Vic Berry

Vic Berry's well-known stack of type 2 diesel locomotives, 3 October 1987.

Vic Berry's Scrapyard was a large, railway scrapyard situated in the former Great Central / British Railways Goods Yard and Engine Shed area of south central Leicester. Railway carriages, units and locomotives from across the UK train system and abroad were brought to Vic Berry's site for asbestos removal and / or final disposal for scrap.

Making use of its rail link with the Leicester to Burton upon Trent Line, a large volume of stock was maintained on site, leading to the well-known spectacle of pyramids of train units awaiting disposal.

The site suffered an arson attack in 1990, and the resulting fire led to the widespread distribution of airborne asbestos across the city. Vic Berry's permanently closed as a result. The closed site was left significantly contaminated from the disposal process.

The site was re-developed as a part of the Leicester City Challenge project in 1996 / 1997 as Bede Island.

External links

• map
• railcar.co.uk - photos
• railpics.sweetp.net - a great deal of photos
• Derby Sulzers - Vic Berry Page - Lots of photos and a real insight by a Derby Works employee.