Exploring a revamped depot
On 22 June members of the Scottish area were the guests of ScotRail at their train maintenance depot at Shields in Glasgow. The depot opened in 1967 and has seen many trains pass through its doors since then, and these days it maintains the newest trains on the Scottish network, the class 380 EMUs.
We were first given a presentation on the history of the depot, which explained its importance to the railway in the west of Scotland for many years. Some of the first electric trains to be used in the country were maintained at Shields as far back as the 1960s and the Advanced Passenger Train made many visits there in the 1980s.
Over the years the depot has been adapted to keep up to date with the latest developments in electric trains and now it has been modernised so that it can maintain the class 380 EMUs.
After the presentation, the members were given a tour of the depot, which demonstrated the scale of the recent works and the state of the art equipment now in place within the pristine new shed. This includes jacks that can lift a whole 4-car 380 without it needing to be split, and a new computer operated wheel lathe.
There was a brand new Class 380 in situ in the depot, ready to be lifted with the new equipment.
We would like to thank the ScotRail and the staff at Shields for giving up their time and for making us so welcome.