When it was decided to build new sheds for the DEMU's the land to the west of the existing depot was selected.
In this shot dating from 1956 it shows the start of the maintainance shed being constructed
Image from the David Markwick Collection
A brand new 1001 stands alongside a new maintainance shed at St Leonards in 1957
Image from the David Markwick Collection
The other shed built on the site was the running shed, which was just used for stabling units between duties. When the Hastings Units were withdrawn in 1986 this shed was electrified and used as a replacement for the depot at Ore.
Image by Colin Price
Another view of the running shed taken on July 7th 1985 By Steve Parker
The shed is still in use by the Train Operating Company 'Southern' this view from 2004 shows a CIG stabled in the former DEMU shed
Image by Amy Adams
Looking west from Bo-Peep Jcn unit 1111 heads towards Hastings, to the right of the image is the train wash which is on the site of the old Bo-Peep engine shed.
Image by Selsden Jc
Seen outside the maintainance she in June 1985 is Motor Car 60031 from unit 1019
Image by Tony Watson
Towards the end of the lives of the Hastings units many would be parked alongside the maintainance depot to be used for spares, which is what was happening to 1031 in this shot by Alan Towner
1019 was used as a source of spares, here is one of the motor cars with a sad face parked alongside the maintainance depot in July 1985.
This image is looking towards Bo-Peep Jcn with the running shed in the distance, also this image is taken from more or less the same spot as the one of the shed under construction.
Image by Steve Parker
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The train wash has been mentioned a few times in this article so we felt we should show it.
Here is a couple of shots by Andy Grant of 1014 passing through, the platforms in the foreground is the disused platforms of West Marina Station
To finish off a couple of sad images.
Here is 1006 & 7 being hauled through West Marina station on their way to the scrapyard, these units had just finished their duties on 26/04/86 when they were withdrawn and hauled away to the scrapyard.Images by Mike Pannell
Bo-Peep depot in 1949.This area later contained the train wash for the diesel depot. Bo-Peep Jcn is located just beind the bridge in the distance, the stattion alongside is the former St Leonards West Marina station
Image from the 1066 online website
St Leonards Depot in BR days
When thinking of DEMU depots the place which springs immediately to mind is St Leonards which was built to house the entire fleet of Hastings units and is still home to these units as the surviving units are still housed there
The West Marina Sheds with 1005 & 1017 in not long before these sheds were electrified in 1985
Image by Steve Parker
There has been a depot presence in West St Leonards area since 1846 on the Down side of the line to the west of the Bo-Peep tunnel.The depot served the Hastings area and was a small two-road shed, constructed in brick with a turntable on the northern side.This was replaced by a second larger 4-road shed in 1872, which was enlarged in 1898 and again by British Railways in 1949. In 1926, the shed had 62 staff including 20 drivers and firemen Following the demolition of the ex-SER shed at Hastings, West Marina shed grew in importance as it took over the former shed's entire allocation in 1929. A new wheel drop facility was fitted in the same year to assist with the increased workload, as were additional carriage sidings. The first of 12 SR V Schools class locomotives arrived in 1931, adding to the shed's 20-odd 4-4-0s, F1s, Ls and a handful of tank and 0-6-0s. The Schools class were used to work Hastings Line expresses to London. As of January 1947, its allocation consisted of 30 locomotives: 20 4-4-0s, 5 0-4-4Ts and 5 0-6-0sFollowing nationalisation, the shed was given the code 74E and it received a new asbestos roof with brick gables. However, by 1957 the depot's role was much reduced as a result of the first stages of dieselisation which had led to the closure of the servicing point at Hastings station and the withdrawal of most of St Leonards' engines. Further dieselisation resulted in the depot's effective closure in June 1958, although engines continued to be serviced and stabled until 10 November 1967. The bulk of the shed's remaining allocation was transferred to Ashford, Brighton, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells West. The depot has now been completely demolished. A new diesel depot was opened to the west of the old steam motive power depot. The above text is from Wikipeadia article