David Shirres
In its 150-year history, it is unlikely that the 90-acre railway workshops at Derby Litchurch Lane has ever welcomed 40,000 people over a three-day period. This was Greatest Gathering, not of people, but of over 140 rail vehicles, which made it the largest event of Railway 200 which celebrates 200 years of the modern railway.
The Litchurch Lane workshops have been producing railway vehicles for 150 years since opening in the mid-1870s when the Midland Railway decided it needed a separate workshop to produce wagons and coaches of which it once produced respectively 200 and 10 per week.
In British Rail days, it was the main workshop producing Mark 1 coaches, and later Mark 3 coaches. It also produced various multiple units, including the Class 158 DMU. After privatisation, the workshop was bought by Bombardier when it produced the Class 170 Turbostar DMU and the Electrostar EMUs.
After Alstom acquired Bombardier Transportation, the works produced over 2,600 vehicles of the Aventra family of EMUs of which the Class 345 EMUs for the Elizabeth Line are an example. After these orders were completed, there was a real possibility that the works, which is the UK’s only comprehensive train manufacturing facility, would close. Fortunately, a month after Aventra production ceased, Alstom was given an order for a further 10 x 9-car Aventra trains for the Elizabeth Line.
Thus, the works was reprieved from closure but faced a long pause in production. In the short term this required the works to diversify to undertake activities such as component overhaul. However, it also was recognised that this presented an opportunity to do something special. Thus, in September 2024, Alstom announced that it would host ‘The Greatest Gathering’ on 1-3 August 2025.
140+ rail vehicles
At the time, Alstom was confident it could make this claim as the gathering only needed to attract a few more than the 50 vehicles that were at the National Railway Museum’s 2012 Railfest. As it turned out its gathering attracted more than 140 rail vehicles which included:
- Over 20 steam locomotives, of which the oldest working locomotive was the 1863 0-4-0 Furness Railway No 20.
- Seven diesel shunters.
- Over 50 diesel locomotives.
- Fifteen electric locomotives.
- Twenty-nine multiple units.
There were also numerous other attractions which included various train rides. These included a trip on a Class 345 Aventra on the works’ 1.4km test track, and rides behind IMechE Railway Challenge locomotives as well as those from heritage narrow gauge railways. One such locomotive was the Ffestiniog Railway’s 1863-built Prince which is the world’s oldest operating narrow-gauge locomotive. A fleet of 22 vintage buses were busy ferrying visitors between the workshops and Derby railway stations.
There were also fairground attractions, family entertainment, street food stalls, and live music. Inside the workshops was an impressive model railway display, a railway marketplace, a heritage and preservation zone, and a ‘meet the railway family’ area. This included organisations such as the Railway Industry Association and Chartered Institution of Railway Operators.
The modern railway
Though a large part of the gathering celebrated the railway’s past, there was also much to see about the railway’s present and future. The STEM hub showed visitors the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) of the modern railway. This was hosted by Alstom’s graduates, engineers, and apprentices who demonstrated interactive exhibits such as virtual reality and driving simulators, perhaps to inspire visitors to become future railway engineers.
As its name suggests, the Train Zero Delivery (TZD) facility does not build trains. Instead, it is a software test site with static tests rigs of all types of Aventra units. These test rigs simulate the way the train’s software and hardware work together. This enables more thorough testing to be done than is practical on a train. Hence this is an essential part of the validation of the train’s design and any subsequent changes. Those visiting TZD could not fail to be impressed by the large volume of electronic equipment on a modern train, which is not obvious to passengers.
The gathering also provided an opportunity for a sneak preview of the emerging interior train design for the HS2 trains. These are to be the Class 895 units and will be built at the Litchurch Lane works in a few years’ time. Visitors were able to go inside full-scale wooden mock-ups of the saloon, catering, and bike and buggy spaces of these new trains. They were advised how these mock-ups had developed after extensive feedback from a wide range of user groups. Despite advances in virtual reality, it was felt that there was no substitute for a full-scale mock up to obtain worthwhile user feedback.
The 200-metre Class 895 units will have 504 seats and spaces for four wheelchairs, four bikes, and two children’s buggies. They will also offer more leg room. Despite this, the Class 895 will have 10% more seats per train-length-metre. This will be achieved by placing all the train’s equipment below the coach. They will also offer level-boarding at HS2 stations and have a wider step to give an improved boarding on the conventional network.
Back to normal
Setting up the workshops for the gathering was no mean feat, though this was made possible by the two weeks beforehand being the works maintenance shutdown period. Although Alstom and its 250 volunteers deserve great credit for making this event happen, many other railway companies did a great deal to make it a success.
After the last visitors left, the job of getting the workshops back in business began. This was helped by opening only around half the workshop space to the public during the gathering. It also required numerous train movements which included trains with five diesel locomotives and four steam locomotives.
And so it was that, less than a day after hosting a once-in-a-generation celebration the heritage and future of Britain’s railway, the Litchurch Lane workshops started producing its order for additional Elizabeth Line trains. After seeing the scale and capability of this facility at the gathering, it is difficult to imagine that it would have closed had it not been for this order.
Image credit: David Shirres
