never applied to any allocated locomotives and the depot instead shared Brighton's code of "75A". In spite of coming under Brighton's umbrella, Newhaven still had its own allocation of locomotives distinct from the parent depot (ref: RCTS' The Railway Observer, October 1955). By the end of 1952, Newhaven had lost almost all duties to Brighton, save for local goods and shunting duties, passenger turns having more or less ceased (ref: RCTS' The Railway Observer, January 1953). The depot finally lost its independent locomotive allocation on the introduction of the winter timetable on 19th September 1955 (ref: The Railway Magazine, February 1956). Thereafter, it was reduced to the status of a stabling point and engine duties were transferred to Brighton. The final independent allocation was as per the table below.

Final Locomotive Allocation: 1955

(Ref: RCTS' The Railway Observer, October 1955)

After losing independence, the proposal was for two E4s, one BR Standard 2-6-4 Tank, and one A1X to stable at Newhaven Shed; the latter would return light to Brighton fortnightly for washouts, whilst the other two engines would change at more frequent intervals (ref: RCTS' The Railway Observer, October 1955).

By 1963, a 350 HP diesel shunter had been deployed at Newhaven Middle Yard, which replaced a previous steam duty. At that time, the solitary regular steam resident of Newhaven Shed was an A1X "Terrier" 0-6-0, which was used on the West Quay (ref: RCTS' The Railway Observer, February 1963). Steam presence at the shed was bolstered by an on loan "Q" or "N" Class when coal boats were docked at Newhaven, workings running between there and Galley Hill Sidings in Bexhill (ref: RCTS' The Railway Observer, February 1963). On 9th September 1963, Newhaven Shed was closed completely (ref: RCTS' The Railway Observer, November 1963).

April 1960

Viewed from the back of the Lewes-bound platform of Newhaven Town station, "E4" Class 0-6-2 No. 32562 is depicted with a transfer freight (a freight train that delivers consignments from one intermediate point to another). The locomotive is not wearing a head code nor tail lamps, indicating that it probably has not been routed on the main line — perhaps the vans are empty or the engine will propel the loaded vehicles towards the harbour. The building in the background is that which is marked at the centre bottom of the diagram above. By November of the year this photograph was taken, No. 32562 had been withdrawn from service. © David Glasspool Collection

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