GE Capital Rail Services (Europe)

GE Capital Rail Services is a European railway services company owned by GE Capital and headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The company was formed in 1998 through the acquisition and merger of the leasing firms Cargowaggon and International Wagon Services (Tiphook).

History

Cargowaggon Gmbh was founded in Frankfurt, Germany by Swiss shipping company Danzas Holding AG, to undertake trans-European shipment of customers rail cargo. The company specified and purchased wagons from mainly German manufacturers, which were then sub-leased or hired to customers.

The company was started through an invitation to manufacture and manage new rail vehicles for Ford Europe in 1979, to allow transportation of motor vehicle sub-assemblies between various European factories. By 1997 jointly owned by Australian business services company Brambles Industries, and Danzas, the company was purchased by GE Capital Services.^[4]

In May 1998, GE bought International Wagon Services Ltd in Bromley, Kent United Kingdom,^[5][6] which operated 2,100 railway wagons under the Tiphook brand.

By 1999, the newly named GE Rail Services had integrated Cargowaggon GmbH and International Wagon Services Ltd/Tiphook Rail Ltd, resulting in a company with offices in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Sweden. The company had in excess of 4,600 wagons, of which 2,000 were suitable for Channel Tunnel traffic. In 1999 the fleet includes wagons for intermodal, automotive, infrastructure, construction, steel, hazardous and general cargoes.^[7]

Railway wagons

British Rail VGA

British Leyland had used rail to transport a wide range of car parts between their various factories, particularly engines. In the late 1960s, BR modified some of its very large four wheeled ferry vans in the late 1960s, sub coded under TOPS as VQX.^[8] Via taut weather proof vinyl side curtains, these wagons allowed easy access to load a number of palletised engines. Ford started using the same wagons in the UK, including on cross-channel traffic to Germany.

In the late 1970s, Ford had sub-contracted its inter-factory transport to Danzas.^[9] As the UK had the most restrictive loading gauge in European railways, the two jointly approached British Rail to agree a new design, which resulted in Ford placing an order for private owner wagons with Cargowaggon to make a replacement for the ageing VQX. The result was a 45 feet (14 m) twin-axle sliding door all metal van. The design proved so successful, that in the early 1980s Ford again approached Cargowaggon for a new design, this time a slightly longer 47 feet (14 m) twin-axle sliding door all metal van, which was adapted by British Rail to become the VGA.

Cargowaggon IGA

So successful was the project for Cargowaggon, they extended the project. The problem of the twin axle design was that although its short length meant that it easily fitted on the cross-English Channel rail ferry, its long wheelbase restricted the minimum radius on which it could be used. The resultant longer length wagon, based on a twin EVA bogie, twin axle design,^[10] the IGA spawned three basic variants:

• Curtain sided
• Sliding metal door
• Open flat waggon

The Cargowaggon IGA is now the most commonly used trans-European railway wagon, particularly popular since the opening of the Channel Tunnel, resulting in a design which has been improved over the developing years as opposed to replaced.

See also

• GE Capital Rail Services, North American rail leasing branch of GE
• List of rolling-stock leasing companies

References

External links

• "GE Capital Solutions Rail Services", www.gerailservices.com , company website

General Electric
Subsidiaries and divisions	Current GE Capital GE Capital Aviation Services GE Commercial Finance GE Energy Financial Services GE Capital Rail Services (Europe) GE Technology Infrastructure GE Aviation GE Aviation Systems GE Healthcare GE Transportation GE Energy GE Digital Energy GE Jenbacher GE Measurement & Control Solutions GE Oil & Gas GE Power GE Wind Energy GE Wind (offshore) GE Home & Business Solutions GE Intelligent Platforms GE Global Research GE Ventures Former and defunct Australian Guarantee Corporation1 Canadian General Electric1 Compagnia Generale di Elettricità2 Electric Bond and Share Company2 GE Americom2 GE Aerospace2 GE Betz1 GE Capital IT Solutions2 GE Consumer & Industrial GECIS2 GE Capital Rail Services2 GE Equipment Services1 GE Industrial1 GE Infrastructure1 GEIS2 Genesis Lease2 GE Security2 Genworth Financial2 Montgomery Ward2 Synchrony Financial2 Tungsram1 Whatman1
Joint ventures and shareholdings	Current CFM International (50%) Engine Alliance (50%) GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (60%) GE Honda Aero Engines (50%) Penske Truck Leasing Prolec GE (49.99%) TBS GB Former Alco-GE (1940–53) NBC (1926–30, 1986–2004) NBCUniversal, LLC (2004–13)
Products and brands	Aircraft engines General Comprehensive Operating System GEnie Locomotives Mazda Reciprocating engines Trivection oven Tungsram
People	Founders Charles A. Coffin Thomas Edison Edwin J. Houston J. P. Morgan Elihu Thomson Other James Cash Jr. Ann Fudge Susan Hockfield Jeffrey R. Immelt Andrea Jung Rochelle Lazarus Sam Nunn Roger Penske Douglas A. Warner III Jack Welch Bob Wright
Places and facilities	GE Building General Electric Building Nela Park Realty Plot Research Laboratory River Works Specialty Control Plant Switchgear Plant Welch Technology Centre
Other	Edison Engineering Development Program GE True The General Electric Concert General Electric EdgeLab General Electric Theater General Imaging Thomson-Houston Electric Company Timeline United States v. General Electric Co.
1Now integrated into other GE divisions or business groupings 2Sold or spun off Category Commons