British Rail Research Division
| Industry | Improvements to railways |
|---|---|
| Fate | Privatised |
| Successor | DeltaRail Group Limited |
| Founded | 1964 |
| Defunct | 1996 |
| Headquarters | Railway Technical Centre, Derby |
| Parent | British Railways Board (1964-1996) |
The British Rail Research Division came into being in 1964 directly under the control of the British Railways Board, moving into purpose-built premises at the Railway Technical Centre in Derby. The intention was to improve railway reliability and efficiency, while reducing costs and improving revenue. In so doing it became recognised as a centre of excellence and, in time, was providing consultancy to other railways around the world. While it became famous for the Advanced Passenger Train (APT), its activities extended into every area of railway operation. The theoretical rigor of its approach to railway engineering superseded the ad hoc methods that had prevailed previously.
The Research Division brought together personnel and expertise from all over the country, including the LMS Scientific Research Laboratory. Their remit was not simply the improvement of existing equipment, or the solution of existing problems, but fundamental research from first principles, into railway operation. The results of its work would go on to inform development by engineers, manufacturers and railways all over the world. For instance, once the initial APT-E experimental project was complete, it passed to the mechanical engineering department to build the APT-P prototype. In time, engineers would be seconded to other countries for varying periods under the trade name "Transmark".
One of the first major projects was the development of profiled/pre-worn wheels which helped counter the tendency of new wheels to hunt. This led to research into vehicle suspensions, and the creation of the four-wheel High Speed Freight Vehicle (HSFV1) which proved stable at up to 140mph when tested on the roller rig.
Other work involved looking at the tamping of ballast, properties of subsoils, and rail prestressing. A large part of the network had been converted to continuous welded rail which, during a hot summer, caused many problems with rail buckling. Although there were no injuries, there were a number of derailments. Attention focused on the costs and benefits of tamping the ballast over the sleeper ends.
There were extended studies into metal fatigue, and pioneering work in ultrasound crack detection at a time when it was being investigated elsewhere for medical diagnostics. The Research Division was involved in new signalling systems, such as Solid State Interlocking (SSI) and the Integrated Electronic Control Centre (IECC), and in the design of the overhead lines for the West Coast Main Line.
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