CHARLES CALVERT, PHD STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM, INTRODUCES THE LOCOMOTIVE WHICH WILL OFFER RIDES AT MODERN RAILWAYS RVE
Modern Railways RVE is an evolving and growing show. As the UK’s only dedicated rolling stock event, it serves an important purpose in this vibrant sector. But a major first for the 2018 show will be the presence of a real locomotive offering rides to visitors. That locomotive is Hydrogen Hero, the Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education’s 10¼-inch gauge hydrogen train, the first fully operating locomotive of the type in the UK. Charles Calvert is one year into a PhD at the University of Birmingham, studying future traction types for railways, a hot topic in the industry at present.
There has been a hydrogen train in one form or another at the university’s BCRRE for some six years, evolving over that time. Latterly, Mr Calvert has led the development of Hydrogen Hero from a research project to a fully operational train, as will be seen at Modern Railways RVE.
‘I was drawn to the university by the hydrogen train’ Mr Calvert explains. ‘With my Royal Navy background I learned about the electrolysis of sea water to produce hydrogen and was fascinated by the pot…
