Oh hang on...
The story of Metro Cammell dates back to the early 19th Century, when stage coaches transported passengers and mail between London and Birmingham.
London coach builder Joseph Wright rain mail coaches to Birmingham, but realised that the speed and efficiency of his service would soon be overtaken by the railways.
With tremendous foresight, he began building railway carriages at his London works.
Confident of the future of the industry, in 1845, Wright leased land in Saltley, Birmingham, close to the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway, so he could build a factory --and the story of Metro-Cammell began.
What followed was over 150 years of rolling stock manufacture in Birmingham, as the company maintained its position through innovation and mergers as one of the biggest in the business, surviving two world wars and recession.
In addition to building stock for practically all the home railways, the firm completed contracts for many countries worldwide. It supplied everything from the early crude carriages and basic wagons to luxuriously appointed Pullman cars and massive high capacity tankers. The company was involved in the manufacture of locomotives, as well as steam, diesel and electric railcars and units.
Within five years of beginning production, the Saltley site had expanded massively and Wright was employing a workforce of more than 800 people.
In 1929, Cammell Laird and Co merged its rolling stock interests with Vickers Ltd, who had acquired the shares of the Metropolitan Company, and the great undertaking of Metropolitan-Cammell Ltd was formed.
The Metro-Cammell collection, held by the Birmingham City archives, currently comprises over 100,000 railway rolling stock drawings, 100 photographic albums, rolling stock specifications, catalogues and pamphlets, dating from around 1850 to the mid 20th Century.
Must pop in there some day!!
