Clyde Engineering Explained
Clyde Engineering was an Australian manufacturer of locomotives, rolling stock, and other industrial products.
It was founded in September 1898 by a syndicate of Sydney businessmen buying the Granville factory of timber merchants Hudson Brothers. The company won contracts for railway rolling stock, a sewerage system, trams and agricultural machinery. In 1907 it won its first contract for steam locomotives for the New South Wales Government Railways. By 1923 it had 2,200 employees. After contracting during the depression it became a major supplier of munitions during World War II.[1]
In 1950 it was awarded the first of many contracts for diesel locomotives by the Commonwealth Railways after it was appointed the Australian licensee for Electro-Motive Diesel products.[2] Apart from building locomotives and rolling stock, Clyde Engineering diversified into telephone and industrial electronic equipment, machine tools, domestic aluminium ware, road making and earth making equipment, hydraulic pumps, product finishing equipment, filtration systems, boilers, power stations and firing equipment, car batteries, hoists and cranes, door and curtain tracks and motor vehicle distribution.[1]
In July 1996 it was taken over by Evans Deakin Industries.[3] [4] [5] In March 2001 Evans Deakin was taken over by Downer Group to form Downer EDi.[6] [7]
Products
Amongst the classes of locomotives built by Clyde Engineering were:
Steam locomotives
Commonwealth Railways
New South Wales
South Australia
Tasmania
Diesel locomotives
Commonwealth Railways / Australian National
New South Wales
Victoria
Queensland
Western Australia
Mining
New Zealand
- DA class NO's 1430–1439, Phase II variant of the class. Featured longer-than-standard chassis to accommodate a larger fuel tank than the earlier Phase I (1955) variant.
- DBR class rebuilt from Canadian-built DB class in 1980–1982.
- DC class rebuilt from Canadian-built Phase III DA class locomotives from 1978 to 1981.
Electric locomotives
Queensland
Diesel railcars
South Australia
Electric multiple units
New South Wales
Electric tramcars
New South Wales
- 10 C-Class Granville (delivered 1899–1900)
- D-Class Granville (1890s)
- 70 E-Class Granville (delivered 1902–1903)
- 260 F-Class Granville (delivered 1899–1902)
- 195 R-Class Granville (delivered 1933–1935)
- 55 R1-Class Granville (delivered 1935)
Other non-rail related products
- Lawnmowers and lead batteries - 1930s
- Servicing aircraft, naval vessels
- Mining equipment
- Automobile parts and accessories
- Bulldozers
- Bus bodies
- Cranes
- Structural steel (e.g. trusses for the Peats Ferry Bridge)[9]
- Air cargo
- Lorries
- Filtration Systems (e.g. fume hoods, dust extractors, air filters)
- Roller Doors
- Materials Handling Equipment
- Automobile Assembly Paint Lines
Manufacturing Facilities
Non rail products
- Woodville North - Clyde Apac Industries (Air filtration systems, Lemcol materials handling systems, Selson air jacks)
- Revesby - B&D roller door systems
- Port Kembla - Clyde Carruthers
Because of capacity constraints, in the 1990s Clyde leased Australian National Industries' Braemar factory to fulfill its order for FreightCorp 82 class locomotives.[12]
Further reading
- Book: Murray, James. Phoenix to the world: the story of Clyde Industries and Sir Raymond Purves. 1992. Sydney. 0-949853-47-X . Playright Pub..
- A History of Clyde Engineering
Notes and References
- Clyde publishes company history. Railway Digest. December 1992. 455.
- http://www.downergroup.com/Investors/ASX-Announcements/View-Announcements.aspx?year=2012 Downer & Electro-Motive Diesel Sign New Agreement
- Web site: Clyde Industries door handle, 1972 - 1996. Powerhouse Museum.
- http://www.delisted.com.au/company/clyde-industries-limited Clyde Industries Limited
- "EDI Wins Clyde Takeover Battle" Railway Digest September 1996 page 10
- http://www.delisted.com.au/company/evans-deakin-industries-limited Evans Deakin Industries Limited
- http://www.downergroup.com/Documents/Investors/AGM,-Financial-Results--Reports/200001/Annual-Report/2001_ANNUAL_REPORT_20080811044448.pdf Annual Report 30 June 2001
- Stokes . Jim . Dix . Andrew . P1 - the TGR's 2-6-2 tank locomotive . Tasmanian Railway News . January 2008 . 237 . 13–15.
- Web site: Peats Ferry Road Bridge over Hawkesbury River. Heritage and conservation register, Roads & Maritime Services. Government of New South Wales. 15 August 2005. 14 January 2015.
- Web site: Carol. Jacinta. Former Downer EDI site sells. Western Advocate. 26 June 2015.
- Clyde Engineering's Brisbane (Eagle Farm) Plant Closes. Railway Digest. May 1995. 16.
- "Clyde Set to Lease Mittagong Factory" Railway Digest June 1993 page 221