Title
Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co photo albums
Reference
GEC/4/3/5
Production date
1950 - 1953
Creator
- Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co LtdBiographyBiography
Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd was the new trading name given to British Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Co on 8 September 1919. The predecessor company had sold its controlling share to the Metropolitan Carriage Wagon Co in 1916 in order to gain membership of the Federation of British Industries. In 1919, Vickers acquired the Metropolitan Carriage Wagon Co, along with its controlling share in British Westinghouse, prompting the change in name to Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd.
The American owned British Westinghouse had established its English operations at Trafford Park in 1899, and Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd continued on the same site from 8 September 1919. The company was initially known for its electricity generators, later diversifying into the manufacture of steam turbines, switchgear, transformers, electronics and railway traction equipment.
The passing of the Electricity (Supply) Act in 1926 provided a boost to the company’s post-war fortunes, with the creation of the National Grid generating demand for the company's products.
In 1928, Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd merged with its rival British Thomson Houston Co Ltd, retaining both names for trading purposes. The following year, on 4 January 1929, Associated Electrical Industries Ltd (AEI) acquired Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd and the British Thomson Houston Co Ltd. Again, both trading names were retained, and a fierce rivalry was established between the firms which the parent company was unable to control.
In 1931, Sir Felix Pole joined Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd as its new chairman. He oversaw a period of expansion for the company leading into the Second World War. In 1939, seeking a more concise name for the company, the Board of Directors decided upon Metrovicks, which became interchangeable with the official company name of Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd. Under Sir Felix Pole's chairmanship, Metropolitan-Vickers developed new products for the aviation industry and during the war was one of the sites where Lancaster bombers were built. In 1941, the company developed the first British axial-flow jet engine, the Metrovick F.2.
Following the Second World War, the company appointed Oliver Lyttelton as chairman, with the aim of increasing the efficiency and productivity of AEI. Despite his success in achieving this aim, Lyttelton was unable to resolve the commercial rivalry between Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd and the British Thomson Houston Co Ltd.
During his second period as chairman, from 1954-1963, Lyttelton, now Lord Chandos, oversaw the development by Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd of the first commercial transistor computer, the Metrovick 950. Chandos also resolved to extinguish the competition and internal divisions between Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd and the British Thomson Houston Co Ltd, and both company names ceased to be used from 1 January 1960, with all subsidiaries going on to trade under the name of Associated Electrical Industries Ltd.
Scope and Content
The box contains 4 photo albums:
Album no. 1 - Roan-Antelope Copper Mines G.O.19432, with photos of locomotive 0-4+4-0.
Album no. 8 - G.O.39920 Scottish Oils, G.O.19392 English Steel, G.O.19133 Earles Cement, G.O. 19017 L.E.P., G.O. 19203 Halworth Co Limited, G.O. 39943 York, G.O.39962 British Aluminium, G.O. 39973 Dobson & Barlow, G.O.19361 UNNRA, G.O.19349 Dorman Long & Co Limited, G.O.039982 Nottingham Corporation, G.O.19418 Oslo.
Album no. 9 - Broken Hill G.O.19142 & 19224, W.A.G. G.O.64418, with photos of mechanical parts and industrial locomotives.
Album no. 22 - New South Wales G.O.19470, New South Wales Government Railway Coach G.O.19573, with photos of Co-Co 3820hp 1500V d.c. electric locomotives, mechanical parts, equipment, equipment installations, complete locos and first stages of shipping (by road).
Extent
1 box
Level of description
FILE
Repository name
National Railway Museum, York
Associated people and organisations
- Rhodesian Selection Trust LtdBiographyBiography
The Rhodesian Selection Trust Ltd (RST) was a copper mining corporation which operated in the Copperbelt region of Northern Rhodesia. The RST was formed by Irish-American mining magnate, Alfred Chester Beatty in 1928. In 1926, RST took over the Roan Antelope and Rietbok claims from the Bwana Mkubwa Company and the Rhodesia Copper and General Exploration and Finance Company, with the RST dominating the company shareholdings. RST became Roan Selection Trust in 1964 subsequent to the break-up of the Central African Federation and the independence of Northern Rhodesia as the new state of Zambia.
- South African Railways and HarboursBiographyBiography
In 1910 the state-owned South African Railways and Harbours (SAR&H) organisation was created, after the four colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State were amalgamated into the new Union of South Africa. In 1916, SAR&H took over the activities of the Central South African Railways, the Cape Government Railways and the Natal Government Railways. In 1924 the last privately owned railway line in South Africa was taken over by SAR&H; the New Cape Central Railway between Worcester and Voor Bay. In 1920 electrification of South Africa’s railways was completed, and in 1924 the first electric test train ran between Ladysmith and Chieveley in Natal. In 1950 the first portion of the new Johannesburg station was opened and construction was completed on the huge workshops complex at Koedoespoort. In 1960, diesel locomotives were introduced on a large scale to SAR&H. In 1981, SAR&H changed its name to South African Transport Services (SATS) and took on South Africa’s railway, harbour, road transport, and aviation and pipeline operations.
- Scottish Oils Ltd, oil manufacturersBiographyBiography
Scottish Oils Ltd was established by Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) in 1919 by the merger of five Scottish oil shale companies, Young's Paraffin Light & Mineral Oil Company, Broxburn Oil Company, Pumpherston Shale Oil Company, Oakbank Oil Company, and James Ross & Company Philpstoun Oil Works. Shale oil production in Scotland ceased in the early 1960s and there was an unsuccessful attempt to revive it in 1973. The company was wound up on the 15th December 2010.
- British Steel CorporationBiographyBiography
British Steel Corporation (BSC) was a government-owned corporation established by the Iron and Steel Act of March 22, 1967 incorporating the ownership of 14 major steel companies in the United Kingdom: Colvilles Limited; Consett Iron Company Limited; Dorman, Long & Co., Limited; English Steel Corporation Limited; G.K.N. Steel Company Limited; John Summers & Sons Limited; The Lancashire Steel Corporation Limited; The Park Gate Iron and Steel Company, Limited; Richard Thomas & Baldwins Limited; Round Oak Steel Works Limited; South Durham Steel and Iron Company Limited; The Steel Company of Wales Limited; Stewarts and Lloyds, Limited; and The United Steel Companies Limited. The organisation was converted to a limited company, British Steel PLC, and privatised in 1988. It later merged and is now owned by Corus, a Tata Steel company.
- Western Australia Government RailwaysBiographyBiography
In 1890 the Department of Works and Railways was separated into the Department of Works and Buildings and the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR). Its headquarters were located in Perth. The network had stations in Perth, Kelmscott, Cannington and Welshpool. These lines were primarily opened to service the wheatbelt – an area which reaches north from Perth to the Mid-West region, and east to the Goldfields-Esperance region. In 1914 the function of tramways was added and the Department's title changed to Western Australian Government Railways and Tramways.
The Western Australian Government Railways, Tramways & Ferries was abolished in 1949 and its functions dispersed into two new bodies, Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) and Western Australian Government Tramways & Ferries. In September 1975, the WAGR adopted the trading name Westrail and created a logo. However, the official name of the WAGR was not changed at this point. The name Westrail was created simply to improve the company’s image. The new company headquarters were the Westrail Centre in the Perth terminal.
On 17 December 2000, the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) freight division was sold to the Australian Railway Group along with the Westrail name and logo. The WAGR continued to operate as the Western Australian Government Railways Commission, until it was absorbed by the Public Transport Authority in 2003.
- New South Wales Government RailwaysBiographyBiography
The New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) were operated by the New South Wales Government from 1855 who administered all the railway lines in the New South Wales area from headquarters in Sydney. The lines ranged from Brisbane (Queensland) and Broken Hill (South Australian Frontier) to Albury (Victorian Frontier). Between 1855 and 1932 the operation of NSWGR changed many times, altering between a Chief Commissioner with sole authority and groups of commissioners who shared responsibility. After the 1932 amendment of the Railways Act by the Transport (Division of Factions) Act, NSWGR was replaced by the Department of Railways New South Wales.
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