2015-03-07 - Thinktank - Sasha Taylor - 228

The Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company (BRC&W) was a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

locomotive and carriage builder, founded in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and, for most of its existence, located at nearby Smethwick, with the

factory A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. ...

divided by the boundary between the two places. The company was established in 1854.

Production

BRC&W made not only carriages and wagons, but a range of

vehicle A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), ...

s, from aeroplanes and

military glider Military gliders (an offshoot of common gliders) have been used by the militaries of various countries for carrying troops ( glider infantry) and heavy equipment to a combat zone, mainly during the Second World War. These engineless aircraft wer ...

s to

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

es,

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...

es and

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...

s. Nevertheless, it is as a builder of railway rolling stock that the company is best remembered, exporting to most parts of the new and old worlds. It supplied vehicles to all four of the pre-nationalisation "big four" railway companies ( LMS, SR,

LNER LNER may refer to: * London and North Eastern Railway, a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1923 until 1947 * London North Eastern Railway, a train operating company in the United Kingdom since 2018 * Liquid neutral earthing resistor, a typ ...

and GWR), British Rail, Pullman (some of which are still in use) and

Wagons-Lits Newrest Wagons-Lits, formerly (lit. ''International Sleeping-Car Company''), also CIWL, Compagnie des Wagons-Lits, or just Wagons-Lits, is a division of particularly known for its on-train catering and sleeping car services, as well as being ...

, plus overseas railways with diverse requirement including

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

, Malaya,

Mandate Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

and

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. The company even built, in 1910,

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

's presidential coach, which still survives, and once carried

Eva Perón María Eva Duarte de Perón (; ; 7 May 1919 – 26 July 1952), better known as just Eva Perón or by the nickname Evita (), was an Argentine politician, activist, actress, and philanthropist who served as First Lady of Argentina from June 19 ...

. Before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the company had built steam-, petrol- and diesel-powered

railcar A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a dri ...

s for overseas customers, not to mention bus bodies for

Midland Red Midland RedCompanies House extract company no 82681
Midland Re ...

, and afterwards developed more motive power products, including BR's Class 26, Class 33 (both diesel) and Class 81 (electric) locomotives. Examples of all three types are preserved.

Wartime production

The company built hospital trains during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

. Handley Page Type O bombers and Airco DH.10 Amienss were built in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. During World War 2, the company had a major impact on tank production as one of the many companies building the A10 Cruiser tank,

Valentine tank The Tank, Infantry, Mk III, Valentine was an infantry tank produced in the United Kingdom during World War II. More than 8,000 of the type were produced in eleven marks, plus various specialised variants, accounting for approximately a quarter ...

Churchill tank The Tank, Infantry, Mk IV (A22) Churchill was a British infantry tank used in the Second World War, best known for its heavy armour, large longitudinal chassis with all-around tracks with multiple bogies, its ability to climb steep slopes, a ...

, Cromwell tank and

Challenger tank There have been four tanks named Challenger in British military service. * Cruiser Mk VIII Challenger in service during World War II * Challenger 1 in service from the mid-1980s to early 21st century * Challenger 2 in service from 1998 onwards ...

)., p.88 They led the design and production of the Cromwell tank in liaison with Rolls-Royce and Rover on the Meteor engine. The company also built Hamilcar gliders in 1939-1945.

Locomotives

Some of the locomotives and multiple units built by the company are listed below:

Diesel Locomotives

* 14

Commonwealth Railways NSU class The Commonwealth Railways NSU class was a class of diesel-electric locomotives built in 1954 and 1955 by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company, England, for the Commonwealth Railways for use on the narrow-gauge Central Australia Rai ...

in 1954. Works number DEL1-14 * 5 similar locos for Sierra Leone Development Corporation in 1954 (works number DEL 15-19), plus one more in 1962. (work number DEL259) * 12 Córas Iompair Éireann 101 class in 1956–1957 (works numbers DEL20-31) * 13 locos for Ghana Railway And Harbours Administration (works numbers DEL32-44) * 47

British Rail Class 26 The British Rail Class 26 diesel locomotives, also known as the BRCW Type 2, were built by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company (BRCW) at Smethwick in 1958-59. Forty seven examples were built, and the last were withdrawn from serv ...

in 1958–1959 (works numbers DEL45-91) * 98

British Rail Class 33 The British Rail Class 33, also known as the BRCW Type 3 or Crompton, is a class of Bo-Bo diesel-electric locomotives, ordered in 1957 and built for the Southern Region of British Railways between 1960 and 1962. They were produced as a more po ...

in 1960–1962 (works numbers DEL92-189) * 69

British Rail Class 27 British Rail's Class 27 comprised 69 diesel locomotives built by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company (BRCW) during 1961 and 1962. They were a development of the earlier Class 26; both were originally classified as the BRCW Type ...

in 1961–1962 (works numbers DEL190-258) * 1

British Rail D0260 D0260, named ''Lion'', was a prototype Type 4 mainline diesel-electric locomotive built in 1962 by a consortium of Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company, Sulzer the engine maker and Associated Electrical Industries, at BRCW's Smethwick ...

''Lion'' in 1962 (works number DEL260)

Electric Locomotives

* British Rail Class 81

Diesel Multiple Units

British Rail Class 104 The British Rail Class 104 diesel multiple units were built by Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company from 1957 to 1959. A product of British Rail's Modernisation Plan of 1954, the 104s were designed for general branch line and commuter ...

British Rail Class 110 The Class 110 diesel multiple units were built by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company in conjunction with the Drewry Car Co. to operate services on the former Lancashire and Yorkshire main line. They originally entered service uni ...

(with

Drewry Car Co. The Drewry Car Co was a railway locomotive and railcar manufacturer and sales organisation from 1906 to 1984. At the start and the end of its life it built its own products, for the rest of the time it sold vehicles manufactured by sub-contract ...

) * British Rail Class 118 * Egypt State Railways 3 & 5 Car Railcars

Electric Multiple Units

* London Underground 1923 Tube Stock * London Underground 1938 Tube Stock * London Underground 1956 Tube Stock * London Underground 1962 Tube Stock The order was transferred to

Metro-Cammell Metro-Cammell, formally the Metropolitan Cammell Carriage and Wagon Company (MCCW), was an English manufacturer of railway carriages, locomotives and railway wagons, based in Saltley, and subsequently Washwood Heath, in Birmingham. Purchased ...

owing to the financial problems at BRCW. * London Underground CO/CP Stock * London Underground R47 Stock *

London Underground T Stock The T Stock was a series of electric trains originally built in various batches by Metropolitan-Vickers and the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company for the Metropolitan Railway in 1927–31 for use on electric services from Baker St ...

* LMS/BR Wirral & Mersey Class 503

Closure

In the years before 1963, the company had built an extensive number of locomotives, diesel multiple unit trains, and

Underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground ...

cars, but it then became apparent that fewer rolling stock orders were to be expected, and the company restructured itself as an industrial landlord and financing business. The self-funded main line locomotive prototype '' Lion'' was a particular disappointment. Powered by a Sulzer diesel engine, it was pitted against another self-funded prototype, ''

Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

'', built by Brush at

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second large ...

, which had twin

Maybach Maybach (, ) is a German luxury car brand that exists today as a part of Mercedes-Benz. The original company was founded in 1909 by Wilhelm Maybach and his son Karl Maybach, originally as a subsidiary of ''Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH'', and ...

engines. After trials, British Railways preferred the BRCW approach, but ordered them to be built by

Brush Traction Brush Traction is a manufacturer and maintainer of railway locomotives in Loughborough, England. It is a subsidiary of Wabtec. History Hughes's Locomotive & Tramway Engine Works Henry Hughes had been operating at the Falcon Works since t ...

, and they became British Rail Class 47.

Preserved BRCW Locomotive + Units

References

{{Authority control Defunct companies based in Birmingham, West Midlands Manufacturing companies based in Birmingham, West Midlands Companies based in Smethwick Rail transport in the West Midlands (county) British companies established in 1854 Manufacturing companies established in 1854 1854 establishments in England British companies disestablished in 1963 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1963 1963 disestablishments in England