Society General Meeting

Talk – Rail Vehicle Testing  

by Dave Bower

Dave Bower joined the British Rail Testing Section based at the Railway Technical Centre in Derby at the end of his apprenticeship, and spent most of the 1980s and 1990s testing all types of rail vehicles.  In his talk he will look at an area of the railway industry that is not well known about; drawing on experience from his railway career to bring to life the world of railway vehicle testing.

Static and on-track testing provides evidence to ensure the safety of train operations, including keeping the train on the track, stopping safely, the structural integrity and an acceptable passenger environment.

He will focus on British Rail practice during the 1980s and 1990s to describe and understand why, and how, acceptance testing was carried out for new or modified Wagons, Passenger Coaches, Locomotives, On-Track Plant, and Road-Rail vehicles.