Brush Traction facts for kids

Brush Traction was a company in Loughborough, England. They used to build and fix train engines. Now, their work is part of another company called Wabtec.

History of Brush Traction

The Brush Traction factory in Loughborough.

Brush Traction has a long and interesting history. It started with a man named Henry Hughes in the 1850s.

Hughes's First Company

Henry Hughes began his business, called the Falcon Works, in the 1850s. He made metal parts for engines and farm machines. In 1860, he teamed up with William March. Their company, Hughes and March, also built railway equipment.

By 1863, Hughes started making small steam locomotives. These were simple engines used for construction and mining railways. In 1877, his business became a limited company. It was called Hughes's Locomotive & Tramway Engine Works Ltd.

The company also started making steam tram engines. These were light steam engines that pulled passenger cars on tram lines. This was possible because of a new law called the Tramways Act 1870. Some early engines included The Pioneer for the Swansea and Mumbles Railway in 1877. They also built engines for the Corris Railway and for building a waterworks in Wales.

However, steam tram engines were not very popular in the UK. The company sold some abroad, like in Paris. By 1881, the company faced financial problems and Henry Hughes left.

The Falcon Engine & Car Works

After Hughes left, the company was sold. It continued making engines and cars under a new name: Falcon Engine and Car Works Ltd. In 1882, a fire caused a lot of damage to their factory.

Despite this, they kept building locomotives, carriages, and tramcars. They even made special carriages for a unique monorail line in Ireland. They also built tank locomotives for places like Ireland, Spain, and the Azores.

Brush Electrical Engineering Company Takes Over

A metal plate from a train built by Brush.

In 1889, a larger company bought the Falcon Works. This new company was called the Brush Electrical Engineering Company Ltd. At first, they focused on making electrical equipment for city lights and ships.

But they soon saw a future in electric trains and trams. They expanded their factory in 1897 to make more tramcars. By 1898, they could make 1,000 electric motors each year.

Brush also built some early cars called Brushmobile between 1901 and 1905. They also made buses and lorries. They built carriages for London's underground railways, like the Central and Northern lines.

Overall, Brush built about 250 steam locomotives. After World War I, they stopped making steam engines. They focused on electrical equipment for transport, like tramcars, trolleybuses, and battery-powered vehicles.

A de Havilland DH.89 Dominie plane built by Brush in 1945.

During World War II, Brush helped with aircraft production. They built 335 de Havilland Dominies planes for the Royal Air Force. They also made parts for other bombers.

After the war, they continued making bus bodies. But in 1952, this part of the business closed.

Brush Bagnall Traction and Beyond

Brush kept its connections with the railway industry. In 1947, another company bought Brush. They merged with W. G. Bagnall to make diesel locomotives. In 1951, they formed Brush Bagnall Traction Limited. When British Railways started replacing steam engines, Brush began making main line diesel-electric locomotives.

In 1957, Hawker Siddeley bought the Brush group. The company changed hands a few more times over the years. In 2007, Brush Traction bought another company called Hunslet-Barclay.

In 2011, Wabtec bought Brush Traction. The Loughborough factory continued to build and repair locomotives. However, in April 2021, Wabtec announced that the Loughborough factory would close.

Locomotives Built by Brush

A Sri Lanka Railways M1 locomotive.

Brush built many different diesel and electric locomotives for the British railway network. Some famous ones include:

• Class 31 "Brush Type 2" diesel locomotives.
• Class 47 "Brush Type 4" diesel locomotives.
• Class 60 heavy freight diesel locomotives.
• Class 92 powerful electric locomotives.

A Eurotunnel Class 9 locomotive.

They also built the Eurotunnel Class 9 electric locomotives. These trains operate through the Channel Tunnel between the UK and France.

Brush also made locomotives for other countries:

• Diesel-electric locomotives for Sri Lanka in 1952 and 1981.
• Diesel-electric locomotives for Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).
• Various diesel-electric freight locomotives for Cuba, Tanzania, Gabon, and Morocco.
• Battery electric locomotives for Hong Kong.
• EF class heavy freight electric locomotives for New Zealand.

Brush also supplied important electrical equipment for many rapid transit systems. This included the London Underground and the Docklands Light Railway in the UK. They also supplied equipment to Canada and Taiwan.

Surviving Locomotives and Vehicles

Many of the machines built by Brush Traction are still around today.

Surviving Steam Locomotives

The narrow-gauge steam locomotive No. 3 Sir Haydn.

• No. 3 ‘Sir Haydn’: This locomotive was built by Hughes/Falcon in 1878. It now runs on the Talyllyn Railway.
• A standard gauge locomotive built by Brush Electrical Engineering is preserved at Mountsorrel & Rothley Community Heritage Centre.
• A broad gauge locomotive built at the Falcon Works is preserved in the Azores.
• Two Falcon locomotives from the Beria Railway are in the Vale of Rheidol Railway Museum Collection.
• Several metre gauge Falcon locomotives are preserved in Spain.
• Elfkarleö Bruk No. 1: Built in 1873 by Henry Hughes & Co., this locomotive is now in a museum in Sweden.

Surviving Diesel Locomotives

More than 75 diesel engines built by Brush Traction have been saved. You can see them at heritage railways across the UK. Many more are still used on main railway lines today.

Preserved Light Rail and Tramway Vehicles

Auckland Electric Tramways car 11.

Many trams built by Brush are preserved in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

• In Auckland, New Zealand, several old tramcars from the early 1900s are preserved. Some are restored and some are waiting for restoration.
• In the UK, several trams are preserved at the National Tramway Museum in Derbyshire. These include trams from Chesterfield (1904) and Derby Corporation Tramways (1904).
• Many Blackpool Tramways trams from 1937 are also preserved. Some are still running today at heritage tramways.
• Two battery-electric locomotives from 1917, originally from a mustard gas factory, are still operating the Hythe Pier, Railway and Ferry service.
• Several Manx Electric Railway cars on the Isle of Man use Brush-built parts.

Battery-Electric Vehicles

A Brush Pony milk float from around 1970.

In 1940, Brush started making small battery-electric tractor units. They later began selling them to the public. In 1945, they started making battery-electric road vehicles, like milk floats and vans. These were often called the Brush Pony.

An early Brush Pony milk float from 1947 is on display at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu. A Brush bread van from 1947 is at The Transport Museum, Wythall. The Ipswich Transport Museum has a Brush Pony electric laundry van from 1967.

Preserved Aircraft

A de Havilland DH.89 Dominie plane.

A de Havilland DH.89 Dominie plane that Brush built in 1946 for the RAF is preserved. You can see it at the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum in West Sussex.

Other Relics

A large statue of a falcon, which used to be at Brush's Loughborough factory, is now displayed at the National Tramway Museum.

See also

• Associated British Oil Engine Company
• Brush-Barclay
• Brush Transformers