The North Staffordshire Railway Co (NSR) opened its own works at Stoke on Trent in 1864. They occupied a 12-acre site near the main line at Stoke Junction, between the canal and the company roundhouse. The location was cramped and difficult to access off the Leek branch line, becoming more difficult as the Works were expanded and developed. At first they were only able to complete repairs and heavy rebuilding. Facilities for new building were completed in 1868. By 1901 the locomotive works employed 450 men and the carriage and wagon works a further 400. Figures for 1914 were 483 and 391 respectively.

The locomotive stock continued to include both contractor and local built stock, and this mixture is reflected in the surviving collection of engineering drawings from the Stoke Works Drawing Office. The North Staffordshire Railway also worked and maintained the Leek & Manifold Valley Light Railway, a 2’6” narrow gauge line opened in 1904. Among the more unusual drawings produced at the Stoke Works are vehicles for this 9-mile line.

The Works were officially closed in 1926, finally running down by 1927 when most of the employees transferred to Crewe Locomotive Works.