Everything about The Hunslet Engine Company totally explained
The
Hunslet Engine Company is a
British locomotive-building company founded in 1864 at Jack Lane,
Hunslet,
Leeds,
West Yorkshire,
England by John Towlerton Leather, a civil engineering contractor, who appointed James Campbell (son of Alexander Campbell, a Leeds engineer) as his Works Manager.
The early years 1864-1901
In
1871, James Campbell bought the company for £25,000 (payable in five installments over two years) and the firm remained in the Campbell family ownership for many years. Between
1865 and
1870, production had averaged less than ten engines per year, but in 1871 this had risen to seventeen and was set to rise over the next thirty years to a modest maximum of thirty-four.
The first engine built in 1865 was
Linden a
standard gauge 0-6-0 saddle tank delivered to Brassey and Ballard, a railway civil engineering contractor as were several of the firm's early customers. Other customers included collieries. This basic standard gauge shunting and short haul 'industrial' engine was to be the main-stay of Hunslet production for many years. From the start, Hunslet regularly sent fitters to carry out repairs to its engines on customer's premises and this is a service that the Hunslet Engine Company were still offering in 2006, over 140 years after their establishment.
In 1870, Hunslet constructed their first narrow gauge engine
Dinorwic, a diminutive gauge
0-4-0 saddle tank for the
Dinorwic Slate Quarry at
Llanberis. This engine later renamed
Charlie was the first of twenty similar engines built for this quarry and did much to establish Hunslet as a major builder of quarry engines. This quarry was linked to
Port Dinorwic by a gauge line for which Hunslet built three 0-6-0T engines
Dinorwic,
Padarn and
Velinheli. Much larger than the normal quarry type, gauge 0-4-0ST engines
Charles,
Blanche and
Linda were built in 1882/3 for use on the
Penrhyn Quarry Railway 'main line' between
Bethesda and
Port Penrhyn in
North Wales. Two of these still operate on the
Ffestiniog Railway while
Charles is preserved in the
Penrhyn Castle Railway Museum.
The first Hunslet engine built for export was their No. 10, an 0-4-0ST shipped via
Hull and
Rotterdam to
Java. Remarkably, the last industrial steam engine built in Britain was also built at Hunslet in
1971 and also for export to Java. This engine later returned to Britain and is preserved in working order. A large number of short wheelbase tank locomotives (
0-6-0) were supplied to the
Manchester Ship Canal Company and one of these (No.686 of 1898 'St. John') still survives on the
Severn Valley Railway and is still in regular use as a '
Thomas The Tank Engine' lookalike. By
1902, Hunslet had supplied engines to over thirty countries world-wide, often opening up new markets. In Ireland, Hunslet supplied engines to several of the newly opened narrow gauge lines and also in
1887 built the three remarkably unorthodox engines for the
Lartigue Monorail system used by the
Listowel &
Ballybunion Railway.
Change and development in the Twentieth Century
By
1901, James Campbell was still in charge as proprietor and James's four sons were, by then all working for the company including the eldest son Alexander III who had taken over as Works Manager on the death of his Uncle George in
1890. However in 1902, the company was reorganised as a private limited company with the name
Hunslet Engine Company Ltd. but still a family business. Following the death of James Campbell in
1905, the chairmanship passed to Alexander III and brother Robert became works manager, whilst brother Will retained the role of secretary and traveller with a seat on the board.
About this time Hunslet was building a series of
2-6-2 tank locomotives for the
Sierra Leone Government Railway design elements of which were included in the construction of the famous
Russell a gauge engine built for the
Portmadoc, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway, which later became a constituent company of the
Welsh Highland Railway.
Following family disagreements both Will and the youngest brother Gordon soon left the company and a serious injury left Robert disabled and unable to continue as works manager. The post of works manager was advertised and Edgar Alcock, then assistant works manager at the Gorton works of
Beyer-Peacock, was appointed in
1912. Alcock came to Hunslet at a time of change when the industry was being asked for far larger and more powerful locomotives than had ever been required in the past. This was true at Hunslet which found its overseas customers asking for very large engines. However by
1914, Britain was at war and overseas orders had dried up. During that was, the company, like many others, found itself employing women on the shop floor and engaged in the manufacture of munitions.
After the war, trading conditions were very difficult but Hunslet were once more able to attract overseas orders and they also received a series of repeat orders from the
London, Midland and Scottish Railway for a total of 90
LMS Fowler Class 3F 'Jinty' 0-6-0T shunting engines. It was during the
1930s that Hunslet built their largest locomotives. These two
0-8-0 tank engines, built for a special
train-ferry loading job in China (which they fulfilled for many years) were at that date the largest and most powerful tank engines ever built. A year or so later the same design formed the basis for an 0-8-0 tender engine for India. Many other 'large-engine' orders were received in these inter-war years.
Other independent British manufacturers failed to survive the depression and Hunslet with considerable foresight acquired the patterns, rights and designs of other builders notably
Kerr Stuart and the
Avonside Engine Co..
The internal combustion engine and the war effort
John Alcock, who, following in his father's footsteps, became Managing Director of Hunslet in 1958, recalled his father telling him circa 1920, when he was still a schoolboy, that his main endeavour for the company would be in the application of the
internal combustion engine to railway locomotion. Throughout the 1930s Hunslet worked on the perfecting of the
diesel locomotive.
During the second world war, the company again served the country well in the manufacture of munitions. But they also built engines, both steam and diesel for the war effort and this continued with renewed vigour after the war. Important in post-war production was the Hunslet flame-proof diesel engine for use in the coal mines.
The "Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds" works was closed in
1995, the last order being a batch of narrow gauge diesel locomotives for tunnelling on the
Jubilee Line Extension of the
London Underground.
Continuity
The
Hunslet Engine Company, now part of the LH Group of Companies, continues to trade from an address in Leeds and also claims ownership of "the intellectual property and design rights to the following British locomotive names, including the ability to service, repair and supply genuine replacement components:
Andrew Barclay,
Avonside Engine Company,
North British Locomotive Company,
Greenwood and Batley,
Hudswell Clarke,
John Fowler & Co.,
Kerr Stuart,
Kitson & Co. and
Manning Wardle."
Hunslet-Barclay Ltd, a subsidiary of Jenbacher Holdings (UK) plc, chiefly undertakes maintenance and refurbishment of diesel multiple unit passenger trains at the Andrew Barclay Caledonia Works in
Kilmarnock. However, in October 2007 Hunslet-Barclay went into receivership and in November was purchased by FKI Industries (who also own
Brush Traction at
Loughborough), and renamed Brush-Barclay.
Graham Lee, in business with an engineering works situated at
Statfold Barn Railway near Tamworth in Staffordshire, has in 2005 and 2006 constructed two new
Quarry Hunslet locomotives (named
Statfold and
Jack Lane) similar in appearance to
Irish Mail pictured above. In January 2007
Jack Lane was offered for sale by the manufacturers for
£152,750 (Railway Magazine, February 2007). The third of a series of four locomotives is currently under construction.
Gallery
Image:FR Blanche at TYG 05-08-12 11.jpeg|Much-rebuilt Hunslet Blanche running on the Ffestiniog Railway
Image:Hunslet 638 Jerry M Dinorwic Slate Quarries 1951.jpg|Jerry M (Hunslet No. 638) at work in the Dinorwic slate quarry, 1951.
Now preserved at the Hollycombe Steam Collection
Image:Brsince78 saddletank 1332.jpg|Hunslet built several hundred 50550 Class
0-6-0ST locomotives for the War Department and the National Coal Board
Image:BR Class 05 DL26 1.jpg|A typical Hunslet diesel-mechanical shunter from the 1950s
Image:Hunslet 6688 at the Rutland Railway 05-09-25 38.jpeg|A typical Hunslet diesel-hydraulic shunter from the 1960s (at the Rutland Railway)
Image:Amerton Railway HE3902 05-06-18 62.jpeg|The last steam locomotive built by Hunslet in 1971
Image:SnowdonTrain.jpg|Four special Hunslet diesels work on the Snowdon Mountain Railway
Image:Light_gauge_locomotive_at_Kirklees.jpg|Hunslet style miniature locomotive Fox at Clayton West station on the Kirklees Light Railway.
Narrow gauge classes
| Name |
Wheelarrangement
|
Gauges |
Weight |
Notes |
| Bedert |
0-6-4ST |
|
17 tons (17.3 t) |
Beddgelert supplied to the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways |
| Murta |
4-4-0 tender |
|
31 tons 10 cwt (32.0 t) |
|
| Champ |
0-4-0ST |
|
6 tons 7 cwt (6.5 t) |
|
| Helva |
0-4-0ST |
2 ft 1¼ in (641 mm) |
6 tons 12 cwt (6.7 t) |
Similar design to the Quarry Hunslet supplied to several north Wales slate quarries |
| Santal |
0-4-0ST |
|
8 tons 10 cwt (8.6 t) |
|
| Abeja |
0-6-0T |
|
12 tons 10 cwt (12.7 t) |
|
| Rafla |
0-6-0T |
|
41 tons 19 cwt (42.6 t) |
|
| Drybo |
0-4-2T |
|
9 tons 17 cwt (10.0 t) |
|
| Carbo |
0-6-2T |
|
17 tons 13 cwt (17.9 t) |
|
| Honkon |
0-6-0ST |
|
20 tons 16 cwt (21.1 t) |
|
| Nalon |
0-6-0T |
|
26 tons 11 cwt (27.0 t) |
|
| Bowes |
0-6-0T |
2 ft; 4 in |
10 tons 5 cwt (10.4 t) |
|
| Larti |
0-3-0T |
Lartigue monorail |
10 tons (10.2 t) |
Locomotives supplied to the Listowel and Ballybunion Railway |
| Seral |
0-6-0T |
|
11 tons 11 cwt (11.7 t) |
|
| Basat |
0-4-2T |
|
14 tons 9 cwt (14.7 t) |
|
| Marj |
0-4-0ST |
|
12 tons 5 cwt (12.4 t) |
|
| Masha |
0-6-2T |
|
18 tons 10 cwt (18.8 t) |
Locomotive Leeds No. 1 supplied to the Masham Brewery Railway |
| Natgov |
4-6-2T |
|
25 tons 5 cwt (25.7 t) |
Large side tank class supplied to the Natal Government Railways |
| Eva |
0-4-2T |
|
15 tons (15.2 t) |
|
| Jumna |
2-6-2T |
|
25 tons 19 cwt (26.4 t) |
|
| Diana |
2-8-0 tender |
|
74 tons 2 cwt (75.3 t) |
|
| Cenchu |
0-6-0ST |
|
18 tons 14 cwt (19.0 t) |
|
| Grobi |
0-6-0ST |
|
9 tons 17 cwt (10.0 t) |
Supplied to the Groby Granite Quarry railway |
| Beng |
0-4-0T |
|
4 tons 14 cwt (4.8 t) |
|
| Micro |
0-4-0T |
|
8 tons 14 cwt (8.8 t) |
|
| Arras |
0-6-0T |
|
9 tons 18 cwt (10.1 t) |
|
| Fortu |
0-4-0T |
|
9 tons 15 cwt (9.9 t) |
|
| Kystim |
0-4-0ST |
|
8 tons 19 cwt (9.1 t) |
|
| Johor |
0-6-0 tender |
|
13 tons 11 cwt (13.8 t) |
|
| Boliv |
0-6-4T |
|
26 tons 7 cwt (26.8 t) |
|
| Briho |
0-6-0T |
|
20 tons 19 cwt (21.3 t) |
|
| Sanmar |
2-6-0 tender |
|
54 tons 11 cwt (55.4 t) |
|
| Bodry |
0-4-2T |
|
10 tons 16 cwt (11.0 t) |
|
| Sanlu |
0-4-2ST |
|
14 tons 19 cwt (15.2 t) |
|
| Waril |
0-4-0T |
|
5 tons 19 cwt (6.0 t) |
|
| Shada |
2-6-4T |
|
31 tons 9 cwt (32.0 t) |
|
| Waroff |
4-6-0T |
|
14 tons 1 cwt (14.3 t) |
Supplied to the War Department Light Railways |
| Hamil |
0-4-0ST |
|
12 tons 8 cwt (12.6 t) |
|
| Dinor |
0-4-0ST |
|
6 tons 14 cwt (6.8 t) |
Quarry Hunslet class supplied to Dinorwic slate quarry and many other quarries in the United Kingdom |
| Tymon |
4-6-0T |
|
39 tons 10 cwt (40.1 t) |
|
| Stocs |
4-6-0T |
|
13 tons 1 cwt (13.3 t) |
|
| Miro |
2-8-0 tender |
|
46 tons 16 cwt (47.1 t) |
|
| Sntma |
4-4-0T |
|
17 tons 6 cwt (17.6 t) |
|
| Benag |
2-6-2T |
|
22 tons 12½ cwt (23.0 t) |
|
| Kbeng |
0-6-4T |
|
19 tons 15 cwt (20.1 t) |
|
| Afzeb |
0-6-0T |
|
11 tons 6 cwt (11.5 t) |
|
| Sleon |
2-6-2T |
|
21 tons 5 cwt (21.6 t) |
Supplied to the Sierra Leone Government Railway. One example survives on the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway |
| Nalta |
0-6-2T |
|
20 tons 11 cwt (20.9 t) |
|
| Dolph |
2-8-4T |
|
37 tons 8 cwt (38.0 t) |
|
| Nepal |
0-6-2T |
|
24 tons 5 cwt (24.6 t) |
|
| Dawin |
0-4-2ST |
|
10 tons 2 cwt (10.3 t) |
Kerr Stuart design |
| Matry |
0-6-2T |
|
16 tons 15 cwt (17.0 t) |
|
| Afour |
0-4-0+0-4-0T |
|
25 tons 1 cwt (25.5 t) |
Avonside Engine Company design |
| Anhej |
0-4-2T |
|
15 tons 7 cwt (15.6 t) |
|
| Andie |
0-4-2T |
|
8 tons 12 cwt (8.7 t) |
|
| Artic |
4wDM+4wDM |
|
13 tons 5 cwt (13.5 t) |
Supplied to the Royal Arsenal Railway; one example is preserved (See Note 1) |
| Brand |
6wDM |
|
15 tons (15.2 t) |
Supplied to the National Coal Board; several examples survive |
| Pitpo |
4wDM |
|
1 tons 16 cwt (1.8 t) |
Supplied to the National Coal Board; several examples survive |
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