Wingrove & Rogers Ltd of Kirkby, Liverpool, England, was formed in 1919 by Major Charles William Wingrove M.C. (1889-1976) and William Rogers (b1891) to manufacture control gear for electric vehicles. In the 1920s they diversified into variable capacitors, the components essential for tuning in the front end of radio receivers which they continued through the Second World War during which they supplied the armed forces. In 1926 they amalgamated with British Electric Vehicles Ltd,Industrial Amalgamation, Liverpool Journal of Commerce, 5 Oct 1926, p4 and moved the electric vehicle production from Southport to Liverpool where they made vehicles such as electrically motorised trolleys and electric locomotives (mainly narrow gauge), largely for use in factories, mines, and by tunnelling contractors.

The radio component part of the business was run under a subsidiary, Polar Ltd, formed in 1925. In mid-1928 they opened the Polar Works and they used the "Polar" trademark for the variable capacitors. The Polar business was sold off to Jackson Brothers (London) Ltd of Croydon at the end of 1980, having lost money in 8 of the previous 9 years.Business Briefing, Liverpool Echo, 31 December 1980, p9 The contents of the Polar Works were auctioned on 12 February 1981.Business Auctions, Liverpool Echo, 6 February 1981, p12

Wingrove & Rogers sold their electric vehicle and locomotive business to Pikrose & Co Ltd in 1989, and then the company was put into voluntary liquidation.Legal Notices, Liverpool Echo, 27 July 1989, p46 Pikrose were a long established firm founded by Austin Hopkinson in the 1900s making equipment for the mining industry at their Delta works in Audenshaw, Manchester, and they continued the manufacture of the battery electric locomotives with surviving examples known from 1992 and 1993 - one is preserved at the Apedale Valley Light Railway. In 2006 Pikrose sold the B.E.V. business to Serminsa (of Peru) who have continued production of the locomotives.

Products William Rogers patented a controller for electric vehicles in June 1919, and about the same time he teamed up with Charles William Wingrove to form Wingrove & Rogers Ltd. Their company manufactured the controller used on the electric vehicles manufactured by British Electric Vehicles of Southport.

In 1922 the company started patenting items associated with radio tuning such as variable condensers, and this became an important part of the business, with several related patents until the advent of World War II, and production for the armed forces during the war.

After amalgamating with British Electric Vehicles in 1926 they produced electrically powered factory trolleys, and narrow gauge railway locomotives, used in factories and mines. In 1929 it was also reported that they marketed electric road vehicles made by Victor Electrics Ltd of Southport.An Electric Van, Commercial Motor, 17 Sep 1929 By the 1960s their range of products had extended to include fork lift trucks and pallet trucks.Wingrove & Rogers (advert), Birmingham Daily Post, 7 April 1964, p10

The locomotive type designations were based on weight : 1.5ton Types WR5 and WR5L 2 Ton Type WR8 3-3.5 Ton Type WR18 5 Ton Type W527 7-8 Ton Type W128

Preserved Vehicles These simple battery locomotives were some of the last narrow gauge locomotives to be made, and some are still in industrial use. Their preservation largely came after the steam and internal combustion locomotives had been preserved with the realisation that they are also a part of the same story and need to be represented in collections.

Name WorksNumber Yearbuilt Type Gauge Previous Operator Notes 899 1935 22.5in At Dolaucothi Gold Mines, Pumsaint 1298 1938 Moseley Industrial NG Tramway & Museum 3492 1946 Sallet Hole Fluorspar Mine Wakebridge Station Tram Stop, Crich 3557 1946 W227 Force Crag Baryte Mine Preserved in 2007, at the Springfield Agricultural Railway 3805 RNAD Trecwn Scapa Flow Visitor Centre, Lyness 3867 1950 Poldark Mine & Cornish National Heritage Collection 4998 1953 Redland Brick Ltd, North Holmwood, Dorking, Surrey At Amberley Chalk Pits Museum Lama 5033 1953 Ex Crowborough Brickworks At Great Bush Railway 5034 1953 Redland Brick Ltd, North Holmwood, Dorking, Surrey At Amberley Chalk Pits Museum Mary 5665 1957 Preserved at the Morwellham & Tamar Valley Trust, Morwellham Quay 6092 1958 Beckermet Mining Co Preserved at the Statfold Barn Railway Bertha 6298 1960 Preserved at the Morwellham & Tamar Valley Trust, Morwellham Quay LM19 6502 1962 Originally Balfour Beatty Ltd, contractors, Blackwell, London Oswestry and District Narrow Gauge Group 6503 1962 Originally Balfour Beatty Ltd, contractors, Blackwell, London Oswestry and District Narrow Gauge Group 6504 1962 Originally Balfour Beatty Ltd, contractors, Blackwell, London Oswestry and District Narrow Gauge Group 6505 1962 Originally Balfour Beatty Ltd, contractors, Blackwell, London Oswestry and District Narrow Gauge Group Cable Mill C6716 1963 Cable Street Rolling Mills, Wolverhampton Preserved at the Apedale Valley Light Railway Billet C6717 1963 Cable Street Rolling Mills, Wolverhampton Preserved at the Apedale Valley Light Railway C6766 1963 Preserved at the Threlkeld Quarry and Mining Museum Ludo 6769 1964 Preserved at the Morwellham & Tamar Valley Trust, Morwellham Quay William 6770 1964 Preserved at the Morwellham & Tamar Valley Trust, Morwellham Quay Harewood D6800 1964 Preserved at the Morwellham & Tamar Valley Trust, Morwellham Quay D6912 1964 Spondon Power Station, Derby Preserved at the Apedale Valley Light Railway Charlotte G7124 1967 Preserved at the Morwellham & Tamar Valley Trust, Morwellham Quay S259 George H7197 1968 Preserved at the Morwellham & Tamar Valley Trust, Morwellham Quay Titch M7535 1972 Ex Crowborough Brickworks At Great Bush Railway M7550 1972 Preserved at the Twyford Waterworks Trust LM4 N7605 1973 WR8 Preserved at the Lea Bailey Light Railway N7606 1973 Preserved at the Twyford Waterworks Trust 7617 1973 WR5L Preserved at the Lea Bailey Light Railway P7624 1975 Preserved at the Threlkeld Quarry & Mining Museum 7888R 1977 WR18 Preserved at the Lea Bailey Light Railway 7964 1977 WR18 Redburn flourspar mine Preserved at the Lea Bailey Light Railway T8033 1979 Redland Brick Ltd, North Holmwood, Dorking, Surrey At Amberley Chalk Pits Museum L1009 1979 WR5 Originally Concord Tin Mines, Truro, then Carnarvon Mining Co. Ltd., Clogau Gold Mine Preserved at the Lea Bailey Light Railway (stripped for repairs) Diode L1021 1983 Moseley Industrial NG Tramway & Museum

References