Brush Traction
Encyclopedia
Brush Motor Car Company
This article is about a USA auto-maker. For the British rail-locomotive company, see Brush TractionBrush Motor Company, or the "Brush Runabout Company," based in Detroit, Michigan, was founded by Alanson Partridge Brush , who designed a light car with a wooden chassis This article is about a USA...
Brush Traction is a manufacturer and maintainer of railway locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
s, part of the FKI
FKI
FKI is a British major engineering and manufacturing company headquartered in Loughborough, Leicestershire. For many years listed on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index, but it was taken private by buyout firm Melrose in July 2008....
group (now owned by Melrose plc
Melrose plc
Melrose plc is a leading British-based investment company specialising in the acquisition and performance improvement of under-performing businesses. It is headquartered in London and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...
), based at Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
in Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
situated alongside the Midland Main Line
Midland Main Line
The Midland Main Line is a major railway route in the United Kingdom, part of the British railway system.The present-day line links London St...
.
History
In 1865, Henry Hughes, who was a timber merchant engineer, began building horse-drawn tramcars and railway rolling stock at the Falcon Works in Loughborough. His first company was known as the Hughes's Locomotive & Tramway Engine Works Ltd. Records are very sparse, but it seems that he began producing steam locomotives about 1867 for the Paris Exhibition. His main business, however, was tram engines, lightweight steam engines (usually with condensersSteam locomotive condensing apparatus
A steam locomotive condensing apparatus differs in purpose from the usual closed cycle steam engine condenser, in that its function is primarily either to recover water, or to avoid excessive emissions to the atmosphere, rather than maintaining a vacuum to improve both efficiency and power...
) which drew passenger cars, made possible by the Tramways Act 1870
Tramways Act 1870
The Tramways Act 1870 was an important step in the development of urban transport in Britain. Street tramways had originated in the United States, and were introduced to Britain by George Francis Train in the 1860s, the first recorded installation being a short line from Woodside Ferry to...
. Among these was "The Pioneer" for the Swansea and Mumbles Railway. These were distinct from those tramcars where the boiler and mechanism was integral with the passenger car. Amongst the first steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
s built there was "Belmont", which ran on the Snailbeach District Railways
Snailbeach District Railways
Snailbeach District Railways was a British narrow gauge railway in Shropshire. It was built to carry lead ore from mines in the Stiperstones to Pontesbury where the ore was transshipped to the Great Western Railway's Minsterley branch line. Coal from the Pontesford coal mines travelled in the...
, and three gauge 0-4-0STs for the Corris Railway
Corris Railway
The Corris Railway is a narrow gauge preserved railway based in Corris on the border between Merionethshire and Montgomeryshire in Mid-Wales....
supplied in 1878. The Corris locomotives are said to have been works numbers 322, 323 and 324, implying that the tram vehicles and steam locomotives were included in a single numerical sequence.
In 1881 Hughes' built two gauge 0-4-0STs for the Liverpool Corporation Water Committee for use in the construction of the waterworks at Lake Vyrnwy
Lake Vyrnwy
Lake Vyrnwy Nature Reserve and Estate is an area of land in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales, surrounding the Victorian reservoir of Lake Vyrnwy. Its stone-built dam, built in the 1880s, was the first of its kind in the world. The Nature Reserve and the area around it are jointly managed by the Royal...
in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. In 1881 the company ran into legal problems and in 1882 it was in receivership. Hughes departed, soon after, for New Zealand, where in collaboration with local engineer E.W Mills, he built small tramway engines.
Late in 1882 the company reformed as the Falcon Engine & Car Works Ltd. and supplied three more locomotives of the same design for the railways at Vyrnwy. Again there are few records, but the factory remained busy with both railway and tramway locomotives and rolling stock. Among these were tank locomotive
Tank locomotive
A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of pulling it behind it in a tender. It will most likely also have some kind of bunker to hold the fuel. There are several different types of tank locomotive dependent upon...
s for Ireland, Spain and the Azores. Some were subcontracts from other firms, such as Kerr Stuart
Kerr Stuart
Kerr, Stuart and Company Ltd was a locomotive manufacturer from Stoke-on-Trent, England.-History:It was founded in 1881 by James Kerr as James Kerr & Company, and became Kerr, Stuart & Company from 1883 when John Stuart was taken on as a partner...
, at that time in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
.
In 1889 the assets were taken over by the Anglo-American Brush Electric Light Corporation, which had been set up as the British arm of Charles Francis Brush's Brush Electric Company in America. It then became known as the Brush Electrical Engineering Company.
Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors is a British automotive company owned by General Motors and headquartered in Luton. It was founded in 1857 as a pump and marine engine manufacturer, began manufacturing cars in 1903 and was acquired by GM in 1925. It has been the second-largest selling car brand in the UK for...
engine, although only six were built. One of these six featured in the film Carry on Screaming
Carry On Screaming
Carry On Screaming! is the twelfth Carry On film and was released in 1966. It was the last of the series to be distributed by Anglo-Amalgamated before the series moved to The Rank Organisation. It was originally rated in the UK as an 'A' , it is currently rated 'PG'...
. Nearly 100 buses, plus some lorries were built using French engines until 1907.
In all, about 250 steam locomotives were built in addition to the tram engines. Production finished after the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the company concentrated on transport-related electrical equipment, including tramcar
Tramcar
The Tramcar is a trackless train service running on the Boardwalk in the Cape May County, New Jersey communities of Wildwood and North Wildwood. The service, which began on June 11, 1949, takes passengers along the two-mile long Wildwood boardwalk...
s, trolleybus
Trolleybus
A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...
es and battery-operated vehicles.
During World War II, Brush Coachworks diversified into aircraft production, building 335 de Havilland Dominies
De Havilland Dragon Rapide
The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide was a British short-haul passenger airliner of the 1930s.-Design and development:Designed by the de Havilland company in late 1933 as a faster and more comfortable successor to the DH.84 Dragon, it was in effect a twin-engined, scaled-down version of the...
for the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
. Wing sections were built for Lancaster
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
bombers and Hampden
Handley Page Hampden
The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden was a British twin-engine medium bomber of the Royal Air Force serving in the Second World War. With the Whitley and Wellington, the Hampden bore the brunt of the early bombing war over Europe, taking part in the first night raid on Berlin and the first 1,000-plane...
fuselages were overhauled.
The coachworks continued after the war with omnibus bodies mounted on Daimler
Daimler Motor Company
The Daimler Motor Company Limited was an independent British motor vehicle manufacturer founded in London by H J Lawson in 1896, which set up its manufacturing base in Coventry. The right to the use of the name Daimler had been purchased simultaneously from Gottlieb Daimler and Daimler Motoren...
chassis using Gardner five-cylinder diesel engines and Daimler preselector gearbox
Preselector gearbox
A preselector or self-changing gearbox is a type of manual gearbox used on a variety of vehicles, most commonly in the 1930s...
es.
Close to Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
and its railway workshops
Derby Works
The Midland Railway Locomotive Works, known locally as "the loco" comprised a number of British manufacturing facilities in Derby building locomotives and, initially, rolling stock in Derby, UK.-Early days:...
, it retained its contacts with the railway and in 1947 joined with W. G. Bagnall to produce diesel locomotives. In 1951, the company Brush Bagnall Traction Limited was formed. When British Railways began to replace its fleet of steam engines, Brush entered the market for main line diesel-electric locomotives.
In 1957 it and Brush Electrical Machines
Brush Electrical Machines
Brush Electrical Machines is a manufacturer of large generators for gas turbine and steam turbine drive applications, based at Loughborough in Leicestershire, United Kingdom....
were bought up by Hawker Siddeley to become the Brush Electrical Engineering Company Limited. As part of Hawker Siddeley Electric Power Group it then passed to BTR plc and became Brush Traction.
It is now part of FKI
FKI
FKI is a British major engineering and manufacturing company headquartered in Loughborough, Leicestershire. For many years listed on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index, but it was taken private by buyout firm Melrose in July 2008....
Energy Technologies (owned, since 2008, by Melrose plc
Melrose plc
Melrose plc is a leading British-based investment company specialising in the acquisition and performance improvement of under-performing businesses. It is headquartered in London and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...
).
The locomotive works is still occupied by the Brush Traction Company and is in use for the building, overhaul and repair of locomotives.
On 28 February 2011, Wabtec
Wabtec
Wabtec Corporation is an American company formed by the merger of the Westinghouse Air Brake Company and MotivePower Industries Corporation in 1999....
announced it would purchase Brush Traction for US$31 million.
Locomotives
Brush manufactured various diesel and electric locomotives for the British railway network:- Class 31British Rail Class 31The British Rail Class 31 diesel locomotives, also known as the Brush Type 2 and originally as Class 30, were built by Brush Traction from 1957-62.- Description :...
"Brush Type 2" mixed-traffic diesel locomotive - Class 47British Rail Class 47The British Rail Class 47, is a class of British railway diesel-electric locomotive that was developed in the 1960s by Brush Traction. A total of 512 Class 47s were built at Crewe Works and Brush's Falcon Works, Loughborough between 1962 and 1968, which made them the most numerous class of British...
"Brush Type 4" mixed-traffic diesel locomotive (manufacture shared with BR) - Class 53British Rail Class 53British Rail assigned Class 53 to the single Brush Traction-built prototype locomotive Falcon. While not in any sense a failure, the design was the victim of advances in locomotive technology and was never duplicated.- History :The Falcon project began in 1959 to design a new, lightweight...
"Falcon" prototype diesel locomotive - Class 57British Rail Class 57The Class 57 diesel locomotives were introduced by Brush Traction between 1997-2004. They are rebuilds, with reconditioned EMD engines, of former Class 47 locomotives, originally introduced in 1964-5.- Description :...
re-engineered diesel locomotive (rebuilt from Class 47) - Class 60British Rail Class 60The British Rail Class 60 is a class of Co-Co heavy freight diesel-electric locomotives built by Brush Traction. They are nicknamed Tugs by Rail Enthusiasts.-History:...
heavy freight diesel locomotive - Class 89British Rail Class 89The Class 89 is a prototype design for an electric locomotive. Only one unit was built, no. 89001, which was officially named Avocet by the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on 16 January 1989 at Sandy, Bedfordshire - the home of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds...
prototype electric locomotive - Class 92British Rail Class 92The British Rail Class 92 is a dual-voltage electric locomotive which can run on 25 kV AC from overhead wires or 750 V DC from a third rail. It was designed specifically to operate services through the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France...
dual-voltage electric locomotive
It also manufactured the Eurotunnel Class 9
Eurotunnel Class 9
The Eurotunnel Class 9 or Class 9000 are a series of 6 axle high power Bo'Bo'Bo' single ended electric locomotives built by the Euroshuttle Locomotive Consortium of Brush Traction and ASEA Brown Boveri...
electric locomotives operated by Eurotunnel
Eurotunnel
Groupe Eurotunnel S.A. manages and operates the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France. The Company operates the car shuttle services and earns revenue on other trains passing through the tunnel...
through the Channel Tunnel
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
.
Brush Traction also manufactured locomotives for export:
- 800 bhp A1A-A1A main line diesel-electric locomotives for Ceylon in 1952 (Sri Lanka Railways M1)
- 1000 bhp Bo-Bo diesel-electric locomotives for Sri Lanka in 1981 (the M7 class)
- 1730 bhp Co-Co narrow gauge diesel-electric locomotives for Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 1963
- Various Bo-Bo diesel electric freight locomotives to Cuba, Tanzania, Gabon, Morocco
- Battery electric locomotives to Hong Kong
- EF classNZR EF classThe NZR EF class is a class of 22 25 kV AC electric locomotives that operate on the North Island Main Trunk between Palmerston North and Te Rapa in New Zealand...
heavy freight electric locomotive (New Zealand RailwaysRail transport in New ZealandRail transport in New Zealand consists of a network of gauge railway lines in both the North and South Islands. Rail services are focused primarily on freight, particularly bulk freight, with limited passenger services on some lines...
) - Class 18 shunter locomotives for Malayan Railways in 1978
They were also a major supplier of traction equipment to rapid transit systems, in particular London Underground and Docklands Light Railway in the UK, and to Canada and Taiwan. Traction equipment was also supplied to British Rail for various Electric Multiple Unit trains, the Class 43
British Rail Class 43 (HST)
The British Rail Class 43 is the TOPS classification used for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train power cars, built by BREL from 1975 to 1982....
HST diesel locomotive, similar equipment also being supplied to Comeng Australia in 1979, and the Class 56 and 58 Co-Co freight locomotives.
Surviving steam locomotives
- No. 3Sir Haydn (locomotive)Sir Haydn is a narrow gauge steam locomotive, built by Hughes' Locomotive & Tramway Engine Works Ltd of the Falcon Works, Loughborough in 1878. It operated on the Corris Railway in Wales, until closure in 1948, and since 1951 has operated on the nearby Talyllyn Railway...
, the third Hughes/Falcon locomotive supplied to the Corris RailwayCorris RailwayThe Corris Railway is a narrow gauge preserved railway based in Corris on the border between Merionethshire and Montgomeryshire in Mid-Wales....
, works number 323 (although incorporating parts from 324 and probably 322 as well) now runs on the neighbouring Talyllyn RailwayTalyllyn RailwayThe Talyllyn Railway is a narrow-gauge preserved railway in Wales running for from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was opened in 1866 to carry slate from the quarries at Bryn Eglwys to Tywyn, and was the first narrow gauge railway in Britain... - A standard gauge 0-4-0 saddle tank built by Brush Electrical Engineering is preserved at Snibston Discovery Park, Leicestershire
- A broad gauge (seven foot) saddle tank loco built at the Falcon Works survives in the AzoresAzoresThe Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
gauge locomotives Nos. 265 and 266 ex-Beria Railway, at the Phyllis Rampton TrustPhyllis Rampton TrustThe Phyllis Rampton Narrow Gauge Railway Trust is a British charity which is registered with the British Charity Commission as 292240 under the classification of "Education/TrainingEnvironment/Conservation/Heritage"... - Metre gauge Ex. F.C. Reus - Salou No. 3 0-4-0T Falcon ???/1886.
Preserved/stored at unknown location Salou, Spain
- Metre gauge Ex. F.C. Reus - Salou 0-4-0T No.6 Falcon 153/1888
Preserved in a public park in Cambrils near Salou.
- Metre gauge Ex. F.C. Reus – Salou No.5 'SALOU' 0-4-0T Falcon 118/1886.
Preserved at Reus, Spain.
- Metre gauge Ex. F.C. Olot -Gerona No.4 0-6-2T Builder: Falcon 281/1899.
Preserved at Reus.
Surviving diesel locomotives
Over 75 examples of Brush Traction built engines have been preserved, and can be seen at heritage railwayHeritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
s across the United Kingdom. Many more examples can still be seen in action today on the mainlines.
Preserved light rail/tramway vehicles
Preserved at Museum of Transport and TechnologyMuseum of Transport and Technology
The Museum of Transport and Technology is a museum located in Western Springs, Auckland, New Zealand. It is located close to the Western Springs Stadium, Auckland Zoo and the Western Springs Park. The museum has large collections of civilian and military aircraft and other land transport vehicles...
, Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, New Zealand:
- Auckland Electric Tramways Company, No.11 (1902) – double-bogie (Brush D2) saloon tram. Restored
- Auckland Electric Tramways Company, No.17 (1902) – double-bogie (Brush D2) double-decker tram. Unrestored.
- Auckland Electric Tramways Company, No.24 / No.26 (1902) – Privately preserved box cars bodies only, which originally resided on a Brush four wheel trucks. Unrestored.
- Auckland Electric Tramways Company, No.44 – (1906) AETCL built box car body which originally resided on a Brush four wheel truck. Retired 1931. Restored 2006 using a former Brussels 21E truck. Restored.
- Brush four wheel truck - copy of a 21e Brill. built for the NapierNapier, New ZealandNapier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighboring cities are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"...
Tramways, New Zealand. Tram number unknown. Tram bodies sold off 1931 after Napier Earthquake. Truck used subsequently as the running gear for a Saw Mill railway shunter. Does not have traction motors.
Other relics
- The large statue of a falcon from these works is now at the National Tramway MuseumNational Tramway MuseumThe National Tramway Museum, at Crich, in Derbyshire, England, is situated within Crich Tramway Village, a period village containing a pub, cafe, old-style sweetshop, including the tram depots. The village is also home to the Eagle Press, a small museum dedicated to Letterpress Printing including...
/ Crich Tramway VillageCrich Tramway VillageCrich Tramway Village is the recreated historic village that is the setting for the National Tramway Museum in Derbyshire. The village is set around a period street, with several re-built buildings from all over the country, including the facade of the former Assembly Rooms from Derby and the Red...
.
See also
- Associated British Oil Engine CompanyAssociated British Oil Engine CompanyThe Associated British Oil Engine Company was a British engineering company. It started life as a combine, similar to Agricultural & General Engineers. Petters Limited joined ABOE in 1937 . J&H McLaren & Co. was sold to ABOE in 1943, although it may have been a member from an earlier date...
- Brush-Barclay
- Brush TransformersBrush TransformersBrush Transformers are a company based in Loughborough, Leicestershire, they are a manufacturer of power transformers with a history stretching back over 120 years.-History:...
Sources
- Lowe, J.W., (1989) British Steam Locomotive Builders, Guild Publishing
- Marsden, C.J., Fenn, B.F., (1988) British Rail Main Line Diesel Locomotives, OPC
- Toms, G., (1978) Brush Diesel Locomotives 1940-78, TPC Turntable
- Toms, G., (1999) Brush Diesel & Electric Locomotive Works List, Industrial Railway Society
- Toms, G., (2009) Brush Diesel & Electric Locomotives 1940-2008 Vol 1 -1980, Venture Publications