The Crompton Set an object on display at the Launceston Tramway Museum, which comprises of three machines (that could be run separately or coupled together in several combinations) as an inverter changing direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC) or as a converter changing AC to DC. Larger versions of this were used by tramways and railways to produce DC to power their systems
The Crompton Set was ordered and purchased in 1923 from the Crompton Company in Birmingham England for the Launceston Technical School on Wellington Street. It was used to teach electrical and engineering trade students at the city Campus and was moved to Newnham when electrical and engineering trade teaching transferred to the Alanvale Campus. The blueprints for the set, which are in our collection, were displayed at the Albert Hall in an exhibition of Launceston Technical School works in 1924.
The Crompton set was generously donated by the Launceston Tafe when it was decommissioned in 2023.
The Crompton Set is historically significant as a surviving example of our industrial heritage linked directly to the teaching of trades for technicians, electricians and engineers for installing electrical systems, infrastructure care and the maintenance of systems, including tram building, maintenance and essential electricity supply.
Launceston’s public transport, employment, training, engineering and energy history is intrinsically linked to this object.