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The Mighty Maglev re-appears...

B

bluet34

Brummie babby
Has anyone else noticed the Maglev carriage which has mysteriously materialised at the rear of the Holiday Inn Hotel on the A45? If you glance left as you pass the hotel (heading towards the airport) you will see it standing forlorn (and now covered in grafitti!) I would assume that all the undergrowth has been cut back or something demolished around it for it to suddenly appear as if by magic.

I have been onto Thinktank (science museum) and Wythall Transport Museum but neither of them want it.

I think it will be a crying shame if this part of Midlands manufacturing history is destroyed seeing as it was designed and built in the Midlands and was the first of it's kind in the world.

Comments?
 
Yes, The Mighty Maglev re-appears it does moving around my computer in my collection of photos!!!. Len. :D:D:D
 
When it first made its appearance I drove from
Leominster​
to Birmingham Airport so my youngest two grand kids could ride on it. Yet another invention taken up by others because
development​
was starved of cash.
 
Bluet34.
The remaining Maglev has always been parked there since they took it down, it has only appeared in view because they have cleared the ground, to get ready to build another Hotel, I pass it twice a day, I have always wondered if the Aston Motor Museum would be interested in it, no idea where the other went, one day there was two the next only one. passed it this afternoon and its not covered in graffiti, just dirt and grime, tomorrow I'll photograph it.
 
There is a car at the National Railway Museum York, I remember seeing it but cannot find a photo of it.
There also appears to be another car at Railworld Peterborough

Colin
 
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Can someone please post a googlemaps streetview of the wreck? I have tried from the info above but don't know the area and would like to see it
 
find the Holiday Inn at the entrance to the old Airport then pan over the back and it is on the edge of the big car park towards the back, side of Forward house
 
I couldn't and still can't find the holiday Inn...:blush: It doesn't appear to be where googlemaps think it is...
 
on google earth you will find that a number of wagons parked in the car park(no longer) and before the clearence it is on the edge near the hotel and cov road, there's also a space where the other was,
52-26'49.30"N,1-44'57.62"W
 
According to googlemaps and googleEarth that is Lungsod ng Caloocan, Philippines - think I'll wait for your photo, thanks
 
Not sure about where the green arrow points to but the Maglev track is on the opposite side of the airport, and shows a 2 car unit travelling along.

Colin
 
I worked on the Maglev at the Met blimey seems years ago it stands for magnetive levitation

Mau-reece
 
They now have cable driven Cars, built by a German company, the green arrow points to the remaining Maglev on blocks. They are bigger like two cars in one, still free to ride.
 
Nice pics - thanks for that Bobbyb - you'd think a transport museum would take them.... That's our history rotting away there
 
Thanks for this interesting thread. According to the excellent Wikipedia article, Maglev is still alive and well as a rail technology, a Japanese operation having reached a speed of 361 mph in 2003! A couple of quotes relevant to the Birmingham Airport installation:

"The first commercial Maglev 'people-mover' was officially opened in 1984 in Birmingham, England. It operated on an elevated 600-metre (2,000 ft) section of monorail track between Birmingham International Airport and Birmingham International railway station, running at speeds up to 42 km/h (26 mph); the system was eventually closed in 1995 due to reliability and design problems."

"One of the original cars is now on display at Railworld in Peterborough ..." [I'm not positive that this refers to one of the Birmingham cars, so I'll try to find out more.]

It's a bit sad that museums tend to always go for the "older" examples of technology for preservation. I suppose that this is because of limited budgets and a natural greater public interest in "old" versus "new". But a moment's reflection reveals that what is not so old now will be in years to come, so an enlightened museum policy would allocate a share of budget and resources to saving recently obsolescent examples. And there's the Birmingham Maglev car, being wasted as a storage shed or graffiti canvas, and just begging to be rescued for restoration and preservation. You would think that the Airport authorities would have more of an eye for their heritage.

I'm reminded of the city of Launceston here in Tasmania, which prides itself on its built heritage. There are many wonderful preserved buildings of the 19th century, whole streetscapes in fact. Yet fine examples of the 20th century "art deco" era (not to mention later decades) are frequently demolished in the name of "redevelopment". Groups like the National Trust can only do so much.

[OK, rave over! ;)]
 
A quick Google search confirms that Railworld (Peterborough) and NRM (York) have surviving Brum Maglev cars (but there don't appear to be any pictures on their websites).

Here are a few not very well documented flickr pictures: A, B, C, D.
 
This is a very poor view of the Peterborough one from Bing birds eye view. I saw it about 2 years ago and it was not in good condition
 
From your "birds eye view", Mike, it looks as though picture C linked to in post #24 was taken at Peterborough.
 
Thanks bobbyb, I had taken a couple of pics about a month ago too, the graffiti has only just appeared over the last week though :-(

I am gutted to think that it will soon be just scrapped somewhere if no museum wants it.
 
I may try Tyseley Rail Museum, I hadnt thought about them, am still trying to get a call thru to Aston Manor but I am not sure when there is actually anyone there
 
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