Derby Roundhouse Restoration and Regeneration

The Roundhouse, Roundhouse Road, Pride Park, Derby, DE24 8JE

Originally constructed in 1839, the grade 2 listed Derby Roundhouse formed part of the North Midland Railway locomotive works.

Reputed to be the first roundhouse constructed in the country for the purpose of railway engineering and construction, this famous building survived two world wars and numerous changes of ownership.

The purpose of a Roundhouse (with internal turntable) was to turn steam engines into the required direction of travel as they only had a drivers cab at one end. The use of a roundhouse and turntable therefore became redundant following the withdrawal of steam traction and replacement of diesel locomotives with cabs at both ends (with a few notable exceptions).

The Derby Locomotive Works constructed numerous Steam and Diesel locomotives over the years but became mainly a repair and overhaul facility from the late 1960's. The site covered a large part of what is now Pride Park with may of the old buildings and track bed now either demolished or removed to make way for the upgrading of the surrounding area.

Much of Pride Park would have required a clean-up as their was a major locomotive scrap yard as part of the works and large amounts of asbestos and lead were freely discarded before the inherent dangers were realised.

Following the privatisation of British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) in 1987, the loco works was gradually moth balled with much of the main engineering facility being sub-contracted to satellite facilities or moved to smaller railway workshops around the country.

Eventually the works was officially closed and although smaller enterprises briefly used the facilities, notably Waterman Railways, the whole site was left to decay.

It had been on the agenda of the local council for a number of years to find a use and ultimately a buyer for the site. Eventually, Derby College chose it to be the home of their new Engineering Campus and work began to renovate the buildings to their former glory.

The Roundhouse, the Carriage Shop, the Engine Shop and the impressive office complex entrance have since been sympathetically restored, retaining as much of the original features and character as possible. The £38 million refurbishment was completed in October 2009 and also included newer buildings on the site.

With the complex now open for business, there is the facility to hire the event for functions and corporate events and what a great place to hold the 2011 Derby Winter Beer Festival.

There are very few roundhouse's left in the UK but by a strange coincidence, the closest in at Barrow Hill, Staveley, Near Chesterfield and that also houses an annual beer festival.

The Barrow Hill Beer Festival, usually held in May, is a working depot and still houses many steam and diesel locomotives owned by preservationists and private rail operators. There are also complementary rides on diesel and steam locomotives included in the price of the festival ticket - what more could you want.