Loughborough Central locomotive shed is set to be moved to a new location to allow the double track heritage railway to run north of Loughborough.

Removing the old shed will also allow for the line to reorganise how it repairs and overhauls locomotives and carriages to best protect and display them in the future.

The current shed was moved to the line in 1973 and was a second hand building to get the then new heritage railway line a place to maintain locomotives.

The decision to move the shed has been approved by the GCR PLC board and will form part of the reunification project that will see the Great Central Railway and Great Central Railway (Nottingham) join up to create an 18-mile long line.

The shed, whilst not completely obstructing the route, prevented the railway line from being laid in the best possible place.

Heavy maintenance is carried out at the shed but also serves as a base for volunteers and staff. It has been upgraded and repaired over the last 50 years but is now regarded as being past its prime.

Charnwood Borough Council recently allocated money from the Loughborough Town Deal Fund to improve it further, but no public money has been spent. The GCR invested some of the funds into installing new lights and doors as well as some upcoming improvements for staff accommodation, but this will allow the shed to operate until its ‘end of life’ in approximately 5 years time.

A group is now examining possible locations for a new engine shed across the entire 18 mile long route.

A review is also taking place into the uses of existing shed buildings, and a full plan is expected to be released in due course.

“This is a very exciting plan. Given the loco shed was built in 1973 this is not a decision taken lightly. It was already a second-hand building then and it has given us sterling service too. However, there’s no escaping the fact, that while tracks could have been squeezed around the outside of the building to reconnect both halves of the Great Central, it would be far better to dismantle the shed, put the tracks through the centre of the site and have a fully authentic double track main line heading north. We’re now developing our plans for our future covered accommodation for locomotives, carriages and maintenance carefully bearing in mind the needs of our local community, our workforce and stakeholders.”

“This is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime change for the railway touching on many aspects of how we operate.”

Malcolm Holmes, General Manager of the Great Central Railway

“We are fully committed to the Reunification project. Moving the shed means our double-track line can continue north from Loughborough Central station, through the site of the engine shed, to the bridge over the Grand Union Canal. From an aesthetic point of view it delivers the vision of the ‘Double Track Main Line’ the Great Central Railway is. Visitors will be able to stand on Loughborough Central station and really get an authentic heritage experience as their excitement builds when they see trains arrive from the north. In practical terms it also makes the layout of track approaching the station simpler and will help future operations.”

Great Central Railway PLC Chairman, Richard Patching