We have a collection of 8 BRUTE (British Rail Universal Trolley Equipment) trolleys. They were trolleys used from 1964 until 1999 for sorting, handling and transport of station loaded goods, parcels and Newspapers.
The BRUTE was designed by the BR Materials Handling team, initially for the Western Region on parcels services connecting 20 stations between Paddington, Bristol and Carmarthen. By the end of 1964, 2500 were in use on the Western Region, with 2000 on order for other regions. They were fabricated on a production line at Swindon Works. In August 1964 output was 100 per week, 150 per week two months later, and 200 per week in early 1965. Forty men were employed in their production, most of whom had previously built steam locomotives. All parts were made at Swindon except for the wheels and bearings. The wheels were made by Homa Engineering.
Unlike traditional station trolleys, they were loaded each with parcels for a particular destination and wheeled into the train. This saved train waiting time and cut down on handling. They were used until the Red Star Parcels service was discontinued in 1999.
We have 2 suitable tugs, a SD Tractor build by Brush and a Lansing Bagnall TOER tractor.
| QW 1281 Serial: Unknown Region: Unknown |  |
| QW 1282 Serial: UT 4S1834 Region: Western |  |
| QW 1283 Serial: 029712 Region: Eastern |  |
| QW 1284 Serial: 030818 Region: Southern |  |
| QW 1285 Serial: UT 4S4841 Region: Eastern |  |
| QW 1286 Serial: UT 5S6047 Region: Western |  |
| QW 1287 Serial: 024709 Region: Midland |  |
| QW 1288 Serial: 030024 Region: Eastern |  |
Relevant Updates:
23/10/22 – It’s our party and………
09/10/22 – Buffers and a bit of welding
02/10/22 – Bashing on with the BRUTEs
29/08/22 – Brutes and roofs
07 /08/22 – Green?
12/06/22 – Vans, Vans and Vans (oh and a BRUTE)
05/06/22 – Jubilee bank holiday.
29/05/22 – Painting in Numbers
08/05/22 – May Bus Rally
02/05/22 – Spring Diesel gala & Mixed Traffic event
18/04/22 – Brutes, Bolsters and British Rail Bumper edition
10/10/21 – Buses, Brutes and Brakes
Models of these trollies are available from West Hill Wagon Works
Click Here
