Greenwood and Batley: Locomotives
Note: This is a sub-section of Greenwood and Batley
See also - 1933 Electric Locos Catalogue
1876 The company built an experimental compressed air tramcar. The vehicle was supplied by a 100 cubic foot reservoir filled at 1000psi. The outcome of this work is not known but lack of evidence would indicate it was not a success.
1878 Similarly, a Loftus Perkins tramway locomotive built. This was fed by a water tube boiler nominally rated at 500psi. Again there is no evidence of its success.
1896 Leeds Corporation placed an order for 25 electric tramcars.
1897 The vehicles entered service, however this work was not repeated.
1901 Listed as Railway Plant Contractors of Albion Works, Leeds. [1]
1920 September. Exhibited at the Machine Tool and Engineering Exhibition at Olympia with 20 kW turbo-generator suitable for lighting ships. Also showed an electric truck to carry 2 tons. [2]
1927 Greenwood and Batley’s first successful venture into locomotive building occurred in July 1927 when five 4hp battery-electric narrow gauge locomotives were completed for Edmund Nuttall’s Mersey Tunnel contract. These locomotives proved very reliable and a total of 31 G and B locomotives were used on the Mersey Tunnel construction. Other work developed rapidly.
1928 Flameproof locomotive were built for the Royal Navy.
1929 The first export order was for seven, pantograph fitted locomotives for the Chinese Engineering and Mining Co Ltd.
1930 The first standard gauge locomotive was built for Luton Power Station. This was a 15hp design and was capable of hauling one hundred tons at 4 mph on the level. This locomotive is preserved at the Armley Mills Industrial Museum, Leeds. A standard gauge passenger-carrying vehicle was constructed in 1933 for use by the Royal Navy at Gosport. This locomotive used two 10hp motors and could run at 20mph up a 1 in 137 gradient. Other products for which they were well known was coke car locomotive for Gas Works and Coking Plants.
1960 Advert for electric mining locomotives. [3]
In their short period of production, Greenwood and Batley built 1,367 electric locomotives which were exported around the world. This company deserves much better recognition for its achievements.
1988 Ceased trading after joining the Hunslet Group.
Engines are exhibited at Armley Mill Museum.
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ White's Directory of Sheffield and Rotherham, 1901 p979
- ↑ The Engineer of 10th September 1920 p244
- ↑ Mining Year Book 1960. Published by Walter E. Skinner. Advert p357