Report - GEC Castle Engineering, Stafford, April 2013

[A man called Martyn]

The last time i had visited the site in 2009 it was already in decline. The buildings used by landon engineering being the only visable signs of life, the office at the front of the site was empty and near by buildings were boarded up.Time for a brief history of the site, that started life back in 1875.

W. G. Bagnall was a locomotive manufacturer from Stafford, England. It was founded in 1875 by William Gordon Bagnall and ceased trading in 1962 when it was taken over by English Electric Co Ltd. The company was located at the Castle Engine Works, in Castle Town, Stafford. The majority of their products were small four- and six-coupled steam locomotives for industrial use, and many were narrow gauge. They were noted for building steam and diesel locomotives in standard and narrow gauges.

Bagnalls introduced several novel type of locomotive valve gear including the Bagnall-Price and the Baguley. They also used marine (circular) fireboxes on narrow gauge engines, a design that was cheap but needed a different firing technique.

Some of Kerr Stuart's designs were brought to Bagnalls when they employed Kerr Stuart's chief Draughtsman.

W. G. Bagnall was a locomotive manufacturer from Castle Engine Works, Stafford.

1875 It was founded by William Gordon Bagnall who took over the millwright business of Massey and Hill.

1876 Produced the first railway locomotive. The majority of their products were small four and six-coupled steam locomotives for industrial use, and many were narrow gauge. They were noted for building steam and diesel locomotives in standard and narrow gauges.

1876 Exhibitor at the Royal Agricultural Show at Birmingham with a brick press capable of producing 20,000 per day.

1887 The firm became W. G. Bagnall Ltd.

1887 Private company.

1889 Steel sleepers.

1889 Showed light railway plant suitable for farms and contractors at the RASE at Windsor.

1891 E. E. Baguley joined the company and left in 1902 to start his own business.

1892 Around 140 locomotives had been built up to this time.

1894 Narrow gauge locomotive for 2ft gauge. Illustration in The Engineer.

1914 Listed as locomotive builders and railway engineers. Specialities: narrow gauge locomotives; sugar cane, tipping and other special wagons.

Bagnalls introduced several novel type of locomotive valve gear including the Bagnall-Price and the Baguley. They also used marine (circular) fireboxes on narrow gauge engines, a design that was cheap but needed a different firing technique.

Some of the designs of Kerr, Stuart and Co were brought to Bagnalls when they employed the chief Draughtsman of Kerr Stuart and Co. Examples of such locomotives can be seen on the Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway.

1937 Produced the 5-hp Bagnall Demon engine but only a batch of 25 were built

1948 Heenan and Froude acquired W. G. Bagnall Ltd.

1951 Association formed with Brush: Brush-Bagnall Traction Ltd.

1959 W. G. Bagnall was sold to W. H. Dorman and Co, a neighbouring Stafford diesel engine maker, by Heenans in exchange for Dorman 'A' shares .

1961 Locomotive builders and railway engineers. 600 employees.

1961 English Electric Co acquired W. H. Dorman and Co.

1962 New wholly-owned subsidiary formed: English Electric Traction to bring all railway-related activities under one management. These included The Vulcan Foundry, Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns and W. G. Bagnall.

From 1876 to 1957 the company produced 1,660 locomotives.

The castle works became part of the large English Electric presence in the county.which in turn was to become part of GEC.

Sadly, English Electric itself is no more — it was absorbed into the giant multinational GEC group of companies in 1968. GEC, in partnership with the French company Alsthom, then operated the main Lichfield Road, Stafford factory (originally built by Siemens) as GEC Alsthom, the base for many constituent companies involved in electricity transmission and distribution, switchgear, turbine generators and transformers. Other sites in Stafford were the GEC Alsthom Measurements Ltd St Leonard’s works for meters, relays and instruments and electronic assemblies, the Stafford Foundry, GEC Alsthom Ceramics at the Castle Works, and GEC Computer Services Ltd at the Hollies, Newport Road and Stychfields. Other sites in Staffordshire were GEC Electromotors Ltd at Lower Milehouse Lane, Newcastle-under-Lyme, GEC Meters at Stonefield Works, Stone, GEC Industrial Controls in the former southern factory of English Electric at West Avenue, Kidsgrove, and GEC Hotpoint at Kidsgrove. GEC Alsthom later became part of the French multi-national Alstom, still at Stafford.

But after closure it was an industrial estate used by Stafford college, landon engineering (moved out 2009)and other smaller firms.Now the site is sitting empty and awaiting demolition for a planned housing development.

Two period pictures of the factory in use via the links.
Staffordshire Past Track -Pattern Shop, W.G. Bagnall's Engineering Works, Stafford,

Staffordshire Past Track -Foundry, W.G. Bagnall's Engineering Works, Stafford,

One period picture of production at the factory from off the internet.

Landon Engineering offices.

 

[Joshua Hunt]

Really disappointed they demolished this before I got to explore!
Would have made a great location for a short film. What a waste of a great building. Now just lying flat and rubble-less.

 

[Fuzzball]

Thanks for posting the pics and info! Nice! Good to see it again more fully. I had totally forgotten where this place was. I have a couple of snaps from early 2012 of an explore in Stafford, on a Cod-awful rainy day with a randomer from uni who I can't remember and I haven't been able to remember where the explore was, till now. I think I also had a migraine on the day...

Anyway, this place was pretty cool. But the office bits were a bit hairy as the floors were collapsing. We only discovered this after walking on the upper floors and feeling a gentle slope like you might be strolling down along an incline, or along the deck of a slowly sinking tanker. When we explored the bottom floor we saw just how the floors above were being held together by cobwebs. This is all I have of that explore.

.

 

[KPUrban_]

Looks like a few photogenic signs remained from it being empted out. It does appear one of your photos are upside down.