Tug and locomotive, GEC Alsthom, Stafford

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Date:1989 - 1998 (c.)

Description:On the right (left to right) are David Jones and Bernard Duffy who are pictured outside GEC Alsthom Turbine Generators Ltd.'s Over-Speed Control Room on the Lichfield Road site at Queensville in Stafford. The Stafford factory was renowned for its electrical products including generators, transformers and switchgear.

The locomotive on the right in yellow livery and carrying a GEC badge is a Ruston Hornsby 200DE diesel electric with a Paxman V6 engine. It was purchased during the 1970s or early 1980s from Ruston’s (which were part of GEC Traction) as a refurbished loco. The locomotive was nicknamed ‘Tonka’ by the yard staff and carried a homemade nameplate on the radiator grill. For many years it ran on the internal railway system around the works. The kind of work that it was used for was not ideal for this type of locomotive and as a consequence the diesel engine deteriorated and it became difficult to start. It was sold to a Foxfield Railway member in the 1990s.

The vehicle on the left in GEC Alsthom’s grey, orange and white livery is an ex RAF aircraft tug which was bought in the 1990s as a replacement for the Ruston loco as the Over-Speed truck tow vehicle. This heavy powerful vehicle came from a dealer in Lincolnshire after it had come from an RAF station on that side of the country and it was alleged that it had been a tug for V bombers. It was fitted with a Rolls Royce diesel engine and self-changing gearbox with very low ratios for the slow moving of heavy objects, a feature that was also needed for the job.

Acknowledgement: Thank you to Mr Chris Coates for the above information.

Siemens Brothers purchased land by the Lichfield Road in 1901 and built a factory and offices which were ready to start production in 1903. In 1918 Siemens merged with several companies, including Dick, Kerr and Co., to become The English Electric Co. Two years later in 1920, The English Electric Co bought the Stafford Works. The English Electric Co. merged with GEC (The General Electric Company) during 1968 and the Lichfield Road Site became part of GEC Power Engineering Ltd. On 22 March 1989 became part of GEC ALSTHOM, an Anglo French Joint Venture. On 22 June 1998 this in turn became part of ALSTOM with global HQ in Paris and on 2 November 2015 the Stafford Grid and Power Businesses became part of GE (General Electric, an American Company).


Timeline

The timeline shows resources around this location over a number of years.

1930s
English Electric Co., Stafford Works Ambulance
English Electric Co., Stafford Works Ambulance

Pictured is the English Electric Co. Daimler ambulance at the Lichfield Road site ...

1960s
English Electric Co., Stafford, Annual Fire Brigade Competitions
English Electric Co., Stafford, Annual Fire Brigade Competitions

One of the Fire Brigade teams is pictured preparing hoses to aim at the competition ...

1980s
GEC Turbine Generators Ltd., Stafford
GEC Turbine Generators Ltd., Stafford

On the left facing the photographer is Peter Marsden and on the right Alan Smith ...

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Creators: Mr Ian Hazlehurst - Contributor

Donor ref:IH-093 (192/39152)

Source: Mr Bob Metcalfe

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