Metro-Cammell
Historic British manufacturer of railway carriages, locomotives, wagons, metro trains and other transport equipment.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
Metro-Cammell, formally the Metropolitan Cammell Carriage and Wagon Company, was an English railway-equipment manufacturer based in Birmingham. Its origins went back to the carriage-building business established by Joseph Wright, which moved from London to a site at Saltley in Birmingham during the nineteenth century. The company was formally created in 1863 as the Metropolitan Railway Carriage and Wagon Company and became one of the major British suppliers of railway vehicles. The business expanded through mergers and corporate reorganizations. In 1902 it combined with several other British carriage and wagon builders to form the Metropolitan Amalgamated Railway Carriage and Wagon Company. During the First World War it diversified into military production, building Mark V and Mark V* heavy tanks. Its ownership structure changed again after Metropolitan and Vickers Limited jointly took control of British Westinghouse in 1917. Vickers later acquired Metropolitan's interest, and the enterprise subsequently traded under names including Metropolitan-Vickers and Metropolitan Carriage, Wagon and Finance Company. In 1929 the rolling-stock activities of Cammell Laird were combined with the Metropolitan business, creating Metropolitan-Cammell Carriage and Wagon Company. The company also participated in bus-body manufacturing; that activity became associated with Metro Cammell Weymann after a 1932 combination with Weymann Motor Bodies. During the Second World War, Metro-Cammell again manufactured armoured vehicles, including Valentine tanks and Light Tank Mk VIII designs. Railway production remained the company's defining activity. Metro-Cammell supplied conventional coaches, wagons, diesel multiple-units, electric multiple-units and locomotives to British railway organizations and overseas operators. It produced a large proportion of London Underground rolling stock built during the middle decades of the twentieth century, including trains for several Underground lines. Its portfolio also included the Blue Pullman, British Rail diesel multiple-units such as the Classes 101, 111, 151 and 156, Networker electric units, Mark 4 coaching stock, and vehicles associated with the Channel Tunnel and later high-speed rail programs. The company developed a substantial international business. It supplied metro and suburban trains for Hong Kong's Mass Transit Railway and the Kowloon-Canton Railway, locomotives for Malaysia, and diesel or electric locomotives for railway systems in southern and central Africa, Nigeria and Pakistan. It also supplied multiple-units to Jamaica and Mexico, and participated in projects in Sweden, Canada and Australia. Other notable systems connected with its products included the Tyne and Wear Metro, Glasgow Subway, Birmingham Maglev and the Arlanda Express. The Saltley works closed in 1962, while group administration was concentrated at Washwood Heath from 1967. In May 1989 the railway business was sold to GEC Alsthom, later Alstom. The Washwood Heath factory continued to produce railway vehicles under the new ownership, with the final trains built there being Class 390 Pendolino units for the West Coast Main Line modernization. The plant closed in 2005 and was demolished in early 2019. Metro-Cammell therefore survives primarily through its historical name, preserved vehicles and the extensive fleets that remain in service, heritage operation or museum collections.
History
Metro-Cammell developed from the nineteenth-century British railway-carriage industry. Joseph Wright and Sons built early railway coaches, including vehicles for the London and Southampton Railway and the London and Birmingham Railway. In 1845 the business moved its carriage works to Birmingham, acquiring a large Saltley site beside the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway. The works also served export markets: in the 1850s the company built the first carriages for the Sydney–Parramatta railway in New South Wales, an early public railway in Australia. The Metropolitan Railway Carriage and Wagon Company was formed in 1863. Its business centered on railway carriages, wagons and related equipment, and it expanded through consolidation. In 1902 it merged with Ashbury Railway Carriage and Iron, Brown, Marshalls, Lancaster Railway Carriage and Wagon, and Oldbury Railway Carriage and Wagon. The enlarged enterprise became the Metropolitan Amalgamated Railway Carriage and Wagon Company. The company temporarily broadened its industrial role during the First World War. It built 400 Mark V tanks and 700 improved Mark V* tanks for the British Army. In 1917 Metropolitan and Vickers Limited jointly controlled British Westinghouse. Vickers acquired Metropolitan's shares in 1919, and the company became Metropolitan-Vickers. By 1926 it had adopted the name Metropolitan Carriage, Wagon and Finance Company. A major structural change came in 1929, when the railway rolling-stock interests of Cammell Laird were combined with Metropolitan's business. The resulting Metropolitan-Cammell Carriage and Wagon Company, generally known as Metro-Cammell or MCCW, was associated with both the Vickers and Cammell Laird groups. Its non-rail activities included bus-body construction. In 1932 the bus-body business was combined with Weymann Motor Bodies to create Metro Cammell Weymann. During the Second World War the company returned to tank production, including Valentine tanks and Light Tank Mk VIII vehicles. After the war Metro-Cammell became a prominent supplier to British mainline and urban railway systems. Its products included electric multiple-units for Southern Railway and the London and North Eastern Railway, the Blue Pullman luxury high-speed service, lightweight diesel multiple-units, and many generations of London Underground stock. The company's Underground work covered trains for the Bakerloo, Central, Piccadilly, Northern, District, Victoria, Jubilee, Circle, Hammersmith & City and other lines. It also built rolling stock for the Tyne and Wear Metro, Glasgow Subway and Birmingham Maglev. The company maintained a significant export business. It delivered metro trains to Hong Kong's Mass Transit Railway and the Kowloon-Canton Railway, locomotives to Malaysia's Keretapi Tanah Melayu, and locomotive fleets or other railway vehicles to South Africa, Nyasaland, Malawi, Nigeria, the Trans-Zambezi Railway and Pakistan. Diesel multiple-units were supplied to Jamaica and Mexico. Later projects included vehicles connected with the Channel Tunnel, Sweden's Arlanda Express, Canada's VIA Rail Renaissance fleet and British Rail's Networker, Mark 4 and Class 390 programs. The Saltley works closed in 1962, and administration was concentrated at Washwood Heath from 1967. In May 1989 the railway business was sold to GEC Alsthom, which later became part of Alstom. Production continued at Washwood Heath under successor ownership, but the factory closed in 2005. Its final trains were Class 390 Pendolino tilting units built for the West Coast Main Line modernization. The works were demolished in early 2019. Metro-Cammell is now defunct as an independent company, but its designs and vehicles remain visible in operating fleets, heritage collections and railway museums.
- 2019
Factory site demolished
[1]The former Washwood Heath works was demolished in early 2019.
- 2005
Washwood Heath factory closes
[1]The principal Birmingham factory closed after completing its final railway production.
- 1989
Railway business sold to GEC Alsthom
[1]The railway business was acquired by GEC Alsthom, later associated with Alstom.
- 1967
Administration centralized at Washwood Heath
[1]Group administration was concentrated at the Washwood Heath site in Birmingham.
- 1962
Saltley works closes
[1]The original Saltley manufacturing works ceased operations.
- 1932
Bus-body business becomes Metro Cammell Weymann
[1]Metro-Cammell's bus-body operations were combined with Weymann Motor Bodies.
- 1929
Cammell Laird rolling-stock merger
[1]The railway rolling-stock business of Cammell Laird was combined with Metropolitan's operations, creating Metropolitan-Cammell Carriage and Wagon Company.
- 1914
First World War tank production
[1]The company entered large-scale military manufacture and built Mark V and Mark V* heavy tanks.
- 1902
Major carriage-builder merger
[1]Metropolitan merged with four other carriage and wagon manufacturers to form the Metropolitan Amalgamated Railway Carriage and Wagon Company.
- 1863
Metropolitan Railway Carriage and Wagon Company formed
[1]The direct corporate predecessor of Metro-Cammell was established in Birmingham.
Products and positioning
A large British rolling-stock and transport-equipment manufacturer serving domestic mainline and underground railways as well as international railway and rapid-transit operators.
Rapid-transit trains
London Underground rolling stock
Metro-Cammell built a substantial share of London Underground trains produced during the twentieth century. Its work covered multiple generations and lines, including Standard Stock, 1935, 1938, 1959, 1962, 1967, 1972, 1973, C69/C77, D78, 1983, 1986, 1995 and 1996 stocks. These vehicles served a wide range of operational, electrical and loading-gauge requirements across the Underground network.
Luxury intercity train
Blue Pullman
The Blue Pullman was a notable high-speed diesel multiple-unit built for British Railways. It represented Metro-Cammell's role in advanced passenger train design before the later development of modern high-speed rail fleets.
Mainline diesel multiple-units
British Rail diesel multiple-units
Metro-Cammell produced several important British Rail diesel multiple-unit families, including the lightweight Heritage units, Classes 101 and 111, Class 151 prototypes and Class 156 Super Sprinters. These vehicles supported regional, commuter and interurban services and became widely distributed across the British network.
Metro and commuter trains
Hong Kong MTR and Kowloon-Canton Railway trains
The company supplied electric multiple-units for Hong Kong's urban and suburban railway systems. Its vehicles were associated with the Mass Transit Railway and the Kowloon-Canton Railway, serving high-capacity metro and regional routes in a dense metropolitan environment.
Light metro rolling stock
Tyne and Wear Metrocars
Metro-Cammell built the original Metrocars for the Tyne and Wear Metro in north-east England. These electric vehicles formed the core of the system's early passenger fleet and became one of the company's best-known British urban-transport products.
Tilting electric multiple-unit
Class 390 Pendolino
The final trains produced at the Washwood Heath plant were Class 390 Pendolino tilting units for the West Coast Main Line modernization. The project connected Metro-Cammell's Birmingham manufacturing history with the successor ownership of GEC Alsthom and the transition to modern high-speed intercity rolling stock.
Diesel and electric locomotives
Locomotives for overseas railways
Metro-Cammell manufactured diesel and electric locomotives for railway operators in Malaysia, South Africa, Nyasaland, Malawi, Nigeria, the Trans-Zambezi Railway and Pakistan. These contracts demonstrate the company's long-standing export reach beyond passenger rolling stock.
Brand decisions
1989
Sell the railway business to GEC AlsthomM&ABackground
Metro-Cammell's railway business entered a new phase as the British rolling-stock sector became increasingly connected with larger international industrial groups.
Action taken
The railway business was sold to GEC Alsthom in May 1989.
Aftermath
Metro-Cammell ceased to operate as an independent railway manufacturer, while production at Washwood Heath continued under successor ownership until 2005.
1929
Combine Metropolitan and Cammell Laird rolling-stock operationsM&ABackground
The British railway-equipment industry was consolidating, and Cammell Laird's railway rolling-stock business was brought together with the Metropolitan enterprise.
Action taken
The businesses were merged to form Metropolitan-Cammell Carriage and Wagon Company.
Aftermath
The new company became a major British supplier of railway carriages, locomotives, wagons and metro vehicles.
Sources1 sources
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