Dundee, 25a Forfar Road, Maryfield Tram Depot

NO43SW 778 41432 32009

Depot [NAT] [trackwork indicated at NW end of building]

OS (GIS) MasterMap, June 2009.

One of the former Dundee Corporation tramway depots is situated on the E side of Forfar Road, immediately S of a covered reservoir. The building is bounded on its S side by Walrond Street.

The depot measures about 120m x 21m and has an M-shape profile slated roof, dutch style gables with ventilator holes (now closed off) in each gable. Extensive use of blue brick, especially along the side elevations where it is seen as an open diamond pattern. The depot was orginally built to hold about 12 tramcars, but was later extended to house 70 tram cars.

At the W end entrance is an area of setts within which tram tracks survive including some pointwork. The trackwork has the name 'Allen' imprinted at the points and a number/date 1840 on one side. This trackwork reflects the changes made in 1927. Two blocked entrances were noted in the S-facing elevation. The missing Gatepiers may stem from the early 1920's when it was found necessary to widen the gate to accommodate single deck tramcars. The widened entrance then allowed alterations to the entrance trackwork to provide an 'additional connection' 'to form a triangle for reversing tramcars' (Brotchie 1965).

The interior (visited July 2008) retains tram tracks on the N side only, three running lines for about three quarters of the building, fanning out from the W door. At the W end of the building are two wooden offices on two levels, one against the S wall and one centrally postioned with wooden and iron steps respectively. Both offices are glass fronted to waist height.Three toilets are extant, two on ground floor and one in the main office. One of the toilets has a later four-legged steel support above it for a water tank.

The roof is wooden with a continuous skylight on the N side and centrallly positioned cast iron columns supporting. The roof is missing from the rear SE portion of the S side extension, caused by a serious fire some years ago.

The original tram depot was completed sometime during 1901 and is depicted on the 2nd edition of the 25-inch map (Forfarshire, 1903), as a building measuring about 59m x 21m, half the present building size. The depot was further extended in 1913 and 1920, the latter expansions being reflected in the depiction on the the Revision edition of 1923, which shows the depot enlarged to its present size. The historical maps also show the altered tram track arrangement at the W end.

Visited by RCAHMS (DE), 10 April and 17 July 2008

Long single-storey brick-built former tram depot set back from Forfar Road. W elevation: twin curvilinear gables in red and blue brick. Oculi over large tram doors; smaller flanking doors and windows with stone lintels. Sides: 40-bays of blind recessed panels. Slate M-roof with N-lights and pyramidal ventilators. Interior: twin-aisled timber roofs on single row of cast-iron columns. Low panelled boundary wall to front. Gatepiers missing. Tramrails remain in setted courtyard in front of depot.

The Dundee Corporation electric tram route to Maryfield opened on 6 March 1901. Dundee's principal tram depot at Lochee has been demolished but a smaller, altered, one exists at Monifieth. Subsequently became the Tayside Regional Council bus depot. (Historic Environment Scotland List Entry)