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Croes Newydd


Croes Newydd was a large steam locomotive shed, marshalling yard and junction in Wrexham, in Wales.

Wrexham's Croes Newydd locomotive shed was the last of the GWR 'northlight' designs, being a roundhouse and depending on a central turntable for access. It was built by the Great Western Railway and opened in 1902, to replace outdated facilities at Wheatsheaf junction. It was located in the centre of a large fork junction, with the Chester to Shrewsbury line running along one edge, and the branch being the Wrexham and Minera Branch. The sheds also featured a GWR combined water tower and coaling stage, of a design which was later to become standardised.

While the 'northlight' design was meant to allow maximum sunlight, the skylight windows quickly became sooted and black, reducing lighting conditions. The sheds stored several locomotives known as "workhorses" as they did the goods work. The last of these locomotives were the BR Standard 9F locomotives, the last of the British steam locomotives.

Under the cutbacks of BR in the 1960s, the shed finally closed in 1967.

Between closure and the 1980s, Wrexham Corporation (now Wrexham County Borough Council) opened a yard and depot on part of the site. This was home to the town and surrounding area's rock salt store, as well as the grit spreaders that dispersed it in cold weather. Also kept here were all grass cutting equipment and road maintenance equipment. After sustaining damage from a minor fire in one of the buildings, the depot was closed and relocated to the nearby Wrexham Industrial Estate in 2009.

In the 1990s, sidings to the southwest of the triangle were developed as a suburban housing estate; Named Llys-David-Lord (David Lord Court), named after David Lord, a famed aviator. Apart from the sidings, the only thing left was an old BR brake van. In the 2000s, the nearby Wrexham Maelor Hospital extended its car park onto the site of the marshalling yard to the west of the triangle.


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