Metropolitan-Vickers (Trafford Park)

Metropolitan-Vickers (Metro-Vick) operated the Trafford Park electrical engineering works in Manchester — at its interwar peak the largest electrical engineering establishment in the British Empire — supplying traction equipment, electric motors, switchgear, and complete electric locomotives to British and overseas railway customers from 1899 until the firm's absorption into Associated Electrical Industries (AEI) in 1959. Founded as the British operation of the American Westinghouse Electric Manufacturing Company, Metropolitan-Vickers developed into an independent and technically distinguished British electrical manufacturer whose Trafford Park works was a major centre of electrical engineering innovation.

For British railway customers, Metro-Vick supplied the electrical equipment for the EM2 (Class 77) electric locomotives for the Manchester–Sheffield Woodhead Route 1,500 V DC electrification — working with Gorton Works which supplied the mechanical components — and the controversial Class 28 Co-Bo diesel-electric of 1958, which used a Crossley diesel engine and Metro-Vick electrical equipment in a combination that proved troublesome in service. The firm also supplied traction motors and control equipment for various EMU classes and contributed to the AC electric locomotive programme for the West Coast Main Line electrification in the early 1960s.

Metropolitan-Vickers merged into AEI in 1959 and was subsequently absorbed into the General Electric Company (GEC) in 1968. The Trafford Park works closed progressively through the 1970s and 1980s. The firm's legacy in British railway traction was substantial, its Trafford Park manufacturing capacity having underpinned the electrical equipment supply for several decades of British electric railway development.

About

Metropolitan-Vickers (commonly 'Metro-Vick' or 'MV') operated the major Trafford Park electrical engineering works in Manchester, founded in 1899 as the British works of the Westinghouse Electric Manufacturing Company (US Westinghouse) and renamed Metropolitan-Vickers in 1919. The works was at peak the largest electrical engineering establishment in the British Empire.

For railway customers, Metro-Vick supplied the electrical equipment for many British EMU and electric locomotive classes, including the EM2 (Class 77) for the 1500 V dc Manchester–Sheffield Woodhead Route (with mechanical parts built at Gorton), the BR Class 28 'Co-Bo' Crossley/Metro-Vick diesel-electric, and traction motors for many AC and dc EMU classes.

The firm merged into Associated Electrical Industries (AEI) in 1959 and was acquired in turn by GEC in 1968. Trafford Park works closed in stages through the 1970s and 1980s; the site is now occupied by light industry and the Trafford Centre's nearby retail and entertainment district.

Locomotives built here

BR Class 81 — BR Class 81 (originally AL1) Bo-Bo electric locomotives — pioneering 25 kV AC overhead electric locomotives built 1959–64 for the West Coast Main Line electrification by AEI/Birmingham. 25 built. Withdrawn 1989–91. None preserved; 81002 was at the National Railway Museum but was scrapped in the 2010s.
BR Class 82 — BR Class 82 (originally AL2) Bo-Bo electric locomotives — built 1960–62 by Beyer Peacock/Metro-Vick. 10 built. Withdrawn 1981–87. 82008 preserved at Barrow Hill.
British Rail Class 85 — BR Class 85 (originally AL5) Bo-Bo electric locomotives — built 1961–64 by BR Doncaster. 40 built. Last withdrawn 1992; 85101 preserved at Barrow Hill.
L&YR Bury Electrics — Hughes's 1916 L&YR Bury–Manchester EMU — Britain's first major suburban electrification. 1200 V DC overhead. The Bury electrics worked from 1916 until replaced in 1991 (after a 75-year service life, all-electric throughout). Some early stock preserved.
LNER 26000 Tommy — Gresley's 1941 LNER prototype Bo+Bo electric locomotive No. 6701 (BR 26000) "Tommy" — built for the projected Manchester–Sheffield (Woodhead) electrification, but spent the war loaned to Dutch Railways before returning in 1952. Designed for 1500 V DC overhead. Class EM1 / EM2. 26000 "Tommy" preserved at the National Railway Museum.
LNER EM2 — BR Class 77 (originally LNER class EM2) Co-Co electric express locomotives for the Manchester–Sheffield Woodhead route, built 1953–54. 7 built. After the Woodhead closure of 1981 the class was sold to Nederlandse Spoorwegen, where they ran for several more years. Three preserved: 27000 "Electra", 27001 "Ariadne", 27003 "Diana". 27000 is at the Midland Railway Centre.
Metropolitan Railway Bo Bo electrics — Metropolitan Railway 1922–23 Vickers/Metropolitan-Vickers Bo-Bo electric locomotives — built for Met main-line electrified services from Baker Street out to Aylesbury and Watford. 20 built. After the 1933 absorption of the Met by London Transport, used until 1962. Met Bo-Bo No. 5 "John Hampden" is at the London Transport Museum, Covent Garden, and No. 12 "Sarah Siddons" is preserved in working order by the LT Museum and runs occasionally.

Location	Trafford Park, Manchester
Founded	1 January 1899
Closed	1 January 1968