TOTON Depot 1990. British Rail.

A visit to Toton TMD. The depot was full of class 20s as well as the newer class 58s, with the very distinct sounds of the English Electric engines echoing in the air. The depot was also full of mixed stock including class 37s, class 56s and shunting engines.

Toton Traction Maintenance Depot or Toton Sidings is one of the largest rail depots in the United Kingdom. Toton TMD is bordered by Long Eaton and Sandiacre in Derbyshire and Toton in Nottinghamshire. The official depot code for Toton TMD is TO, previously shed code 18A.

The history of the development of Toton is highly associated with the history, development and decline of the coal industry in England. The Midland Railway had developed the Midland Main Line from the 1860s, and had a developing revenue from coal traffic from both the Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire coalfields to the power stations of the industrialised West Midlands. This traffic was added to by the fact that most towns also had their own gasworks, with coal delivered by rail to their own private sidings, and the rapidly developing domestic use of coal for heating and cooking.
With need to marshall coal traffic, a location close to the strategically located Trent Junction became obvious, and hence the development of Toton as a railway yard from the late 19th century.[3] The yards eventually spanned: the Old/New Banks; North Yard and Meadow; East & West Yard; Sandiacre Ballast Sidings. Coal traffic reached its peak through the yards post World War II in the 1950s, with over 1million wagons per year passing through what was then the largest marshalling yard in Europe, and the third largest in the world. Local traffic included coal and iron ore and steel from the nearby Stanton Ironworks. With the coming of the Beeching Axe, British Railways shelved all proposed development of any other marshalling yards, thereby increasing traffic through the yards further. This was the peak of Toton traffic. However, by the 1970s the yard was in decline. With the introduction of Merry-go-round trains direct from colliery to power station, and the decline in the use of domestic coal in favour of North Sea gas, rail traffic through the yards was diminishing quickly. The Down Side ceased hump shunting in 1978, followed by the Up Side in 1984. Many of the yards were lifted during the 1970s and 1980s, and in the late 1980s the yards were rationalised to the basic shape seen today. This was the era when Toton TMD was the home of Class 20, Class 56 and Class 58.