Doncaster Works: How home of Mallard and Flying Scotsman has proud link with electric warriors

During the 1930s, Doncaster Works was under the control of the London & North Eastern Railway and this is the decade when many of the company’s famous locomotives and carriage sets were completed.

In November 1936, the LNER announced an ambitious scheme for the electrification of the main line between Manchester-Sheffield-Wath using overhead wires supplying 1500V.

The system was already employed on the Manchester South Junction & Altrincham line (MSJ&L). The cost was predicted to be more than £2,000,000. The work was reported to be ‘scheduled under the Government assisted scheme’.

LNER Chief Mechanical Engineer, Sir Nigel Gresley, designed electric locomotives to run on the proposed system.

Work on the route was halted due to the Second World War and only one prototype electric locomotive, no. 6701, was completed at Doncaster Works in 1940.

It was tested on the MSJ&L in 1941 but was put into storage for the rest of the war. Renumbered to become no. 6000, the locomotive was still idle after the cessation of hostilities.

The LNER however was anxious for more extensive trials to be undertaken before continuing construction of further engines. Fortunately, in September 1947, the Netherlands Railways agreed to run the locomotive for test trials.

An account from November 28, of that year said that the electric locomotive had just completed 10,000 miles in that country hauling both passenger and freight ranging from 330 tons to 1,600 tons.

The Dutch nicknamed the engine ‘Tommy’ (their name for a British soldier during the Second World War).

When the locomotive returned to Britain in February 1952, it was given British Railways no. 26000 and bore a brass nameplate with the official name ‘Tommy’ on its side.

Between 1950-1953, a further 57 locomotives were built, not at Doncaster, but at Gorton.

These were used on the electrified route between Manchester, Sheffield and Wath which opened in 1954 as the most modern railway line in Britain.

Doncaster Works was active in constructing electric locomotives in the 1950s and 1960s.

The BR Eastern Region introduced several overhead electrification schemes during the late 1950s. One of these included the route from Fenchurch Street, London to Shoeburyness and Tilbury, Essex.

Between 1958-1960, Doncaster and York built 112 four-car units to operate services along these new systems.

To cater for the Eastern Region’s electric services between Liverpool Street and Chingford, Enfield Town, Hertford East and Bishops Stortford, 71 multiple unit sets were introduced during 1960. Nineteen four-car sets were produced at Doncaster.

Following the decision by the Southern Region to electrify the Kent coast Main Lines an order was placed at Doncaster for 24 booster electric locomotives.

The engines were capable of operating by third (live) rail or overhead head current collection and were used to haul freight and passenger trains such as the ‘Golden Arrow’ and ‘Night Ferry’ services.

The introduction of AC electrification was included in the British Transport’s Modernisation programme of the mid-1950s.

This was a significant initiative to revitalise the railway system in the face of increasing competition from road and air transport.

First of all, it was decided to electrify the London Midland West Coast route from London to Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester and build 100 prototype AC electric locomotives.

All these had to include standardised methods of driving and uniform control layouts in cabs. Also, before production began, a number of stipulations were made regarding mechanical components, the axle load and body shape.

Building the 100 prototypes was divided between five manufacturers with 60 being constructed by private contractors and 40 by BR workshops.

The latter batch was originally intended to be produced in equal proportions at Crewe and Doncaster but in the event all, Nos E3056-E3095, were built at Doncaster between 1961 and 1964.

The 100 prototypes, after completion, were grouped into five classes AL1-5. The Doncaster locomotives fell into Class AL5 (later Class 85).

Much information was gained from the five classes of prototype AC electric locomotives when they were in operation and this led to a production batch of 100 locomotives being built in 1965.

These became Class AL6 (later Class 86) and Nos E3101- E3140 were constructed at Doncaster Works.

Former Doncaster Works employee, Roy Rowett said: “In 1960, I became chargehand fitter in the New Erecting Shop and was pleased when I accompanied the last AL6, number E3140, from Doncaster to Crewe.

"It was the last of a batch of 40 all-electric locomotives, costing approximately £80,000 each and intended for use on the new electrified Liverpool-Manchester-London line. Amazingly, there was nearly three miles of electric wiring in each loco.

"The locos were not only built in Doncaster but designed there too. E3140 was towed by a steam locomotive, unceremoniously some may say, during February 1966 and I had to sit in an unheated AL6 cab all the way to Crewe.”

A report from Friday, November 19, 1965 said that from the following Monday some trains from Euston to the north and outer London suburbs would be electrically hauled.

This followed the completion of the region’s vast main line electrification scheme between Manchester, Liverpool and London.

It was added: “The first main line electric train to leave Euston will be the 8.35am to Liverpool…By Monday, January 3, 1966, all passenger trains leaving or arriving at Euston will be hauled by electric power."

During 1973/1974, Doncaster Works made a departure from more conventional locomotive construction when 11 battery locomotives, Nos L44-L54, were erected for London Transport.

These were similar to previous service stock designs, with driving cabs at each end and incorporating the same dimensions as Tube stock.

Each vehicle was able to operate independently on their own batteries or from 600V DC fourth rail supply. At the time of their introduction, the locomotives were intended for hauling engineering trains during the construction of the Fleet (Jubilee) line and the Piccadilly Line extension to Heathrow Central.

The Doncaster Works site was split into three separate businesses in 1987. They were: British Rail Maintenance (later Adtranz, then Bombardier Transportation); National Supply Centre; and RFS Industries (later Wabtec).

Two of the sites became involved in maintaining the East Coast main line Class 91 electric locomotives. Between 2000 and 2003, Adtranz undertook a major mid-life refurbishment and modification of the 31 Class 91 locomotives operated by GNER.

In 2003 a contract was signed at a special ceremony at the Bombardier Doncaster site for the Class 91 locomotives to undergo light maintenance services.

This was under a five-year contract with locomotive owners HSBC Rail. Present at the signing ceremony was Doncaster Labour MP Rosie Winterton.

During September 2020, it was announced that Wabtec Rail would overhaul 12 LNER Class 91s.

Currently there is speculation over the future of the Doncaster Works’ Wabtec site. The old Bombardier area closed some years ago and the site redeveloped. But, the city will continue an association with electric locomotives for the foreseeable future.

Hitachi Rail operates a maintenance depot at the Doncaster Carr, south of the original steam shed.

The facility built by VolkerFitzpatrick at a cost of around £70 million undertakes maintenance, repair, cleaning and storage for Hitachi’s Azuma electric locomotives working on the East Coast main line.

Thanks to Hugh Parkin for help with this piece.