Irish invented battery powered trains 85 years before Tesla | Season 1 – Episode 70

Dr. James J. Drumm was an Irish chemist who did advanced research into the development of powerful traction batteries at University College Dublin (UCD). He completed his college education in 1918 and worked in industry the UK and Ireland up to 1925 when he started his research work at UCD. Drumm was working in the Experimental Physics Laboratory under Professor John J. Nolan, Head of the Department and also adviser to the Irish Ministry of Industry and Commerce. Drumm was working on his PhD proposal for a new type of battery chemistry.

In 1929, Drumm applied for a patent on an improved alkaline battery which combined many of the advantages of both alkaline and lead-acid cells. The chief feature of this new chemistry was the high charge and discharge rates achieved. In comparison to contemporaries (notably from the Edison Battery Company) the Drumm battery could charge four times as fast, and discharge up to three times as fast, making strong acceleration and regenerative braking. The Drumm invention was first made public and attracted widespread interest, not just here in Ireland, but across Europe and in the US. Reflecting on Drumm’s achievement there were many challenges to confront when developing the traction battery system. For it to be effective it had to:

1. Have a long life
2. Be mechanically robust
3. Have a low upkeep cost
4. Have low weight in relation to its output, for obviously the battery forms part of the haulage load
5. Be capable of giving rapid acceleration which involves rapid discharge
6. Be battery capable of rapidly charged

At the time the Irish government had invested heavily in the Shannon Hydroelectric Scheme capable of supplying abundant electrical power. To offset the taunt of white elephant from the opposition party, the government was anxious to get customers for the surplus supply. Electrification of the railways seemed to offer a solution to the problem. However, the relatively small bulk of traffic and the scattered population would have made it impossible to justify the initial cost of a live third rail or overhead system. As a result a large-scale track electrification of the Irish railways was not considered an economic possibility. Drumm approached the Government for support in creating a prototype train to test the viability of this new battery. This offered the Government an opportunity eliminate the need of all of the expensive infrastructure of conventional electric railways – overhead wires, masts etc. and it could be charged at night using cheap surplus electricity.

The Drumm train project was given £27,000 and the Drumm Battery Company was formed. In 1930, a small four-wheeled petrol-driven railcar was modified at the Inchicore rail works, and was outfitted with a 110V battery, as well as two 22kW motors. Trial runs showed that the train could attain a speed of 80 km/h (50 mph) within fifty seconds of the start. A speed of 88 km/h (55 mph) it is stated, was maintained for the greater part of the journey from Dublin to Bray. In February 1932 the Drumm battery train was charged at Inchicore and went on a test run to Portarlington and back — a total distance of 130 kilometres (80 miles) — on the single charge. This was repeated several times after which the train went into regular service.

The first train was put into commission which comprised a twin coach double end (driver facilities at both ends) unit 38.4 metres (126 feet) long. The weight of the train with passengers was about 85 tons. There was seating accommodation for 140 passengers. The train could accelerate from standstill and attain speeds of 65 kph (40 mph) to 80 kph (50 mph) with ease. The train was fitted with a successful system of regenerative braking, whereby an important fraction of the energy surge made available on a down-gradient or on de-accelerating at a station was returned to the battery.

A second quickly followed, both becoming part of the Bray-Dublin service travelling the route 10 to 15 times per day. The battery was charged at Amiens Street Station (Connolly Station) and at Bray. The distance is about 23 kilometres (14.5 miles). Four Drumm Battery train units operated successfully on the Dublin to Bray section of the line with occasional runs to Greystones some five miles beyond, from 1932 to 1948.

During ‘The Emergency’ years (WWII 1939-1945), coal and petrol shortages affected steam locomotive and road transport. This meant that the Drumm trains had increased use. The impact of the war had a knock on effect on the company, as they were unable to source raw materials for the batteries and secure orders for the Drumm Traction Battery system. Electricity shortages also occurred on the Shannon due to low water levels and this affected the Drumm trains. Only peak services were provided and trains did not run between 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday with no services on a Sunday.

By the summer of 1944 the Minister for Industry and Commerce, Sean Lemmas was non-committal about prolonging the life of the Drumm trains. His answer to a question about the cost of the Drumm train system compared to steam trains in Dáil Éireann (Irish Parliament) Wednesday, 21 Mar 1945 gives an insight to Government thinking. And I quote “I am informed that the operating cost per mile of a locomotive (steam) train on a suburban route is £.036 pence per passenger seat and the corresponding figure for a Drumm train is £1.20 pence.”

Despite this, the trains continued to operate on the Harcourt street line until 1949, when the batteries reached the end of their working life. A decision was taken to withdraw the trains from service on the 12th July 1949, when the last Drumm train left Bray. All four railcars were converted at Inchicore to ordinary passenger stock and were hauled by steam locos. In the mid 1950’s they were withdrawn and replaced by new diesel railcars. These pioneering railcars were scraped between 1957 and 1964.

Drumm batteries were also used in 1934 in bread vans by a number of Dublin bakeries but their performance fell short of expectation due to leakage of the charge. These batteries were also fitted in a 21⁄2 ton lorry with greater success as this vehicle was able to cover 70 kilometres (45 miles) a day only requiring a one hour boosting charge in the middle of the day which was given while the driver was on his lunch break.

Professor A.J. Allmand F.R.S., writing in scientific magazine Nature (12th March 1932) stated “It is clear that Dr. Drumm has produced a cell of somewhat remarkable properties, and that, although primarily designed for transport purposes, these properties may lead to its utilisation in other fields”. A final note we have read that the modern smartphone battery is based on Dr Drumm’s work.