8C SHEDCODE Special The former London & North Western Railway (LNWR) shed at Speke Junction was a relatively late construction, being approved by Francis Webb in 1885, and opening to traffic on May 10 the following year. Plans for the depot had been first suggested in 1864, but at a cost of some £27,000. Proposed to replace a simple two-road affair, this suggestion would have housed some 60 engines, but was not realised for another 21 years. By the time the shed was actually built, traffic demand in the nearby Speke yards and to Edge Hill depot had notably increased, and the new 12-road building was a welcome addition to the area.
Known sometimes as ‘Garston’, after the surrounding area, what was to become 8C in 1935 was, from the…