The British Rail Research Division was a division of the state-owned railway company British Rail (BR). It was charged with conducting research into improving various aspects of Britain's railways, particularly in the areas of reliability and efficiency, including achieving cost reductions and increasing service levels.
Its creation was endorsed by the newly created British Rail Board (BRB) in 1963 and incorporated personnel and existing resources from all over the country, including the LMS Scientific Research Laboratory. It was primarily based at the purpose-built Railway Technical Centre in Derby. In addition to its domestic activities, the Research Division would provide technology and personnel to other countries for varying purposes and periods under the trade name "Transmark". It became recognised as a centre of excellence in its field; the theoretical rigour of its approach to railway engineering superseded the ad hoc methods that had prevailed previously.
Its research led to advances in various sectors, such as in the field of signalling, where progress was made with block systems, remote operation systems, and the Automatic Warning System (AWS). Trackside improvements, such as the standardisation of overhead electrification equipment and refinements to the plasma torch, were also results of the Research Division's activities. Perhaps its most high-profile work was into new forms of rolling stock, such as the High Speed Freight Vehicle and railbuses, which led to the introduction of the Class 140. One of its projects that gained particularly high-profile coverage was the Advanced Passenger Train (APT), a high-speed tilting train intended for BR's Intercity services. However, due to schedule overruns, negative press coverage, and a lack of political support, work on the APT was ceased in the mid-1980s in favour of the more conventional InterCity 125 and InterCity 225 trainsets.
The Research Division was reorganised in the runup to the privatisation of British Rail during the 1990s; the bulk having become "BR Research Limited". This unit was acquired by the private company AEA Technology in 1996, which has since become Resonate Group. Several elements of its work have continued under various organisations, such as the patents filed during the APT's development being harnessed in the development of the Pendolino, a modern high speed tilting train.
During the mid-1950s, it became increasingly apparent to senior figures within the British Transport Commission (BTC) that, in light of mixed results from using external contractors, there was value in British Rail performing some research projects in-house instead.[1] In August 1958, Dr F. T. Barnwell was appointed by the BTC to prepare and present specific electrical research proposals; the creation of an initially small Electrical Research Section employing 31 staff was also authorised by the BTC in July 1960. Many of these early proposals were related to traction and power equipment, such as motor control, signalling, digital computers, and 25 kV AC railway electrification.[1] Several existing research efforts, such as into rail adhesion, were also folded into the new section's remit; in June 1960, the Rugby Locomotive Testing Senter was also transferred to the Chief Electrical Engineer's responsibility and became a key site for the section.[2]
During 1963, the newly created British Rail Board (BRB) agreed to transfer the Electrical Research Section to the British Rail Research Department, with the purpose of forming a completed new division.[3] The Research Division brought together personnel and expertise from all over the country, including the LMS Scientific Research Laboratory. Its remit was not simply the improvement of existing equipment, or the solution of existing problems, but fundamental research from first principles, into railway operation. The results of its work would go on to inform development by engineers, manufacturers and railways all over the world. For instance, once the initial APT-E experimental project was complete, it passed to the mechanical engineering department to build the APT-P prototype. In time, engineers would be seconded to other countries for varying periods under the trade name "Transmark".[4][5]
One early matter for this new division was the choice for a long term location, Rugby being passed over in favour of Derby, where the purpose-built Railway Technical Centre was built during the 1960s at a cost of £4 million.[6] Nearby, the Research Division developed its first test track on the old Great Northern Railway line between Egginton Junction and Derby Friargate (later used only as far as Mickleover) and was used by the Train Control Group.[7] Later on, when the revolutionary Advanced Passenger Train (APT) was being developed, a second test track was created on the line between Melton Junction and Edwalton (known as the Old Dalby Test Track), which was acquired specifically to test this train.[8] The Mickleover test track was closed and lifted in the early 1990s, however Old Dalby remained in use into the twenty-first century.
Projects
Early benefits of the Research Division's work were already being felt by the late 1960s in the field of signalling, specifically in block systems.[9] While practical demonstrations were being performed as early as 1964, some of these efforts, such as an early use of radar-based obstacle detection, proved to be not mature enough for deployment.[10] One project of this nature that was highly impactful on future railway operations was the creation of automated simulations of traffic flow through a network.[11] In response to concerns by managers of the British Rail's Southern Region, the Research Team developed improvements for the Automatic Warning System (AWS), sometimes referred to as Signal Repeating AWS, which would be deployed extensively in that region. Another early advance was the remote control of freight locomotives at low speed, such as when coal trains were delivering their materials to power stations.[12]
By the mid-1960s, the Research Division had multiple traction-related projects underway, however, they were negatively impacted by the sudden death of senior engineer James Brown.[11] Work into the use of induction drives, for both rotary and linear motors, was one such project; a rail-mounted trolley was developed and tested as part of this research. It was concluded that, largely due to the cost of the aluminium reaction rail necessary, linear motors were not economically practical at that time.[11] The division has also collaborated with English Electric to produce a heavily modified demonstrator, converted from a redundant early diesel electric locomotive, to evaluate the rotary induction motor. Other advances made by researchers in the field of overhead electrification, such as hydraulicdampers and flexible contact wire supports, greatly aided the Modernisation of the West Coast Main Line.[13]
During the late 1960s, attention was paid to expanding the Research Division's mathematical capabilities.[14] This heavily contributed to the development of Junction Optimisation Technique (JOT), an approach for optimisating traffic flows through complex junctions (such as that outside of Glasgow Central railway station). The arrival of more powerful computers around this time allowed for time-based, rather than event-based, traffic simulations to be programmed as well, leading to the General Area Time-based Train Simulator (GATTS).[14]
By the end of the 1960s, the division has made progress in the area of rail adhesion; influenced by French experiments with spark discharges, development of what became the plasma torch proceeded based on promising test results gathered in 1967.[15] Subsequent testing provided even better results; however, progress was badly impacted by the departure of Dr Alston in 1971.[16] The division also provided support in troubleshooting issues encountered with the recently deployed overhead electrification apparatus; the development of simpler and standardised equipment and further research into digitally simulating the dynamic behavior of overhead equipment proceeded.[17] The success of these efforts were such that, having been initially authorised for a five-year period, the BRB approved a further 11-year extension in 1973, thus continuing the Research Division's work in these areas through to March 1985.[18]
One key research project was examining the tendency of new wheels to hunt, which was counteracted by deliberately profiling, or pre-wearing, wheels. During the 1960s, an extensive study was performed by the aeronautical engineer Alan Wickens, which identified dynamic instability as the cause.[19] Concluding that a properly damped suspension system, both horizontally as well as vertically, additional research led to additional projects, such as the High Speed Freight Vehicle, which started work during the late 1960s and reaching a high point during the mid-1970s.[20][21] Various tests of the High Speed Freight Vehicle were carried out between 1975 and 1979.[22][23] An even more radical freight vehicle, the Autowagon, was also worked on during the early 1970s; the concept of individual self-powered container-carrying wagons automatically loading, traversing the rail network, and unloading as required. This project never proceeded beyond demonstrations and studies into the control systems required.[16]
During the mid-1970s, British Rail became interested in introducing a new generation of railbuses;[24][25] thus, the Research Division collaborated with British Leyland to jointly develop and evaluate several prototype four-wheel vehicles, commonly referred to as LEVs (Leyland Experimental Vehicle). These prototypes were essentially Leyland National bus bodies mounted on a modified High-Speed Freight Vehicle chassis. Testing commenced in 1978.[26] A more capable two-car prototype railbus, the Class 140, was built between 1979 and 1981.[27] Following its early use as a testbed, during which the Class 140 toured several different regions across the UK, it later served as a demonstrator for the subsequent production units based on the type, the Class 141, introduced in 1984, and Class 142, introduced in 1985. These subsequent production classes diverge from the Class 140's design in numerous places; one example is the separation between the underframe and the body above by a flexible mounting, a reduction in the depth of the underframe for maintenance accessibility, and the use of road bus-standard electrical equipment, passenger fittings, and general cab layout.[24][27]
Likely the most prominent project undertaken by the Research Division was the Advanced Passenger Train (APT), a high-speed tilting train intended to accelerate Britain's Intercity services. This work, begun during the mid-1960s, was in part motivated, and influenced, by the recent success of the Japanese Shinkansen line between Tokyo and Osaka.[20] The use of tilting permitted the alignment of the lateral forces with the floor, in turning higher top speeds to be attained before passenger comfort was adversely impacted. An active tilting system, using hydraulic actuation, was to enable the APT to round corners 40% faster than conventional counterparts.[28][20] The prototype APT-E, powered by gas turbines, conducted its first run on 25 July 1972.[29] Due to trade union opposition, it did not run again on the main line until August 1973. During testing on the Great Western Main Line, the prototype achieved a new British railway speed record on 10 August 1975, having reached 152.3mph (245.1km/h).[30][31] However, by the early 1980s, the project had been running for over a decade and the trains were still not in service.[32][33] The APT was quietly abandoned during the mid-1980s in favour of the more conventional InterCity 125 and InterCity 225 trainsets.[34][35]
Other work involved looking at the tamping of ballast, properties of subsoils, and rail prestressing. A large part of the network had been converted to continuous welded rail which, during a hot summer, caused many problems with rail buckling; although there were no injuries, there were a number of derailments.[citation needed] Evaluations were conducted into the methods, costs, and benefits of tamping the ballast over the sleeper ends.[citation needed] There were extended studies into metal fatigue, and pioneering work in ultrasound crack detection at a time when it was being investigated elsewhere for medical diagnostics. Major signalling breakthroughs made by the Research Division included Solid State Interlocking and the Integrated Electronic Control Centre.
Reforms and privatisation
In 1986, finance for the division was moved from the board to the operating divisions. Thus emphasis shifted from pure research to problem solving. During 1989, BR Research became a self-contained unit working under contract to British Rail and other customers, and the route was open for privatisation.
When British Rail was sold into private ownership during the 1990s, the Research Division (which had become "BR Research Limited") was bought by AEA Technology in 1996. The resulting business, "AEA Technology Rail", was subsequently sold in 2006 to a venture capital company and became DeltaRail Group.[36][37] Transmark, the consultancy arm, was sold to Halcrow to become Halcrow Transmark.[38]
The Research Division had an uneasy relationship with other parts of BR, and like most of the products of Harold Wilson's "white heat of technology" speech, were killed off in the early 1980s. The basis of the unease was the traditional approach of most of BR compared with theoretical and aerospace approaches adopted by the Research Division. The hiring of graduates rather than training people up internally also caused tensions.[citation needed]
It could be somewhat tactless, or perhaps naive, at times. The APT-E was provided with a single driver position central in the cab, at a time when the unions were resisting the loss of the "second man" (the fireman in steam days). After its first run out to Duffield the APT-E was blacked (boycotted) by the unions for a year.[citation needed]
Nevertheless, its empirical research into vehicle dynamics has produced today's high speed trains, both freight and passenger, including the InterCity 125 and InterCity 225. The concept of a tilting system for the APT became part of the Pendolino[citation needed], while the products of its signalling and operations control research are used over a significant amount of the British railway system.[citation needed]
Related Research Articles
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission, it became an independent statutory corporation in January 1963, when it was formally renamed the British Railways Board.
A tilting train is a train that has a mechanism enabling increased speed on regular rail tracks. As a train rounds a curve at speed, objects inside the train experience centrifugal force. This can cause packages to slide about or seated passengers to feel squashed by the outboard armrest, and standing passengers to lose their balance. In such excessive speeds, it could even cause the train to derail. Tilting trains are designed to counteract this by tilting the carriages towards the inside of the curve, thus compensating for the g-force. The train may be constructed such that inertial forces cause the tilting, or it may have a computer-controlled powered mechanism.
The Advanced Passenger Train (APT) was a tilting high speed train developed by British Rail during the 1970s and early 1980s, for use on the West Coast Main Line (WCML). The WCML contained many curves, and the APT pioneered the concept of active tilting to address these, a feature that has since been copied on designs around the world. The experimental APT-E achieved a new British railway speed record on 10 August 1975 when it reached 152.3 miles per hour (245.1 km/h), only to be surpassed by the service prototype APT-P at 162.2 miles per hour (261.0 km/h) in December 1979.
Pacer was the operational name of the British Rail Classes 140, 141, 142, 143 and 144 diesel multiple unit railbuses built between 1980 and 1987. They were inexpensively developed using a passenger body based on the Leyland National bus on top of a chassis based on the HSFV1 research vehicle. The railbuses were intended as a short-term solution to a shortage of rolling stock, with a lifespan of no more than twenty years. As modernised replacements were lacking, the Pacer fleet remained in service on some lines until 2021, 37 years after their 1984 introduction.
The InterCity 125 or High Speed Train (HST) is a diesel-powered high-speed passenger train built by British Rail Engineering Limited between 1975 and 1982. A total of 95 sets were produced, each comprising two Class 43 power cars, one at each end, and a rake of seven or eight Mark 3 coaches. The name is derived from its top operational speed of 125 mph (201 km/h). At times, the sets have been classified as British Rail Classes 253, 254 and 255.
British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) was the rolling stock manufacturing and maintenance subsidiary of British Rail.
The InterCity 225 is an electric push-pull high speed train in the United Kingdom, comprising a Class 91 electric locomotive, nine Mark 4 coaches and a Driving Van Trailer (DVT). The Class 91 locomotives were built by British Rail Engineering Limited's Crewe Works as a spin-off from the Advanced Passenger Train project, which was abandoned during the 1980s, whilst the coaches and DVT were constructed by Metro-Cammell in Birmingham and Breda in Italy, again borrowing heavily from the Advanced Passenger Train. The trains were designed to operate at up to 140 mph (225 km/h) in regular service, but are limited to 125 mph (200 km/h) principally due to a lack of cab signalling and the limitations of the current overhead line equipment. They were introduced into service between 1989 and 1991 for intercity services on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) from London King's Cross to Leeds, York and Edinburgh.
The APT-E, for Advanced Passenger Train Experimental, was the prototype Advanced Passenger Train tilting train unit. It was powered by gas turbines, the only multiple unit so powered that was used by British Rail. The APT-E consisted of two driving power cars and two trailer cars. Each power car was equipped with four Rover-built Leyland 2S/350 gas turbines, which initially produced 300 hp each but were progressively uprated to 330 hp. Two GEC 253AY nose suspended traction motors provided the traction on the leading bogies. The vehicles were manufactured from aluminium and were approximately 70 ft long (21.34 m), with articulated bogies between them.
British Rail's Class 370 tilting trains, also referred to as APT-P, were the pre-production Advanced Passenger Train units. Unlike the earlier experimental gas-turbine APT-E unit, these units were powered by 25 kV AC overhead electrification and were used on the West Coast Main Line between London Euston and Glasgow Central. The APT-P is the most powerful domestic train to have operated in Britain, the eight traction motors fitted to the two central motor cars giving a total output of 8,000 hp (6,000 kW). This enabled the train to set the UK rail speed record of 162.2 mph (261.0 km/h) in December 1979, a record that stood for 23years until broken by a Eurostar Class 373 on the newly completed High Speed 1 line.
The British Rail Class 91 is a high-speed electric locomotive, which produces power of 4,830 kW (6,480 hp); it was ordered as a component of the East Coast Main Line modernisation and electrification programme of the late 1980s. The Class 91s were given the auxiliary name of InterCity 225 to indicate their envisaged top speed of 225 km/h (140 mph); they were also referred to as Electras by British Rail during their development and throughout the electrification of the East Coast Main Line.
The LRC is a series of lightweight diesel-powered passenger trains that were used on short- to medium-distance inter-city service in the Canadian Provinces of Ontario and Quebec.
A gas turbine locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a gas turbine. Several types of gas turbine locomotive have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving wheels (drivers). A gas turbine train typically consists of two power cars, and one or more intermediate passenger cars.
The Railway Technical Centre (RTC) in London Road, Derby, England, was the technical headquarters of the British Railways Board and was built in the early 1960s. British Rail described it as the largest railway research complex in the world.
High-speed rail in the United Kingdom is provided on five upgraded railway lines running at top speeds of 125 mph (200 km/h) and one purpose-built high-speed line reaching 186 mph (300 km/h).
Withdrawn British Rail stock is British railway coaches, wagons and locomotives that have been removed from service.
The history of rail transport in Great Britain 1948–1994 covers the period when the British railway system was nationalised under the name of 'British Railways', latterly known as British Rail until its eventual privatisation in 1994.
The InterCity 250 was an electric railway project undertaken by British Rail in the late 1980s. The InterCity 250 train would have consisted of a Class 93 electric locomotive, nine Mark 5 coaches and a Mark 5 Driving Van Trailer operating in a push-pull formation. The British Rail project was cancelled in July 1992.
The High Speed Freight Vehicle was a generic term for a number of prototype four-wheeled rail vehicles which were fitted with various experimental suspensions developed by the British Rail Research Division in the late 1960s. The development was part of the investigation into the riding of vehicles and the interaction between wheel and rail.
Tracked Hovercraft was an experimental high-speed train developed in the United Kingdom during the 1960s. It combined two British inventions, the hovercraft and the linear induction motor, in an effort to produce a train system that would provide 250 mph (400 km/h) inter-city service with lowered capital costs compared to other high-speed solutions. Substantially similar to the French Aérotrain and other hovertrain systems of the 1960s, Tracked Hovercraft suffered a fate similar to those of the other projects when it was cancelled as a part of wide budget cuts in 1973.
A hovertrain is a type of high-speed train that replaces conventional steel wheels with hovercraft lift pads, and the conventional railway bed with a paved road-like surface, known as the track or guideway. The concept aims to eliminate rolling resistance and allow very high performance, while also simplifying the infrastructure needed to lay new lines. Hovertrain is a generic term, and the vehicles are more commonly referred to by their project names where they were developed. In the UK they are known as tracked hovercraft, in the US they are tracked air-cushion vehicles. The first hovertrain was developed by Jean Bertin in the early 1960s in France, where they were marketed as the Aérotrain before being abandoned by the French government.
↑ Semmens, Peter (1990). Speed On The East Coast Main Line: A Century and a Half of Accelerated Services. Patrick Stephens Ltd. p.235. ISBN0-85059-930-X.
↑ "Network Rail launches international arm". Railnews. 9 July 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2014. Transmark, which was the consultancy arm of the BR Research Division, was sold to Halcrow when the railways were privatised in the 1990s.
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