English Electric (Vulcan Foundry)
English Electric was one of the most important British heavy engineering and railway traction firms of the twentieth century, operating the historic Vulcan Foundry at Newton-le-Willows in Lancashire alongside electrical works at Bradford, Preston, Stafford, and Rugby. Formed in December 1918 by the merger of several British electrical engineering companies, English Electric became the dominant British builder of diesel-electric and electric locomotives in the post-war era, supplying the classes that powered British Railways through the critical transition from steam to diesel traction.
The Vulcan Foundry, acquired by English Electric when it purchased Nasmyth Wilson in 1937, had been a major locomotive builder since Charles Tayleur founded it in 1832 — one of the earliest private locomotive manufacturers in the world. Under English Electric ownership the Vulcan Foundry produced the BR diesel-electric fleet that formed the backbone of the Modernisation Plan procurement: the Class 20 (228 built from 1957), the Class 37 (309 built, among the most versatile and long-lived British diesels), the Class 40 (200 built), and the Class 50 (50 built for the WCML). Most celebrated of all was the Class 55 Deltic (22 built 1961–62), powered by two Napier Deltic opposed-piston diesel engines and briefly the most powerful single-engined diesel locomotives in the world, dominating East Coast Main Line expresses from 1961 until 1981.
English Electric also supplied the AC electric locomotive fleet for the West Coast Main Line 25 kV electrification — the Class 83 AL3 units and elements of other pilot-scheme classes — and the EM1 (Class 76) and EM2 (Class 77) for the Manchester–Sheffield Woodhead Route. The firm acquired Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns in 1955, completing its locomotive-building capability. English Electric was absorbed into the General Electric Company (GEC) in 1968; the Vulcan Foundry continued under GEC and subsequently Alstom until its closure in 2002, ending 170 years of locomotive manufacturing at Newton-le-Willows.
About
English Electric (in its workshop role) operated the Vulcan Foundry at Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire, a historic locomotive works founded by Charles Tayleur in 1832, alongside electrical works at Bradford, Preston, Stafford and Rugby. EE's predecessor companies (Dick, Kerr & Co. and the British Electric Traction interests) had been involved in electric traction since the 1890s, and the consolidated English Electric Company of December 1918 became one of the principal British heavy-engineering firms.
For British Railways, English Electric and the Vulcan Foundry built the Class 20 (228 built), Class 37 (309), Class 40 (200), Class 50 (50), and Class 55 'Deltic' (22) diesel-electric locomotives. The firm also supplied many of the AC electric locomotives for the West Coast Main Line and the EM2 Class 77 for the Manchester Woodhead Route.
EE acquired Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns of Darlington in 1955, giving it a complete locomotive-building capability. The firm was absorbed into the General Electric Company (GEC) in 1968; the Vulcan Foundry continued in production under GEC and afterwards under Alstom until its closure in 2002.