Clayton Equipment Company

Last updated

Clayton Equipment Ltd
IndustryLocomotive Construction
Founded1931;92 years ago (1931)
Derbyshire, England, U.K.
Headquarters
Burton Upon Trent
,
United Kingdom
Website claytonequipment.co.uk

Clayton Equipment Company Ltd, now known simply as Clayton Equipment Ltd or CEC and CEL, is a locomotive construction company that specialises in rail equipment, design and build, tunnelling, mining, metro, mainline and shunter locomotives.

Contents

Inception

Clayton Equipment Ltd was preceded by Clayton Wagons Ltd., a subsidiary company of Clayton & Shuttleworth based in Lincoln, England. As well as railway rolling stock, Clayton Wagons also constructed motive power such as steam-powered railcars, including one of only two steam railcars to operate in New Zealand. [1]

In February 1930, Clayton Wagons Ltd. went into receivership and its Chief Draughtsman incorporated the Clayton Equipment Company Ltd in 1931 to continue supplying spare parts and maintenance for Clayton's products. [2] Founded in 1931 by Stanley Reid Devlin with an authorised share capital of £1000 shares of £1 each. These shares were all owned by Devlin and his wife who formed the company and were sole Directors. The Clayton Equipment Company Ltd, as it was known then, began life as a single person operating manufacturing goods and spares parts for Clayton carriage and Wagon equipment.

Growth, acquisition, and independence

D8574, a British Rail Class 17 locomotive built by Clayton. D8574 at Glasgow.jpg
D8574, a British Rail Class 17 locomotive built by Clayton.

After World War II, Clayton Equipment Ltd experienced significant growth as it acted as a subcontractor of International Combustion, constructing various products such as farming equipment and industrial conveyors in response to a post-War shortage. The expansion necessitated the acquisition of new premises Record Works in Hatton, Derbyshire, and in 1957, Clayton Equipment was acquired by International Combustion Ltd. [3] The site in Hatton had produced battery and Diesel powered generator sets for the Post Office, Flax Drying, a Glass Works and a stores for military equipment. The works covered an area of approximately 1.5 acres (0.61 ha) of which 0.5 acres (0.20 ha) was utilised for factory space, drawing and general office, stores, etc. 550,000 sq ft (51,000 m2) of this land was rented under a yearly tenancy agreement from the Railway Executive at a cost of £30 per year.

One of the first orders obtained was for 13 flame proof 10-tonne (9.8-long-ton; 11-short-ton)50 hp (37 kW) battery locomotives for the Polish coalmines through a Polish company called Centrazap.

British Rail, as part of its dieselisation scheme, contracted Clayton Equipment Ltd to supply eighty-eight diesel-electric locomotives (what would later be known as the BR Class 17), and other orders were fulfilled for international customers from nations as diverse as Australia, Korea, Cuba and Poland. [4] A £5 million contract by British Railways for 88 mainline diesel electric locomotives followed during the same year, supplemented by 1.75 million order for ten 2,500 hp (1,900 kW) models that were exported to Cuba was obtained whilst, at the time, the company sales, particularly of mining and tunnelling locomotives, which were primarily for the export market, also continued to rise. The Cuban locomotives were based on the Brush Type 4 locomotives also been built at the same time. [5] In 1962, a decision was made by the National Coal Board (NCB) that all pit ponies were to be removed from mines in the United Kingdom. The NCB expressed an interest in using small locomotives to help remove material from their pits. Clayton Equipment supplied a number of these machines which were put into service, before being asked to develop a locomotive that could negotiate steeper gradients. Clayton Equipment designed and manufactured a special rubber-tyred locomotive of especially small size to work in mines, and this became one of its most popular products. It was mainly supplied to British mines, but as the British mining industry went into sharp decline, Clayton was required to promote its product heavily to international customers to retain a sustainable level of business. A major marketing drive to expand into overseas territories and diversification into the tunnelling and construction sectors was essential. This provided to be a huge success, and today over 90% of equipment is produced for the export market.

Mr S R Devlin retired from the company in 1965. After a number of changes of ownership at higher levels, during which time Clayton Equipment Ltd established itself as a market leader in underground rail haulage solutions. International Combustion was acquired by Clarke Chapman Ltd of Gateshead in 1974 and in 1979 the organisation merged with Reyrolle Parsons of Newcastle, manufacturer of large steam turbines for power stations, etc., to form a new company called Northern Engineering Industries which at one stage employed in the region of 35,000 people. Ten years later, Northern Engineering Industries (NEI) was acquired by Rolls-Royce as part of a strategy to diversify its product line into industrial power, and Clayton Equipment became a part of the Rolls-Royce Industrial Power Group in 1989. In 1994 Rolls-Royce divested itself of the remaining companies within the Northern Engineering Industries Mining Equipment Group, retaining only Clayton Equipment. Consequently, the company was put under the control of Rolls-Royce Materials Handling based at Gateshead and then later Rolls-Royce Industrial Businesses in Derby. It nonetheless retained a significant measure of autonomy, and in March 2005, it became an independent company again. [2]

Clayton Equipment Ltd today

Much of the company's orders now come from overseas, from countries such as Ireland and Russia. [2] The company's main products are locomotives for Shunting, mainline railways, tunnelling, and underground mining. Power sources include battery-electric, battery hybrid and Diesel. It also provides a special design and build service; tunnel drilling machines, cable handlers, overhauling or upgrading existing equipment, converting from old Diesel to clean battery locomotives and training services. [6]

Four new 75 hp battery powered locomotives named Walter, Lou, Anne and Kitty were built by Clayton Equipment in Derby to haul materials and plant along the line during the closure of the Waterloo & City line. These have since been reused on the East London Line.

Clayton Equipment remain the only UK locomotive manufacturer that can design locomotives from 2 tonne to 135 tonne. Recent advances include the world's first EU Stage IV Diesel locomotives for use on 100 km Crossrail project, used to run trains for the installation of track, cable management systems, cross passage doors, ventilation, walkways, drainage, fire mains and lighting (Elizabeth Line in London). The world's longest construction train for use on the ElecLink project in the Channel Tunnel, to simultaneously drill 144 holes into the concrete tunnel lining, and to lift and place 24 steel beams onto the tunnel wall. Over 500 meters long, travelling speed of 90 km/h and extend outside of gauge when in working mode. Drilled over 32,000 holes, lift and place over 8,000 30 kg support brackets, lift and place over 8,000 350 kg steel beams, emission free, 1,740 kWh, on-board battery power supply, mass of over 528 tonnes and HEPA filtered clean rooms, with controlled temperature 20 °C and humidity (<50Rh).

Conversion of ten maintenance Diesel locomotives to zero emission battery locomotives, complete with on-board charging for London Underground. Operating from both the on-board traction battery and the 3rd/4th rail supply retaining the existing chassis, cab, brakes and axles to reduce compliance issues. Retaining the existing driver controls to keep driver familiarity and reduce training demands with sufficient battery power to undertake 1 day's full duty cycle. Hauling up to 240 tonnes up and down a 1:30 gradient, and travel up to 49 km/h, increasing the mass from 34 to 40 tonnes.

The UK's largest locomotives built in the UK since 2003 (a fleet of 90 tonne, battery hybrid Bo-Bo locomotives for Tata Steel, Port Talbot) Power is delivered by the traction battery and 416 kW maintenance free, high torque electric motors. The locomotive is self-contained, with on-board battery charging from a low emission, EU Stage V compliant Diesel engine. The locomotive design offers high torque, high haulage capability with over 300 kN tractive effort, delivering the 2,500 tonne loads safely across the Port Talbot works, operating on their maximum gradient of 1;60 (1.7%).

The supply of two Clayton battery-diesel 80 tonne locomotives will enable Sellafield Ltd to realise significant commercial benefits from reduced operation and maintenance costs. Additional benefits from their investment in greener technology include reduced emissions from the cleanest diesel engines, a reduced carbon footprint, reduced noise levels, greater haulage capacity and increased reliability.

An agreed contract with Beacon Rail Leasing for the supply of 15 innovative Clayton battery-diesel 90 tonne locomotives along with options for a period of three years.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Locomotive</span> Self-propelled railway vehicle

A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the use of these self-propelled vehicles is increasingly common for passenger trains, but rare for freight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Switcher</span> Small locomotive intended for assembling trains

A switcher or shunter, is a type of small locomotive used for maneuvering railway vehicles over short distances. Switchers do not usually move trains over long distances, instead they typically assemble trains in order for another locomotive to take over. Switchers often operate in a railyard or make short transfer runs. They may serve as the primary motive power on short branch lines or switching and terminal railroads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric locomotive</span> Locomotive powered by electricity

An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as diesel engines or gas turbines, are classed as diesel-electric or gas turbine-electric and not as electric locomotives, because the electric generator/motor combination serves only as a power transmission system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GE Transportation</span> American railroad rolling stock manufacturer

GE Transportation is a division of Wabtec. It was known as GE Rail and owned by General Electric until sold to Wabtec on February 25, 2019. The organization manufactures equipment for the railroad, marine, mining, drilling and energy generation industries. The company was founded in 1907. It is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, while its main manufacturing facility is located in Erie, Pennsylvania. Locomotives are assembled at the Erie plant, while engine manufacturing takes place in Grove City, Pennsylvania. In May 2011, the company announced plans to build a second locomotive factory in Fort Worth, Texas, which opened in January 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stationary engine</span>

A stationary engine is an engine whose framework does not move. They are used to drive immobile equipment, such as pumps, generators, mills or factory machinery, or cable cars. The term usually refers to large immobile reciprocating engines, principally stationary steam engines and, to some extent, stationary internal combustion engines. Other large immobile power sources, such as steam turbines, gas turbines, and large electric motors, are categorized separately.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Railway electrification</span> The conversion of railways to use electricity for propulsion

Railway electrification is the use of electric power for the propulsion of rail transport. Electric railways use either electric locomotives, electric multiple units or both. Electricity is typically generated in large and relatively efficient generating stations, transmitted to the railway network and distributed to the trains. Some electric railways have their own dedicated generating stations and transmission lines, but most purchase power from an electric utility. The railway usually provides its own distribution lines, switches, and transformers.

Brush Traction was a manufacturer and maintainer of railway locomotives in Loughborough, England whose operations have now been merged into the Wabtec company’s Doncaster UK operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MTU Friedrichshafen</span> Commercial internal combustion engine manufacturer

MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH is a German manufacturer of commercial internal combustion engines founded by Wilhelm Maybach and his son Karl Maybach in 1909. Wilhelm Maybach was the technical director of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG), a predecessor company of the German multinational automotive corporation Daimler AG, until he left in 1907. On 23 March 1909, he founded the new company, Luftfahrzeug-Motorenbau GmbH, with his son Karl Maybach as director. A few years later the company was renamed to Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH, which originally developed and manufactured diesel and petrol engines for Zeppelins, and then railcars. The Maybach Mb.IVa was used in aircraft and airships of World War I.

Diesel locomotives have seen limited use on the London Underground, largely because exhaust gases cannot be discharged when the vehicles are working in tunnels. A prototype diesel engine numbered DEL120 was built in 1939 from two 1915 stock motor cars, which was expected to be part of a batch of ten, but experience with battery locomotives showed that these were a better alternative. Three 0-6-0 diesels (DL81-DL83) were obtained in 1971, to replace the last steam engines, but were too short to operate the signalling system, and too heavy for some of the bridges. In 1996, fourteen diesels were supplied by Schöma of Germany, which were used during the construction of the Jubilee line tunnels. They were fitted with exhaust scrubbers, to enable them to work in the tunnels. To speed up track renewals on the subsurface lines, Class 66 locomotives have been hired in since 2006 to handle permanent way trains, but again suffer from being too heavy for some of the bridges. Because they are not fitted with tripcock safety devices, and pull trains much longer than the signalling system is designed for, they are restricted to slow speed running.

Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Highly diversified, it was particularly well known for its industrial electrical equipment such as generators, steam turbines, switchgear, transformers, electronics and railway traction equipment. Metrovick holds a place in history as the builders of the first commercial transistor computer, the Metrovick 950, and the first British axial-flow jet engine, the Metropolitan-Vickers F.2. Its factory in Trafford Park, Manchester, was for most of the 20th century one of the biggest and most important heavy engineering facilities in Britain and the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crossley</span> British internal combustion engine manufacturer

Crossley, based in Manchester, United Kingdom, was a pioneering company in the production of internal combustion engines. Since 1988 it has been part of the Rolls-Royce Power Engineering group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Rail Class 17</span>

The British Rail Class 17 was a class of 117 Bo-Bo diesel-electric locomotives built 1962–1965 by Clayton Equipment Company and their sub-contractor Beyer, Peacock & Co., on behalf of British Railways (BR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Underground battery-electric locomotives</span>

London Underground battery-electric locomotives are battery locomotives used for hauling engineers' trains on the London Underground network where they can operate when the electric traction current is switched off. The first two locomotives were built in 1905 for the construction of the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway, and their success prompted the District Railway to buy two more in 1909, which were the only ones built to the loading gauge of the subsurface lines. Following this, a number of battery vehicles were built by converting redundant motor cars, with the batteries placed in the unused passenger compartment. One exception to this was made by the City and South London Railway, who used a trailer car to hold the batteries, and wired them to a separate locomotive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric multiple unit</span> Electric train with no locomotive

An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages. An EMU is usually formed of two or more semi-permanently coupled carriages, but electrically powered single-unit railcars are also generally classed as EMUs. The great majority of EMUs are passenger trains, but versions also exist for carrying mail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Hudson (company)</span>

Robert Hudson Ltd was a major international supplier of light railway materials, based in Gildersome, near Leeds, England. The name was later changed to Robert Hudson (Raletrux) Ltd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steam wagon</span>

A steam wagon is a steam-powered truck for carrying freight. It was the earliest form of lorry (truck) and came in two basic forms: overtype and undertype, the distinction being the position of the engine relative to the boiler. Manufacturers tended to concentrate on one form or the other.

The Rolls-RoyceC range was a series of in-line 4, 6 and 8 cylinder diesel engines used in small railway locomotives, construction vehicles, marine and similar applications. They were manufactured by the Rolls-Royce Oil Engine Division headed by W. A. Robotham to 1963, initially at Derby and later at Shrewsbury, from the 1950s through to 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mine railway</span> Type of railway

A mine railway, sometimes pit railway, is a railway constructed to carry materials and workers in and out of a mine. Materials transported typically include ore, coal and overburden. It is little remembered, but the mix of heavy and bulky materials which had to be hauled into and out of mines gave rise to the first several generations of railways, at first made of wooden rails, but eventually adding protective iron, steam locomotion by fixed engines and the earliest commercial steam locomotives, all in and around the works around mines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Rail Class 93 (Stadler)</span> British railway locomotive

The British Rail Class 93 is a tri-mode locomotive being built by Stadler Rail in Valencia. They will be an evolution of the Class 88 bi-mode locomotives which were built by Stadler for Direct Rail Services. Three different power sources will be used to power the locomotive – 4,000 kW (5,400 hp) 25 kV AC overhead electric power, or a 900 kW (1,200 hp) diesel engine supplemented by a 400 kW (540 hp) battery – allowing the locomotive to be used on both electrified and non-electrified lines.

The British Rail Class 18 is a class of hybrid locomotives designed and built by the British railway locomotive manufacturer Clayton Equipment Company in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. It has also been referred to as the CBD90 Hybrid+ by Clayton and private railway customers.

References

  1. Ruddock J.G. and Pearson R.E.(1989) Clayton Wagons Ltd.: Manufacturers of Railway Carriages and Wagons 1920-30 Ruddock, Lincoln
  2. 1 2 3 "Our Story". claytonequipment.co.uk. Clayton Equipment. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  3. "International Combustion". Grace's Guide. 5 September 2013. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  4. Carr, Richard (12 December 2013). "Paxman and Diesel Rail Traction: ZH Traction Applications". Paxman History Pages. Archived from the original on 10 August 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  5. "Cuba: 12LVA24 powered express locomotives". derbysulzers.com. 26 June 2010. Archived from the original on 16 September 2011. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  6. "Clayton". Clayton Equipment. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2014.