Wolverton railway works

Wolverton Railway Works
Wolverton Railway Works
	View northward ca. 1954, outside the Carriage Works. The locomotives are ex-LNWR 'Special' 2F 0-6-0 saddle-tanks, Carriage Dept.; Nos. 3, 6 and 7.
General information
Status	In use
Town or city	Wolverton, Milton Keynes
Country	England
Coordinates	52°03′47″N 0°48′58″W / 52.063°N 0.816°W
Construction started	1836
Completed	1838
Client	London and Birmingham Railway
Design and construction
Other designers	Edward Bury

Wolverton railway works, known locally as Wolverton Works or just The Works, was established in

Wolverton, Buckinghamshire, by the London and Birmingham Railway Company in 1838 at the midpoint of the 112-mile-long (180-kilometre) route from London to Birmingham. The line was developed by Robert Stephenson following the great success of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway

line.

The

Wolverton to Newport Pagnell Line (a branch line), respectively. The trams were also hauled by steam locomotives: the tram cars were certainly the largest ever in the UK and possibly the world. In modern times, Wolverton railway works remains notable as the home of the British Royal Train

but otherwise is very much reduced from its heyday.

As of 2013 [update], the facility is much reduced: a full-scale train maintenance, repairs and refurbishment works is operated at the western end of the site, the central area is derelict but slated for redevelopment, the eastern end is a Tesco store with canal-side housing development at the extreme eastern end.

History

Foundation

Old Wolverton railway works with Stephenson bridge, adjoins and crosses the Grand Union Canal

The 1833 Act of Parliament approving the London and Birmingham Railway included a clause that specified that a railway works be built around the mid-point, as it was considered scientifically unsafe at the time for railway locomotives to move more than 50 miles (80 km) without further inspection. After surveying all possible sites, Wolverton was chosen due to its co-location alongside the wharfing facilities of the Grand Union Canal, thereby also enabling the railway company to gain an easy agreement to build a viaduct over the canal company's land at this point.^[1]

The actual site was selected in October 1836 by Edward Bury, an engineer and locomotive manufacturer of Liverpool, who had been appointed in May 1836 as contractor for working the company's trains. Under this arrangement, the company would provide locomotives to Bury's specification while he would maintain them in good repair and convey passengers and goods at a rate per person, per ton and per mile, at a speed not exceeding 22.5 mph (36.2 km/h). Seven manufacturers, including Bury's firm, supplied the original stock of engines. Because of the unforeseen demand for increased speed, this contract for working the line was annulled in July 1839; thereafter Bury was employed as the manager of the locomotive department on a salary, with a profits bonus.^[2]^{[verification needed]}

Locomotive works

At first, the works was used for the maintenance and repair of locomotives purchased from outside firms. Two locomotives were built there in 1845 and 1846, and another in 1848, but following enlargement of the buildings and increased facilities, they were turned out in quantity. In total, 166 locomotives were built at Wolverton. These included three varieties of the 2-2-2 LNWR Bloomer Class, 86 of the Wolverton Express Goods 0-6-0 and four varieties of 0-4-2.^[2]

In 1846, the London and Birmingham became part of the London and North Western Railway (LNWR); Bury resigned in 1847 and was succeeded by James E. McConnell as locomotive superintendent of the LNWR Southern Division. An innovative engineer who during his tenure experimented with hollow axles, rubber springs, brakes working on the rails, and elaborate boilers and fireboxes, but perhaps his greatest claim to fame is the 2-2-2 Bloomer type of 1851, which was closely based on a Bury design. A total of seventy-four were built in three classes between 1851 and 1862, similar in design and layout but different in dimensions. In 1861 the cost-conscious Richard Moon was appointed Chairman of the LNWR, and became very critical of McConnell; after the Board passed a motion of censure on him, McConnell was obliged to resign in March 1862.^[2]

In 1862, Moon drove through a policy that Crewe would become the sole locomotive manufacturing centre for the LNWR, and so the last of the 166 Wolverton-built locomotives left the works in September 1863.^[1]

Carriage works

Having retained its maintenance role, in 1865 Wolverton was designated as the LNWR Carriage Works, eventually becoming the largest carriage works in the UK. Initially Wolverton produced numbers of 27 feet 6 inches (8.38 m) six-wheel carriages on a rigid wheelbase. In 1873, a sleeper service was introduced to Glasgow, and in 1875 to Liverpool and Holyhead. The carriages for these were again three-axle, limited it is said, to 32 feet (9.8 m) by the traverser in the Euston carriage sheds. This remained the pattern for many years, though some used Webb's patent "radial truck".

The 1880s saw the introduction of first-class

twin-car sets with an interconnecting gangway. The 1881 sleeping cars

for the Irish Mail were of this form, and in 1889 some of the first-class twins were adapted to become the LNWR's first dining cars. In 1883, 44 feet (13 m) sleeping cars were introduced on the Glasgow service, but even though bogies had come into use on other railways, the LNWR preferred to simply add an extra radial truck.

This configuration remained in use until 1893, when Charles Park built a rake of corridor coaches for the expresses to Edinburgh with six-wheeled bogies. This was first and third class only, although second class remained for many other services until 1911. In 1892, the non-automatic brake finally disappeared and in 1896 Stone's patent electric train lighting was introduced, along with communication cords.

20th century

In 1901, Wolverton was the first railway works to use electricity for lighting and driving machinery throughout. All coaches for principal services now included corridor connections and were mounted on bogies instead of radial trucks.^{[clarification needed]}

During World War I, the works altered carriages to be used as ambulance trains both within the UK and overseas. Part of the works was also turned over for use by the Ministry of Munitions.^[1] In 1923 when the LNWR merged into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), wagon building was introduced. From 1926, the works was supplied with electricity from Northampton Power Station.

At the outbreak of

D-Day airborne assault. It also repaired Whitley bombers, Hawker Typhoon wings and converted some seven hundred commercial motor vans into armoured vehicles.^[1]

It continued its carriage and work construction work after the war, including making large numbers of the all-new

British Railways Mark 1 carriage, until the intervention of Richard Beeching.^[1] In 1962, the works was downgraded to a repair facility, with the last new vehicle being completed in 1963. By 1964, the workforce had dropped from 4,000 to 2,000,^[1] but the works had picked up new work through the repair and maintenance of the British Rail Class 304 electric multiple units. Although no new general service carriages were built, twenty four vehicles were built in 1977 for the Royal Mail, and twenty one diesel multiple units for the Northern Ireland Railways. In February 1986, British Rail Engineering Limited split into two new groups, with Wolverton becoming part of the new BR Maintenance Group, which again reduced staff to 850.^[1]

Royal train

Wolverton has a long history associated with providing carriages for the

Queen Elizabeth II

.

The most recent Royal train was fitted out at Wolverton in 1977. It comprises eight prototype

Knorr Bremse service depot. Ownership and management of the Royal Train Service is with Network Rail.^[5]

21st century

The carriage maintenance works consolidated its operations in the western end of the site. In July 2013, the then operators, Railcare, entered administration, with immediate redundancy for many of the 225 workforce.^[6] In August 2013, Knorr-Bremse purchased Railcare, including the sites in Glasgow and Wolverton. The company operated as KnorrBremse RailServices (UK) Limited, until 9 November 2018, when the business was bought by Mutares. Wolverton Works is now operated by Gemini Rail Services UK Limited (a division of Mutares), although the site is owned by the St. Modwen Properties plc, a property development group. Although much of the original works site has been redeveloped and further redevelopment is planned for most of the remainder, the western end remains in use for railway carriage maintenance and this use continues.^[7]

The eastern end of the original works site has become a canal-side housing development, most as "new build" and some as repurposed historic buildings. The central area is now a

bath house and a charity bookshop occupies the former LNWR firestation. Other artefacts of its cultural heritage are held at Milton Keynes Museum

.

The site of the former

entrepot for white goods

, but this is purely a road distribution centre and there are no rail links to the warehouses, although the access line to the rail works is close by.