Aldenham Works
| Aldenham Bus Overhaul Works | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Type | Transport |
| Location | Elstree, Hertfordshire, England |
| Completed | 1940s onwards, bus works 1955 onwards |
| Demolished | June 1996 |
| Technical details | |
| Structural system | steel frame |
Coordinates: 51°38′21″N 0°18′29″W / 51.63917°N 0.30806°W
The Aldenham Works, or Aldenham Bus Overhaul Works, was the main London Transport bus overhaul works. It was located on the edge of the Hertfordshire village of Elstree and not in Aldenham. In its heyday, 50 buses a week were overhauled there, and it was the most comprehensive bus overhaul operation in the world. It opened in 1956 and closed in November 1986. The buildings were demolished in 1996.
The London Transport site at Elstree had originally been bought for the Northern line extension to Bushey Heath, as part of the 1930s New Works Programme.l Construction of the railway extension was underway and the depot was partially complete at the outbreak of World War II. The railway works were stopped and the site was modified for use as an aircraft factory, producing Handley Page Halifax bombers as part of the London Aircraft Production consortium, together with Handley Page, Duple, Park Royal and London Transport. After the war, the construction of the railway extension was not restarted and the plan was finally dropped in September 1949.
With the wartime bus fleet worn out and the existing Chiswick Bus Works struggling to cope, it was decided to redevelop the site for bus overhaul, specifically body and chassis structures, with Chiswick continuing to specialise in the running units (engines, gearboxes, etc.). Construction of the new facility began in 1952. The existing buildings were extended and converted into a bus overhaul works over a 53.3-acre (216,000 m2) site, with its own staff canteen, social club and office blocks as well as the famous main building, test circuit and tilt test shed where London buses were subjected to being tilted on an inverter to assess stability. The site also had a power station on site to provide power for the works.
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