Adlib Internet Server 5

Title
Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd tender specifications
Reference
GEC/3/10/48
Production date
1926 - 1951

Creator

Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd Biography Biography
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 5 tender specifications for Commonwealth Railways, Estrada de Ferro Central do Brasil, Bombay, Baroda & Central India Railway Company, Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway and South African Railways and Harbours.
Extent
1 box
Level of description
FILE
Repository name
National Railway Museum, York

Associated people and organisations

Central Railway of Brazil Biography Biography
On 9th February 1855, the Imperial Government of Brazil signed a contract with Edward Price for the construction of the first section of a railway. Work commenced on the Central Railway of Brazil on 11th June 1855, and on 29th March 1858, the 48km section from Rio de Janeiro to Freguesia de Nossa Senhora da Conceicao de Marapicu was completed. On March 16, 1957 the company came under the control of Rede Ferroviária Federal S.A. (RFFSA).
Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway Biography Biography
In 1861 Sir Edward Lumb, a British entrepreneur, requested a concession from the Legislature of the Province of Buenos Aires to build a railway line from Constitucion to Chascomus, 120km away from Buenos Aires, which was granted on June 12th 1862 by President Bartolome Mitre. In 1863, with the support of London shareholders Thomas Duguid, the Fair family, British consul Frank Parish (later Southern’s chairman), and bankers Baring and David Robertson, Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway Ltd. was established. The first general manager of the company was Edward Banfield, the Buenos Aires suburban station of Banfield was named after him when it opened in 1873. Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway had its company headquarters in London, and operated workshops and rolling stock depots in Barracas. The main stations of the Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway are Constitucion, Barracas al Sud, Jeppener, Chascomus, Barracas al Norte, Las Flores, Azul, Dolores and Banfield. In 1877 Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway built a new warehouse in Constitucion station for freight trains and a freight station at Sola in Buenos Aires where repair shops operated for 15 years. By 1884 Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway was the largest in Argentina, with 1,025km of track. In 1901 new workshops were built at Remedios de Escalada, 11km from Constitucion station, being the largest workshop in South America, employing 2700. In 1925, the company took over Bahia Blanca and North Western Railway from Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway Company. By 1930 Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway Company had 8000 km of track, 504 stations, 857 locomotives, 955 carriages, 16,602 coaches and 30,000 employees. The company continued to function until 1948, when President Juan Peron nationalised the Argentine Railway, creating six state owned railway networks. Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway was incorporated into the Ferrocarril General Roca network.
South African Railways and Harbours Biography Biography
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.

Subject
Railways
locomotives
Manufacturing
Specifications
Exports