Science & Innovation
- Joe Brown
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
LGBTQ+ History Month's theme for 2026 is 'Science & Innovation', and so to mark this, Journey's 10 February meeting was a webinar that showcased LGBTQ+ contributions to science & innovation in transport. Paras Shah from Arup hosted the event and guided the audience through a history starting with Joe Brown from TfL telling the intriguing story of Charles Beyer. Charles was an innovator in the field of locomotive engineering from the Victorian era for whom there is now compelling evidence of same-gender attraction and a romantic relationship with Swedish locomotive engineer Gustav Stieler. Charles' great legacy includes condensing locomotives used on the early London Underground, articulated locomotives that revolutionised freight haulage around the world, founding the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, and in a roundabout way even founding Manchester City football club!
Next up was Scott Heath from Hitachi Rail who gave a fascinating insight into transport innovation in the present day, reminding us that: "There is no innovation without a diversity of thought, and the best way to get diversity of thought is through a diversity of people", which really resonated with the audience and built on where Charles Beyer's, an LGBTQ+ migrant, story had left off. Scott handed to Kayleigh Glover from Siemens Mobility, who reflected on the innovations being delivered right now for the 'New Tube for London' 2024 Tube stock hopefully launching for passengers later this year, and then spoke about innovations being delivered as the Edinburgh Tram network continues to flourish and grow. Finally, Pip Armstrong from Alstom delivered a masterclass in using machine learning to optimise deployment of hydrogen fuel cells and batteries on rail vehicles - the subject of their university thesis. It sounds complicated (it is!), but Pip managed to make it make sense impeccably.
Many thanks to Paras for hosting and to our speakers, and of course to the 60+ people who joined us.
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