Drewry Car Co.

{{short description|Rolling stock manufacturer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2015}} {{Use British English|date=February 2015}} {{Infobox company | name = Drewry Car Co. | logo = | logo_size = | image = | image_size = | image_caption = | trade_name = | native_name = | native_name_lang =  | romanized_name = | former_name = | type = [[privately held company|Private]] | traded_as = | ISIN =  | industry = [[transport industry|Transport]] | genre = | predecessor =  | founded = 1906 | founder = [[James Sidney Drewry]] | defunct = {{End date and age|1984}} | fate = | successor =  | hq_location = | hq_location_city = ? | hq_location_country = [[United Kingdom]] | num_locations = | num_locations_year =  | area_served = Worldwide | key_people = | products = [[Diesel locomotive]]s, [[railcar]]s | production = | production_year =  | brands = | services = | revenue = | revenue_year =  | operating_income = | income_year =  | net_income =  | net_income_year =  | aum =  | assets = | assets_year =  | equity = | equity_year =  | owner =  | members = | members_year =  | num_employees = | num_employees_year =  | parent = | divisions = | subsid = | module =  | ratio =  | rating =  | website =  | footnotes = | embed = }} The '''Drewry Car Co.''' was a railway [[locomotive]] and [[railcar]] manufacturer and sales organisation from 1906 to 1984. At the start and the end of its life it built its own products, for the rest of the time it sold vehicles manufactured by [[Subcontractor|sub-contractors]].

It was separate from the lorry-builder, [[Shelvoke & Drewry]], but it is believed that [[James Sidney Drewry]] was involved with both companies.

== History == [[File:James sidney drewry.jpg|thumb|left|150px|James S. Drewry, founder]] Charles Stewart Drewry (c. 1843–1929) ran a motor and cycle repair business called Drewry & Sons at Herne Hill Motor Works, Railway Arches, [[Herne Hill]], [[London]]. His son, James Sidney Drewry (1882–1952), formed the Drewry Car Co on 27 November 1906 and opened a small works in [[Teddington]] where he started building [[Birmingham Small Arms Company]] (BSA) engined rail trolleys and inspection railcars. The products of this works were sold by A.G. Evans & Co of London.<ref name="BICL">{{cite book |title=The British Internal Combustion Locomotive 1894-1940 |author=Webb, Brian |publisher=[[David & Charles]]|year=1973 |isbn=0715361155}}</ref> A ready market was found in [[South America]], [[Africa]] and [[India]].

In 1908, BSA (of motor-cycle fame) took over building the railcars in [[Small Heath]], [[Birmingham]]. The person in charge of this was [[Ernest Baguley]] who had joined BSA from [[Ryknield Motor Company]] in 1907. In 1911 Ryknield went into administration and Ernest Baguley left BSA and bought the Ryknield Shobnall Road works from the liquidator, forming [[Baguley Cars]]. In 1912 Baguley Cars took over the sub-contract manufacture of the Drewry railcars from BSA. The Drewry locomotives were soon fitted with Baguley's own 'R'-type engine.<ref name="BICL"/>

[[File:Drewry patagonico.jpg|thumb|right|Drewry [[railcar]] used in Argentine [[Comodoro Rivadavia Railway]] in the 1940s]] [[File:NZR RM class 88 seater 01.JPG|thumb|right|[[NZR RM class (88 seater)]] under restoration]] In 1923, Baguley changed its name from Baguley Cars Ltd to Baguley (Engineers) Ltd, but in the late 1920s Drewry had ambitions for standard gauge railcars, which were on a scale not readily accommodated in the Baguley works, and from 1930 many Drewry locomotives were built instead by the [[English Electric]] company.<ref name="BICL"/> Baguley (Engineers) Ltd failed in 1931.

In 1931, Drewry had a very successful demonstration of its new petrol engined railcar (made by English Electric) on the 7 mile line from [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]] to [[Longridge]]. This comprised one powered carriage, and one trailed carriage. The powered car had two 155 hp [[Parsons Engineering|Parsons]] M8 engines, and the transmission was 5-speed self-changing. The powered coach had 16 first class seats and 26 second class, the trailed coach was all first class.

The demonstration train was one built for service on the [[Bermuda Railway]], and the passengers were VIPs of the railway world from many countries and companies.<ref>Petrol Trains - Demonstration Run at Preston ''[[Yorkshire Post|Yorkshire Post & Leeds Intelligencer]]'' 16 September 1931 page 4</ref> In Bermuda they gave good service until the railway closed in 1948, and then the railway locomotives and rolling stock were shipped to [[British Guiana]] - where they were used until that line closed in 1972. Drewry went on to export its railcars to many countries, including 35 to [[New Zealand]].

In 1933, the [[London, Midland and Scottish Railway]] (LMS) announced that it was to hold an extensive trial of heavy oil locomotives for shunting duties, and among the contenders was a Drewry shunter built by the English Electric company. This was a 26-ton 0-4-0 and had an Allen 8RS18 176 hp, eight-cylinder diesel engine. It was delivered in spring 1934, and after operating in Salford goods yard it was sent on loan to the [[War Department (United Kingdom)|War Department]] in 1940, and they purchased it in 1943.<ref name="BICL"/> The shunting locomotive appeared successful, and in 1938 it was reported that Drewry Car Co had received an order for 15 from the [[New Zealand]] government, to be built for Drewry by [[Dick, Kerr & Company]], Preston.<ref>£45,000 Contracts - Lancashire Firm to Share in Work ''[[Liverpool Echo]]'' 13 May 1938 page 7</ref> It says a lot for the robustness of the Drewry design that two of these pre-war locos are still in use - see [[New Zealand TR class locomotive]]. In the post war period Drewry shunters were adopted as the [[British Rail Class 04]] shunters, of which 142 were built.

While Baguley (Engineers) Ltd had failed in 1931, [[Ernest Baguley|E E Baguley Ltd]] rose from the ashes to maintain existing Baguley locomotives, and their business grew so that in 1934 they opened their new works in Uxbridge Street, Burton-on-Trent and started producing their own Baguley diesel locomotives, and rail inspection vehicles for Drewry.<ref name="BICL"/>

Drewry continued as a successful locomotive and railcar company in the post-war years, though it had no production facilities. It continued to rely on contracting out the manufacture, using companies such as [[Vulcan Foundry]] and [[Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns]].

In 1962, Drewry acquired a controlling interest in E E Baguley Ltd, and formed Baguley-Drewry Ltd, thus once again building its own locomotives, in [[Burton upon Trent]]. The company closed in 1984.

==Output== ===Shunting locomotives=== [[File:Diema and The Wasp.jpg|thumb|right|A Baguley-Drewry inspection car (right) on the {{RailGauge|2ft6in}} gauge [[Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway]] in [[Wales]]]] *29 [[New Zealand TR class locomotive|TR class]] for the [[New Zealand Railways Department]] * 1 [[LMS diesel shunter 7050]] *142 [[British Rail Class 04]]s *16 [[NZR DS class|DS class]] for the New Zealand Railways Department *19 [[NZR DSA class|DSA class]] for the New Zealand Railways Department *25 [[NZR DSB class|DSB class]] for the New Zealand Railways Department *1 0-6-0 shunter for the [[Mount Lyell Mining & Railway Company]]<ref>Here & There ''[[Australian Railway History|Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin]]'' issue 307 May 1963 page 4</ref> *18 [[Western Australian Government Railways Y class]]<ref>WAGR Takes Delivery of First Diesels for Shunting: Road Engines to Come ''[[Railway Transportation]]'' January 1954 page 16</ref> *6 [[Western Australian Government Railways Z class]]<ref>Here & There ''Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin'' issue 701 March 1996 page 96</ref>

===Railcars=== [[File:Ashcombe Road - WCPLR large railcar.jpg|thumb|The railcar supplied to the [[Southern Railway (England)|Southern Railway]] in 1928 and later used on the [[Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway]]]] [[File:Drewry railcar for the Great Southern Railway, Ireland.png|thumb|3ft gauge Drewry railcar for the [[Great Southern Railways]], Ireland]] *1 for the [[Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway]] (WC&PR) in 1921, with a matching trailer supplied in 1923. Both were broken up in 1940.<ref name=WCPR>{{cite book |last1=Redwood |first1=Christopher |title=The Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Railway |date=1981 |publisher=Avon-Anglia |location=Weston-super-Mare |isbn=0-905466-42-X |pages=121–124}}</ref> *1 for the [[Southern Railway (England)|Southern Railway]] in 1928. It was tested on various branch lines in southern England but found to be too small for most purposes. It was sold to the WC&PR in 1934 and broken up in 1940.<ref>Locomotives of the Southern Railway. Part 1, [[Railway Correspondence and Travel Society]], 1975.</ref><ref name=WCPR/><ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Clark |first1=P.R. |title=Southern Railway petrol railcar No. 5 |magazine=[[Model Railway Constructor]] |date=1976 |volume=43 |issue=505 |pages=176–177}}</ref> *35 [[NZR RM class (88 seater)|RM class]] for the [[New Zealand Railways Department]] from 1955 *1 for the [[Christmas Island Phosphate Co.'s Railway]]<ref>Christmas Island ''[[Light Railways]]'' issue 29 Spring 1969 pages 6</ref> *[[Tasmanian Government Railways DP class]]<ref>Tasmanian Government Railways 75HP Bogie Rail Motor ''[[Locomotive, Railway Carriage & Wagon Review]]'' issue 410 October 1926 page 326</ref><ref>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/96366326 Tasmania's New Diesel Railcars] ''[[Port Pirie Recorder]]'' 26 September 1939 page 2</ref> *Railcars for the [[Ryde Pier]] tramway<ref>{{cite web | url=https://iwsteamrailway.co.uk/heritage/our-rolling-stock/self-propelled-vehicles/ryde-pier-tram/ | title=Drewry Railcar No 2 }}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

== Sources == * {{cite journal| title=The Drewry Car Company:1906-1970 |journal=[[Industrial Railway Record]]| issue=40 |publisher=Industrial Railway Society |year=1972}} * Marsden, Colin J., (2003) The Diesel Shunter, Oxford Publishing, {{ISBN|0-86093-579-5}} * The Railway Products of Baguley-Drewry Ltd and Its Predecessors, Civil, A, and Etherington, R, (2008), The Industrial Railway Society, {{ISBN|978-1-901556-44-5}}

==External links== {{Commons category}} * [http://drewry.net/JimandAlf.htm Photo of the First Drewry Railcar] * [http://drewry.net/TreeMill/indiI066.html James Sidney Drewry] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080319115544/http://www.trainweb.org/nzdiesels/railcar/rmdrew/ Specifications and photos of NZR Drewry Railcar] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20071205131643/http://railcar.netfirms.com/rm133.htm Restored NZR Drewry Railcar] * [https://car-restorations.co.uk/ Classic Car Restoration Guide] * [https://www.whitesbodyworks.com/ Classic Car Restoration from White’s Bodyworks]

[[Category:Locomotive manufacturers of the United Kingdom]]