Paxman
was a major
British
brand of
diesel engines
. Ownership has changed on a number of occasions since the company's formation in 1865, and the brand is now part of
MAN Energy Solutions
. At its peak, the Paxman works covered 23 acres (9.3 ha) and employed over 2,000 people. Early Paxman diesel engines (with "Comet" indirect injection cylinder heads, designed by Sir
Harry Ricardo
) carried the name
Paxman Ricardo
.
[1]
[2]
History
[
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]
Davey Paxman
[
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]
Paxman was founded by James Noah Paxman, Henry and Charles Davey as
Davey, Paxman & Davey, Engineers
in 1865, later
Davey, Paxman & Co.
which became a limited company in 1898. In 1920 the company became a member of the
Agricultural & General Engineers
(AGE)
combine
. In 1932 AGE collapsed and Paxman emerged as
Davey Paxman & Co (Colchester) Ltd
.
[3]
[4]
Davey, Paxman and Davey conducted business as general engineers and ironworkers. The company manufactured
steam engines
, boilers, agricultural machinery, and mill gearing. By the early 1870s the company was supplying machinery to the
Kimberley
diamond mines in South Africa.
Ruston-Paxman
[
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]
In 1940,
Ruston & Hornsby
purchased a controlling interest in the company; this co-operation led to the formation of
Ruston-Paxman Group
.
During
World War II
Paxman supplied diesel engines for various naval vessels such as e.g., the
British U-class submarine
and the
British V-class submarine
.
In 1954, the engine controls business of Paxman was reformed as a subsidiary,
Ardleigh Engineering
. In 1962, Paxman acquired the engine controls division of the
Curtiss-Wright Corporation
and merged the two businesses under the
Regulateurs Europa
name.
English Electric and GEC
[
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]
In 1966, the Ruston-Paxman Group was acquired by
English Electric
. The diesel engine businesses were merged into
English Electric Diesel Engines Ltd
(later English Electric Diesels Ltd). Paxman became the "Paxman Engine Division" of English Electric. In 1968, English Electric was itself acquired by
GEC
. In 1972, GEC renamed the engines division GEC Diesels Limited. In 1975, a reorganisation saw the creation of
Paxman Diesels Limited
as a subsidiary.
Alstom
[
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]
In 1988, GEC merged its Paxman,
Ruston
and
Mirrlees Blackstone
diesels businesses with the Alsthom division of
Compagnie Generale d'Electricite
(CGE) to form
GEC-Alsthom
. Paxman became
GEC ALSTOM Paxman Diesels Ltd
. In December 1997, GEC Alstom had its initial public offering as Alstom. The diesel engine businesses became Alstom Engines Ltd (AEL).
MAN B&W Diesel
[
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]
In 2000, Alstom Engines Ltd. was acquired by
MAN B&W Diesel
to become MAN B&W Diesel Ltd. In 2005, MAN sold the Regulateurs Europa controls business to
Heinzmann
. In November 2020, MAN announced the
Colchester
factory would close with the remaining Paxman products to be supported by
MAN Energy Solutions
's
Hazel Grove
facility.
[5]
Diesel engines
[
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]
Paxman
[
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]
Pre-1934 designs
:
[6]
Post-1934 designs
(indirect injection):
[7]
Post-1952 designs
(direct injection)
[8]
- YH, used in
British Rail Class 15
and
British Rail Class 16
- ZH, used in
British Rail Class 17
- YJ
Ventura
, used in
Type 42 destroyer
,
British Rail Class 14
,
British Rail Class 29
,
British Rail Class 74
- Y3J (later RP200)
Valenta
, used in
Type 22 frigate
,
Type 23 frigate
,
Invincible
-class aircraft carrier
,
Upholder
/
Victoria
-class submarine
,
British Rail Class 43 (HST)
,
New South Wales XPT
- VP185
, used in
British Rail Class 43 (HST)
,
New South Wales XPT
Ruston-Paxman
[
edit
]
Examples of Ruston-Paxman diesel engines:
References
[
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]
External links
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]
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Subsidiaries
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Joint ventures
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Former subsidiaries
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