92016 stands outside Crewe IEMD in the bright winter sunshine.
On 16th January, I visited the E.W.S. International Electric Maintenance Depot at Crewe to assist in some testing of trainborne control equipment. Locomotive 92016 was used for various static tests with 25kV a.c. power applied.
I first visited the location over 30 years ago, when the site was quite new. Then, it was called the Crewe District Electric Depot. It was built by British Railways on the down side of the Chester line, in between Crewe North Junction and Crewe Steel Works signal box, as part of the Euston to Manchester Electrification Project. The four-road shed was provided with facilities for maintenance of the 3,600 horse power Bo-Bo electric locomotives used at the time.
Today, maintenance of the 6,760 horse power Class 92 Co-Co locomotives is carried out. Class 66 diesel-electrics were also being worked on. Most of the Class 92 are in the two-tone grey livery which suits them rather well but 92001 was in the yard, sporting the E.W.S. livery of red and gold.
In the sidings, I found a modern 75-ton Cowans-Sheldon crane (ADRC96713), a modern 36-tonne 6-wheel snowplough (ADB965580) and a much more traditional-looking 32-tonne 6-wheel snowplough with dumb buffers (ADB965211).
