Springburn Virtual Museum

Railway industry

Eastfield running sheds, Springburn, 1982

The original Edinburgh and Glasgow railway engine shed in Glasgow was an integral part of the Cowlairs works complex. Eventually the sheds became overcrowded, and in September 1904 new engine sheds were opened, built on an attractive green-field site to the north of Springburn. The space used by the old sheds was used to expand the North British Railway's engineering shops at Cowlairs works.

Eastfield was the largest depot in terms of land area on the North British Railway, having an original undercover holding capacity of 84 engines in a 14 road shed, with a large number of sub-sheds. It was extensively damaged by a calamitous fire in June 1919, exacerbated by its timber roof and with many engines with coal tenders full. Rebuilt after the fire of 1919, its stable of engines rose to approximately 200.

Eastfield ceased to have an allocation of steam engines in 1967 but continued at this time to be in the forefront of diesel engine provision. Eastfield depot closed in 1994, bringing Springburn's links with railway engineering almost to an end.

Source: Glasgow City Archives