Derby Litchurch Lane Works

Litchurch Lane works seen from a passing train in 2011. A US Standard Light Rail Vehicle (Now scrapped) is visible, which was originally intended for use on the Manchester Metrolink network

Derby Litchurch Lane Works, formerly Derby Carriage and Wagon Works, is a railway rolling stock factory in Derby, England. It is presently owned by the multinational transportation manufacturer Alstom.

Derby works originally commenced production of rolling stock on behalf of its owner, the Midland Railway, during the mid 1840s as the direction of Matthew Kirtley, the company's first Locomotive and Carriage Superintendent. Due to its expansion, it was split into the Midland Railway Locomotive Works and the newer Carriage and Wagon Works' during 1873. In the 1910s, amid the First World War, production techniques at the works were drastically overhauled, greatly reducing the manhours involved in producing carriages amongst other things; the works was also involved in the manufacture of various goods for the British military. During 1923, the Midland Railway, and thus the Derby works, became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.

During the Second World War, the Derby works were involved in manufacturing aircraft sections. Following the creation of British Railways in 1948 and the associated nationalisation of, amongst many other railway-related locations, the Derby works, it became the principal rolling stock works of the London Midland Region of British Railways. On 1 January 1970, the works were transferred to the newly created subsidiary British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) and renamed Derby Litchurch Lane Works. BREL, and thus the works, was privatised in 1989 and became wholly owned by Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) three years later. During the 1990s, production of the Turbostar DMUs and Electrostar EMUs commenced. During 2001, the works became part of Bombardier Transportation.

After the closure of Alstom's Washwood Heath plant in 2005, Derby works became the only passenger rolling stock manufacturer in the UK. ^{[1] [2]} During mid-2011, Bombardier announced it was to cut 1,400 out of the 3,000 jobs at Derby. In November 2019, following the awarding of several big contracts, Bombardier announced the creation of 400 new jobs at the works. In January 2021, Alstom acquired Bombardier Transportation, and thus Derby works. During early 2024, Alstom publicly called on the British government to place orders for a minimum of ten trains in order to prevent 1,300 job losses and a permanent loss of capability at the Derby site

History

Midland Railway (1876–1923)

Annual dinner of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers held in the carriage works of the Midland Railway at Derby in 1898. Samuel Johnson, the railway's Chief Mechanical Engineer was the institution president.

Railway building began at Derby Works in 1840, when the North Midland Railway, the Midland Counties Railway and the Birmingham and Derby Railway set up engine sheds as part of their Tri Junct Station. When the three merged in 1844 to form the Midland Railway its first Locomotive and Carriage Superintendent Matthew Kirtley set out to organise their activities and persuaded the directors to build their own rolling stock, rather than buying it in (see Derby Works).

By the 1860s, the works had expanded to such an extent that he was considering reorganising it and, in 1873, it separated into the Midland Railway Locomotive Works, known locally as "The Loco", and a new Carriage and Wagon Works further south, off Litchurch Lane, locally known as the "Carriage and Wagon". This was completed by his successor Samuel Waite Johnson, under the control of Thomas Gethin Clayton ^[3] The Derby Carriage and Wagon works were built in 1876. ^{[4] [5]}

The carriages of the time were generally less than 50 feet (15 m) long but, possibly because the Midland had just taken delivery of its first Pullman car 56 feet 5 inches (17.20 m) long, Clayton had the foresight to design the works to deal with vehicles up to 70 feet (21 m). This meant, for instance, that the traversers at the end of each shed were still in use a century later.^{[ citation needed ]}

Production had begun in 1873, at the original loco works, of carriages from kits supplied by the Pullman Company of Detroit in United States. These were followed by Clayton's own design of 54-foot-long (16 m) coaches, which incorporated both first- and third-class accommodation, and ran on four- or six-wheeled bogies. ^[6] Initially claret or dark red, with dark green locomotives, the livery of both was changed to the well-known crimson in 1883. Five layers of undercoat were used, followed by a top coat and three coats of varnish.

During 1879, the first bogie coaches were built for the Midland's line to Glasgow over its newly opened Settle-Carlisle line. Clayton's successor in 1903 was David Bain, by which time the works was building sleeping cars and dining coaches as well. In 1904, two steam motor-carriages were fitted out for the Morecambe-Heysham service.^{[ citation needed ]}

Ten- and twelve-ton wagons were produced in quantity, starting with a set of components in the morning, each would be assembled for painting by the end of the day. Reid and E.J.H.Lemon studied American mass production methods and introduced them around 1919, raising output to 200 wagons and ten coaches per week. ^[7] The sawmill was recognised as the most modern and largest in Europe, with over 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of timber being seasoned, of nearly 60 different varieties, from pine to lignum vitae.

During 1914, following the outbreak of the First World War, the works was rapidly reoriented towards the productions of various goods for the British armed forces. Specifically, the site manufactured ambulance trains and army wagons along with miscellaneous components for rifles.^{[ citation needed ]}

London, Midland and Scottish Railway (1923-1948)

In 1923, the Midland Railway became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, and W. R. Reid was appointed Carriage & Wagon Superintendent. ^[8] Together with the LNWR's Wolverton works, new coaches were built to the Midland design, corridor coaches with doors to each compartment - the so-called "all-doors". These were still in use until nearly 1960, particularly on the Liverpool and Newcastle to Bristol expresses.^{[ citation needed ]}

Around 1929, the compartment doors, however, were replaced by two fixed lights, and later with single large windows while all-wood construction gave way to steel panels. In the next decade, the Works Superintendent, Ernest Pugson, realised the potential of the new technology of metallic arc welding, replacing many forged and cast components; at his direction, the first composite welded steel/timber bodies with standardised jig-built components was introduced. The first open carriages, referred to as "vestibule coaches", also appeared around this time. From 1933, roofs were of steel rather than wood, with a simplified livery and a smoother external appearance, and, by the end of the 1930s, all-welded steel vehicles were built for the Liverpool and Southport electric service, the Class 502.^{[ citation needed ]}

During the Second World War, the Derby works introduced pioneering production techniques for building aeroplane wings; by 1945, the works had produced over 4,000 such wings. With the loco works, wings and fuselages were repaired and sent to a private contractor at Nottingham for assembly, initially of Hampden bombers but later of other aircraft including Lancasters. ^[9]

Although towards the end of the 1930s, a complete 'Coronation Scot' train was built for an exhibition tour in America and a streamlined all-welded three coach railcar, most of the all-steel carriages were made by outside manufacturers. After the conflict, the LMS began to produce its own, the so-called "porthole" stock with round windows to the lavatory compartment. After nationalisation in 1948, as the main carriage works of the London Midland Region, the first Mk I all-steel carriages were produced.

British Railways and BREL (1948–1989)

Preserved Derby Lightweight at Bewdley

The prototype railbus LEV1

The works became the principal rolling stock works of the London Midland Region of British Railways at nationalisation in 1948; the steel British Railways Mark 1 carriage was developed in the 1950s, and at the beginning of the 1950s the works employed over 5,000 people. ^{[5] [10]}

In 1953, the works began production of Derby Lightweight DMUs; ^[5] units of aluminium construction. The use of glass fibre laminate was introduced for the roof ends.^{[ citation needed ]}

Trailer cars were also built for the London Transport Executive as replacements on the London Underground Piccadilly line. In 1956, all-steel DMUs, the "Derby Heavyweights" were introduced, with over a thousand being built in that decade.^{[ citation needed ]}

From 1958, the new Class 108 of Derby Lightweights was produced in quantity. A number of steel-bodied Class 107 DMUs were built in 1960 for lines in Scotland.

On 1 January 1970, the works were transferred to the newly created subsidiary British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) and renamed Derby Litchurch Lane Works. ^{[11] [12]} Wagon building and repairs ended following a major re-organisation of the carriage and railcar work; during 1979, container production was ended permanently.^{[ citation needed ]}

In 1984, British Rail was under extreme financial pressure to close branch lines. At the same time a worldwide need was seen for a low-cost rail vehicle. The Research Division and British Leyland together produced a lightweight four-wheeled vehicle which they referred to as LEV-1. After proving trials, which included assessment on the Boston and Maine Railroad in America, it was developed into the Class 140 which led to a series of two-car Pacer units, and around 150 of various classes were built. ^{[13] [14]}

Post-privatisation (1989–present)

BREL (1989–1992), ABB (1992–1996), Adtranz (1996–2001)

Class 170 Turbostar at Peterborough

BREL was privatised in 1989, the same year the Class 158 started being built at the works. BREL became wholly owned by Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) in 1992, with the works later becoming part of Adtranz in 1996. ^{[4] [15]}

One of the first orders in 1993 was for Class 482 electric multiple units (EMU) for the Waterloo and City Line. ^[16] During 1995, a number of Class 325 parcels EMUs were also built at Derby. ^[17] However, this period was characterised by large contracts and rushes of work, interspersed with periods of relative idleness and layoffs.^{[ citation needed ]} The works kept going by refurbishing ex-Southern Region slam-door stock.^{[ citation needed ]}

Gautrain EMU in South Africa

In 1997, a contract was received from Chiltern Railways to supply the new Class 168 "Clubman" DMU. These were the first of over 200 Turbostar DMUs built at the works between 1997 and 2012. ^{[18] [19]}

In 1997, a contract was received from Prism Rail to supply 44 Class 357 "Electrostar" EMU. ^[20] These were the first of over 640 Electrostar EMU trainsets built at the works between 1999 and 2017, making them the most numerous type of EMU built in the post-privatisation period of Britain's railways.^{[ citation needed ]}

Bombardier (2001–2021)

During 2001, the works became part of Bombardier Transportation following the corporation's purchase of Adtranz. ^{[4] [21]}

In 2004, the plant was retained as part of Bombardier's manufacturing capacity in Europe after restructuring by the company led to closure of seven of its European facilities. ^{[note 1] [22] [23]} The site had previously considered a possibility for closure, and had an order gap between the end of the Electrostar contract (for train operators SouthCentral and Southeastern) until 2008 when a major £3.4 billion contract of over 1,700 carriages for Metronet was to begin. ^[24] The order gap was bridged by an order for Electrostars for the Gautrain project in South Africa won in 2006; ^[25] the first 15 vehicles were delivered complete, and the remaining 81 in kit form for assembly at Union Carriage & Wagon's plant in Nigel, South Africa. ^[26]

After the closure of Alstom's Washwood Heath plant in 2005, Bombardier's Derby plant was the only passenger rolling stock manufacturer in the UK. ^{[1] [2]} Around this time, there was a nationwide drought in rolling stock orders, raising questions for the future of British train manufacturing. ^[27]

In early 2009, Bombardier received a contract to build thirty Class 379 EMUs for National Express services including Stansted Express. ^[28] By mid-2011, Derby had completed construction of EMUs for the 2009 Stock and Class 379 EMUs and was completing an order of Class 172 Turbostar DMUs. The plant had a large order of 192 S Stock trains for London Underground which was completed in 2017. ^[29]

During 2011, Bombardier was expecting to lay off approximately 1,200 workers at the plant, irrespective of future orders, ^[30] and the contract for the Thameslink Programme was seen by Bombardier's management as critical to the continued viability of the plant and related supply chain. ^[31] After Siemens was named preferred bidder in June 2011 to construct the new rolling stock for Thameslink services through London, ^[32] Bombardier announced it was to cut 1,400 out of the 3,000 jobs at Derby. ^{[33] [34]} Colin Walton, chairman of Bombardier Transportation in the UK, said the loss of the contract had forced the company to review its UK operations. ^[35]

On 28 December 2011, Bombardier won a £188 million contract to produce 130 carriages for Southern. ^[36] By February 2012, the plant had reduced its workforce to approximately 1,600; however, three years later, the future of the works was secured after securing orders for both the Gatwick Express and Crossrail. ^{[37] [38]} In November 2019, Bombardier announced the creation of 400 new jobs at the plant for the production of hundreds of Aventra vehicles for Greater Anglia, South Western Railway and West Midlands Trains. ^[39]

Alstom (2021–present)

In January 2021, Alstom acquired Bombardier Transportation in exchange for €5.1 billion; accordingly, it took over operations of the Derby site and its rolling stock designs, such as the Aventra and Electrostar. ^{[40] [41]} In December 2021, Alstom, in joint venture with Hitachi, successfully gained a landmark contract to build the High Speed Two Phase One rolling stock, capable of 225 mph (362 km/h). The end stage of the rolling stock will be done at Derby and Alstom's Crewe works with the first stage of production being done at the Hitachi Newton Aycliffe facility; ^[42] questions over the future of this order have been raised. ^[43] During early 2024, Alstom publicly called on the British government to place orders for a minimum of ten trains in order to prevent 1,300 job losses and a permanent loss of capability at the Derby site. ^{[44] [45]}

See also

• LMS railcars
• Listed buildings in Alvaston

Notes

1. Plants closed in the UK included a Derby Pride Park (bogies), Doncaster (maintenance), and Bombardier Prorail, Wakefield (refurbishment). ^[22]

References

Citations

1. "Alstom withdraws from train assembly in British". International Railway Journal. July 2003. p. 4.
2. "Crossrail rolling stock contract delayed pending procurement review". Railway Gazette International . 30 August 2011. Archived from the original on 17 September 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
3. Billson 1996,^{[ page needed ]}
4. Site Fact Sheet: Derby Litchurch Lane, United Kingdom (PDF), Bombardier Transportation , retrieved 11 February 2012^{[ permanent dead link ]}
5. "Engineering drawings from the Derby Carriage and Wagon Works" (PDF), nrm.org.uk, Trustees of the National Museum of Science & Industry, Administrative/Biographical History, April 2007
6. Vaughan, A., (1997) Railwaymen, Politics and Money, London: John Murray
7. Gardner, Laura (8 November 2011). "Unsung hero of the Battle of Britain". Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
8. "August : The Railways Act, 1921", The Engineer , 132: 231, 2 September 1921
9. "Dunmore, George. Aircraft repair/manufacture". ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk. International Bomber Command Centre Digital Archive. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
10. "British Railways All-Steel Carriages". The Railway Magazine . No. 582. July 1949. pp. 255–256.
11. "British Rail Engineering Limited formed". Railway Gazette . 5 December 1969. p. 882.
12. "New BR workshops company". Modern Railways . No. 256. January 1970. p. 41.
13. Thomas, David St John; Whitehouse, Patrick (1990). BR in the Eighties. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN   978-0-7153-9854-8. OL   11253354M. Wikidata   Q112224535.
14. Shore, A. G. L. (1987). "British Rail Diesel Multiple Unit Replacement Programme". Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part D: Transport Engineering. 201 (2): 115–122. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.1008.3291 . doi:10.1243/PIME_PROC_1987_201_165_02. ISSN   0265-1904. S2CID   109194039.
15. "BREL becomes ABB Transportation Ltd". The Railway Magazine . No. 1099. November 1992. p. 13.
16. Hardy, Brian (2002) [1976]. London Underground Rolling Stock (15th ed.). Harrow Weald, UK: Capital Transport. pp. 27–28. ISBN   1-85414-263-1.
17. Foster, Stefanie (5 February 2014). "Mail by rail - still". railmagazine.com.
18. Stokdyk, John (14 April 1999). "Full steam ahead". Accountancy Age.
19. Class 168 Diesel Multiple Unit (PDF) (1A ed.). Derby, UK: Porterbrook Leasing Company. September 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
20. "UK Business Park UK Activity Report – ADtranz". UK Business Park. 5 March 1997. Archived from the original on 15 February 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
21. "Bombardier's Acquisition of Adtranz Now Completed". allbusiness.com. Business Wire. 30 April 2001.
22. Hope, Christopher (18 March 2004). "Bombardier to axe 1,362 jobs in UK". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group.
23. Briginshaw, David (June 2004), "Bombardier addresses overcapacity", findarticles.com, Railway Age
24. "Bombardier to cut 1,000 UK jobs to keep Derby rail factory working". The Independent . 17 March 2004. Archived from the original on 21 November 2014.
25. "Bombardier signe des contrats d'une valeur de 1,650 millions US$ pour le réseau Rapid Rail en Afrique du Sud", branchez-vous.com, Bombardier, 28 September 2006^{[ permanent dead link ]}
26. "First Gautrain EMU unveiled". Railway Gazette International . London, UK. 9 July 2008.
27. "British rolling stock market enters a lull". globalrailwayreview.com. 3 November 2005.
28. "Bombardier signs Stansted airport train order". Railway Gazette International. London, UK. 2 April 2009. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
29. "Bombardier to shed 1400 jobs at Derby". Railway Gazette International. London, UK. 5 July 2011.
30. Beaudoin, Pierre; Navarri, Andre (16 May 2011), Employment Levels at the Bombardier Transportation UK Limited Train Manufacturing Facility in Derby (PDF), Bombardier Transportation UK Ltd., archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012, However, even if the Thameslink contract is awarded to us in the immediate future, the culmination and successful delivery of existing projects means it is already inevitable that Bombardier will experience a dip in workload, the scale of which will mean laying off around 1,200 employees.
31. Beaudoin, Pierre; Navarri, Andre (16 May 2011), Employment Levels at the Bombardier Transportation UK Limited Train Manufacturing Facility in Derby (PDF), Bombardier Transportation UK Ltd., archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012, The loss of such a major order as Thameslink would also have significant long term consequences on the UK railway supply industry as a whole. In today's difficult economic climate, many suppliers to the rail industry are already in an extremely vulnerable position. Downsizing to meet reduced demand is not an easy option. Many have reached the stage where the loss of orders or significant delays between orders will result in their closure
32. "Siemens beats Bombardier to Thameslink train order". Railway Gazette International . London, UK. 16 June 2011.
33. Milmo, Dan (5 July 2011). "Bombardier: 1,400 Derby jobs are gone four months after PM's pledge to help". The Guardian . London, UK.
34. Denny, Brian (6 July 2011). "Con/Dems collude with the EU to destroy last train building jobs in Britain". The Online Society. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012.
35. Robert, Wright (5 July 2011). "Bombardier announces UK lay-offs". Financial Times . Archived from the original on 10 July 2011.
36. "Bombardier handed £188 million Southern contract". BBC News . London, UK. 28 December 2011.
37. "Bombardier jobs believed safe" . Financial Times . 7 February 2012. The Crossrail contract is seen as crucial to securing the longer term future of the Derby plant
38. "Bombardier confirms 'short-term future' of Derby plant". BBC News. 9 February 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
39. Johnson, Robin (22 November 2019). "Hundreds of new jobs announced at Derby's Bombardier". Derby Telegraph. Archived from the original on 27 November 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
40. Burroughs, David (29 January 2021). "Alstom completes Bombardier Transportation takeover". International Railway Journal. Archived from the original on 8 May 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
41. Keohane, David; Espinoza, Javier (31 July 2020). "EU approves Alstom-Bombardier deal to create train-making giant" . Financial Times. Brussels. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
42. "HS2 agrees £2bn deal to build UK's fastest trains". BBC News. 12 September 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
43. Abboud, Leila; Plimmer, Gill (31 March 2024). "Alstom set to mothball Derby plant over HS2 order delays". Financial Times.
44. "Stark warning from Alstom MD on Derby manufacturing plant closure". railmagazine.com. 8 January 2024.
45. Noble, Samantha (12 April 2024). "Alstom: Hundreds of firms campaign to save Derby's Alstom". BBC News.

Bibliography

• Larkin, E.J.; Larkin, J.G. (1988). The Railway Workshops of Great Britain 1823-1986. Macmillan Press.
• Billson, P. (1996). Derby and the Midland Railway. Breedon Books.

Further reading

• Robertson, K. (2004). First Generation DMUs. Ian Allan Publishing.
• Marsden, C.J. (1989). Twenty Five Years of Railway Research. Haynes Publishing Co.

52°54′22″N1°27′32″W / 52.906°N 1.459°W / 52.906; -1.459