Wickham trolley

Standard gauge Wickham trolley, at Locomotion museum, Shildon

The Wickham trolley was a railway engineering personnel carrier built by D. Wickham & Co of Ware, Hertfordshire. This long established firm introduced their rail trolley in 1922 as a lightweight track inspection and maintenance vehicle. This was a success and production of rail trolleys and railcars for inspection and maintenance continued until 1990.

Company History

Dennis Wickham founded the company in 1886 as Motor Car and General Engineers with workshops in Priory Street, Ware. He came from a brewing family and an early product was machinery for breweries. In 1900 they moved to larger premises at Viaduct Road at the entrance to Crane Mead next to the river. The area was later redeveloped for town houses and was renamed Wickham Wharf. Dennis Wickham died in 1910, but the business continued and flourished. The company operated as D Wickham & Co. Ltd of Ware & Stevenage (Hertfordshire, UK), Wickham Rail Ltd of Suckley & Bishop's Frome (Worcestershire, UK) and Wickham Rail Cars of Goodyear (Arizona, USA).

Early products and services provided by D Wickham & Co included castings (e.g. manhole covers), brewery equipment and car repairs. The rail trolley idea started in the 1920s, but sales really took off in the 1930s and this became the main product.

In the mid-1950s Wickham produced five passenger diesel multiple-units for British Rail (see British Rail Class 109 for details), one survives into preservation. These were of an unusual design with no separate chassis, but there were no further orders from British Rail - though Wickham did build many passenger railcars for export, for example 47 were produced for Malayan Railways in 1963. The steel railways carriage frameworks were prodcued for Wickham by Metal Sections Ltd of Oldbury (a subsidiary of Tube Investments Ltd). The railcars were delivered in 'knocked-down' state for assembly in Malaysia. Other users of Wickham railcars were railways in Rhodesia, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Burma and North Borneo.

Wickham Rail Trolleys

A narrow gauge Wickham trolley. The subject is ex-MOD and is based at the Amberley Museum Railway, Sussex

Wickham built their first railcar, for the 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge Taltal Railway in Chile, in April 1922. This was powered by a Dorman engine, and had two transverse bench seats with reversible backrest so the occupants could face forward when travelling in either direction. Although bearing works number 1, it was classed as a Type 10 rail trolley.

Most early models of the permanent way maintenance ganger's trolley used a single-cylinder or vee-twin air-cooled JAP engine. This drove through a large flat flywheel and a friction drive.

On larger models a standard four-cylinder motor car engine, e.g. the Ford E93A and later Ford 105E engine, provided power through a standard three-speed gearbox to a final chain drive transfer gearbox which included the forward and reverse selection. Their last was outsourced in 1991. Including a few railcars built by their successors in the 1990s, nearly 12,000 vehicles of many varieties were produced to their designs.

Trolley Types

Wickham trolleys were made in several different 'types' - though the basis of the type designations is not clear, with the very first trolley produced being type 10. Within a type designation different body styles were availabe, either as a gang trolley with quick in and out access, or as an inspection saloon with protection from the elements. Within the different types, there were variations indicated by a Mark number, e.g. Type 27 Mk III.

• Type 4 Inspection and Gang Trolleys (petrol or diesel) - available as open (A), open with windscreen (B), or semi-open (C)
• Type 5R Lightweight demountable trolley (petrol)
• Type 8S(B) Light inspection car - two seater
• Type 8S(BB) Light inspection car - four seater back to back
• Type 10 The very first car made in 1922 was classed as type 10. Open with 4 transverse bench seats.
• Type 17 Early medium duty 1100cc JAP LTZ engine
• Type 17A Early medium duty 1323cc JAP DTZ engine
• Type 18A Heavy duty gang trolley - Open or canvas sides
• Type 18A Heavy duty inspection car - fully enclosed
• Type 27 Medium duty open trolley
• Type 27A Medium duty gang trolley - Open sided, but with windscreen, roof and side curtains.
• Type 30 Saloon inspection car - fully enclosed
• Type 40 Large saloon inspection car

This list is almost certainly incomplete, and the system used for numbering is not self-evident, though smaller trolleys generally have smaller 'type' designations.

In later years Wickham added crane cars to its range of rail maintenance vehicles. This info taken from manufacturers brochures.

• Type CT15C Enclosed or semi-open cab for 4. Four cylinder diesel. Hydraulic crane lifting to 670kgs. Trailer load to 35 tons.
• Type CT30C Enclosed cab for 3. Six cylinder diesel. Hydraulic crane lifting to 3500kg. Payload 6.5 tons, trailer load up to 180tons.
• Type CT40C Enclosed cab for 3. Siz cylinder diesel. Hydraulic crane lifting to 3500kg. Payload 5 tons, trailer load up to 9 tons. Available without the crane as type CT40.
• Type CT50C Various cab designs for up to 16 persons. Hydraulic crane of various capacities available. Six cylinder diesel. Payload 10 tons, trailing load 200 tons.

British Railways

A 1952 Wickham Armoured Trolley at the Royal Malaysian Police Museum in Kuala Lumpur.

One of the best known versions was that used on British Railways as the type No.27 Gang and Inspection trolley. It was introduced in 1948 and over 600 were built between then and 1990.

Railcars built for British Rail included:-

• British Rail Railbuses
• Departmental trolleys
• British Rail Class 109

Some versions did away with the rear passenger carrying area and used this section for tools and even a diesel generator or air compressor. It was capable of pulling a trailer wagon with tools, but was then restricted to a two-man crew.

Military Trolleys

Type 27

25 Type 27 trolleys went to the Ministry of Supply / MoD between 1954 and 1960. One was featured in 1966 film The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery, filmed in part on the Longmoor Military Railway.

Wickham Armoured Trolley

A total of 42 units of an armoured version was produced in 1952 for use by the British Army and security forces during the Malayan Emergency, intended to prevent sabotage of narrow gauge rail lines by Communist insurgents. The trolley was armed with a machine gun turret from a Ferret armoured car. Surviving examples are preserved in the Royal Malaysian Police Museum, the National Army Museum, Port Dickson and the Tunku Abdul Rahman Memorial in Kuala Lumpur.

Target Trolleys

Wickham made trolleys adapted for the military as unmanned target trolleys. This was a development started in 1938 for use on the Lydd Ranges in Kent. The design went through several evolutions, particularly regarding governing the speed so it wasn't affected by wind and other factors. The design was finalised in 1941, and 255 were produced for firing ranges all over UK and abroad. The development resulted in trolleys that were armoured (to protect them from shrapnel), powered by a 1323cc V-twin JAP engine with fluid-flywheel transmission. They were used to carry tank silhouettes along narrow gauge track on artillery ranges to allow anti-tank training. The speed was controlled by a governor, and the vehicles had no reverse gear as they were operated on closed loop tracks. The trolleys were protected from direct artillery fire by virtue of the tracks being in a cutting or behind a protective embankment. The regulated speed of the target trolleys could be changed by ramps placed between the tracks, the speed changes of the target providing more of a challenge on the artillery range.

Queen's Pier Trolley

Isle of Man

Wickham Railcar, Laxey

There are two extant railcars based on the Isle of Man Railway, one of which is in operational condition and based at Douglas Station, used for annual transport galas; the other vehicle is stored out of use at Castletown Station. These two examples are both 3 ft (914 mm) gauge. Further examples (of 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge) were used on the Snaefell Mountain Railway by the Civil Aviation Authority to access masts at the summit, and one version with toastrack seating from the Queen's Pier Tramway in Ramsey which was to 3 ft (914 mm) gauge. This particular vehicle had open sides and was used in addition to a Planet petrol locomotive which remains extant at the Manx Transport Museum in Jurby whilst the railcar was relocated to the Isle of Man Railway in 1975 to provide transport when the lines to Peel and Ramsey were lifted. It was later scrapped by the railway in 1978.

New Zealand

In New Zealand, two 4 man trolleys were built primarily as track inspection trolleys, one dedicated to each island.

Preservation

It appears that none of the 1920s rail trolleys have survived, though several pre-war and WW2 models exist (see list below). Wickham provided both powered and unpowered examples (trailers), some of the older powered examples have been reduced to trailers. Post-war examples are much more numerous, and many are still in use on preserved railways.

Works no.	Build date	Model	Engine	Gauge	Preserved at	Notes
417	1931	Type 17		Standard gauge	North Yorkshire Moors Railway	Dismantled so now just a rail trailer
Unknown	1931	Type 17	JAP 1100cc	Standard gauge	Rail Trolley Trust being restored	Originally LNER 9000312
496	1932	Type 17	JAP 1100cc	Standard gauge	Privately Owned, Chasewater Railway	Originally LNER, York 900331
497	1932	Type 17	JAP 1100cc	Standard gauge	The Rail Trolley Trust Collection, Chasewater	Originally LNER, York 900332
590	1932	Type 17		Standard gauge	Tanat Valley Light Railway
730	1932	Type 17		Standard gauge	Eden Valley Railway	Originally LNER, York. Now just dismantled to a trailer
899	1933	Type 17		Standard gauge	National Railway Museum , Durham	Originally LNER, Chappel, Essex
1519	1934	Type 17		Standard gauge	Living Ironstone Museum , Cottesmore	Originally LNER
1543	1934	Type 17	1100cc JAP V-twin	Standard gauge (now 2 foot)	Ffestiniog Railway	Originally LNER. Re-gauged for FR in 1961
1580	1934	Type 17	JAP V-twin	Standard gauge	Severn Valley Railway	Originally LNER, Whittlesea. Operational.
1642	1934	Type 17	JAP	Standard gauge	Nene Valley Railway	Complete
1724	Dec 1934	Type 17	1323cc JAP twin	Standard gauge	Eden Valley Railway	Originally LNER, Crowle, Lincolnshire
1946	1935	Type 17A	JAP	Standard gauge	Colne Valley Railway	Originally LNER, Tiptree, Essex
2522	1938	R1300 Prototype Target Trolley	JAP	2 ft (610 mm) gauge	Stored, in care of Leighton Buzzard Railway	During development known as the "Wicked Queen"
2558	1939	R1293 Target Trolley	JAP	2 ft (610 mm) gauge	Reading, Berkshire	Dismantled
2904	1940	Type 8S	JAP Single cylinder	2 ft (610 mm) gauge	Welshpool & Llanfair Museum	Complete and on display
3030	1941	R1389 Target Trolley		60cm gauge	Rail Trolley Trust : Tanat Valley Light Railway	Lacks engine and transmission. Originally at Shoeburyness
3031	1941	R1389 Target Trolley		2 ft (610 mm) gauge	Old Kiln Light Railway	Rebuilt 1973 with Petter engine
3151	1942	R1389 Target Trolley		2 ft (610 mm) gauge	Armourgeddon, Leicestershire	Static exhibit
3170	1943	R1389 Target Trolley	JAP 1323cc twin	2 ft (610 mm) gauge	Rail Trolley Trust	Complete, at Statfold Barn Railway Museum, needing restoration
3282	1943	R1389 Target Trolley	JAP 1323cc twin	2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge		Complete, in care of Leighton Buzzard Railway

Cultural references

Wickham trolley No.WD9033 features in the 1966 comedy film The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery .

References

• Ford, L.G. (2003). Wickham of Ware. The Rockingham Press. ISBN 1-873468-40-7.
• Gunner, Keith (2004). The Wickham Works List. Dennis Duck Publications. ISBN 0-9549199-2-0. Archived from the original on 4 November 2010.
• "Wickham Trolley". PPS Models. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
• "Wickham Motor Trolley". South Devon Railway. Archived from the original on 21 September 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
• "Wickham Trolley". Yorkshire Dales Railway Museum Trust. Archived from the original on 22 January 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2010.

External links

• List of extant Wickham Trolleys in the UK