Vic Berry

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Vic Berry's infamous stack of type 2 diesel locomotives, 3 October 1987.
Vic Berry's infamous 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 line, a large volume of stock was maintained on site, leading to the infamous spectacle of pyramids of train units awaiting disposal.

The site suffered an arson attack and resulting major fire in 1990, which led to the widespread distribution of airborne asbestos across the city. As a result, Vic Berry's permanently closed for business. The closed site was left suffering significant contamination from the disposal process.

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

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