Ultra Light Rail Partners

This Information Memorandum is not intended to be a financial promotion. It does not contain information from a business plan about the company and its prospects. It is intended to provide a view of potential prospects for the lightweight rail industry based on the experience of Parry People Movers Limited and the role it might play in it. If you are in doubt about the contents of this document you should consult a person authorised for the purposes of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to advise on securities.

This Information Memorandum has been issued by Parry People Movers Ltd, company number 2652429, whose registered office is at Overend Road, Cradley Heath, West Midlands, B64 7DD. www.parrypeoplemovers.com

3 PARRY PEOPLE MOVERS LTD INFORMATION MEMORANDUM From early beginnings in the 1990s the effort to Meanwhile at the turn of the Millennium, the continued support and trust of existing design, develop and prove an affordable rail first light rail systems based on European shareholders. This Memorandum pro- technology has attained technical respectability. engineering had been proving very effective, vides the latest information about the com- Step by step, proof of concept exercises, then a but when the huge bills for construction pany, the system and the opportunities demonstration service promoted by James Skin- came to be paid, the Government framed a which it has created which have at last ner’s Sustainable Transport Company, Sustraco, no-go policy - 'Tramways are too expensive produced a fair wind especially in favour in Bristol, and today in everyday service in the - so we must make buses more efficient and of smaller systems. West Midlands. PPM’s Class 139 railcars have attractive instead'. This was a further ham- recently been described by the BBC’s transport mer blow for rail innovation. Second only to the huge amount of money correspondent as ‘the most reliable trains on the that the pathfinding Stourbridge Shuttle national network’. During 10 years in the hands For PPM to proceed against such strong service is saving is the great popularity of PMOL the operator, reliability has been over head winds required determination and a with its passengers. 99.5%. steady nerve – and most important, the

The progress of PPM’s technology was pushed The Stourbridge back after 1999. Rail privatisation was accom- Branch line train panied by unprecedented upheaval with spec- service operated by PPM’s Class tacular rail disasters with much loss of life, just 139 light railcars at a time when the public were beginning to ac- reached a total of quire fresh appetite for train travel in the UK. 5 million passen- Combined with a general loss of confidence in ger journeys in domestically-originated technology was this evi- September 2018. dence that Britain was on its way to becoming a PMOL, the Opera- post-industrial nation? tor, marked the occasion by issu- To advance an argument that one of the World’s ing a Certificate to most creative sources of new ideas and techni- 80 year old Jo cal innovation should give up research and de- Aldred, the five millionth passen- velopment leading to new business opportunities ger. is nonsensical. Most nations of the World have railways that were originally supplied by British (photo courtesy of the Express & Star engineers. Why no longer? Newspaper)

4 GLOBAL WARNINGS FIRE AND WATER FORESIGHT INSIGHT ENERGY STORAGE People in Asia, America and Australia have It is generally recognised that to reduce the quantity 'Lack of progress in battery development been experiencing unpleasantly hot, polluted of CO2 and other climate-affecting gases entering has encouraged investigation of other tech- air and widespread life-threatening bush fires. the atmosphere, one of the most effective measures nologies. An alternative way of storing en- A decade ago these would have just been a is to reduce the use of private cars in urban areas ergy is a flywheel ...... ' theme setting for a disaster movie. They are encouraging people to travel by rail. This will also 18th Report on Transport and the Envi- now daily news stories. Human beings have improve air quality. But to quote from the Na- ronment. Royal Commission on Environ- been ‘playing with fire’ and casualties are tional Technology Foresight Programmes Trans- mental Pollution 1994. mounting. Perversely flood disasters are oc- port Report of May 1996:- curring in several regions simultaneously. Ten All this points to the glaring need for more 'The capital cost of conventional Metro/ affordable rail based public transport. out of the last twelve years have experienced Supertram systems limits them to urban areas ‘global warming’-induced extreme events. If the which have large populations and high density fire does not get you, the water will! movement corridors. A new lighter, cheaper Concerned people can choose two different mode is needed for all those towns which can- Growth of Passenger Journeys on Britain’s ways to react:- a) Make a lot of noise carrying not meet the requirements for a supertram but most energy-efficient Rail Service - The placards, blocking roads, demanding that which still have problems to solve in their cen- Stourbridge Shuttle ‘something must be done’ b) Actively getting tres'. (Conclusion reached 24 years ago!) involved by supporting remedial activities.

Introduction of a regular weekend operation and a 10 minute frequency daily service on the Stourbridge Branch boosted passenger journeys sharply after 2010 on the heavy rail service which was around 300,000 a year . Prioir to that in the 1990s when the two major transport reports were commissioned by the British Cabinet, but the concept of hydridisation using flywheel energy was considered by some as whimsy or a Victorian throwback. However, since the flywheel powered Class 139 began uninterrupted 18 hours each day service, passenger numbers have continued to grow and now exceed 600,000 journeys a year. 5

CONTENTS Contents Page Urban Transport – An Outstanding Need 6

Parry People Movers’ Vision 7 AFFORDABLE RAIL PIONEERS The case for Tramway Innovation 8 People-Friendly 10 What’s Coming Next? 11 Routes to Light Railway Markets 12

Other Emerging Prospects: Town & Country Lines 13 Key Manufacturing Partners and Collaborators –

 Clayton Equipment 14

 Severn Lamb 15

 Other Key Collaborators 16 Priority Engineering Research and Development 17 Professional & Strategic Collaborators: PMOL 18 Ultra Light Rail Partners: First of A Kind Project 19 Planning the Product Range: Contemporary Context 20 Planning the Product Range: Heritage Context 21 PPM Bounces Back 22 Directors, Associates and Close Advisors 23

From left to right: Phil Evans, Pre Metro Operations (see page 18); Cllr Beverley Nielsen, Ultra Light Rail Partners (see page 19); James Skinner, Sustainable Transport Company, and John Parry, Parry People Movers Limited 6 URBAN TRANSPORT - AN OUTSTANDING NEED

The facilities and conveniences brought to us by modern technology have transformed life in the home, in the office, in the factory, on the farm and on holiday, but there is one field in which it is the absence of progress which is remarkable. Urban transport is not only as unpredictable and frustrating as it ever was but the damage it is causing to the environment (including the aban- donment of towns and urbanisation of the coun- tryside) and the threat to people's health are becoming unacceptable or even intolerable. And this at a time of unprecedented consumer ascen- dancy, when unexpected levels of service, including standards of hygiene, have never been higher.

Model of a Clear Zone in a town where internal transport is entirely provided by nil emission modes including PPM light railcars 7 PARRY PEOPLE MOVERS' VISION

Helping the Victims of Success Post Millennium Britain is on the move. Led initially by the more successful London-centric areas in Southern England and increasingly in the North West growing population, urban employment, opportunities and car use meant traffic congestion was growing and no matter how design improvements were changing the internal experience of bus travel, the journeys the vehicles were making were being increasingly hampered by traffic congestion. This Present day daily tedium of the bus journey to In 1994 PPM mounted an early demon- resulted in a continuing massive decline in bus use work stration of lightweight tram technology in- with no other alternative but using the car. cluding installing a special portable track

Later, once the rail network began to settle down, The Problems for Buses commuters began using rail more and more for their  High quality bus services do  It is relatively far more difficult for bus not enhance property values journeys to work. As a consequence, despite con- drivers than tram drivers to maintain stant investment to increase capacity, suburban accurate journey times The Solution from PPM train services have become overwhelmed. Station The market has realized that the need car parks are crammed with cars overflowing onto  Bus operating costs per passenger are exists for a much smaller, simpler and surrounding streets. higher than trams and the vehicles need to be replaced more frequently affordable form of rail technology to fill Urban dwellers are the victims of success. Their in the gaps. The planning and regula-  Passengers pay higher fares on trains salvation will come in the form of a method of trans- tory authorities are also aware of this but still choose to travel by rail port which is safe, quick, reliable (normally gets need. The company’s position is far there on time) and causes no harm to the environ-  Large, non-fixed-track vehicles are un- further forward that it was 21 years ago. ment. The technology of buses as vehicles has suitable to operate in pedestrianised This is as a result of technical maturity been massively improved over the years, but with- streets. This limits bus access gained by its product in the hands of a out the advantage of being able to operate like a customer, PMOL. Well resourced as-  Harmful dust from wearing down of tram i.e. with steel wheels on steel rails, they are sociate companies are actively prepar- road surfaces and tyres enters the air generally unable to meet all the needs of the travel- ing to work with us enabling us to sup- and drainage systems ling public. ply and support sales of PPM railcars and trams. 8 THE CASE FOR TRAMWAY INNOVATION The principal problem which electric transport sys- Our engineers have moved in the opposite direc- A group of collaborating engineers un- tems have to overcome is how to get the power to tion to conventional practice as far as the form of der the guidance of one of PPM’s direc- the vehicles. In street-running systems trams draw energy used is concerned. Instead of electricity, tors, Major (rtd) CB Holden OBE, a re- electricity at 750 volts from overhead wires which Parry railcars are powered by gas, lpg, bio- tired senior railway inspector, has de- are expensive to install, maintain and keep safe. methane (a renewable form of that energy) or hy- signed a track form based on way- High infrastructure costs have restricted new tram- drogen. In the R&D pipeline is also now com- beams treating each rail singly. This is way construction to a handful of the densest routes; pressed air! The centre-piece of the Parry inno- being prepared for trialling. in Manchester, Sheffield, Croydon, Nottingham, Bir- vation is a spinning flywheel from which energy is mingham and Edinburgh. In a previous time of transferred to the rail wheels. The vehicle is rela-

tramway popularity, between the World Wars,140 tively small and therefore light, requiring a track locations in Britain and Ireland had significant fleets with a footing depth of a mere 150 millimetres. of more than 10 vehicles. Despite these now being This track is thus accommodated within the road described as a ‘tram revival’, there are fewer than surface and, since it permits access by the ‘Stats’ 500 vehicles in service whereas at one time there to subsoil or can be easily relocated if required, were about 20,000. Progress is painfully slow. the moving of their underground services becomes unnecessary. Small is Beautiful Larger vehicles mean heavier track and, more im- The PPM system provides a solution to the high portantly, ever more massive under-track footings capital cost of urban rail transport, a problem long for electrical screening as well as support. These perplexing public transport providers. are so difficult to move that Statutory Undertakers’ Breakthrough in Tram Track Design underground services (gas, electricity, water, phone, drains, TV) have to be relocated, an exer- Investigations into track form by PPM and its as- cise which, including complex legal processes, ac- sociates has been the application of technology counts for by far the greatest cost of a modern tram- and materials already in widespread use in the way. Result: very few British cities can introduce construction of railway level crossings which, dur- large sophisticated trams based on the design ing maintenance, have to be rebuilt over the prevalent in continental Europe. The previous Brit- course of a weekend in time for the trains to start ish practice using bus sized vehicles had far less running on Monday mornings. subsoil infrastructure to take into account. The

smaller, shorter vehicles were also more easy to accommodate into places with medieval street pat- terns of most British urban areas. 9

Efficiency throughout I P - (Intellectual Property) UK Patent No GB2425290 covers the ad- aptation of earlier ‘Parry’ patents which are The light weight track and the absence of wires High energy efficiency, beside its advantages for used on the Class 139 railcars into a make for very important cost savings as well as the planet, is necessary to maximise the vehicles’ smaller space envelope enabling the whole reduced environmental impact. Further savings economic performance. Flywheels have been un- driveline to be incorporated into a train or and environmental advantages are achieved by derrated as an energy bank. Althoughfor the tram bogie. This development leads to the the power train. Energy, which is stored in ‘kinetic’ same volume they cannot contain as much en- realistic prospect of building longer vehicles form in the flywheel, is transferred to the wheels ergy as batteries, they can be recharged infinitely with capacity for 90-120 passengers. mechanically (i.e. without conversion to electricity faster in just over a minute. They have an indefi- and back) through a continuously variable trans- nite life, are easily recycled and provide the boost Tramway Track Innovation mission, normally hydrostatic. This is not only a of power needed during acceleration. Current innovative effort involving new part- very efficient form of energy transfer, but com- ners is addressing the important aspiration bined with the flywheel, provides a simple means of being able to supply a vehicle equipped of recapturing brake energy. Moving the transmis- with running gear suited to ordinary railway sion to a lower ratio slows the vehicle and acceler- lines to also be able to run safely on new ates the flywheel, storing energy for later re- forms of embedded (tramway-type) track acceleration delivering when needed greater force set into a highway. than the engine. An enabling technology of this nature will The efficiency of the above arrangement is, of greatly increase the viability of former course, combined with the inherent efficiency of branch lines to be reopened as a result of rail which presents about one fifth of the rolling re- the UK government’s ‘Beeching Reversal’ sistance of pneumatic tyres on road. And rail ve- programme. hicles, compared with road vehicles, tend to be mechanically simple, easy to maintain and enjoy a Many such lines will not only have lost their very long life. PPM’s Class 139 railcars, delivered town centre stations, but the former segre- to the operator over 11 years ago, are still in first gated railway formation will have become class condition. Many buses the same age will blocked by subsequent developments. have been taken out of front line service. New patent applications have been lodged . in order to preserve the value of the intellectual property associated with the embedded track developments. 10 PEOPLE-FRIENDLY The PPM Class 139 has 20 seats and room for 40 standing. It has controls at both ends as standard. The traction technology used in the Class 139 drew part of its inspiration from the latest ad- vances in clean automotive power plants using fuels that are all clean forms of combustible gas - LPG - Liquid Petroleum Gas, CNG - Com- pressed Natural Gas (methane) and hydrogen. Using engines standard to cars and small vans with cubic capacity below 3 litres, sufficient torque is available as a result of PPM’s 'super hybrid' innovation employing an energy storing flywheel. The modest size of the vehicle, together with its safe electrics and freedom from clutter, make it Even during times where high volumes of passengers are travelling in both directions can embark and acceptable in the car-free zones of town centres disembark in two minutes using a single door. Enlarged versions currently under development will have two entrances speeding up dwell times at stopping places. and even indoor shopping malls or office recep- tion areas. PPM’s current design and The vehicle can operate on ordinary railway lines development target is to and also on 'reserved track', e.g. laid along cen- introduce to the market a tral reservations or tramway track requiring very 90 passenger vehicle which much less ground space than equivalent capac- can operate on a typical ity road buses. non-electrified branch line while also being suitable to As an indication of cost, a typical town centre mix with conventional traffic system, including, for example, 4 kilometres of on street. Here visualised track and 6 cars, could be installed for less than on highway, the Town & £10 million. This is a fraction of the cost of re- Country compact tramtrain cent UK supertram systems where some current will have bogie running estimates have passed the £50 million/mile gear. mark. 11 WHAT’S COMING NEXT? PPM’s Compact Tram Train The issue to deal with is the problem of range and The PPM-Clayton ‘Tribrid’ technology Larger and longer range versions of the PPM system need to recharge such simple batteries after will also keep the batteries of a street are under development with vehicles which have 4 ax- about 4 hours running. The lead acid batteries in tram charged with alternators on board les rather than 2. This makes possible the introduction conventional cars do not go flat because the car’s kept turning by a supply of compressed of ‘tramtrains’, faster and longer range rolling stock engine keeps them charged through an alternator. air stored in high pressure tanks on suitable for inter urban operations that will carry 90 The same feature can apply with a full size trac- board. Release of the air pressure run- passengers. It will have a 14 metre long rigid body tion pack in a ‘Tribrid’ arrangement. ning the air motor produces useful quantities of super cooled air, handy and will be driven by flywheels mounted in bogies at each end of the car with the option of a low floor centre for air conditioning essential for public section. As with the Class 139s the low energy, low transport vehicles much of the year. emission long range option also exploits the flywheel's Examples of the meticulous efforts of 'energy bank' to extract conventional vehicle perform- PPM’s Head of Design. Paul Davis, ance from very small automotive power units running include 3D printed scale models and at constant optimum speed. the computer-aided design of the new The development of the PPM90 compact tramtrain is bogie traction unit. being taken forward at a rapid pace at the commence- ment of year 2020 with the assistance of grant money under the 'First of A Kind' scheme promoted by Inno- vate UK. The plan is to have the first testbed bogie installed in PPM's original Car 10, a small railbus, Table-top scale model of the PPM90 which will be trialled in 2020 New Year on the Severn Compact Tram Train with traction bo- Valley Railway, a friendly local preserved railway gies at each end which 15 years ago helped in the pre-trialling of the successful Class 139.

Opportunity with Compressed Air Some future customers for urban systems, recalling the ubiquitous, quiet, economic electric vehicles using Computer-graphic image of the cheap lead acid batteries previously delivering milk, new bogie design shown in- would still prefer the absolute simplicity of the original stalled centrally in the Testbed technology. PPM’s collaborators, Clayton Equipment vehicle chassis which is in fact Ltd, still provide lead acid powered electric vehicles for the original chassis of the Bristol underground mines throughout the world. vehicle 12 ROUTES TO LIGHT RAILWAY MARKETS ANOTHER FIRST FOR IRONBRIDGE, AFFORDABLE TRANSIT

PPM’s work on a rail bogie is well past the Route 3 – Purpose Built Light Rail In Ironbridge Town, Shropshire, there still stands the bridge halfway point. Progress with a £360,000 Lines to new Housing Development that the town was named after. It was designed by Thomas publicly funded project is sufficiently prom- The phenomenon of Transit Oriented De- Telford and opened in 1801. Being built of iron this was a ising for the Directors to have decided to momentous engineering attainment, one of the sparks velopment is familiar to all large property- proceed with the design of the first larger developers. When the means exist to which set off the Industrial Revolution which changed the 90 passenger vehicle. A bogie mounted use a frequent ‘turn-up-and-go’ service World . railcar widens the opportunities. The most people will pay more for a house, 10 per promising routes to market based on cus- cent is not unusual, so for a development tomer needs are:- with units priced at £200,000, the high Route 1 – Light Railcar Operations on quality rail connection can add £20,000 Reopened Branch Lines to the market value of each dwelling. The reason why so many railway lines were Route 4 – Converting Bus Routes to closed by Dr Beeching after the 1960s was Embedded Rail Technology that declining population density resulted in 220 years later an experienced regeneration developer, the Official policy is making it more difficult to fewer people using the trains. Six decades Harworth Group, has a plan which could become another plan bus services to penetrate right into later longer distance commuting is far more Ironbridge pathfinder for others to follow. the heart of a town because of the envi- prevalent so, by creating rail connections ronmental impact of conventional rubber Beginning with a large 240 acre area of brownfield land, which provide frequent services, towns and tyred traffic. However, LRT and Metro once Ironbridge Power Station, Harworth, who own the site villages can be revitalised. lines in the UK have previously been so are negotiating with the local authorities for this part of East Route 2 – Lines which will have on- expensive to construct and take so long Shropshire to create a mixed use housing, commercial and street Sections in planning and execution, that the major leisure development with public open spaces. Towns which lost their railway connections transport operators generally feel that for Ironbridge Gorge Light Railway in the 1960s lost their town stations as well. them to take on the investment is not ad- Harworth’s planners have engaged PPM’s Foresight unit to The tracks were turned into roads barring visable. Completion of a fast-to-build advise them about how the former coal freight railway line any future access by ordinary trains. This demonstration system which passes all serving the power station can be turned into a frequently is why developing small, affordable tram- safety scrutiny should alter the calcula- served passenger line. The prospects that Harworth have train lines or railbusways provides the key tion of the business case and so the Bus in mind is that the rolling stock will be powered exclusively Railbus to accessing these town centres. Operator can become a operator. using renewable forms of energy helping to start the World’s new Green Revolution! 13 OTHER EMERGING PROSPECTS: TOWN & COUNTRY RAIL LINES TRAMWAYS IN THE BRITISH ISLES DURING THE PERIOD OF MAXIMUM ACTIVITY IN THE INTER-WAR YEARS Transit Oriented Development is not just a theory. ENGLAND 118 tramways Erith 21 Peterborough 14 York 50 Accrington Fleet size 38 Exeter 37 Plymouth 177 West Ham 162

Parry People Movers and its operating and project Ashton under Lyme 39 Farnborough 13 Poole 17 WALES 13 Tramways development associates have been approached by Barnsley 14 Gateshead 99 Portsdown & Horndean 24 Aberdare 26 three landowning development firms, one with five Barrow in Furness 38 Gloucester 30 Portsmouth 114 Cardiff 242 sites investigating the prospect of incorporating af- Bath 14 Gravesend 28 Potteries 121 Llandudno 39 Bexley 39 Grimsby 36 Preston 54 Llanelly 16 fordable rail into their schemes. One large develop- Birkenhead 28 Halifax 143 Rawtenstall 32 Merthyr Tydfil 30 ment comprising over a thousand units has been ad- Birmingham & Midlands 843 Hartlepool 42 Reading 36 Neath 23 vised that market values there are likely to be greatly Blackburn 61 Hastings 65 Rochdale 99 Newport 57 Blackpool 313 Huddersfield 144 Rotherham 83 Pontypridd 31 enhanced if new houseowners have access to rail for Bolton 165 Hull 182 St Helens 48 Pwellheli 18 their routine journeys. Increasing each house’s sell- Bournemouth 132 Ilford 57 Salford 241 Rhondda 54 ing price by £20,000 adds twenty million pounds to Bradford 412 Ilkeston 13 Scarborough 29 Swansea 107 the value of the development as a whole. Planners Brighton 165 Isle of Thanet 60 Sheerness 12 Swansea Mumbles 13 Bristol 238 Keithley 12 Sheffield 889 Wrexham 10 in many parts of the country see this access factor as Burnley 72 Kidderminster 28 Shipley 10 SCOTLAND/NI 19 Tramways very important – especially if good rail connections Burton upon Trent 24 Lancaster 12 South Shields 39 Aberdeen 168 eliminate the need to use a car for the journey to Bury 66 Leamington & Warwick 12 South Staffordshire 80 Airdrie & Coatbridge 15 work. Carlisle 30 Leeds 879 Southampton 142 Ayr 29 Cheltenham 25 Leicester 178 Southend 71 Dumbarton 28 The company is devising an industrial strategy for Chester 18 Leyton 60 Southport 54 Dundee 109 newly reopened rail lines for creating a layer of road/ Chesterfield 19 Lincoln 10 Stalybridge 64 Dunfirmline 47 Cleethorpes 24 Liverpool 1260 Stockport 87 Edinburgh 597 rail operations which are governed by different stan- Colchester 18 London Transport 2630 Stockton 29 Falkirk 37 dards i.e. such as those formulated in the course of Colne & Trawden 18 Lowestoft 19 Sunderland 140 Glasgow 1227 agreeing derogations for operating the Class 139s on Coventry 80 Luton 11 Swindon 13 Kilmarnock 14 Croydon (original) 125 Lytham St Annes 56 Torquay 42 Kirkcaldy 26 the Stourbridge branch, generally using less highly Darlington 24 Maidstone 18 Tynemouth 24 Lanarkshire 92 specialised staff who expect lower remuneration than Dartford 12 Manchester 1101 Wakefield 55 Leith 37 if doing the more difficult and demanding usual Darwen 22 Mansfield 31 Wallasey 77 Musselburgh 22 heavy rail work. This will make it possible to take on Dearne 30 Mexborough 20 Walsall 49 Paisley 77 Derby 78 Middlesborough 40 Warrington 27 Perth 12 staff to work more labour intensively with inter- Devonport 33 Morecambe 18 Waterloo & Gt Crosby 16 Rothesay 19 changeable 2 person crews, many recruited from the Dewsbury 12 Nelson 20 Weston Super Mare 18 Wemyss 29 bus industry in a new intermediate category of small Doncaster 47 Newcastle 328 Wigan 103 Belfast 441 vehicle tramtrain applications (particularly where Dover 45 Northampton 34 Wolverhampton 69 Total Number of Systems 150 Dudley-Stourbridge 57 Nottingham 200 Worcester 17 Total of tramcars in service at peak 19,497 tramtrains will be replacing buses). Such services East Ham 76 Oldham 150 Gt Yarmouth 35 will be operated by retrained crews. 14 KEY MANUFACTURING COLLABORATORS Clayton Equipment has now indicated its CLAYTON EQUIPMENT LTD readiness once the market shapes up to This Burton-upon-Trent firm is a modern, pro- take on the series manufacture of the new gressive locomotive building company with a flywheel-hybrid bogies now under devel- long history after being founded in 1931 by a opment in order for PPM to be able to designer, Stanley Devlin. Soon after formation produce railcars carrying 90 or more pas- Clayton responded to the need for war materi- sengers. als until 1945. In peace time it moved to Hat- ton in Derbyshire beginning production of locomotives of various kinds, operating independ- ently until acquired by ICL in 1957 and eventu- Clayton Equipment’s factory in Burton ally being absorbed into the Rolls Royce to an amazing variety of nations. Group as part of its Industrial Businesses sub- sidiary. Clayton finally became independent Among the most prestigious orders, fleets of Clay- again after a management buy-out in 2005. ton locomotives and special equipment have been purchased by tunnelling contractors engaged in Since then Clayton has grown in stature estab- work on London’s underground railway projects Steve Gretton and his colleagues have lishing a modern factory in Burton-upon-Trent and on development work in the Channel Tunnel. been on parallel paths bringing to reality in the Midlands and responding to fresh ideas. the extra efficiency of the ‘Super’Hybrid’. The relationship with Parry People Movers Ltd On PPM’s side this development has and its associated organisations actually be- taken the form of flywheel energy which, gan prior to the departure from the Rolls during short phases, provides more torque Royce stable. The General Manager at the than the engine does (on relatively slow time, Steve Gretton, now sole proprietor, ar- vehicles demand for maximum power oc- ranged for Parry designers and managers to curs during phases of acceleration which attend Rolls Royce Derby engineering training rarely last more than a minute). In Clay- courses in Risk and Residual Risk Manage- ton’s successful new loco design, the lat- ment which has guided PPM policy ever since. est development, modern thin plate lead acid batteries, provide weight (necessary Meanwhile the Clayton company itself has A Clayton loco specified for work on the Elizabeth Line for wheel-rail adhesion) which release gone from strength to strength winning orders undergoing traction tests drawing a massive dead weight massive torque so, like a PPM railcar, its throughout the world and supplying locos of hundreds of tonnes of unpowered rolling stock. prime mover can be surprisingly small.

15 Collaboration on an R&D Project SEVERN LAMB TRANSPORTATION LTD

Based in Alcester, Warwickshire, this firm has 50 years’ experience in supplying light urban, leisure and resort customers with the means to move people in large numbers and in a safe congenial atmosphere.

The Severn Lamb Designers, engineers, procurement executives brand is associated and project administrators from SLT and PPM with the surprise in a joint meeting to discuss an R&D project and delight of resort A diesel-electric railcar for transporting workers to a large with ULRP, the coordinators visitors encounter- out-of-town complex in the Middle East. The same sized Severn Lamb ing old style loco- coachwork, without the centrally-situated engine compart- engineer motives and car- ment could be readily-adaptable to fit PPM 90 bogie run- (centre) working riages in a themed ning gear with PPM’s context head of design quite different themes. SLT products have and skilled tech- Recent success has nician on a fly- come in the order highly designed and executed external and in- wheel powered by a Middle East ternal finishes; PPM’s innovations are advanc- traction frame customer for battery ing in environmental performance and low car- powered double bon emissions. decker trams. Here under manufacture Discussions conducted in a friendly atmosphere in the works between the CEOs of the two firms revealed the potential for mutually helpful small activities at The Severn Lamb Company in 2013 demon- plant level. This led to the view that, while still strated its capability for producing a stylish rail ve- strictly independent and on occasions likely to hicle suitable for public transport operation includ- be part of competing consortia, a rationale ex- ing for export to customers in the Middle East. isted for joining forces on specific approaches Entry into the railcar market might have placed to the market. Each firm could draw on the oth- the Alcester firm into a position of head on com- ers greater strengths so that, with the heavy rail With slings and overhead crane beam still visi- experience of Clayton Equipment also avail- petition with PPM. However, the commercial ble, the body super structure of the Project’s strategy of the two firms has traditionally followed able, like three firms could form a ‘triangle’ of test vehicle having just arrived at SLT’s flair, competence and experience. Alcester works in early February 2020 16 TRAILWAYS LTD OF BLOXWICH, STAFFS WILKINSON DYNAMIC BALANCING LTD MIDTHERM LASER PPM have a longstanding relationship with a Although renowned as a dynamic balancing spe- Midtherm Laser Ltd of Dudley have provided highly skilled bus and coach repair specialist cialist, the engineers WDB of Halesowen under- rapid response supply of precision laser cut which also has the capability to assist in the take precision manufacturing and over the last parts which have gone into the major fabrica- manufacture of prototype rail vehicles. Recent 20 years have supplied the flywheels for nearly tion of the traction frame for the First of A projects have involved Trailways in the coach- all PPM railcars and trams. Kind R&D project. work refurbishment of two earlier PPM railcars,

No 10 and No 12 (pictured below).

A solution is needed if steel rail routes are going to come into more town centres, but in order for the tramtrains to have ordinary rail GLENDENNING PLASTIC MOULDINGS

WDB proprietor, Mr Muz Turan, is still involved in the practical work of the firm, here seen examin- ing the old flywheel unit from Car 10 prior to refurbishment.

Glendenning Plastic Mouldings with its well known trading arm, Garland Products, have a relationship with the ‘Parry’ businesses extending back almost three decades pro- OAKHAM FABRICATIONS LTD viding strategic and technical assistance when required. As a supporter since incep- In the case of Car 12 which is a First of Class Oakham whose premises are no more than 300 tion of Parry People Movers, Glendenning is diesel/flywheel railcar, Trailway’s engineers metres from PPM Cradley Heath offices have a prospective designer and supplier of worked with the suppliers of the diesel unit taken on the major task of producing the com- moulded products for the new embedded commissioning it into operation pre trial run- plete fabrication of the structure of the traction track system for the street running ultra light unit being used in the bogie testbed. ning expected in early 2020. rail. 17 PRIORITY ENGINEERING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 'Beeching Reversal' Opportunity Once a railway had been closed, former station street. Furthermore, the groove that sites in town centres are readily taken up for de- would need to be there in the road surface Sixty years ago British Rail started to implement a velopment and railway corridors blocked Some would be wider than that normally used in massive programme of railway line clo- railways are converted into a highway. Never- tramways. Anecdotally tram lines are said sures. Their emphasis was mainly on cutting out theless, in order to 'reverse Beeching' the rail- to be a frequent cause of cyclists falling off small tendrils of the national railway network way has to be able to access main places of arri- when their bike wheel drops into the tram- which dated back to before the era of car owner- val and departure. The preservationists gener- way groove. But they are easy to avoid ship but as a result of the reducing density of eco- ally set up their termini away from town centres, and so conventional tramways exist in nomic activity away from larger centres, patron- but for public transport it only makes sense if the hundreds of towns and cities where peo- age of these lines was shrinking. The Stourbridge route extends to where the passengers are in- ple also ride bikes. Town branch was an example of a very short tending to go. That was the principal rationale 'twig' coming off a larger branch connecting behind the new tramtrains in Karlsruhe, Kassel A solution is needed if more rail routes are Worcester and Kidderminster via Stourbridge and now Sheffield. Services which started out going to come into town centres, but in Junction to Snow Hill Station in Birmingham. away from the city running on normal railway order for the tramtrains to have ordinary lines become commercially successful once they rail profile wheels it seems inevitable that Over a hundred of the Beeching closure lines find a way of continuing on into municipal and the wider grooves needed in the road sur- were subsequently taken over by railway preser- commercial centres or to major institutions such face will become the source of many more vationists. Most of the organisations concerned as hospitals and colleges. incidents, not just involving bikes but were generally striving to bring back into use the pushchairs, skate boards and wheeled closed railway lines by devising measures to A technical issue in the UK relates to the suitcases . Under development is a make them viable again. Some interventions may shape of the wheels that keeps trains safely on means to create a road without grooves have been more to do with nostalgia for steam the rails. Their special profile combines except on arrival of a tram whereupon the engines and by keeping sections of railway intact ‘conicisity’ of the tread and a projecting flange on surface moves down sufficiently for the would enable these engines to be run for personal the inside face of the wheel which keeps it from wheels to run on the rails—and so cyclists pleasure and visitor experience. slipping off the steel track. The back of the can share the tramway. wheel flange provides extra 'steering' where The road surface adjacent to Government policy has now swung towards reviv- there are sharp curves. Railway practice installs the rail can be moved up and ing rural economies especially in the Midlands a third rail at such points so that not only does down. It goes down when and North of England where many smaller towns the inside of the flange of the outside wheel the train wheel is on top and and villages were seen to have declined because steer the train, but the back of the flange of the springs back when it has of the lack of 'connectivity' including public inside wheel which runs against the third 'check' passed. transport services. rail which is placed parallel to the running rail.

Fortunately, the continued existence of fifty or The Cyclist and the Tramway should be Friends PPM has begun assembling specialist en- more railways with tracks more or less in working gineers experienced in tramways and rail- order provides a head start for a national pro- Installing an extra check rail is perfectly accept- way level crossings making it possible for gramme of small line reinstatement. able out on a railway but it would be intrusive as the retractable groove closure system to an addition in embedded track in an urban be quickly designed, tested and approved.

18 PROFESSIONAL AND STRATEGIC COLLABORATORS: PMOL PRE METRO OPERATIONS operators and can, based on its knowledge and Relationship with PPM Pre Metro Operations (‘PMOL’) describes itself experience, offer light rail operating guidance to The negotiations which led first to the op- as a small customer-focused train-operating other train operators seeking solutions to branch eration of the pathfinding Sunday service company providing a proven public transport line operating problems. and then the full franchised weekday ser- service on the Stourbridge Town branch under vice from 2009 required close liaison be- contract to West Midlands Trains. tween PMOL and PPM. However, looking The rolling stock under PMOL’s control com- forward, PMOL’s corporate relationship prises Class 139 LPG fuelled, flywheel hybrid with PPM has to be at arm’s length be- railcars supplied by PPM in 2009. These rail- cause, as a train operating company, it must be free to take on the most appropri- cars have operated the service ever since. PMOL, as well as being the licensed operator of ate rolling stock for each train line on which the trains, also holds a licence for its light main- it aspires to operate. tenance depot at Stourbridge Junction. The Stourbridge Junction station where the PMOL services PMOL is currently undertaking a customer interchange with mainline trains main depot buildings were constructed by PPM. survey into the prospect of running a sec- Pre Metro believes that rail transport growth will ond service out of Stourbridge Junction continue in the UK and the connectivity between Station up to The Waterfront, Brierley Hill. the rail network and centres of population will become ever more important. Clean, green, reliable and successful! Pre Metro offers an innovative and low cost alternative to heavy rail, using clean, green technology and a customer focused operation which has led to exponential passenger growth on the shortest branch line in the country. Light railcar passenger journeys have shown an impressive growth pattern over the last 10 The many low carbon advantages of light rail years and PMOL’s successful operation in makes the environmentally-friendly business Stourbridge makes it a leader in the field of light model of Pre Metro and its clean, green advan- rail connectivity. tages, an attractive proposition for any future operation. Over the last 10 years reliability perform- The company provides professional training to ance has consistently exceeded 99 per cent. its own staff and can offer this facility to other 19 ULTRA LIGHT RAIL PARTNERS: FIRST OF A KIND PROJECT

For PPM to broaden its portfolio and expand its range beyond the existing Class 139, ‘the Stour- bridge Shuttle’, it was clear that attracting further research funding would be necessary to develop stretched versions of the railcar accommodating 90-120 passengers. Developing a catalogue of options which could be offered to city-regions across the UK and internationally was the clear objective of the company and in doing so, to draw on the lifetime industry experience and in- sights of the directors of PPM. Ultra Light Rail Partners Ltd spearheaded bid- ding for Innovate UK funds to develop the UK’s first biomethane flywheel hybrid powertrain which builds on the success of the Class 139 Associate Professor, Cllr Beverley Nielsen, SLT’s factory in Alcester. February 2020, propane flywheel traction unit. took on chairmanship of this new body in 2018 the partially finished traction frame and joined by PPM directors, John Parry and Kit coachwork have just arrived from Dudley A First of A Kind (FOAK) Innovate UK and De- Holden with Sustraco director, James Skinner. Technical College to begin final integration partment for Transport funded programme was Beverley Nielsen has been Director of the In- secured by ULRPartners in 2019. ULRPartners stitute for Design & Economic Acceleration have been project managing this £360,000 pro- (IDEA) at Birmingham City University for al- gramme since July 2019, drawing on the Class most a decade and is a Councillor on Malvern 139 design, along with PPM’s engineering and Hills District Council. Since the formation of supply chain expertise. The hybrid will be tri- ULRP Beverley has been able to strengthen alled through March-April 2020 showcasing the the team and extend its reach, bringing on first biomethane flywheel railcar in operation in board specialist project management expertise the UK. and relevant market opportunities. ULRPartners has brought together the innova- New swing-arm, coil spring and damper The special skill needed for compiling bids for tion, design, production, marketing, communica- suspension units designed jointly by PPM grant money to help essential R&D work is of tion, lobbying and a wide network of contacts. and SLT engineers and manufactured in potentially great benefit for the PPM venture. Alcester. Inset: Class 139 set of wheels 20 PLANNING THE PRODUCT RANGE: CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT The PPM 60 Stourbridge Class 139 2 axle light rail-

car accommodates up to 60 passengers with 20 seats and 10sqm of space for standing passengers. Equipped with lpg engines at Stourbridge with 500kg steel flywheel, the Stourbridge railcar provides a clean, quiet mode for feeder lines to the main network or in low floor form, a small, neat railbus. Other low and nil emission fuels are optional. Bristol Railbus (PPM30-50) a prospective- compressed air/flywheel TRIBRID low floor

The PPM 90 ‘Town and Country’ Compact Tram- range of street running vehicles under dis- train is a 14 metre long bogie vehicle designed to be cussion with collaborators able to run along embedded tramway style track when sharing the highway with road vehicles., but is Ninety passenger Town & Country tram- also at home on conventional standard gauge rail- trains will be offered to ‘Beeching Reversal’ ways. These vehicles will accommodate 90 pas- rural line reinstatement promoters as the sengers with 30 seats and standing room for 60. perfect flexible solution, even able to ac- The maximum speed will be 50 mph. Choice of fuel cess village and town centres. as for the PPM 60. Based upon a low floor format version of the Class Open top double 139 2 axle light railcar, PPM traditional tram will re- decker battery pow- awaken the prospect for smaller towns including ered trams are proving seaside resorts having the similar double deck vehi- popular in export markets cles which were in common use between the wars. PPM 80 ‘British Tramcar’ will be available with optional open balcony ends popular with sightseers These are manufactured by PPM’s collabo- and providing a platform to be seen in a leisure set- rators, Severn Lamb Transportation Ltd. ting. Accommodating 80 passengers the trams will The same coachbuilding capability can be have stairs at both ends and adequate number of used to recreate a revival of traditional Brit- grab rails for standing passengers. ish trams for every day use in towns wish- ing they had never been scrapped. 21 PLANNING THE PRODUCT RANGE: HERITAGE CONTEXT

Using the same gauge and wheel base as the railcars, but with smaller diameter wheels, the PPM 60 platform can take on the appearance of a historic single deck tramcar with coachwork styl- ing and livery to suit individual applications. In localities having a heritage interest relating to the early years of the previous century, the coachwork design can be made to match the period concerned. Passenger capacity up to 40 all The ‘Mostyn’ design was originally com- seated or 60 with seated and standing passen- missioned for consideration of the North gers. Wales town of Llandudno Dating back to the mid 1930s, the AEC Park Matching modern expectations the Royal rolling stock firm produced a streamlined PPM 120 Park Royal railcar would body style for a new bogie railcar with which the not look out of place among authen- Great Western Railway pioneered swift, efficient tic historic rolling stock and station inter-urban rail services in the South and West of surroundings. England and Wales. A railcar built around mod- Heritage Line Demonstration ern engineering will be suitable to provide passenger rail services. Product name Park Royal.

In British Rail days Derby engineers while seeking economy of operation produced a lightweight design which also had an attractive appearance. As

with the Park Royal, the Derby Lightweight could reappear with modern, efficient bogie running gear and achieve a similar driveline efficiency as the PPM90 tramtrain. There are still original The prototype of the Class 139 light Derby Lightweight railcars in operating condition railcar during trials and testing on the lovingly restored by rail enthusiasts in the preserved Wensleydale Railway in ‘Heritage’ movement. A PPM120, 18m long unit, 2005 again would not look out of place. 22

PPM BOUNCES BACK

Darkness Before the Dawn dedicated volunteers who included directors re- to the proprietorship of vital Intellectual Formed in 1990 by experienced and well- ceiving modest income from other unconnected Property relating to flywheel hybrid rail connected Directors, Parry People Movers Ltd sources. From 2014 PPM has even been able technology. The railcar product that PPM operated without separate premises or manage- to generate sufficient turnover to rent work created had meanwhile been performing ment which it subcontracted to its licensors, JPM premises and from the second half of 2019 has brilliantly in the hands of Pre Metro Opera- Parry & Associates Ltd which had been engaged begun to undertake engineering activities under tions, whetting the appetite in the transport in multiple sectors including transport since the contract and to step up the pace of its R&D industry aware of the Class 139 railcar’s 10

1970s. Characterised by prescience and innova- work. The concentration was first on design, years exemplary economy and reliability. tion, JPA was forced out of business in July 2013 then as a result of key shareholder support, be- by the actions of its bankers. ginning the practical tasks of new prototype Emerging opportunities for new products, construction in the weeks before the first vital- particularly interest in larger vehicles is call- Winding up of companies which get things done grant funding started to arrive. ing for investment and financial inputs from and have a good future is a puzzling aspect of outside sources. Great harm was inflicted, British economic life. The causes in recent times Six years under litigation threat had been en- but PPM has come through. We can now have been mostly to do with the turbulence which dured by PPM, nevertheless, still holding on move on! followed the 2007-8 financial crisis. Recognition and Vindication PPM was affected by the liquidation of JPM Parry & Associates Ltd which provided administration services to PPM up until 2013. We then had to re -establish these services through direct employment and taking over part of the site previously occupied by JPA. This has strengthened PPM. However, the JPA liquidator initiated a High Court action against PPM claiming inter-company debt of over £250,000 and demanding the return of intellectual property or £1.3 million. Claims of this amount were rebutted by PPM and in August 2019 PPM agreed to pay just £44,167 to settle the action against the company. This has now been paid, but has reduced PPM’s working capital. It is envisaged that the liquidator’s claims will Warwick University invited interested parties to a Conference about Transport Solutions for the Future finally be removed in February 2020. on 28th November 2019. During a well attended session Mr Alan Lunt, Deputy Chief Executive of Dud- ley Council, in his address is seen describing the remarkable 10 year success of the Parry People Mov- Since 2013 the PPM Company has, step by step, ers light railcar services on the Stourbridge Town branch line. The consensus reached by the end of assembled a team of mainly part time staff and the conference was that the new, very lightweight rail modes, as pioneered by PPM, were likely to become a significant component in public transport provision 23 PPM DIRECTORS, CLOSE ASSOCIATES AND ADVISORS Directors Richard Pearman - a senior manager responsi- Charles Morgan - former Managing Director ble for international sales and technical support of the Morgan car company. He is cur- John Parry MBE - founder of the Parry People based at the Worcester headquarters of the rently undertaking design research with the Movers Ltd firm in 1990 has served as Chairman American firm, Southco, supplying components Royal College of Art and the Imperial Col- up to the present day. Holder of several engi- for the construction aerospace, automotive and lege London. Although convinced of the neering patents relating to process machinery and rail industries. The company's speciality is ac- ongoing appetite for private motor cars for more recently railway and tramway engineer- cess solutions and fastening components with a leisure and pleasure, he has become con- ing. John was originally trained by the British product range counted in many thousands of dif- vinced of the need to prioritise environ- Government to enter public service overseas ferent items. Richard directs Southco’s UK mental public transport use for routine jour- where he was engaged in practical development based commercial activities covering several in- neys in cities - hence his interest in the activities such as building roads and bridges. His ternational markets as well as having a role iden- People Mover venture. interest in sustainability led to a close working as- tifying new product opportunities. sociation with the eminent economist, Dr EF Kevin Hart - Head of an American architec- Schumacher CBE, founder of the Intermediate Stuart Glendenning - Chairman of a major manu- tural and engineering practice based in Bir- Technology movement and author of the far- facturer of injection moulded plastic items for mingham, Michigan. Kevin works with de- sighted book 'Small is Beautiful'. household markets and a wide range of indus- velopers of complexes involving housing, trial applications. Particularly strong on design, retail and hospitality. He is an authority in Major (Retd) CB Holden OBE - formerly assistant Glendenning and its associated firms have as- Transit Oriented Development and acts as Chief Inspecting Officer of Railways at HM Rail- sisted the development of products used in Parry US Director of the American interests of way Inspectorate. Kit Holden has had a lifetime applications throughout the world. Parry People Movers Ltd. of association with railway pioneers such as the Docklands Light Railway where he served on the Close Associates Exporting PPM Technology Board. During and after retirement he directed safety engineering investigations in many other Associate Professor Beverley Nielsen - Director As well as to the United States and Malay- major railway undertakings in Britain and over- of the IDEA Institute of Birmingham City Univer- sia, from where there is strong interest, seas. sity as well as Chair of Ultra Light Rail Part- PPM is well placed to meet worldwide de- ners. She is a Councillor and portfolio holder in mand for its products. Credible organisa- Ian Hamilton - a chartered production engineer one of the West Worcestershire Local Authorities tions from many countries wish us to join with a background in UK industry in high volume and has stood for a parliamentary seat and in with them to develop local markets. PPM manufacture and vehicle control systems and lat- the election for Mayor of the West Midlands Directors are experienced in overseas trad- terly affordable public transport. Since linking up Combined Authority. Beverley has an industrial ing, but while many prospects look good, it with PPM in 2015, Ian has applied his business background in trade associations as well as is the Board’s view that the appropriate and administrative skills assisting the firm in its holding directorships of manufacturing firms. strategy is to consolidate the domestic mar- connections with regulators and professional or- ket which then becomes a spring-board to ganisations and universities. exports in Africa, Asia and South America.

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