A watching brief was undertaken at the track maintenance depot building, Colchester North Station. The groundworks consisted of eighteen 2m square stanchion holes set out at a 6 x 3 grid over an area of 30m x 13.5m with a single linear trench in place of a fourth row of holes. The trenches were typically dug to a depth of 1.8m and were at varying stages of excavation when inspected. The trench stratigraphy displayed a steady fall in the natural ground level which seemed consistent with the incline of the higher open ground to the north, there being no sign of a levelling off in the area. No archaeologically significant features were observed.<1>