Soho Engine Shed, originally Kilburns' warehouse

The Soho Engine Shed, originally Kilburns' warehouse, is a Grade II* listed building constructed in 1826 for the iron merchants Messrs Kilburns. It was leased in 1842 to Timothy Hackworth’s Soho Works and converted into a locomotive shed following its purchase by the Stockton & Darlington Railway in 1855.

The shed is built from roughly coursed sandstone rubble with dressed quoins and features a Welsh slate roof. It is designed as an undivided space for two standard-gauge railway lines that enter through the north-west gable. The south-east gable has a chimney and a single-celled lean-to attached.

The exterior of the building is a tall, nine-bay structure, with the end bays being blind. The seven central bays contain regular, high-set windows with lintels and external shutters. The gables are coped and supported by shaped kneelers. The north-west gable features a large opening with a timber lintel supported by a central post, flanked by a pair of double doors wide enough for a locomotive. Above this opening is a square ventilator and a lamp mounted on a cast iron bracket. Centrally attached to the south-east gable is a tall, stone-built chimney with a short upper section that tapers from an overhanging course. On the north side of the chimney, there is a small paint store extension with a lean-to roof, which has a pedestrian door in the south-west wall but no other openings.

Inside, the shed retains two standard-gauge railway lines, both equipped with shallow inspection pits running the length of the building. At the south-east end, there is a large hearth served by the chimney. To the north-east, there is a substantial iron door leading to the paint store, which has a fire-proofed roof made of stone flags supported by iron joists.