Wheel Lathe list

[dk1]

Derby Etches Park has one.

Certainly. Crown Point regularly sent 153s to Etches Park.

 

[Corn]

Certainly. Crown Point regularly sent 153s to Etches Park.

We've even had the odd 755 over here for a turn too!

 

[dk1]

We've even had the odd 755 over here for a turn too!

Yes of course, thanks. Nice little outing for them.

 

[gazthomas]

It doesn’t have a proper wheel lathe hence why there is one currently under construction at Clacton and most Stadler units are done at alternative locations away from the GA network.

This was mentioned in this month's "Today's Railways UK"

 

[kje7812]

Bridgnorth on the Severn Valley railway has one i believe

I don't believe it has been used for some time, and I overheard a conversation that it needs significant modernisation.

 

[Efini92]

Before the one at Newton Heath was built there was job that took northern units to Ardwick for many years, I'm sure Siemens made some good money out of it especially during leaf fall with 142s

Manchester Metrolink has one at Queen's Road. I always thought there was one at Chester too but could be wrong

They went to Allerton after that one was installed, ending the cushty number.

 

[XFeed]

No wheel lathe at Chester afaik

Definitely no lathe at Chester, when CAF took over they explored the possibility of building a lathe on the adjacent Network Rail depot land but nothing come of it and TfW built it at Holyhead instead.

 

[FGW_DID]

Reading Train Care Depot has a wheel lathe.

 

[37069]

Carnforth’s had one for about a decade or so.

 

[E27007]

Wheel lathes:
Slade Green (nr Dartford)
Wimbledon.
Ashford Kent

 

[507 001]

TfW built it at Holyhead instead.

Always struck me as a strange decision that.

 

[gazthomas]

Always struck me as a strange decision that.

I agree as it leads to lots of empty stock moves. But there was space, labour and ultimately it's about Welsh politics.

 

[cats_five]

If you search on the ORR Public register https://www.orr.gov.uk/public-register for "Depot Name" and "Wheel Lathe" you should be able to find the Depot facility annexes or similar title, which should contain a standard list of depot equipment and whether or not it is present at the depot.


Craigentinny does indeed have 1: https://orrprdpubreg1.blob.core.windows.net/docs/DSA-234-07-17-01 Edinburgh Craigentinny depot specific annexes.pdf


Regrettably I don't know all the depots well enough to search each by name, and I don't have the time to go through all results from just searching "Wheel Lathe" because the register will return results when they say 'Wheel Lathe - No' on them. But @TheEngineer would potentially be able to find the depots in the NW they are interested in.

Is Craigentinny the only one in Scotland? Is there one over somewhere in Glasgow?

 

[Adrian Barr]

Is there one over somewhere in Glasgow?

Shields Road has one, I vaguely remember it being used by some of the MPVs based at Mossend for sandite workings

 

[greatkingrat]

A wheel lathe was installed at Inverness a few years ago.

New wheel lathe at Inverness to 'improve' train services

The machine will be used to service trains running between Aberdeen and Inverness, Kyle of Lochalsh, Wick and Thurso.

www.bbc.co.uk

New equipment has been installed in Inverness to help improve the performance of trains.
The £1.6m wheel lathe re-profiles train wheels, which can become misshapen through use, without the wheels having to be removed.
The machine at ScotRail's Inverness Depot includes a jack capable of lifting two-carriage trains.
Trains on routes between Inverness and Aberdeen, Kyle of Lochalsh, Wick and Thurso will be serviced at the depot.

 

[43096]

Neville Hill

 

[dk1]

Always struck me as a strange decision that.

Although not as distant, thats why GA wanted to put a lathe at Parkeston Quay several years ago. Unfortunately DB who control the site wasn’t going to play ball so following years of out sourcing to other operators as Ilford struggles to cope it’s finally being built at Clacton.

 

[GraphitProjekt]

A few times I've seen class 720s waiting around the Ipswich Freightliner depot presumably using its lathe possibly indicating Stratford's busy schedule. However, I have also seen GWR electrostars being hauled to Ilford for wheel turning which is odd as I'd expect North Pole to have one, maybe it doesn't.

 

[Ploughman]

Is there a breakdown as to what size or Diameter the various lathes are? As not all can cope with larger wheelsets.
On a related note Where could you find Axle presses for rediscing and Furnaces for heating wheelsets for retyring.
There used to be a Journal lathe, A Wheel lathe, an Axle press and a Tyre furnace plus a wheel Balancer in the former York Carriage works.

 

[dk1]

A few times I've seen class 720s waiting around the Ipswich Freightliner depot presumably using its lathe possibly indicating Stratford's busy schedule. However, I have also seen GWR electrostars being hauled to Ilford for wheel turning which is odd as I'd expect North Pole to have one, maybe it doesn't.

Yes a contract was set up with Freightliner to allow GAs fleets to use their facility at Ipswich although I was only involved with Stadlers passing through. Hadn’t personally seen or knew of Alstom using it.

 

[Strathclyder]

Shields Road has one, I vaguely remember it being used by some of the MPVs based at Mossend for sandite workings

I've seen the likes of 156s, 158s, 170s and HST power cars in addition to the home EMUs either parked outside or halfway into the wheel lathe shed at Shields (the one that was installed as part of the depot expansion project for the 380s and was opened in late 2009) when I've passed by over the last few years. Don't recall ever seeing non-ScotRail stock using it, but I don't doubt that it's happened.

I assume that Polmadie doesn't have a wheel lathe?

 

[XFeed]

Always struck me as a strange decision that.

Yep and will have certainly increased the down time which is something I think they can ill afford right now but as GazThomas mentions politics probably intervened with the siting decision ?

 

[plugwash]

Am I right in thinking that there are at least two types of "wheel lathe"? ones that are designed to turn wheels while they are still on the unit, and ones that are designed to turn wheels as a seperate item.

 

[tfw756rider]

There also one at Holyhead, which TfW have been sending some FLIRTs up to while the one at Cardiff is being repaired.

I could swear there is one at Canton. There certainly used to be.

There is, but I think it's awaiting repairs, or doesn't have enough capacity since some FLIRTs have been being hauled up to Holyhead's

Cardiff Canton's wheel lathe failed beyond economical repair in March 2026; it was still the mid-80s machine that had been installed for the Pacer and Sprinter introduction.

Transport for Wales (TfW) had given it its first major overhaul in late 2019, but they were expecting it to last for 7 more years until late 2026.

Holyhead's wheel lathe opened in late 2025, and TfW were always going to send 231s and 756s there while Cardiff Canton had its new replacement wheel lathe installed, but with the unexpected "early" failure of the old one, they had to do things sooner than originally planned.

That said, they still expect Cardiff Canton's new wheel lathe to be operational in late 2026, alongside its new bogie drop (which opened in July 2026).

 

[E27007]

Am I right in thinking that there are at least two types of "wheel lathe"? ones that are designed to turn wheels while they are still on the unit, and ones that are designed to turn wheels as a seperate item.

I have viewed several wheel lathes in depots in the UK, they are usually German-made and no two seem to be quite alike.
I am thinking there will be different types of lathes, a factory of a wheelset manufacturer may have different requirements for a wheel lathe to a train operator with needs to re-profile wheelsets for maintenance of their service trains.
For small wheels, such as D&E locos, emus, dmus, the wheels are not removed from bogies, the wheelset is positioned and rests upon a set of drive rollers, the drive rollers spin the wheel at around 2 rpm while a cutting head traverses and removes metal from the wheel tread creating the profile of the tread and flange, the workrate is about 1 wheelset per hour including the overhead of shunting the unit.
For large wheels such as steam locos, the wheel is not removed from the frame, coupling and connecting rods must be removed, and the wheels need extra support, the extra support for centre-to centre turning is by heavy-duty tailstocks left and right of the wheel, the points of the tailstocks mechanically engage with the cone-shaped machinings in each end of the axle.
Centre turning is an event, depot mess rooms and notice boards adorned with photographs of the work.
I remember seeing at a depot , probably Ashford, a set of very elderly and somewhat frail carriage bogies booked in for turning, so old probably pre-grouping, the bogies set aside waiting for hard to find technical information from the owners before the job could begin

 

[83G/84D]

Philips Marsh possibly? I’m sure stuff comes up from places like Westbury for attention.

The GWR class 150’s go there for tyre turning, not sure about the 158’s.

 

[tfw756rider]

I have viewed several wheel lathes in depots in the UK, they are usually German-made and no two seem to be quite alike.

Most of the wheel lathes in Britain (including both the old and new Cardiff Canton ones!) were/are indeed made by German manufacturer Hegenscheidt.

There are however some installations of wheel lathes manufacturered by companies of other mainland Europe nationality, even including a few Talgo installations (even though that Spanish company isn't in the British rolling stock market).

 

[davidhg]

Regarding the issue of wheel lathes at the end of long lines etc. (Holyhead, Clayton), maybe the distance travelled empty/out of service is helpful with ‘running-in’ following time on the lathe?

 

[Elecman]

They are usually Hegenschiedt manufacture

 

[unslet]

Freightliner's Midland Road, Leeds facility was used last week to turn the tyres of 2 NYMR locomotives.