r/trains • u/HighburyAndIslington • 8h ago
📸 OC - Picture(s) - May be used in side-bar gallery I visited Polmadie 150, Alstom's Glasgow Traincare Centre open day
On Sunday, 12 October 2025, I attended Polmadie 150, the open day held to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Alstom's Glasgow Traincare Centre, better known as Polmadie depot. The event marked the first time the depot had been opened to the public in 25 years and formed part of the wider Railway 200 celebrations.
The day before the open day, I travelled to Glasgow on the Branch Line Society railtour, To the Birthplace and the Backbone, which was operated by a preserved InterCity 125 set comprising 125 Group Mark 3 coaches hauled by RailAdventure Class 43 power cars 43468 and 43484. I boarded the train inside Alstom's Litchurch Lane Works in Derby, where the railtour originated, and returned there at the conclusion of the tour. This provided a rare opportunity to both board and alight from a special train within Britain's last remaining train manufacturing factory. The railtour linked Alstom's Derby Litchurch Lane Works with Polmadie, celebrating two sites with significant links to Britain's railway heritage.
The railtour was the first passenger train ever to enter Polmadie depot. During our visit, the train traversed a number of depot lines and was hauled around parts of the site by Polmadie's resident Class 08 shunting locomotives 08451, 08696 and 08954, providing rare passenger access to areas not normally accessible to the public.
Originally opened by the Caledonian Railway in 1875, Polmadie is one of Scotland's most important railway maintenance facilities. Located just south-east of Glasgow Central station on the West Coast Main Line, it is the principal maintenance base for the Caledonian Sleeper fleet and also regularly handles Avanti West Coast Class 390 Pendolino units.
The open day featured a wide selection of rolling stock from both the passenger and freight sectors. Displays included Avanti West Coast Pendolino 390119 Progress, ScotRail Class 334 unit 334034, Caledonian Sleeper Mark 5 coaches, Freightliner Class 90 locomotives 90018 The Greatest Gathering and 90021 Donald Malcolm, GB Railfreight locomotives 66710 Karen Harrison, 73968, 92023 Polmadie 150 1875-2025 and Stadler-built Class 99 locomotive 99001, Rail Operations Group Class 93 locomotive 93006, examples of the depot's Class 08 shunters, preserved Class 37 locomotive 37403 Isle of Mull from the Scottish Railway Preservation Society, Network Rail Unimog U 430 road-rail vehicles and Caledonian Railway No. 419, the oldest exhibit present at the event.
Visitors were able to explore several exhibits in detail. I took the opportunity to sit in the cabs of Freightliner Class 90 locomotive 90018 The Greatest Gathering and Stadler-built Class 99 locomotive 99001. We were also able to look inside Caledonian Sleeper Mark 5 coaches and view the accommodation provided on the overnight services linking Scotland with London.
In addition to the rolling stock displays, visitors were able to view parts of the depot and learn more about the maintenance, servicing and operation of modern railway fleets. There were also heritage exhibits reflecting Polmadie's long history and its role in supporting railway operations in Scotland and along the West Coast Main Line.
Here are some photographs I took during the railtour and at the Polmadie 150 open day.
