This metalclad switchgear was built in 1951 by A. Reyrolle and Company in Tyneside.

The switchgear station is approximately two metres tall with 80 square cm base. Painted mostly black, the station has also been sectioned and split apart to reveal internal components of the machine.

Switchgear work by protecting and isolating electrical equipment to prevent short circuits. They are made up of electrical disconnect switches, fuses of circuit breakers. Types of switchgear includes switches, fuses, circuit breakers, isolators.

This switchgear was built by the A. Reyrolle and Company, an engineering company based in Tyneside and founded in 1886. From the beginning of the 20th century to the 1980s the company was a leader in manufacturing electrical equipment.

A. Reyrolle was key innovators in switchgear technology throughout the 20th century, and whilst their design of switchgear remained at its core unchanged in its principles, iterative versions were developed which became easier to use and more effective in breaking capacity. This object is their 1951 model, and it has been sectioned to give a view of the actual circuit breakers including the turbulators for arc control, and of its transformers and trip coils.

This model of switchgear was capable of being operated manually, automatically via a charged spring, and even remotely activated via a solenoid operation.