Dinting: Engine Shed and Station

 

Dinting Engine Shed: A Forgotten Relic of the Railways

A Piece of Railway History

The Dinting engine shed, with its distinctive shed code 39A, is a fascinating piece of railway history. This former one-track through shed, nestled amidst two tracks branching off a single feed line.

                          

Constructed between 1888 and 1898 for the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway, the red brick, single-storey shed boasts eight bays and sturdy stone-coped gable ends. Its original coal stage and water tank were strategically positioned on the north-east side of the line, serving the engines that once called it home.

The shed’s operational life was marked by a series of openings and closures. Initially closed in 1935, it was brought back into service in 1942, only to be retired again in 1954 with the decline of steam. However, the shed’s story was far from over.

A Preservationist Dream Turned Nightmare

In 1968, the Dinting Railway Centre, a railway preservation group, breathed new life into the disused shed. Unfortunately, this revival was short-lived, as the centre closed its doors in 1990.

The nine-acre site, including the shed, was put up for sale in 2010 and eventually purchased by a group of Manchester solicitors for £150,000. Despite their aspirations, planning permission for housing development was denied, leaving the historic site languishing in neglect.

Dinting Old Station...

The nearby Dinting railway station, opened in 1847 on the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway, shares a similar tale of decline. The former Manchester-bound platform buildings are now in a state of disrepair, a stark contrast to it's former glory.

Front of Old Station