Let's Make A Train (1)

Oh? Output Of Oodles Of Owners!

Litchurch Lane is an unassuming turn off Osmaston Road, not too far from the centre of Derby.

It used to be a convenient "rat run" to get you across to London Road; the Lane is seen on the map below as the yellow wiggly bit!

Sadly for the rats, they can no longer run, as the London Road end has been blocked off and this bit of the Lane is now a footpath only.

The building of the new London Road bridge ...

... was the excuse to deprive knowledgeble commuters of this vital short cut.

But Litchurch Lane has a metaphorical bogie brake van packed full of history.

When, in 1840, the North Midland Railway, the Midland Counties Railway and the Birmingham and Derby Railway merged to form the Midland Railway, it was natural that Derby would become the company's headquarters. Not only that, it would be the site for its locomotive works and, later, for its carriage and wagon works.

This fbb edited map pulls it all together.

The Midland's two main lines (RED) split at Derby with one going to Birmingham and Bristol and the other to Leicester and London. To the north of the London tracks was developed the Loco works. It was huge.

It made loadsa locos.

Between London Road and Osmaston Road, the Wagon and Carriage Works was developed. It was equally huge.

There is very little left of the loco works today, being handed over to light industry and housing. But the carriage works remains and is still producing carriages!

Passenger coaches are no longer built on a massive steel underframe ...

... with a wooden frame for the body ...

... and wood for the cladding.

Later, the cladding and then the frame became steel; and the railway carriage that many of us know and loved evolved.

Progress To Privatisation?

The carriage works became part of The London Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923 when the national railways were grouped into five giant companies. The Midland had merged with the London and North Western company, but the Derby operation remained firmly in place. The business transferred to British Railways on nationalisation from 1st January 1948.

In 1970 an independent company as created to run the former BR engineering works. British Rail Engineering Limited had a variety of logos ...

... the latter name was used for the privatised version which was bought by Asea Brown Boveri in 1992.

In 1996 the works became part of Adtranz.

In 2001 Adtranz was taken over by Bombardier ...

... pronounced Bombard - ee - eh and not Bombard - eer as we might say in English military terminology. 

The game of musical carriage works was completed (for the time being??) when Bombardier was taken over by Alstom in 2021.

A reminder, for those who may have forgotten, that the "TOM" of Alstom derives from British Thomson-Houston, a large former UK electrical engineering company.

So a toddle down Litchurch Lane would bring you to a simple sign ...

... and the main entrance to Alstom Derby.

A wander further along the lane reveals another barriered entrance ...

... and, in the far distance, a couple of rail vehicles that the works has just completed.

And here is a video of the Aventra Class 720.

And it is to these trains that we shall turn in tomorrow's possibly abbreviated blog.

Yesterdays Fellowship meeting went well and the coconut and raspberry tarts were wolfed down with gusto.

But not that sort of "Gusto". It's a brand of "organic" cola!

Same again at 1500 today!

Pre Christmas Bargain From Aldi

Who could refuse such a generous offer?

 Next Train Making blog : Tuesday 3rd Sept