3 Year Overhaul Contract For Great Western Railway

Mawdsleys has delivered an ongoing traction motor overhaul contract with a local business partner, receiving up to 3 DC traction motors per week from Great Western Railway for the last 3 years.

We regularly carry out traction motor repairs and overhauls on AC and DC traction motors, generators, alternators and associated equipment — from single emergency repairs to sustained, high-volume contracts like this one. These DC traction motors are used on local train carriages operated and maintained by Great Western Railway. Here’s how each unit moves through our workshop.

The Challenge

Great Western Railway needed a reliable partner who could handle a steady, high-volume flow of traction motor repairs without disrupting fleet availability — up to 3 DC traction motors arriving every week, each needing a full inspection, strip-down, and overhaul before being returned to service.

That meant our workshop needed the capacity, equipment, and consistency to deliver traction motor overhaul work at pace, week after week, for the full length of a 3-year contract — without compromising on quality or turnaround.

The solution

Our workshop is fully equipped to carry out traction motor overhauls at volume, including curing ovens, overhead cranes, grit-blasting facilities, an extensive spares inventory, and state-of-the-art rewinding facilities. We also manufacture many traction motor components in-house — helping us offer fast turnarounds on contracts like this one, at competitive rates.

Every unit that arrives goes through the same rigorous process:

Inspection — each unit is checked on arrival to identify any immediate issues.
Strip-down and steam clean — units are fully disassembled and cleaned.
Stator stoving — stators are stoved to remove moisture and contaminants.
Bearing replacement — bearings are removed and replaced as standard.
Repaint — all parts are cleaned and repainted to a like-new finish.
Reassembly and final testing — units are rebuilt and fully tested before release.

The result: every traction motor leaves our workshop looking and functioning like new, helping GWR keep its fleet running reliably.