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Transcription

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Issue No. 68
An Occasional Newsletter from Parry People Movers Ltd
May 2014
Intermediate Technology Workshops, Parry Environmentalwww.parrypeoplemovers.com
Ltd
and Pre-Metro Operations
www.info@parrypeoplemovers.com
MIKE KNEEN TAKES OVER
INTERMEDIATE
TECHNOLOGY WORKSHOPS
to Nigeria for discussions with PPM and CHAIRMANSHIP
INTERNATIONAL CONSOLIDATION OF
PEOPLE MOVERS’ BUSINESS PLANS
Strategic developments at PPM Ltd are
becoming consolidated after a period of
difficult trading immediately following
the breaking up in 2013 of JPM Parry &
Associates, the company‟s principal
technical suppliers. Interest in PPM‟s
light railcar product continues to
strengthen and after a period of hesitation
during the fall-out from the JPA situation,
relationships are beginning to firm up
internationally which will assist greatly
the design, manufacturing and marketing
of PPM technology.
its supply chain companies. The China
One of the longest-standing shareholders of
Railway Construction Corporation, has Parry People Movers is the Rev Michael
just secured a $13 billion deal to build
Kneen Rector of Leominster. Before joining
1385km of new lines which will link 10 the C of E, Mike was an engineer working in
Nigerian states. These include in the
the water
Delta where PPM has already identified
industry.
Having
potential for suburban-feeder lines.
participated in
KETC, one of the CRCC team, are
the inaugural
located at Shenzhen in southern China.
meetings of the
This city is where Southco, another PPM
founders group
collaborator, has a Chinese base. In
for the revival
anticipation of PPM becoming an
ITW company,
international supplier of light rail
Mike has
A licence agreement has been signed with vehicles, Southco are prepared to be a
agreed to take
the High Vacuum specialists, Allectra, an component supplier and, meanwhile,
on the
Anglo-German firm which will make it
provide PPM with logistical support on
Chairmanship.
possible for the PPM flywheel to store
the ground in Shenzhen. Southco are
Story on Page
over twice the energy of the existing
global leaders in access technology in
6.
Robert C Clerk - designed unit. The PPM the transportation industry with
Mike Kneen, a keen environmentalist and a
-Allectra flywheels will be developed for European HQ in Worcester.
railway volunteer, is also into livestock in a
combined heat and power installations
small way; Here seen with a prize hen!
and energy-efficient small generating
Another significant development
sets, as well as being available to provide concerns a Netherlands railway
power for future light rail vehicles.
organisation which is currently evaluating Class 150 „Sprinter‟.
internally-generated proposals to make
The long delayed visit from the top team engineering support available. This will
Important meetings are being convened
of KETC, a Chinese Railway firm, is now take the form of secondment of a senior
for May 30th and the first week in June in
scheduled for June 1st-3rd. KETC‟s
rolling stock engineer to assist PPM in the Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, relating to three
Chairman and MD are diverting from
development of a light railcar
prospective applications of the PPM
their return journey from a working visit incorporating aspects of the successful
technology. Story on Page 3.
Also in this Issue...
5 Years of Success for PMOL
with PPM Railcars. Page 3.
Parry High & Dry Initiative for
Bangladesh. Page 3.
China Rail Collaboration
Envisages Complete Systems,
including Track. Page 6.
Intermediate Technology
Workshops picks up the
‘Schumacher Baton’. Page 6.
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EARLY HUGH GRANT FILM PROVIDES INSPIRATION
FOR RAIL REINSTATEMENT PROJECTS
One of the earlier films starring the actor, Hugh Grant, THE
ENGLISHMAN WHO WENT UP A HILL BUT CAME
DOWN A MOUNTAIN billed as 'a romantic comedy' was
actually inspirational and now in 2014, very timely, as it was set
in the dark days of the First World War which began 100 years
ago. A small town in Wales demoralised by the terrible events
of that time, came together as a community when the need arose
to reinstate something precious to them which they had
lost. Parallels are drawn with the loss of status of being on the
railway which happened to 100s of towns and villages in the
1960s. The message of the film is to do with the reinstatement
of what seemed to have been lost forever, a mountain. See page 7, page 4 & 5.
Parry People Movers Ltd, Overend Road, Cradley Heath, West Midlands, B64 7DD, UK.
Tel: +44 (0)1384 569553 Fax: +44 (0)1384 637753 Email: info@parrypeoplemovers..com
COMMENT BY JOHN PARRY
PICKING UP THE PIECES
It is inevitable that the restart of the
innovation and knowledge activities
from the original Cradley Heath base
has had to begin with a small core team
assisted by part-time associates and staff
members. After probing the evolving
interest from the market, it has become
clear that what were previously out-ofthe-ordinary interests; lightweight, low
carbon technologies and livelihood
creation by appropriate, low capital cost
means, are now more central to the
focus of international policy makers.
„Small‟ has become big!
THE TSB AND PPM: AN AMICABLE PARTING OF THE
WAYS
In the first 4 months of 2014, despite
formal confirmation by the
Technology Strategy Board of a
reactivation of the former project
awarded to JPM Parry & Associates
Ltd, which had been broken up by a
firm of Liquidators acting for the
Official Receiver after July 2013,
work by Parry People Movers had not
yet begun. While the champagne
bottle had broken on the bow, the
vessel remained stuck on the slipway.
TSB‟s procedures implemented by its
Monitoring Officer, stipulated that the
company‟s match funding of the
£130,000 grant funding should be
shown to hand. PPM had provided
details of the 1) cash in hand,
including secure revenue, 2) potential
for fresh investment from
shareholders, 3) medium term loans
from its bank and 4) tangible assets
which could be sold to raise cash.
However, full credibility of the
availability of these sources of
funding - an understandable
requirement with the shadowy figures
of the govt and Treasury auditors in
the background - required in effect a
ring-fencing of a large proportion of
the company‟s working capital,
despite some of this being needed for
other activities. This posed two
difficulties, effectively forcing
through asset sales was not in the
company‟s interests and the continued
activity of the JPA company‟s
Liquidator needed to
be disclosed as a potential risk to
the PPM company‟s liquidity.
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On April 18th, PPM completed an
urgent review of the project itself to
see whether the budget which had
been arrived at for executing the
project was unavoidably as high as
had been laid down. The answer was
negative and not only were there
expenditure elements which were
avoidable, the whole methodology
of operating the project generated
high expense on the company‟s
side. A degree of micromanagement imposing a heavy
workload of reporting back. The
inflexibility of having to justify in 1.
detail each amendment to the
agreed plan, together with the
Subcontractors‟ consents built up
to the administration tasks
associated with the programme.
These were adding considerably
to the budget requirement.
2.
The „corporate‟ form involves four
companies, the „anchor‟ is Parry People
Movers Ltd, managing the site and
arranging the marketing and
manufacturing of hybrid light rail
vehicles (described by some as „ultra
light‟). A subsidiary company of PPM
Ltd, Parry Environmental Ltd (originally
a JPM Parry & Associates subsidiary)
will be the vehicle for undertaking
consulting activity in the transport
industry. The previous JPA building
materials machinery activity is now in
the hands of a separate firm, Parry
Building Products Ltd, on the
Gainsborough Trading Estate,
Stourbridge. PBP Ltd will not undertake
R&D work but will pass this back to
Cradley Heath. Originally formed in
1987 and operating principally in
Kenya, Intermediate Technology
Workshops Ltd has begun trading and
concentrating on innovations in low
carbon engineering. See Page 8.
PARADOX CORNER
HOW ENTHUSIASM FOR TRAINS MAY BE
CONTRA-INDICATED IN THE EFFORTS TO
EXPAND THE RAIL INDUSTRY
The arguments put by opponents of the
„Beeching‟ Plan 1960 to close rail branch lines
confused the assessment process. While the key
issue was the case to sustain connection to the
main network (an altogether valid concern) a lot
of protesting arose out of the love to continue to
see old steam locomotives in service (a
passionately held view, but impracticable).
Enthusiasm for steam trains has also
subsequently gained an arm-lock on many
Discussion between the private
former branch lines, now controlled by partially
sector firms involved has led to a
volunteer-run preserved railway firms and some
actively work against them being used again for
different way of achieving the
routine public rail services.
same objectives “Project
3. Advice given by a Yorkshire-based corporate
Sensible” (temporary title)
lawyer in a recent meeting in Sheffield, was that
requires more of a partnership
it would be a mistake to mobilise rail
between the firms with some riskpreservation enthusiasm to lead the work of
sharing. We also anticipate help
persuading Government bodies and formal rail
from by one of the major Train
industry companies to participate in reopening
Operating Companies, that may in
ventures. What best drives this process are the
due course, see themselves
consequences of putting a locality back on the
operating the new PPM Class
rail map. Given the prescription of convenient
and frequent-interval train services to places of
139/2 bogie railcars. TSB‟s
employment or commercial activity, the new
Managers responded to PPM
facility will enhance economic well being in
Ltd‟s request to withdraw with
terms of rising property values, employment
sympathy and understanding,
prospects, business revenues, population levels
wishing the altered programme
and house construction. See Pages 4 & 5.
every success.
MALAYSIAN
NEW INDEPENDENT BUILDING PRODUCTS
COUNTERPARTS ENGAGE
FIRM MAKES A GOOD START
WITH NATIONAL AND
As described in previous issues of the newsletter, a new and separate
STATE AUTHORITIES
enterprise has begun trading with the business based on the
CONCERNING THREE LIGHT manufacturing of the range of small intermediate technology machines,
previously supplied from the Cradley Heath premises. The new company, Parry Building
RAIL SCHEMES
Products Ltd, has set up its manufacturing operation at the Gainsborough Trading Estate,
D‟TRAM is the company that is promoting
light rail systems in Malaysia using PPM
railcar technology alongside their own
innovative approach to the tramway civil
engineering. Reports coming in during the
first two weeks of May 2014 indicate that
proposals will soon be ready relating to three
localities on the main peninsular. The
priorities are:- 1. Ampang Line - a commuter
system serving a suburb on the NE side of
Kuala Lumpur, 2. Pulau Penang - initially a
revival of small, historic tramway which
operated in the capital George Town for
nearly 40 years at the beginning of the last
century - later a circular system covering
larger parts of the island, 3. A possible
substitute (street running) to a system which
was originally intended as a monorail serving
Putrajaya, the Nations new administrative
centre.
Stourbridge. Taking on the market has gone smoothly and customers have come forward
from West, East and Southern Africa and South Asia with a throughput of around two
manufacturing plants a week. A relationship remains with the Cradley Heath base which
will continue to perform technical tasks as required, some consultancy and marketing
support. This will include R&D into new machines and processes.
D‟TRAM‟s corporate aspirations ultimately
are to bring in a substantial investor
responding to emerging market potential.
Providing that one or more of the schemes
secure public funding, there is availability of
sufficient private capital to allow the group to
move into manufacturing in partnership with
PPM Ltd. Two new factories are envisaged,
Plant „A‟ in the UK, producing the powered,
below floor driveline and running gear and
Plant „B‟ in Malaysia, fabricating coachwork
and completing the vehicles.
OPERATOR COMPLETES 5 YEARS OF SUCCESSFUL
PASSENGER SERVICE WITH PPM RAILCARS
An engineer from the tramway track
materials specialist, Trelleborg, is passing
through Kuala Lumpur at the end of May.
PPM have arranged for him to assist the
preparation of D‟TRAM‟s proposal to the
Ministry to be presented in early June.
logo
Parry Building Products Machine Building Facility—Rufford Rd, Stourbridge
Featured very prominently in a two page
article in the May 2014 issue of Rail
Technology Magazine, the operator‟s
Managing Director, Philip Evans, reviews
BANGLADESH CONTRACTOR ADOPTING ‘HIGH &
DRY’ CONCEPT
An interesting negotiation is taking place
with British Bangla Consortium Ltd,
which has seen the opportunity for
introducing Parry lightweight construction
technology into Bangladesh.
The group has already aligned itself with
the Parry „High and Dry‟ brand, with such
preparations being made to introduce the
precast micro-concrete waffle system for
suspended floors. Further to this, the
proprietors are investigating the possible
use of the new „Stabilite‟ lightweight
aggregate material, now in final stages of
development.
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the past 5 years performance and looks to
the future. Pre-Metro Operations Ltd is the
acknowledged specialist in what is often
referred to as ‟Ultra Light Rail‟ operation.
Being a UK rail network-franchised
operation, the vehicles have a railway
rolling stock classification, „Class 139 light
railcars‟ and they run on a branch line of the
heavy rail network.
Covered in the article are key facts; „eye
catching‟ reliability over the last 5 years,
including 99.6% in the year to Jan 2014.
The PPM railcars are one quarter the weight
of the train that previously operated the
service. Enviable passenger growth over 5%
per year with ridership of more than
540,000 passengers in the year. Carbon
emissions on the line have been slashed.
The ‘Enam’ High & Dry middle-income
dwelling
The service is now supported technically by
its own engineers, having been trained by
PPM and its supply chain firms.
THE WINDS OF CHANGE THAT HAVE TWICE TRANSFORMED THE ROLE OF
RAILWAYS IN BRITAIN
1960s Cold Wind of the ‘Beeching
Closures’
2010 Third Wind of Change McNulty ‘Gets It’ About Branch
Lines
During the tenure of Transport Minister
Ernest Marples, who made a fortune
building roads, railways were in general
decline. A top industrialist, Dr
Beeching, was put in charge of Britain‟s
railways and took an axe to hundreds of
loss making branch lines. Ideas from
Germany involving simpler operating
procedures and using cheap, lightweight
rail buses were examined and vehicles
tested successfully by British Rail, but
the results were ignored because many
of the lobbyists fighting the closures
confused the issue by also wanting to
continue the age of steam.
In 2010, the Labour government‟s
Transport Minister, Lord Adonis
initiated a massive review of the
railways, questioning the previous
assumption that the remaining short
lines of the network would continue to
struggle on under heavy subsidy so
should receive minimum new
investment.
In 1960, new steam engines were still
being built, but while coal was a
domestically-sourced fuel and cheap,
the amount of skilled labour needed for
operation and maintenance imposed
prohibitive costs. Use of oil to raise
steam was very inefficient compared
with using it to propel trains directly by
diesel engines. Coal could still be used,
however, to generate electricity
Lord Adonis (left) visiting Stourbridge in
involving lower traction costs so
discussion with the PPM Chairman
electric trains would continue to run.
However, road transport using modern It was time for some intelligent
cars and buses appeared to be The
appraisal and the report of the team led
Future.
by Sir Roy McNulty issued a report
which was then accepted by the
Department for Transport under the
1980s Second Wind of Change coalition and finally became Britain‟s
Success on the Main Lines
National Rail Technical Strategy 2012,
By the ‟70s and ‟80s, traffic congestion ‟The Future Railway‟. When Lord
in London and major cities began to
Adonis visited the Stourbridge light
make it no longer sensible to make
railcar operation, he indicated that they
journeys there by road and so modern
should have potential for being used in
inter-city electric and diesel train
an expanded network, a view also
services became popular and profitable. expressed by the coalition Secretary of
But the smaller lines were the poor
State at the same time, Ms. Justine
relations, perpetually losing money and Greening and Network Rail‟s new
equipped with hand-me-down track
Chairman, Richard Parry-Jones.
materials and vehicles. When more
modern multiple units „DMUs‟ became The combined wisdom has resulted in a
available, many of the fast, heavy
strategy which now assumes expansion
railcars previously in inter-city service rather than contraction at the periphery
were „cascaded‟ down to branch lines, of the rail network and for a new
running inefficiently on lines speed
approach to the operation of „lightly
limited to 25 - 50mph. Nothing more
used lines‟. In the response by Network
suitable has been available. Small,
Rail, special mention is made in its
German-style rail buses having ceased Route Utilisation Strategy for the
manufacture many years earlier.
smaller branch lines to consider the
successful introduction of Class 139
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vehicles on the Stourbridge Town
Branch and the possibility of operating
less dense parts of the network at a
lower cost than existing rolling stock.
The Class 139 railcar is a lightweight
hybrid design which has now been in
service for 5 years in the West
Midlands, releasing savings of over £2
million for the Public Purse.
In the 20 years since the mid 1990s,
discussion of branch lines concentrated
on how to minimise subsidies that
prevent their closure, but in 2014 there
is evidence of 188 separate initiatives to
reopen lines or reinstate passenger
services on existing lines, including
those now only used for freight or
heritage operations.
Shared Use of Freight Lines
There are several instances of railway
lines, once part of the passenger
network, which as a result of the
„Beeching‟ cuts were reduced to just
operating infrequent freight trains.
Examples include:
* Saxmundham to Leiston - serving a
nuclear power station
* Stourbridge Junction to Brierley Hill serving a steel works
* Stocksbridge to Sheffield - serving a
steel works
* Northallerton to Redmire - serving
Catterick Military Camp, also used by
the private Wensleydale Railway
The Chairman
of the Rail
Freight Group,
Lord Tony
Berkeley,
writing to the
Rail Magazine
in April 2011
suggested the
suitability of
Chairman of the RFG,
Class 139
Lord Berkeley
railcars to be
used to reopen
passenger services on lightly used
freight-only lines. Modern signalling
procedures are fully up to the task of
keeping movement of freight and
passenger trains completely separate.
COMMUNITY BENEFITS THAT ARISE OUT OF BEING ON THE RAILWAY MAP
to significant employment
The Relationship
Between Property Values centres.
and the Rail Network
An Unexpected Synergy.
Rail travel is becoming more Trains and Modern
and more popular despite the Media
next few years.
By contrast, where previous
passenger railway formations
(bridges, cuttings,
embankments and track bed)
still exist, to bring back
high cost of fares. The
passenger services based on
contributing factors to this
Assuming that young people
lightweight hybrid People
are:reaching the age when they
Mover technology will
are permitted to own and
involve a fraction of such
- Congestion, traffic
drive a car will automatically
‟calming‟ measures and loss aspire to do so is now turning costs. In the case of a freight
only line, very little capital
of road space due to parked out to be wrong. Especially
expenditure is needed before
cars are making urban
for routine journeys, many
driving less congenial, arrival people now prefer to use the trains can be made to run
again, using new technology
times more unpredictable and trains and the ability to text
and simplified procedures.
journeys slower than
or access video games is
commuting by train.
especially popular with
The biggest impediment
- Many train users occupy
younger people.
involves the approval
the time of the journey using
processes and in particular
electronic media devices or
These trends seem unlikely
the preoccupation by the rail
reading a free paper - not
to alter in the near or
industry with higher profile
possible when driving a car. foreseeable future.
schemes; „HS2‟, CrossRail,
- Car ownership and use is
etc.
becoming more expensive,
Tramways or Branch
including the cost of parking. Line Re-openings
Application of Community/
- Carbon emissions are
political pressure can speed
sharply reduced when private
In a new era when patronage up the processes; When
motorists switch to public
of the rail mode is greater
floods in Cumbria closed a
transport.
than ever before, it follows
road bridge connecting two
that coverage must expand.
parts of a town, a new
The resulting mode switch to
New street tram systems
temporary station was built
train travel is being reflected
have been constructed in five in a week.
in residential property prices.
cities but caused disruption
In advertisements for house
during construction and the
In order to mobilise
sales, the proximity to a train
cost of electrified street
Community involvement, a
station is frequently
running infrastructure was
strong, even „eyebrow mentioned. The influence on
very high - often exceeding
raising‟ case has to be made
the asking price often within
£10 million per mile of route. showing all of the good that
the range of 5% - 25%
Most large towns and cities
will result from the locality
higher for properties within
are unlikely to be able to
being back on the passenger
walking distance of stations
afford tram systems in the
railway map.
that provide frequent services
A People Mover and an ordinary train at Stourbridge
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If, as in case of the Yorkshire
Don Valley, a pleasant
natural setting, the
availability of passenger train
services will make the
locality more attractive.
A ‘7 Wins’ Scenario
Comes About
1. Businesses serving visitors
will be more successful
2. Commuting to nearby
employment centres, e.g.
Sheffield, will become
quicker and more convenient
3. The population will
increase as a result of urban
workers moving into the area
4. A mini surge in house
construction will happen
5. Patronage of businesses
serving the local population
will improve with greater
foot-fall
6. A better local business
environment will result in
more jobs as will the
improved prospect of finding
work by commuting (into
Sheffield or to a mainline
station)
7. The value of existing
residents‟ own homes will
increase
The Don Valley Railway line. Add passenger trains and
bring value to the locality.
INTERMEDIATE TECHNOLOGY
WORKSHOPS TO PICK UP AND RUN WITH
THE SCHUMACHER BATON
SENIOR BUSINESSMAN WITH
MANUFACTURING BACKGROUND
ENTERS THE SCENE
Rev Michael Kneen and his wife Dr
Lesley Kneen are devotees of the
Intermediate Technology concept and
strengthened their understanding
during a recent visit to India.
producers to address market
aspirations. It would give customers
access to materials and end products,
including in agriculture, construction
and energy, (hydro and wind power)
and improving domestic appliances
such as cooking stoves, all better than
coping with unaltered circumstances.
Recently walking through the door at PPM, Ian
HAMILTON, a Chartered Engineer whose career
has spanned UK manufacturing of machine tools,
high volume production of precision manufactured
components, wiring harness production for
Midlands motor vehicle manufacturers and, most
recently, exploration and production in the energy
and mining industries in West Africa.
Two influential books were published
on the subject; Small is Beautiful by
EF Schumacher and Mastering the
Machine by Ian Smillie.
Culminating in a
multi-million
pound company
asset sale, an
interesting and
varied career
that interfaces
well with the
innovative Parry
Group, with its
inventions and
creative design
solutions for the
transport and
housing
construction
Ian Hamilton, C. Eng MSC
sectors,
targeting Africa, India, along with China and the
Far East.
The importance of encouraging
localised small-scale craftsmen and
'grass roots' manufacturers was first
pointed out by Mahatma Gandhi one
of the founders of the Indian
Nation. His approach was based on
traditional tools and practices which
he extolled by, for instance, making
his own clothes from cotton which
was produced on a hand operated
spinning wheel. He also produced
some salt as a revolutionary gesture
against British rule which tried to
treat this activity as taxable. A
German born, British naturalised
Oxford economist, Dr EF
Schumacher, having been invited by
the Government of newlyindependent India, concluded that the
Gandhian approach to localised
production indeed aided the
alleviation of poverty, but should not
be 'static' (clinging to traditional
crafts), but 'dynamic' coming up with
a multitude of ways encouraging
localised production requiring the
application of a new category of
technology - Intermediate
Technology. This would respond to
the availability of innovations and
discoveries which could enable small
In recent years, Practical Action has
assembled a huge following of
supporters of its activities, setting up
like minded organisations in several
'target' nations in the poorest regions
of the world. Correspondence with
the newly appointed Chair, Helena
Molyneux, explaining the decision to
bring ITW back into active operation
has produced both interest and
warmth.
Ian‟s work in West Africa also included projects
relating to affordable, sustainable local housing and
the transportation of people and goods from the
farm to market.
ITW Chairman, Mike Kneen, as engine
driver on the Severn Valley Railway
PPM-CHINA-RAIL COLLABORATION ENVISAGES
COMPLETE SYSTEMS AVOIDING USE OF PETROLEUM
Having recognised that the future projects on
PPM‟s horizon to be exciting and challenging, Ian
is looking forward to bringing additional skills to
compliment those of John Parry and his team and
stakeholders. He has been invited to join the board
as Business Development Director.
A light rail project is at an advanced stage of negotiation for a second tier city in the south of
China, but unlike for the large very prosperous municipalities in the same region, the budget
available to construct the lines and provide rolling stock is too small for standard ‟Supertram‟
technology. PPM‟s China counterparts, KETC, having been invited to submit proposals,
believe that they are becoming well placed to pioneer a more affordable form of light rail as a
result of their collaboration with PPM. The specification rules out the Stourbridge-type 1pg/
flywheel hybrid because the Chinese authorities are banning the use of petroleum-based fuel
for use in public transport vehicles. Accordingly, KETC have requested PPM to work on a
way of beefing up the original flywheel electric form of light rail which an experimental
service successfully in Bristol for almost 3 years, up until the year 2000. A further
requirement in the forthcoming discussions will be innovative forms of tramway track
Flywheel electric hybrid Railbus performing
experimental services in Bristol 1998-2000
enabling rapid installation in the upper surface of the road.
The key requirement is a) to increase the store of energy available in the flywheel and b) to reduce the non-traction demand on the
flywheel energy from operating ancillaries such as doors, compressors and climate control of the passenger compartment. Everything
is possible and, in particular, the big advance in energy storage capacity, which comes from the Anglo-German collaboration with
Allectra, will greatly enhance the performance of the electric/flywheel hybrid version of PPM technology. This will be discussed
during a visit to the UK of KETC‟s top executive team between 31st May and 3rd June 2014.
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WHETHER FACT OR FICTION: AN INSPIRING STORY FROM 100 YEARS AGO
In these cynical times, we are occasionally surprised by sudden surges of community spirit, frequently inspired
by the leadership of one or two individuals, who identify where many people joining forces can achieve great
things. Generating irresistible public pressure to realise a widely desired end - such as getting their town put
back on the railway map is one such endeavour.
The Welsh author, Ifor David Monger, wrote a
tale which many decades later was made into a
film set at the time of the Great War,
during which millions of troops died on the
Western Front. The film, starring Hugh Grant,
described a town in South Wales in 1917 with a
depressed and demoralised population where the
pressures of war had also increased injuries and
deaths in the coal mining industry, adding to the
numbers of soldiers killed in the fighting or
Anderson, the surveyor (by the lady in a hat), inspects the mound of soil
returning traumatised by the horrors of trench
under construction
warfare. Adjacent to the town was „the first
mountain in Wales‟ over the border from England, Ffynon Garw. By chance, an Ordnance Survey team, made
up of two invalided former army officers, measured the mountain found that it was actually just 984 feet high
and could only be classified as a „hill‟.
Responding to the shock of „losing‟ its
mountain, a meeting of townspeople
discussed sending a petition to Westminster
demanding that Ffynon Garw should still be
called a mountain. But with the war going
on, who would read the petition? The
discussion swayed back and forth. “If 20 feet
is all we need, why not move soil from the
side of the hill and pile it up at the highest
point?”. The Preacher said that sounded like
sharp practice, the only way to do it was to
bring
the soil from level ground of the town
The towns folk use buckets, wheel barrows and carts to bring soil to the top of
at
the
bottom of the hill. The owner of the
the hill
pub who had suggested piling up the soil said
“That would be impossible.” “‟Impossible‟ is a sad word” said a young, shell-shocked and traumatised soldier,
Johnny Jones, who had become withdrawn and rarely spoke. He said that in France they had dug trenches 10
miles long and so the meeting decided, „lets make the hill over 1000 feet high so that it becomes a mountain
again‟. And the whole community joined forces and took soil from their gardens and even turf from the Rugby
pitch and built a 20ft high hump on top of the hill,
bringing height back to over 1000 ft. Having lost
their „mountain‟, they reinstated it.
Pictures from the Film - „THE ENGLISHMAN
WHO WENT UP A HILL AND CAME DOWN A
MOUNTAIN‟ show the community working
together to reinstate what had been lost by the
stroke of a civil servant‟s pen.
THE LESSON FOR RAILWAY CAMPAIGNERS
The flagpole from the town centre was borrowed and marked to show
the height of the mound
It is this kind of political pressure that can be
exerted by a Community Interest company through leafleting, public meetings and all forms of publicity
influencing elected members and public officials. The approach can be applied to bring about reinstatement of
„Beeching Closure‟ rail services. Once services begin, the sense of involvement will subsequently speed up the
growth of patronage of the reopened passenger line.
7
n e w s
TECHNOLOGY SECTION
NEW MACHINES UNDER DEVELOPMENT FOR THE PRODUCTION OF ‘STABILITE’
ARTIFICIAL AGGREGATES MANUFACTURED FROM WASTE MATERIALS
An interest in aggregates leading on to specialisation in the subject emerged from a commission in 1980 by the eminent Japanese
architectural practice, Kisho Kurokawa to see whether it might be possible to identify local sources of materials suitable to be used
in the construction of a new town of Al Sarir in the Southern Libyan desert. Using small
scale equipment including a bar-mill and multi-deck screen, the Parry team managed to
convert the unsuitable desert dust and subsoil into useable construction material, so
avoiding the need to transport these 600 km from quarries near the coastal city of
Benghazi. A demonstration structure was built by the team (see right).
The scarcity of suitable aggregates for concrete is a world issue with strong environmental
implications. Accordingly, Intermediate Technology Workshops has commenced work
turning successful proof-of-concept prototype machines into commercially available form
for licence. Production of aggregates artificially offers the opportunity for them being
made, using waste styrofome, lighter in weight than most natural sands and gravels. This
leads to new forms of lightweight concrete which, when widely available, including at
‘village’ scale, will have a beneficial impact on carbon emissions, because of the
reduction possible in transport journeys delivering construction materials. More bricks, blocks and tiles can be carried in any given
load. The ‘Stabilite’ lightweight concrete is also a good thermal insulator, another potential way of conserving energy.
The lightweight aggregate-producing machines now under development are illustrated below.
During the closing months of 2013, work privately funded by two
of ITW’s founder group, confirmed that waste EPS plastic could
be shredded down to a suitable range of coarse and fine
aggregate sizes. This was performed using an electrically
powered machine. The task now is to develop a manually
operated version.
The feedstock ‘cakes’, having been left to set for a few days, are
ready for crushing down into graded aggregate for immediate use
in the production of lightweight concrete elements. A machine to
perform the crushing task is in advanced stage of development
being derived from a Pendulum Powered Clay Crusher, designed
and patented by John Parry in the 1970s.
The grading of the lightweight particles is of critical importance.
This requires ongoing development of a human powered, vibrating
sieving machine, able to segregate the particles into coarse,
medium and fine outputs. Prototype under test. The lightweight
fines blended with water clay and 10 percent cement by volume,
produce feedstock material in the form of pebble sized ‘cakes’.
Manually powered machines deliver torque limited to the muscle
strength of the operator. The use of a Kinetic Energy spinning
flywheel make available brief intervals of torque, much greater
than a single person’s muscle power. A new flywheel powered
mechanism, as seen above, is at an advanced stage of
development.
INTERMEDIATE TECHNOLOGY WORKSHOPS HAVE BEGUN LOOKING FOR SUPPORTERS
8
n e w s
Parry News 68 compiled & produced by John Parry, Ian Hamilton, Natalie Bryant, Margaret Macey & Paul Davis

n e w s - Parry People Movers Ltd

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