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Railway Technical Centre

British Rail research and developmentEngineering research institutesHistory of DerbyRail transport in DerbyScience and technology in Derbyshire
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Railway Technical Centre (geograph 5341159)
Railway Technical Centre (geograph 5341159)

The Railway Technical Centre (RTC) in London Road, Derby, England, was the technical headquarters of the British Railways Board and was built in the early 1960s. British Rail described it as the largest railway research complex in the world. The RTC centralised most of the technical services provided by the regional Chief Mechanical & Electrical Engineers (CM&EE) to form the Department of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering (DM&EE). In addition, it housed the newly formed British Rail Research Division which reported directly to the Board. The latter is well known for its work on the experimental Advanced Passenger Train (APT-E). At that early stage this was a concept vehicle, and in time the DM&EE applied the new knowledge to existing practice in the design of the High Speed Train (HST), the later prototype APT-P and other high-speed vehicles.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Railway Technical Centre (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Railway Technical Centre
London Road, Derby Wilmorton

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Latitude Longitude
N 52.909722222222 ° E -1.4561111111111 °
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London Road
DE24 8UQ Derby, Wilmorton
England, United Kingdom
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Railway Technical Centre (geograph 5341159)
Railway Technical Centre (geograph 5341159)
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British Rail Research Division
British Rail Research Division

The British Rail Research Division was a division of the state-owned railway company British Rail (BR). It was charged with conducting research into improving various aspects of Britain's railways, particularly in the areas of reliability and efficiency, including achieving cost reductions and increasing service levels. Its creation was endorsed by the newly created British Rail Board (BRB) in 1963 and incorporated personnel and existing resources from all over the country, including the LMS Scientific Research Laboratory. It was primarily based at the purpose-built Railway Technical Centre in Derby. In addition to its domestic activities, the Research Division would provide technology and personnel to other countries for varying purposes and periods under the trade name "Transmark". It became recognised as a centre of excellence in its field; the theoretical rigour of its approach to railway engineering superseded the ad hoc methods that had prevailed previously. Its research led to advances in various sectors, such as in the field of signalling, where progress was made with block systems, remote operation systems, and the Automatic Warning System (AWS). Trackside improvements, such as the standardisation of overhead electrification equipment and refinements to the plasma torch, were also results of the Research Division's activities. Perhaps its most high-profile work was into new forms of rolling stock, such as the High Speed Freight Vehicle and railbuses, which led to the introduction of the Class 140. One of its projects that gained particularly high-profile coverage was the Advanced Passenger Train (APT), a high-speed tilting train intended for BR's Intercity services. However, due to schedule overruns, negative press coverage, and a lack of political support, work on the APT was ceased in the mid-1980s in favour of the more conventional InterCity 125 and InterCity 225 trainsets. The Research Division was reorganised in the runup to the privatisation of British Rail during the 1990s; the bulk having become "BR Research Limited". This unit was acquired by the private company AEA Technology in 1996, which has since become Resonate Group. Several elements of its work have continued under various organisations, such as the patents filed during the APT's development being harnessed in the development of the Pendolino, a modern high speed tilting train.

LMS Scientific Research Laboratory
LMS Scientific Research Laboratory

The LMS Scientific Research Laboratory was set up following the formation of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923. In 1929, the Company President, Lord Stamp read a paper Scientific Research in Transport to the Institute of Transport, and, in 1930 he founded the Advisory Committee on Scientific Research for Railways. The Scientific Research Laboratory was formed by the Vice-President and Director of Scientific Research, Sir Harold Hartley. Purpose-built accommodation was provided on the west side of London Road, Derby which opened in December 1935. The various paint and varnish laboratories were amalgamated and relocated there, joining the textile research from Calvert Street and the metallurgy and general engineering research in the locomotive works. In addition the laboratory liaised with various university departments, its remit covering all areas of railway operation. In 1936 an aerodynamics laboratory was formed, located in the locomotive works, using 1/24 scale models. It was involved in the design work for Stanier's Coronation locomotives, and went on to assess smoke deflectors, carriage ventilation and the effect of passing trains on structures and passengers in stations. This passed to the Derby College of Technology in 1960. The Rugby Testing Station was opened in 1948 as a joint venture with the LNER. Work continued into the nationalised era, when a decision was made to concentrate various headquarters functions, particularly that of the Chief Mechanical and Electrical Engineer, in one national centre. This produced the Railway Technical Centre (RTC) on the opposite side of London Road, on a site which had formerly been part of the Way and Works sidings. Part of the RTC would be occupied by a new British Rail Research Division, reporting directly to the Board, under the Chief Civil Engineer's Department. This went on, in addition to its other work into all aspects of the railway, to design the experimental version of the Advanced Passenger Train (APT-E). The Scientific Research Laboratory was renamed Hartley House, and formed the Scientific Services department of the Research Division. Later, after British Rail privatisation and the sale of the Research Division to AEA Technology, the Scientific Services department was separately privatised to form the company Scientifics Ltd. Since 2012, the laboratory buildings have been occupied by the Zaytouna School, an Islamic faith primary school.