Building record MDR10348 - Midland Counties Railway Workshops, Derby Station, Derby

Railway Workshops. Two storey brick workshops originally intended for building and repairing carriages, with smith's shop, pattern shop and beam engine house, built in 1839 for the Midland Counties Railway. Awaiting reuse in January 2003. (1) The Railway workshop incorporates a former beam engine house, fitting and turning shops and smithies, latterly a pattern shop and store. It was disused at the time of inspection. It was built in 1839, with 19th and 20th century alterations and additions, for the Midland Counties Railway. It is built from red brick with ashlar dressings and slated roof coverings. In plan it is a triple pile single-storey shed formerly accommodating 3 lines of track, with a double pile 2-storey workshop area beyond, having rail access to part of the ground floor. The south-west elevation has 6 bays and is a single-storey shed with attached 9 bay, 2 storey workshop range to the south-east. There are late 19th century double gabled timber infill sheds linked with an early 20th century gable of a truncated cross range of smiths' shops, also of 1839. The north-west elevation is triple gabled,with pilasters separating gable bays. Each apex has a blind oculus, flat-copings and below, a raking double band. Each gable has a tall central opening with semi-circular archedhead, 2 now altered to form windows, that to the right with 20th century double doors. These were formerly access doorways serving lines into the shop. The north-east elevation has a 4 bay addition linking the workshop with the gable of the smithy range. The interior is supported by 2 arcades of cast iron columns, the heads supporting curved brackets on which adjacent tie beam ends are carried. The principal rafter ends are carried in metal shoes fixed to the ends of the tie beams. The roof trusses with timber raking struts and a vertical tie rod are linked to a metal apex cradle. The 2 storey section has an arcaded spine wall, formerly with rail access to the south-west part. The roof trusses are carried on a single arcade of iron columns, with a wide timber bearer at the head of each column supporting adjacent tie beams. This complex of workshops,sheds and smithies was built as part of the maintenance facilities for the Midland Counties Railway at the trijunct station at Derby, and is the earliest surviving railway works in the country. (2)