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Railway Manufacturers in the West Midlands

Heartland

Heartland

master brummie
There were few makers of locomotives in the Birmingham area. The most notable was the Birmingham Railway & Carriage Company at Smethwick and the Wolverhampton Workshops of the Great Western Railway. Other nearby makers included John Smith of Coven and W.G Bagnall at Stafford.

Some makers only made a few examples. They include Ellis & Ward whose steeple cab electric locomotive ended up on a Reservoir railway.
 
Hi,

Don't forget the Met.
I think the last locos they built were for Pakistan Railways. When I joined them in 1973
they had a couple of the locomotives on standby in case of expected power cuts,
to be used as generators.
The power cuts did not materialise, and the locos were shipped!

Kind regards
Dave
 
These clips are a bit hard to read, but the picture is from April 1915 and shows the Princess Christian Hospital Train. It is being sent to France and was built by the Birmingham Railway Carriage Company.

The write up mentions that one was built 15 years earlier and sent to South Africa. The next clip is from 1899 and gives the description. The third clip is from "The War" February 1915, mentioning that the first hospital train was manufactured in Birmingham and sent to the Sudan.

C0A6856C-8061-4BB7-8A8B-CD83831DB406.jpeg
1E617CA7-3AA9-48EA-96EF-5F287A2BCEE4.jpegC2405458-9D8B-4919-9BFE-5DB54FECDF89.jpeg76806DFC-2F22-47D4-A420-DD461C484AE7.jpeg
 
According to John Hyper's et al book on the company. the first ever hospital train was constructed by them in 1898 for the Boer War, and was 7 coaches . It was deconstructed fir transport to S.A and reassembled there. It was the first train to enter Ladysmith after the siege , but was eventually torched by the Boers, as they were convinced it was used to carry ammunition and weapons
 
Railway Museum...”The First World War saw casualties on an unprecedented scale. How were the railways used to get injured servicemen to safety—and treat them on the way?”

www.railwaymuseum.org.uk

Ambulance trains: Bringing the First World War home | National Railway Museum

With casualties on an unprecedented scale during the First World War, how were the railways used to get injured servicemen to safety—and treat them on the way?
www.railwaymuseum.org.uk www.railwaymuseum.org.uk
 
An interesting article from the NRM.

Ambulance Trains were of course, used this side of the Channel to transport the injured from the Southern ports to the London Hospitals (and beyond), there being no Motorway Network in place at that time and road transport would have been far more arduous.

The end of the First World War didn’t signal the end of ambulance trains—they were used during the Second World War and subsequent conflicts, right up to the end of the Cold War.
Click to expand...

I am involved in restoring a BR Mk1 coach that had an Ambulance Compartment. These [the Mk1's] were built between 1951 and 1963 - so, long after WW11. On the Compartment side it has an inward opening window through which up to two stretchers could be accomodated onto the seats. On the corridor side is located an 'extra' door through which stretchers could be loaded/unloaded.

The operation of the 'window' is of interest in that in order for it to be released from the inside, a 'T' key is required to release the locks from the outside. Hence, when used in a normal manner, the [compartment] passengers would be unable to release the mechanism. I believe we may still need to manufacture some parts for these locks.

The intention is to get the this particular compartment fully functional for demonstration/educational purposes, where it will join only 2 or 3 surviving working examples of this style of vehicle.

I still need to work out some sort of rubber gasket between the inward opening window, and the window frame, to prevent water ingress.:confused: I've got some ideas regarding materials and [modern] adhesives.;)

This particular Carriage is privately owned and has been waiting in the 'Restoration queue' for some 23 years. (We work fast, us do.:))

A couple of years ago, I noticed that on the NRM (National Railways Museum) circulation, their 'Disposals List' showed a collapsible canvas stretcher.

Ideal, as an accompanyment for this vehicle. I informed the owner, and he collected same.

Another group (with which I have no involvement) has been working on what I believe, in GWR terms, is called a Syphon B. A much earlier wooden bodied four wheeled vehicle. My understanding is that it was built as a ventilated vehicle to carry milk. Later, [War time] some were converted to carry stretchers. I believe the ultimate aim is to preserve the vehicle in such a way as to demonstrate both functions.
 
I seem to remember that the Rail Museum at York had a coach set up as an ambulance coach . I think it would be for the centenary of the beginning of WW1
 
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