Chesterfield’s Barrow Hill Roundhouse has been presented with a prestigious Engineering Heritage Award by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers which recognises its engineering importance as Britain’s last surviving working Roundhouse. The ceremony was held on Thursday 8 November 2018.

The Grade II listed building is unusual as the building housing the railway turntable is actually square. Many of the very early main line locomotives could only be driven in one direction, so a turntable was used to rotate them through 180° in order for them to make a return journey.

It was built by the North Midland Railway in 1870 and operated continuously until 1991, a total of 121 years.

After being restored by Barrow Hill Engine Shed Society in 1998, in 2016 the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded the Roundhouse £1.2 million towards the restoration and upgrade of the Roundhouse facilities. Then in 2018, Network Rail invested more than £1.0 million in the infrastructure of the depot to allow the servicing of main line passenger trains during the closure and rebuilding of Derby station during 2018.

This was the 123rd Engineering Heritage Award to be presented by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

The awards, established in 1984, aim to promote artefacts, sites or landmarks of significant engineering importance – past and present.

Previous winners of Engineering Heritage Awards include Alan Turing’s Bombe at Bletchley Park, the E-Type Jaguar and Concorde. Locomotives that have received an Engineering Heritage Award include N°4468 Mallard, the world’s fastest steam locomotive, and the Penydarren Locomotive, the first steam engine to run successfully on rails.

John Wood, Chair of the Engineering Heritage Committee and Past President, said:

“One feature of special historical importance within the Roundhouse is what is believed to be the only remaining set of timber locomotive shear legs. These form a triangular pyramid which allowed the locomotive to be lifted by manpower using a rope, so that wheels could be removed for repair or replacement. This lifting arrangement was deemed illegal in 1964, so it is interesting to see how processes have evolved since then.”

Please click on the links at the top of the email for a photo showing John Wood, Chair of the Engineering Heritage Committee and Past President, and Mervyn Allcock, General Manager of Barrow Hill Roundhouse.