Oldest locomotive roundhouse

The oldest locomotive roundhouse is the Derby roundhouse, which was erected in 1839 by the North Midland Railway. The structure has been restored and since September 2009 has formed part of the Derby College campus. A roundhouse is a covered maintenance and stabling facility for locomotives and is usually built as a circular or radial building, around a central turntable that provides access to the stabling tracks. Designed for the North Midland Railway by the architect Francis Thompson and engineer Robert Stephenson, the structure was erected in 1839 and opened for service the following year. Known as 'No 1 Shop', it was originally built to house 32 small locomotives and was latterly used in the 1970s as a crane repair shop. The Grade II-listed building has undergone a major refurbishment as part of a £48 million project to establish a new campus for Derby College.