Greenesfield Works ("Ochre Yards")

Greenesfield Locomotive Works, and Gateshead engine shed was one of the sheds which provided express engines for the East Coast Main Line. They were built for the North Eastern Railway, which was formed in 1854. Greenesfield Works was originally built as the Tyneside terminus for the main line from York and the south. Trains had to terminate there until the High Level Bridge was opened in 1849 when trains were able to bypass Gateshead station and travel straight across to Newcastle.

The redundant station-building was extended and converted to be an engine-building works. It was the NER's main engine-building works, and was used to build most of its larger engines. The site eventually proved too cramped, and all engine building was moved to the Darlington works in 1910. Greenesfield works continued to do repairs till 1932, and again from World War II till its final closure in 1959.

The last occupant of the building was Cardinal Triumph Suppliers. This company appears to have been a specialist Triumph car tuner and disappeared in about 1991 - the building has sat empty ever since.

Belway Homes have also used the site to store materials as they converted the rest of the buildings in Ochre Yard into flats. Seems we have the credit crunch to thank for keeping this one untouched for a little longer as Belway Homes look to have abandoned the site for the time being.

A reader of this site, Ian Hall, sent in this additional info about the place.

I can confirm that indeed there was a company called cardinal triumph at the greensfield site in Gateshead, they mostly restored triumph stags (they were never tuners), my friend worked there for quite a few years in the 80's and I used to go there often and marvel at the cars they turned out, real 100 point concours show cars. As to the development by Bellways, my friend said he'll never buy one of those apartments because of the amount of paint and chemical thinners they dumped under the floors!, he reckoned there must've been 10,000 gallons over the years.






11th May 2009




External Photos.














Top Floor.










Lower Floor.






More Information:
My Other Abandoned Photos: