Angel Trains Limited
By: Barrie Cottam and Allan Baker (both Angel Trains Ltd)
Brief History
Angel Trains is Britain's largest investor in rail vehicles. Owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, provides train operators with rail vehicle leasing, maintenance and consultancy services. Since formation in 1994 Angel Trains has invested more than £1 billion in new rolling stock.
Angel Trains owns more than 35% of Britain's passenger rolling stock and including the backbone of Britain's high-speed inter-city fleet.
Our 40 strong engineering department supports our leasing and procurement activities and encompasses all the key disciplines, from electrical to mechanical engineering. We are committed to investing in research and development with recent innovations ranging from improvements to the adhesion capability of commuter trains, to the development of an 'air cycle' air conditioning system for passenger vehicles.
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Fig. 1: Angel Trains has ordered Siemens Desiro trains with an all aluminium body © 2002, Angel Trains |
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Fig. 2: Angel Trains operate 75 two-car units of the 158 - BREL Express Sprinter built from welded aluminium in 1991-1992 © 2002, Angel Trains |
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Fig. 3: Angel Trains invested in 2001 in more than 300 Siemens Desiro 450 trains made with all aluminium bodies © 2002, Angel Trains |
Angel Trains' Contributions to EuroStir®
Our interest is in fostering the adoption of friction stir welding within the rail industry where there are clear cost, reliability or safety benefits. Our contribution will therefore be to assess the project results in the light of this requirement. In particular, we are well placed to disseminate results within the rail industry. Also, we would wish to explore how the joint performance of friction stir welded aluminium alloys used in the rail industry compares with those which have been joined by traditional fusion welding methods.
For 2002 the following EuroStir® activities are planned:
- To contract the production of aluminium test specimens by friction stir welding.
- To commission fatigue and crash tests with representative prototype components.
- To evaluate the suitability of friction stir welding for rail vehicles.
At the end of the EuroStir® project Angel Trains want to exploit the advantages of friction stir welded rail vehicles, e.g. the reduced manufacturing cost and improved crash worthiness. We want to provide FSW related consultancy and advice to train owners and operators on a broad spectrum of technical and commercial issues, including procurement and project management.
Angel Trains' Plans for Dissemination and Exploitation of the EuroStir® Know-How
Angel Trains is a member of several formal and informal groupings within the rail industry. We undertake to use these contacts to ensure wide dissemination of relevant information derived throughout the project. The use of friction stir welding within the European rail industry has lagged behind that in Japan, and so dissemination of information within the industry is essential to stimulate the adoption of friction stir welding.
Summary of Products Available at Angel Trains
Angel Train operates a large fleet of steel and aluminium rail vehicles. Especially for aluminium car bodies the friction stir welding process offers some benefits which will be investigated by Angel Trains in this project.
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Copyright © 2002, TWI Ltd