Driver Depots

[Far north 37]

I don't think there is an up-to-date comprehensive list; so I'm going to quite simply spew out all the ones I know; and if anyone has any additions/corrections; please feel free to add them.
South West Trains - Waterloo; Wimbledon; Strawberry Hill; Staines; Woking; Guildford; Farnham; Fratton; Basingstoke; Salisbury; Northam; Bournemouth; Weymouth
Southern - Victoria; London Bridge; Norwood; Selhurst; Caterham; Epsom; Redhill; Horsham; Three Bridges; Brighton; Eastbourne; Barnham.
Southeastern - Victoria; Grove Park; Orpington; Slade Green; Dartford; Charing Cross; Tonbridge; Hastings; Ashford; Faversham; Dover; Ramsgate; Gillingham
c2c - East Ham; Shoeburyness
Greater Anglia - Liverpool Street; Bishops Stortford; Cambridge; Ilford; Southend; Colchester; Ipswich; Norwich; Clacton
London Overground - Chingford; Willesden Junction; Watford Junction; Euston; New Cross Gate
Crossrail - Ilford; Gidea Park; Shenfield (in the future Plumstead; Old Oak Common & Maidenhead)
Thameslink - Bedford; Blackfriars; Brighton; Three Bridges (maybe others in the future)
Great Northern - Kings Cross; Finsbury Park/Hornsey (not sure if it's open yet); Hitchin; Cambridge; Peterborough; Kings Lynn
Chiltern - Marylebone; Aylesbury; Banbury; Birmingham Moor Street; Stourbridge Junction
GWR - Paddington; Reading; Oxford; Westbury; Exeter St Davids; Plymouth; Par; Penzance; Gloucester; Worcester Shrub Hill; Bristol Temple Meads; Fratton; Swansea
ATW - Cardiff Central; Carmarthen; Treherbert; Rhymney; Shrewsbury; Crewe; Chester; Llandudno Junction; Holyhead; Machynlleth; Pwllheli
London Midland - Bletchley; Northampton; Coventry; New Street; Wolverhampton; Shrewsbury; Crewe; Leamington Spa; Snow Hill; Worcester Shrub Hill
Cross Country - Bournemouth; Plymouth; Bristol Temple Meads; Birmingham New Street; Leicester; Derby; Cambridge; Manchester Piccadilly; Leeds; Newcastle; Edinburgh
Virgin West Coast - Euston; Wolverhampton; Manchester Piccadilly; Liverpool Lime Street; Preston; Polmadie; Edinburgh
Virgin East Coast - Kings Cross; Doncaster; Leeds; Newcastle; Edinburgh
East Midlands Trains - St Pancras; Derby; Nottingham; Lincoln; Boston; Norwich
Merseyrail - Kirkdale; Birkenhead Central (I think)
TPE - Manchester Piccadilly; Preston; York; Scarborough; Newcastle; Lime Street; Sheffield; Cleethorpes
Northern - Lime Street; Wigan Wallgate; Blackpool North; Barrow; Workington; Carlisle; Manchester Piccadilly; Manchester Victoria; Blackburn; Huddersfield; Leeds; Harrogate; Sheffield; Doncaster; York; Hull; Darlington; Newcastle
Scotrail - Oban; Mallaig; Fort William (?); Stranraer; Dumfries; Ayr; Gourock; Glasgow Central; Glasgow Queen Street; Yoker; Helensburgh; Motherwell; Airdrie; Bathgate; Stirling; Edinburgh; Tweedbank; Perth; Dundee; Aberdeen; Inverness; Kyle; Wick
And last but not least
Heathrow Express - can book on at either Paddington/Old Oak/Heathrow but I don't think there's a fixed depot as such
Gatwick Express - Victoria
Eurostar - St Pancras
Eurotunnel - Cheriton
Hull Trains - Hull
Grand Central - Bradford/Sunderland
------
Guards
All-DOO operators - c2c; London Overground; Crossrail; Thameslink; Great Northern; Heathrow & Gatwick Express
South West Trains -
Non-commercial Guards - Waterloo; Wimbledon; Strawberry Hill; Staines; Guildford
Commercial guards - all other depots (except Northam which is drivers only). Also top link Waterloo & Guildford, plus some at Woking and Staines
Southern - guards Selhurst; Eastbourne; Brighton; Barnham. OBSs Victoria; Peckham Rye; East Croydon; Horsham; Brighton; Barnham; Eastbourne
Southeastern - all drivers depots minus Victoria; Charing Cross; Grove Park; Orpington; Slade Green & Dartford
Greater Anglia - Liverpool Street; Wickford; Colchester; Clacton; Ipswich; Norwich
Chiltern - Aylesbury (guard trained RPIs); Banbury; Birmingham; Stourbridge Junction
GWR -
Conductors only at Par; Penzance; Westbury; Weymouth & Fratton
Train Managers only at Paddington; Swansea; Cardiff Central; Gloucester; Worcester & Plymouth
Both grades at Reading; Bristol Temple Meads & Exeter St Davids
ATW - all driver's depots
London Midland - all driver's depots; plus Watford & Stourbridge junctions
Cross Country
Senior conductors only at Leicester & Cambridge
Train Managers only at Plymouth; Bournemouth; Reading; Leeds; Newcastle; Edinburgh; Manchester Piccadilly
Both grades at Bristol Temple Meads & Birmingham New Street
Virgin West Coast - all driver's depots (TMs sign on at Glasgow Central vice Polmadie)
Virgin East Coast - all driver's depots; minus Doncaster (although that may soon change); plus Aberdeen
East Midlands Trains -
Senior Conductors only at Lincoln; Boston & Norwich
Train Managers only at St Pancras & Sheffield
Both grades at Derby & Nottingham
Merseyrail - all driver's depots (?)
TPE - all driver's depots; plus Manchester Airport & Glasgow Central
Northern - all driver's depots
Scotrail - all driver's depots; minus Gourock; Airdrie; Bathgate; Motherwell; Yoker & Helensburgh
Eurostar - St Pancras
Grand Central - Bradford & Sunderland
Hull Trains - Hull

would thameslink drivers not book on at cricklewood also

 

[godfreycomplex]

would thameslink drivers not book on at cricklewood also

Book on yes - thanks to remote booking on that doesn't necessarily mean there is a formal depot there. I think they can book on at Selhurst as well, but the nearest full-on depot with drivers/managers based there is (for the moment) at Blackfriars

 

[westcoaster]

Book on yes - thanks to remote booking on that doesn't necessarily mean there is a formal depot there. I think they can book on at Selhurst as well, but the nearest full-on depot with drivers/managers based there is (for the moment) at Blackfriars

Thameslink drivers can remote book on at luton/stalbans/cricklewood/London bridge/three bridges and three bridges depot. The DRM's are all based at Bedford.

 

[whoosh]

East Midlands Trains have a Train Managers depot (and on board Customer Hosts) at Sheffield. No Drivers there though.



Cross Country at Derby is just Drivers, no Train Managers. Also I believe VTEC have just Drivers at Doncaster.

 

[JN114]

GWR don't have a Worcester SH driver Depot (yet!), Gloucester is conductors and drivers, no train managers but Gloucester crews do sign HST traction. Penzance does have train managers and conductors.

 

[godfreycomplex]

GWR don't have a Worcester SH driver Depot (yet!), Gloucester is conductors and drivers, no train managers but Gloucester crews do sign HST traction. Penzance does have train managers and conductors.

I'm reasonably certain that Gloucester guards may have been changed (or are about to be) to TMs on account of some harmonisation issue. A job for Train Manager at Gloucester was certainly advertised recently. GWR have TMs and caterers at Shrub Hill (and have had for a few years) with drivers to follow soon.

 

[godfreycomplex]

Just looking back on the list again, I think Merseyrail have a depot (presumably for both grades) at Southport as well?

Very true - has been added (along with the others from the previous post) - diolch!

 

[Galvanize]

VT West Coast have Train Managers and Catering staff based at Holyhead for the North Wales services, but no drivers based there.

GN will in the future have depots for drivers at Hornsey and Welwyn Garden City.

 

[JN114]

I'm reasonably certain that Gloucester guards may have been changed (or are about to be) to TMs on account of some harmonisation issue. A job for Train Manager at Gloucester was certainly advertised recently. GWR have TMs and caterers at Shrub Hill (and have had for a few years) with drivers to follow soon.

I can assure you Gloucester guards are currently conductors, not Train Managers. There is a small, ongoing harmonisation dispute ongoing as they sign HST traction, but that doesn't change their job title for now. A previous internal vacancy for Gloucester TMs was withdrawn the day after posting and replaced with a vacancy for Gloucester conductors - I'm not sure if that is what you refer to.

Worcester drivers is still in the planning stage, previous adverts have stated these are for a proposed depot at Worcester and are purely to gauge interest.

Source - I am a GWR Controller.

 

[godfreycomplex]

I can assure you Gloucester guards are currently conductors, not Train Managers. There is a small, ongoing harmonisation dispute ongoing as they sign HST traction, but that doesn't change their job title for now. A previous internal vacancy for Gloucester TMs was withdrawn the day after posting and replaced with a vacancy for Gloucester conductors - I'm not sure if that is what you refer to.

Worcester drivers is still in the planning stage, previous adverts have stated these are for a proposed depot at Worcester and are purely to gauge interest.

Source - I am a GWR Controller.

OK I'm just trying to get it right is all; edited with the above

 

[godfreycomplex]

VT West Coast have Train Managers and Catering staff based at Holyhead for the North Wales services, but no drivers based there.

GN will in the future have depots for drivers at Hornsey and Welwyn Garden City.

Excellent; thank you

 

[tiptoptaff]

I can assure you Gloucester guards are currently conductors, not Train Managers. There is a small, ongoing harmonisation dispute ongoing as they sign HST traction, but that doesn't change their job title for now. A previous internal vacancy for Gloucester TMs was withdrawn the day after posting and replaced with a vacancy for Gloucester conductors - I'm not sure if that is what you refer to.

Worcester drivers is still in the planning stage, previous adverts have stated these are for a proposed depot at Worcester and are purely to gauge interest.

Source - I am a GWR Controller.

Some of the GCR drivers now have standing offers for transfer to WSH, although the trainee applicants have been told they're no longer needed. So I don't think it's going to be as big as they first thought it'd be.

Guards are indeed Conductors, and those that sign HSTs (like the drivers) are paid a Higher Grade Duty supplement when they work a HSS turn.

 

[Galvanize]

A number of TOCs have depots that are known as "Dead Man's Shoes", for the fact they are really popular either due to their location or content of work. They are so popular that nobody ever leaves until they retire etc, and the only way to get into them is by starting off somewhere else, and putting your name on the internal transfer list, then waiting however long (sometimes it's years!) for your turn to move.

On Southern, I remember the more popular depots being:
Caterham (Filled by drivers from Selhurst or Norwood, mainly living in the vicinity, but occasionally they have taken trainees)
Three Bridges (Usually filled by drivers from Selhurst or other London depots)
Eastbourne (The most popular one for the location and work, filled by drivers either from the London depots, or Brighton)


So...over to the others elsewhere?

 

[craigybagel]

A number of TOCs have depots that are known as "Dead Man's Shoes", for the fact they are really popular either due to their location or content of work. They are so popular that nobody ever leaves until they retire etc, and the only way to get into them is by starting off somewhere else, and putting your name on the internal transfer list, then waiting however long (sometimes it's years!) for your turn to move.

On Southern, I remember the more popular depots being:
Caterham (Filled by drivers from Selhurst or Norwood, mainly living in the vicinity, but occasionally they have taken trainees)
Three Bridges (Usually filled by drivers from Selhurst or other London depots)
Eastbourne (The most popular one for the location and work, filled by drivers either from the London depots, or Brighton)


So...over to the others elsewhere?

Llandudno Junction at ATW, filled with internal transfers from Holyhead and Chester and a very small depot.

 

[godfreycomplex]

Ones I know of
SWT - Weymouth & Northam
I don't know any others it would appear

 

[tiptoptaff]

Ones I know of
SWT - Weymouth & Northam. Also the higher links at Waterloo and Wimbledon take ages to get into. Salisbury used to be but not any more. Bournemouth is a little harder than average I gather but it does take people on fairly regularly
Cross Country - Derby
Northern - York; Wigan Wallgate; Huddersfield; Harrogate
Virgin West Coast - Scotland
Great Northern - Kings Lynn
GWR - Plymouth
London Midland - Crewe; Shrewsbury; Wolverhampton; Snow Hill
Scotrail - Inverness; West Highlands; Queen Street (probably best work of Glasgow depots; also big-ish but not enormous); Kyle; Helensburgh
Southeastern - Ramsgate; Dover (all coastal depots are a long wait; but I gather these two are particularly bad. Transfers from London)
EMT - possibly Boston
VTEC - Doncaster (transfers from Leeds)

Plymouth is not Dead Man's shoes - there are a lot of internal transfers but they have taken internal trainees. Its popular with Par drivers as it's their closest HSS depot

 

[ComUtoR]

Southeastern - Ramsgate; Dover (all coastal depots are a long wait; but I gather these two are particularly bad. Transfers from London)

Very much untrue on all accounts.

 

[godfreycomplex]

Very much untrue on all accounts.

Then what is true?

 

[ComUtoR]

They are just depots like everyone else. Nothing more, nothing less.

Each depot has its own local issues as is typical of any industry but 'dead mans' shoes' has long since been forgotten. They also recruit Trainees directly nowadays and even Metro is starting to have its own 'lifers'.

People still migrate down to the coast but even that has started to subside in recent years. There has been a mass migration to X depot and that hasn't been coastal.

There is also a case where the coastal depots are also dual depots with HS1 so there is movement towards them too.

I think we have 1 or 2 depots that still have their 'traditional' issues from when I started but that's about it. Neither of those are Ramsgate or Dover.

 

[godfreycomplex]

They are just depots like everyone else. Nothing more, nothing less.

Each depot has its own local issues as is typical of any industry but 'dead mans' shoes' has long since been forgotten. They also recruit Trainees directly nowadays and even Metro is starting to have its own 'lifers'.

People still migrate down to the coast but even that has started to subside in recent years. There has been a mass migration to X depot and that hasn't been coastal.

There is also a case where the coastal depots are also dual depots with HS1 so there is movement towards them too.

I think we have 1 or 2 depots that still have their 'traditional' issues from when I started but that's about it. Neither of those are Ramsgate or Dover.

Fair enough
I think dead man's shoes is used in vernacular as generally used as difficult to get a vacancy at, rather than literally have to wait until someone retires
It varies what depots are like this and not working for your (or indeed any) TOC it's not always easy to keep up. With a lot of drivers having retired in the last ten years lots of depots/links that have historically been long waits simply aren't any more, and vice versa

 

[ComUtoR]

Fair enough
I think dead man's shoes is used in vernacular as generally used as difficult to get a vacancy at, rather than literally have to wait until someone retires

It sadly, wasn't vernacular. It was often quite literal. It came to mean 'retirement' and those who moved on as there was and to some extent still is a case where some depots have very low turnovers.

The railway has moved on a lot with recruitment practices and it being a career where you can retire has also been eroded over time. There is also a lot of movement between TOC's now and spaces open up quite frequently. We are also moving into an era where link working is being phased out. At my depot we are down to 2 links from the 4 I started with and others have moved to 2 links. One will be a single link in the very near future and mine will move that way too if they can figure it out (the cost is quite prohibitive)

I know this thread isn't about recruitment so this can be deleted, as was my last one, for neatness of the thread.

 

[387star]

-------

 

[driver9000]

Hull is missing from the TPE list.

Can I make a suggestion to make the list easier to read? Make each company name bold to make it easier to see where one company ends and the next begins.

 

[Lrd]

Hull is missing from the TPE list.

Can I make a suggestion to make the list easier to read? Make each company name bold to make it easier to see where one company ends and the next begins.

If godfreycomplex doesn't mind me copying the information into a new thread and keeping it updated then I shall do that either that or he can do it himself

 

[godfreycomplex]

Hull is missing from the TPE list.

Can I make a suggestion to make the list easier to read? Make each company name bold to make it easier to see where one company ends and the next begins.

Certainly - edited in - thanks very much

If godfreycomplex doesn't mind me copying the information into a new thread and keeping it updated then I shall do that either that or he can do it himself

Sorry for the delay - have edited original post. Quite happy to make new thread if you'd prefer

 

[Lrd]

Certainly - edited in - thanks very much

Sorry for the delay - have edited original post. Quite happy to make new thread if you'd prefer

Perfect, thanks for doing that.

 

[StaffsPM1]

I know it could be a massive undertaking but do you think we could expand this thread to show route/traction knowledge? I'm not sure how to display that shear amount of text, I was thinking of putting it on a website. Would that be useful do you think?

I just think that I'm about to join LM and don't know where half their depots sign, and it is a common question on here. Could even consider putting other depot specifics on it like 4/5 day week, earliest/latest finish. I would be interested to put this together with people's help.

 

[Bromley boy]

I know it could be a massive undertaking but do you think we could expand this thread to show route/traction knowledge? I'm not sure how to display that shear amount of text, I was thinking of putting it on a website. Would that be useful do you think?

I just think that I'm about to join LM and don't know where half their depots sign, and it is a common question on here. Could even consider putting other depot specifics on it like 4/5 day week, earliest/latest finish. I would be interested to put this together with people's help.

It would be very interesting but an absolutely massive amount of data, and I imagine a lot of the information would be hard to come by and subject to regular change.

I would be happy to provide what I know although this will be a drop in the ocean of my own TOC let alone total depot/route knowledge.

 

[Sprinter153]

Deleted

 

[paulravuslante]

Heathrow Express - can book on at either Paddington/Old Oak/Heathrow but I don't think there's a fixed depot as such

Correct, all drivers are required to be able to book on at all locations. Heathrow book-ons are usually at T4 but CTA is also used regularly when trains are outstabled.