Nine Elms Locomotive Works were built in 1839 by the

London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exete ...

(LSWR) adjoining their passenger terminus near the Vauxhall end of Nine Elms Lane, in the district of

Nine Elms Nine Elms is an area of south-west London, England, within the London Borough of Wandsworth, with some parts (including the Nine Elms tube station, tube station) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Lambeth. It lies on the River Thame ...

in the

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Borough of

Battersea Battersea is a large district in southwest London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and also extends along the south bank of the Thames Tideway. It includes the Battersea Park. Hist ...

. They were rebuilt in 1841 and remained the principal locomotive carriage and wagon workshops of the railway until closure in stages between 1891 and 1909. Thereafter a large steam

motive power depot A motive power depot (MPD) or locomotive depot, or traction maintenance depot (TMD), is where locomotives are usually housed, repaired and maintained. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine sheds" or just "sheds". Facilit ...

remained open on the site until 1967, serving Waterloo railway station.

Original works

The original locomotive, carriage and wagon workshops were built by the

(LSWR) adjoining, and to the west of, their original passenger terminus near the Vauxhall end of Nine Elms Lane in 1839, but suffered a disastrous fire in March 1841. They were rebuilt and from 1843 were used to construct over one hundred new locomotives for the company, to the designs of

John Viret Gooch John Viret Gooch FRSA (29 June 1812 – 8 June 1900) was the locomotive superintendent of the London and South Western Railway from 1841 to 1850. Born at Bedlington, Northumberland, John Viret Gooch (elder brother of Daniel Gooch) was the sec ...

and Joseph Hamilton Beattie.

Second works

Within twenty years of their original construction it became apparent to Beattie that the restricted site originally chosen would be inadequate for the future needs of the company and so the facility was moved to a larger site south of the main line between 1861 and 1865. The second Nine Elms works was responsible for the construction of more than 700 steam locomotives before closure in 1909, to the designs of Joseph Hamilton Beattie, his son William George Beattie, William Adams and Dugald Drummond. The company enlarged the workshops on a number of occasions and at its height in 1904 the locomotive works employed 2,438 men, building 22 and repairing 450 locomotives in a year. By the mid-1880s it was clear that further expansion at Nine Elms would be impossible. The carriage and wagon shops were therefore transferred to

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the United Kingdom 2011 census, 2011 census. The town ...

in Hampshire in 1891, allowing for the temporary expansion of the locomotive works and the nearby motive power depot. Ultimately the locomotive works were transferred to Eastleigh between 1908 and December 1909.

Motive power depot

Nine Elms Locomotive Depot Ex-LSW 4-6-0 on turntable geograph-2655940-by-Ben-Brooksbank

The principal function of the adjoining

was to provide and service locomotives for Waterloo railway station. The original motive power depot was opened on the north side of the main line by the

London and Southampton Railway London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

on 21 May 1838. It was closed and demolished in 1865. A second larger shed was built in 1849 on a site later occupied by the Nine Elms Goods Depot. This also closed in 1865. A replacement for these sheds, on the south of the main line, was opened in 1865 and demolished in 1876 to make way for the widening of the main line. A brick semi- roundhouse was built in 1876 and demolished in 1909.Nine Elms early maps
/ref> A large fifteen road (fifteen track) shed was opened in 1885, which later became known as the 'Old Shed'. It was badly damaged during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and never fully repaired. This was adjoined by a ten-road shed in 1910, which became known as the 'New Shed'. The depot was demolished in 1967, after the end of steam working out of Waterloo on 10 July that year. The site is now a part of the New Covent Garden Market. The locomotive shed featured in the short film ''London's Nine Elms Locomotive Shed in 1960.''

Preserved locomotives

* LSWR T9 class No. 120 (BR 30120) is preserved at the

Swanage Railway The Swanage Railway is a railway branch line from near Wareham, Dorset to Swanage, Dorset, England, opened in 1885 and now operated as a heritage railway. The independent company which built it was amalgamated with the larger London and Sout ...

. * LSWR T3 class No. 563 is preserved at the

. *

LSWR O2 class The LSWR O2 class is a class of 0-4-4T steam locomotive designed for the London and South Western Railway by William Adams (locomotive engineer), William Adams. Sixty were constructed during the late nineteenth century. They were also the last s ...

No. 24 Calbourne is preserved at the

Isle of Wight Steam Railway The Isle of Wight Steam Railway is a heritage railway on the Isle of Wight. The railway passes through of countryside from to station, passing through the small village of Havenstreet, where the line has a station, headquarters and a depo ...

. * LSWR M7 class No. 245 is preserved at the

National Railway Museum The National Railway Museum (NRM) is a museum in York, England, forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historical ...

. *LSWR M7 class No. 53 is preserved at the

. * LSWR B4 class No. 96 (BR 30096) Normandy is preserved at the

Bluebell Railway The Bluebell Railway is an heritage line in West Sussex in England. It is managed by the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society. It uses steam trains which operate between and , with intermediate stations at and . It is the first preserv ...

. *LSWR B4 class No. 102 (BR 30102) Granville is preserved at

Bressingham Steam and Gardens Bressingham Steam & Gardens is a steam museum and gardens located at Bressingham (adjacent to a garden centre), west of Diss, Norfolk, Diss in Norfolk, England. The site has several narrow gauge rail lines and a number of types of steam engines ...

Original works

Second works

Motive power depot

Preserved locomotives

References

Further reading