Wolverton railway works
Encyclopedia
Wolverton railway works was established in Wolverton, Buckinghamshire, by the London and Birmingham Railway
Company in 1838 at the midpoint of the 112 mile
-long route from London
to Birmingham
. The line was developed by Robert Stephenson
following the great success of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
line.
The Victorian era
new towns of Wolverton and New Bradwell
were built to house the workers and service the works. The older towns of Stony Stratford
and Newport Pagnell
grew substantially too, being joined to it by a tramway
and branch line
(known as the "Newport Nobby"), respectively. The trams were also hauled by steam locomotive
s: the tram cars were certainly the largest ever in the UK and possibly the world.
As of 2010, the facility is much reduced: Railcare operates a full-scale train maintenance, repairs and refurbishment works at the western end of the site, the central area is derelict but slated for redevelopment as canal-side housing, the eastern end is a Tesco store, apart from another canal-side housing development at the extreme eastern end.
At first, the Works was used for maintenance and repairs of locomotives purchased from outside firms. Two locomotives were built there in 1845/6 and another in 1848, but following enlargement of the buildings and increased facilities, they were turned out in quantity. A total of 166 locomotives were built at Wolverton, the last of them in September 1863. These included three varieties of the 2-2-2
'Bloomers', 86 of the 'Wolverton Express Goods' 0-6-0
and four classes of 0-4-2
.
In 1846 the London & Birmingham became part of the London and North Western Railway
.
In 1862 a decision was taken to concentrate locomotive work at Crewe, and in 1865 Wolverton became the LNWR Carriage Works. It became the largest carriage works in Great Britain
— and a major employer in the area for many years.
Initially Wolverton produced numbers of 27' 6" 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 by the traverser in the Euston
carriage sheds. This remained the pattern for many years, though some used Webb's patent "radial truck". Lengths gradually increased to thirty three and thirty four feet.
The 1880s saw the introduction of first-class twin-car sets with an interconnecting gangway. The 1881 sleeping car
s 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 and. In 1883, forty foot sleeping cars were introduced on the Glasgow service but, 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 coach
es 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.
was built in 1903.
In 1923, when the LNWR merged into the LMS
, wagon building was introduced. Such work continued after nationalisation but, in 1962, Wolverton ceased production of new stock. From 1926 the works was supplied with electricity from Northampton Power station
.
The works is divided from Wolverton itself by a wall that extended almost completely along the front of the town and which still bears visible traces of the paint that was used to camouflage it during the Second World War
. (During the war, two bombs and an incendiary fell on Wolverton town and another on New Bradwell village, on the other side of the track).
During the war, Wolverton joined in a joint venture with other workshops, railway and private, to produce Horsa gliders
for the D-Day
airborne assault. It also repaired Whitley bomber
s, Hawker Typhoon
wings and converted some seven hundred commercial motor vans into armoured vehicles.
Although no new general service carriages were built, twenty four vehicles were built in 1977 for the Royal Mail
, and twenty one diesel multiple unit
s for the Northern Ireland Railways
.
In addition work continued providing the Royal Train. Queen Victoria's 1869 saloon, comprising two six-wheelers joined by the first bellows gangway in Europe, is in the National Railway Museum
in York
. Further Royal coaches were built in 1903 for King Edward VII
and in 1961 for Queen Elizabeth II
.
The most recent Royal train was fitted out at Wolverton in 1977. It comprises eight prototype Mark 3
coaches built in 1972 for the High Speed Train
, refurbished with two Royal Saloons.
These, along with the regular stock handled by the Works, are housed here in the care of Railcare which operates the remaining railway service depot.
supermarket. The frontage has been built to resemble the original buildings and a small independent shop on the site displays a legend to the LNWR fire station formerly on that site. Other parts are being developed for new housing.
The marshalling yards by the West Coast Main Line are used as an entrepot
for white goods, but this is purely a road distribution centre and there are no rail links to the warehouses, although the rail works access line is close by. Railcare has consolidated its operations in the western end of the site and the operation is thriving.
The original bridge across the Grand Union canal
was built by Robert Stephenson
and is a Grade II* listed monument. The bridge is composed of numerous cast iron
girders, many made by the Butterley Company
Iron works. It is a rare survival since most similar bridges were removed at the end of the Victorian era. The more imposing Wolverton viaduct
to the north of the old station yard is one of the most impressive viaducts on the line, and was built in 1838 across the River Ouse
valley. There were many problems encountered durting construction, especially landslips on the adjacent embankment
. They can still be seen just south of the viaduct and were portrayed by John Cooke Bourne
in his description of the railway published just after it had opened..
.
London and Birmingham Railway
The London and Birmingham Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway ....
Company in 1838 at the midpoint of the 112 mile
Mile
A mile is a unit of length, most commonly 5,280 feet . The mile of 5,280 feet is sometimes called the statute mile or land mile to distinguish it from the nautical mile...
-long route from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. The line was developed by Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson FRS was an English civil engineer. He was the only son of George Stephenson, the famed locomotive builder and railway engineer; many of the achievements popularly credited to his father were actually the joint efforts of father and son.-Early life :He was born on the 16th of...
following the great success of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
Liverpool and Manchester Railway
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the world's first inter-city passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance solely by steam locomotives. The line opened on 15 September 1830 and ran between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in North...
line.
The Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
new towns of Wolverton and New Bradwell
New Bradwell
New Bradwell is a Victorian era new village, modern district and civil parish that is now part of Milton Keynes , on its northern edge...
were built to house the workers and service the works. The older towns of Stony Stratford
Stony Stratford
Stony Stratford is a constituent town of Milton Keynes and is a civil parish with a town council within the Borough of Milton Keynes. It is in the north west corner of Milton Keynes, bordering Northamptonshire and separated from it by the River Great Ouse...
and Newport Pagnell
Newport Pagnell
Newport Pagnell is a town in the Borough of Milton Keynes , England. It is separated by the M1 motorway from Milton Keynes itself, though part of the same urban area...
grew substantially too, being joined to it by a tramway
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
and branch line
Wolverton to Newport Pagnell Line
The Wolverton to Newport Pagnell Line was a railway branch line in Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom running from Wolverton on the London and North Western Railway to Newport Pagnell. The line fully opened to passengers in 1867, with an extension to Olney planned in 1865, but this scheme was...
(known as the "Newport Nobby"), respectively. The trams were also hauled by steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
s: the tram cars were certainly the largest ever in the UK and possibly the world.
As of 2010, the facility is much reduced: Railcare operates a full-scale train maintenance, repairs and refurbishment works at the western end of the site, the central area is derelict but slated for redevelopment as canal-side housing, the eastern end is a Tesco store, apart from another canal-side housing development at the extreme eastern end.
Early years
2-2-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-2-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle two powered driving wheels on one axle, and two trailing wheels on one axle. The wheel arrangement both provided more stability and enabled a larger firebox...
'Bloomers', 86 of the 'Wolverton Express Goods' 0-6-0
0-6-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels...
and four classes of 0-4-2
0-4-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-2 represents the wheel arrangement with no leading wheels, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle...
.
In 1846 the London & Birmingham became part of the London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
.
In 1862 a decision was taken to concentrate locomotive work at Crewe, and in 1865 Wolverton became the LNWR Carriage Works. It became the largest carriage works in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
— and a major employer in the area for many years.
Initially Wolverton produced numbers of 27' 6" six-wheel carriages on a rigid wheelbase. In 1873 a sleeper service was introduced to Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, and in 1875 to Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and Holyhead
Holyhead
Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in the North Wales. It is also a major port adjacent to the Irish Sea serving Ireland....
. The carriages for these were again three-axle, limited it is said, to 32 feet by the traverser in the Euston
Euston railway station
Euston railway station, also known as London Euston, is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden. It is the sixth busiest rail terminal in London . It is one of 18 railway stations managed by Network Rail, and is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line...
carriage sheds. This remained the pattern for many years, though some used Webb's patent "radial truck". Lengths gradually increased to thirty three and thirty four feet.
The 1880s saw the introduction of first-class twin-car sets with an interconnecting gangway. The 1881 sleeping car
Sleeping car
The sleeping car or sleeper is a railway/railroad passenger car that can accommodate all its passengers in beds of one kind or another, primarily for the purpose of making nighttime travel more restful. The first such cars saw sporadic use on American railroads in the 1830s and could be configured...
s 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 and. In 1883, forty foot sleeping cars were introduced on the Glasgow service but, 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 coach
Corridor coach
A corridor coach is a type of railway passenger coach divided into compartments and having a corridor down one side of the coach to allow free movement along the train and between compartments....
es for the expresses to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
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.
Twentieth 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. A new royal trainRoyal Train
A royal train is a set of carriages dedicated for the use of the monarch or other members of that particular royal family. Most monarchies with a railway system employ a set of royal carriages.-Australia:...
was built in 1903.
In 1923, when the LNWR merged into the LMS
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
, wagon building was introduced. Such work continued after nationalisation but, in 1962, Wolverton ceased production of new stock. From 1926 the works was supplied with electricity from Northampton Power station
Northampton Power Station
Northampton Power Station was a electricity generating station in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England, which began operation for the Northampton Electric Light and Power Company in the 1920s and generated power until closure in 1975.-Location:The plant was located on the south bank of the...
.
The works is divided from Wolverton itself by a wall that extended almost completely along the front of the town and which still bears visible traces of the paint that was used to camouflage it during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. (During the war, two bombs and an incendiary fell on Wolverton town and another on New Bradwell village, on the other side of the track).
During the war, Wolverton joined in a joint venture with other workshops, railway and private, to produce Horsa gliders
Airspeed Horsa
The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa was a British World War II troop-carrying glider built by Airspeed Limited and subcontractors and used for air assault by British and Allied armed forces...
for the D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
airborne assault. It also repaired Whitley bomber
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley
The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was one of three British twin-engine, front line medium bomber types in service with the Royal Air Force at the outbreak of the Second World War...
s, Hawker Typhoon
Hawker Typhoon
The Hawker Typhoon was a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. While the Typhoon was designed to be a medium-high altitude interceptor, and a direct replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, several design problems were encountered, and the Typhoon never completely satisfied...
wings and converted some seven hundred commercial motor vans into armoured vehicles.
Although no new general service carriages were built, twenty four vehicles were built in 1977 for the Royal Mail
Royal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
, and twenty one diesel multiple unit
Diesel multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...
s for the Northern Ireland Railways
Northern Ireland Railways
NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways and for a brief period of time, Ulster Transport Railways , is the railway operator in Northern Ireland...
.
In addition work continued providing the Royal Train. Queen Victoria's 1869 saloon, comprising two six-wheelers joined by the first bellows gangway in Europe, is in the National Railway Museum
National Railway Museum
The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the British National Museum of Science and Industry and telling the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001...
in York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
. Further Royal coaches were built in 1903 for King Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
and in 1961 for Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
.
The most recent Royal train was fitted out at Wolverton in 1977. It comprises eight prototype Mark 3
British Rail Mark 3
British Rail's third design of standard carriage was designated 'Mark 3' , and was developed primarily for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train...
coaches built in 1972 for the High Speed Train
InterCity 125
The InterCity 125 was the brand name of British Rail's High Speed Train fleet. The InterCity 125 train is made up of two power cars, one at each end of a fixed formation of Mark 3 carriages, and is capable of , making the train the fastest diesel-powered locomotive in regular service in the...
, refurbished with two Royal Saloons.
These, along with the regular stock handled by the Works, are housed here in the care of Railcare which operates the remaining railway service depot.
21st century
Today, part of the original works site has become a TescoTesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
supermarket. The frontage has been built to resemble the original buildings and a small independent shop on the site displays a legend to the LNWR fire station formerly on that site. Other parts are being developed for new housing.
The marshalling yards by the West Coast Main Line are used as an entrepot
Entrepôt
An entrepôt is a trading post where merchandise can be imported and exported without paying import duties, often at a profit. This profit is possible because of trade conditions, for example, the reluctance of ships to travel the entire length of a long trading route, and selling to the entrepôt...
for white goods, but this is purely a road distribution centre and there are no rail links to the warehouses, although the rail works access line is close by. Railcare has consolidated its operations in the western end of the site and the operation is thriving.
Listed structures
Grand Union Canal
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles with 166 locks...
was built by Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson FRS was an English civil engineer. He was the only son of George Stephenson, the famed locomotive builder and railway engineer; many of the achievements popularly credited to his father were actually the joint efforts of father and son.-Early life :He was born on the 16th of...
and is a Grade II* listed monument. The bridge is composed of numerous cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
girders, many made by the Butterley Company
Butterley Company
Butterley Engineering was an engineering company based in Ripley, Derbyshire. The company was formed from the Butterley Company which began as Benjamin Outram and Company in 1790 and existed until 2009.-Origins:...
Iron works. It is a rare survival since most similar bridges were removed at the end of the Victorian era. The more imposing Wolverton viaduct
Viaduct
A viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere to lead something. However, the Ancient Romans did not use that term per se; it is a modern derivation from an analogy with aqueduct. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early...
to the north of the old station yard is one of the most impressive viaducts on the line, and was built in 1838 across the River Ouse
River Great Ouse
The Great Ouse is a river in the east of England. At long, it is the fourth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The river has been important for navigation, and for draining the low-lying region through which it flows. Its course has been modified several times, with the first recorded being in...
valley. There were many problems encountered durting construction, especially landslips on the adjacent embankment
Embankment (transportation)
To keep a road or railway line straight or flat, and where the comparative cost or practicality of alternate solutions is prohibitive, the land over which the road or rail line will travel is built up to form an embankment. An embankment is therefore in some sense the opposite of a cutting, and...
. They can still be seen just south of the viaduct and were portrayed by John Cooke Bourne
John Cooke Bourne
John Cooke Bourne was an artist and engraver. He is best known for his lithographs showing the construction of the London and Birmingham Railway and the Great Western Railway. Each set of prints was published as separate books, and became classic representations of the construction of the early...
in his description of the railway published just after it had opened..
Archives and artifacts
A variety of archival material and artifacts from the Works is stored at the nearby Milton Keynes MuseumMilton Keynes Museum
Milton Keynes Museum is an independent local museum in the parish of Wolverton and Greenleys in Milton Keynes, England. It is mostly run by volunteers with a small number of paid staff.The museum is housed in a former Victorian farmstead....
.
See also
- London and Birmingham RailwayLondon and Birmingham RailwayThe London and Birmingham Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway ....
- Wolverton railway stationWolverton railway stationWolverton railway station serves northern Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, especially Stony Stratford, Wolverton and New Bradwell.The station is served by London Midland local services from Northampton to London on the West Coast Main Line. It is one of the five stations serving Milton Keynes...
- Wolverton and Stony Stratford TramwayWolverton and Stony Stratford TramwayThe Wolverton and Stony Stratford Tramway was a narrow gauge street tramway between the London and North Western Railway's Wolverton railway works and Wolverton railway station and Stony Stratford in Buckinghamshire, two miles to the east, and onwards to Deanshanger, Northamptonshire.- History...
Further reading
- Simmons, J., (1986) The Railway in Town and Country, Newton Abott: David & CharlesDavid & CharlesDavid & Charles is a publisher. The company was founded - and is still based - in the market town of Newton Abbot, in Devon, UK, on 1 April 1960 by David St John Thomas and Charles Hadfield. It first made its name publishing titles on Britain's canals and railways...
- Larkin, E.J., Larkin, J.G., (1988) The Railway Workshops of Great Britain 1823-1986,' ' Macmillan Press
- Reed, M.C., (1996) The London & North Western Railway, Atlantic Transport Publishers
- Jack, Harry., (1987) The L.N.W.R. Bloomers Wolverton's 7 ft. Singles, The London & North Western Railway Society Publications
- Jack, Harry., (2001) Locomotives of the LNWR Southern Division - London & Birmingham Railway and Wolverton Locomotive Works: RCTS. ISBN 0 901115 89 4.
- Lewis, Peter R. (2007). Disaster on the Dee: Robert Stephenson's Nemesis of 1847, Tempus.
- West, Bill., (1982) The Trainmakers: the Story of Wolverton Works. ISBN 0 86023 167 4.
External links
- "Women In Wolverton Coach Works" - Living Archive project
- "Railcare. Vehicle and Component overhaul, Incident Repair and Spares and Logistics. Based at Wolverton Works."
- "Rides on Railways by Samuel Sidney" at Project GutenbergProject GutenbergProject Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
. See pages 38 to 43 for a contemporary account of the early years of the new Works. - Aerial photograph at MKWEB
- Listed structures iun Wolverton