Celebrating 125 years of Brush Falcon Works
AT THE start of this year Brush Traction were invited by Brush Group to participate in a special event to celebrate the 125th anniversary of manufacturing at the Brush Falcon Works.
After months of preparation and hard work by our organising committee, the event took place last Sunday (August 3).
An excellent turn out saw more than 5,000 people attend.
Both David Haynes, managing director, Brush Traction and Paul Byham, project manager of Brush Group, described the event as a fantastic day.
“The weather behaved, although the wind caused a few problems in the morning with various gazebos giving a flying display!
“The attendance and support by our employees, family and friends were beyond expectation, as around 5,000 people brought an amazing atmosphere of celebration to the event.”
There was something for everyone, with live bands playing all afternoon, fairground rides and other attractions for the children, and numerous locomotives, models and displays showing the history of the site and the organisers have sent a special thanks to George Toms and friends.
Other events included a vehicle display by employees, a display of vehicles provided by Sandicliffe, a fleet of over 20 vintage Jaguar cars, steam traction engine rides (both raised money for charity) and several performances by the 1st Loughborough Boys & Girls Brigade.
A fascinating tour through the Brush Group factories provided guests with a glimpse of the facilities and process technologies behind the world-leading Generator and Transformer products that continue to be manufactured at the Falcon Works.
One of the highlights was a locomotive naming ceremony.
It was performed by John Smith, managing director of GB Railfreight.
GB Railfreight kindly gave their permission to name locomotive 73962 after Dick Mabbutt, Brush Traction’s former group engineer who sadly passed away last year.
Two charities, Rainbows and LOROS, will benefit from all proceeds from the day.
In addition, both companies and Unite the Union will be making donations on behalf of the volunteers who gave up their time to ensure it was a truly memorable day.
David and Paul signed off with this message: “Thank you very much to everyone who helped make the day one to remember and here’s to the next 125 years of manufacturing at the Brush Loughborough site!”