London Ships Rail Wagons 400 Miles North
Something unusual is happening on Britain’s transport networks.
London Underground wagons are being loaded onto trucks and driven 400 miles to Glasgow for maintenance. Not because London lacks facilities, but because a shuttered Victorian railway works has something London doesn’t.
The St Rollox Revival
Gibson’s Engineering secured a two-year contract to overhaul 23 London Underground engineering wagons at St Rollox Works. This facility, dating back to the 1850s, closed in 2019 but reopened in 2024 after a £10 million investment.
The comprehensive overhauls will extend vehicle life by eight years while creating 40 jobs in Glasgow. The work covers 4 high decks and 19 rail wagons, including structural body repairs.
St Rollox sits in Glasgow’s Springburn district, which a century ago was the world’s largest centre of locomotive production.
Why Ship North
The decision comes down to specialized expertise and economics. St Rollox now operates as the largest manufacturing, maintenance, and repair rail depot in Scotland, with fully-electrified rail connections and Scotland’s only active wheel-shop facility.
Owner David Moulsdale plans to expand the workforce to over 1,000 employees over the next five years, potentially reaching 5,000 within a decade.
The logistics involve heavy goods vehicles rather than rail transport, avoiding disruption to national rail operations while moving specialized equipment efficiently.
The Bigger Picture
This contract fits Transport for London’s broader strategy of distributed operations. Their data shows 29,000 jobs are supported outside of London through supplier relationships across the UK.
The eight-year life extension saves the London Underground significant money on new equipment purchases.
More transport operators are discovering that specialized regional facilities can deliver better value than keeping everything in-house. Historic railway sites with deep engineering knowledge are finding new purpose in modern transport networks.