Neilson and Company
Encyclopedia
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
manufacturer in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
The company was started in 1836 at McAlpine Street by Walter Neilson and James Mitchell to manufacture marine and stationary engines. In 1837 the firm moved to Hyde Park Street and was known as Kerr, Mitchell and Neilson and, in 1840, Kerr, Neilson and Company, becoming Neilson and Mitchell in 1845.
Locomotive building began in 1843 for the local railways. In 1855 production of marine and stationary engines discontinued and the company changed its name again to Neilson and Company.
Among those who later became notable in the field were Henry Dübs
Henry Dübs
Henry Dübs , born Heinrich Dübs, was a German-born British businessman and engineer who founded Dübs and Company, at one time the second largest locomotive manufacturer in Britain.-Biography:...
and Patrick Stirling
Patrick Stirling
Patrick Stirling was Locomotive Superintendent of the Great Northern Railway.His father Robert Stirling was also an engineer. His brother James Stirling was also a locomotive engineer...
.
By 1861, business had increased to such an extent, that a new works was built at Springburn
Springburn
Springburn is an inner city district in the north of the Scottish city of Glasgow, home to various working and middle-class households.Springburn developed from a small rural hamlet at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Its industrial expansion began with the establishment of a chemical...
, also named "Hyde Park Works." In 1864, Henry Dübs set up in business on his own at Queens Park Works, as Dübs and Company
Dûbs and Company
Dübs & Co. was a locomotive works in Glasgow, Scotland, founded by Henry Dübs in 1863 and based at the Queens Park Works in Polmadie. In 1903 it became part of the North British Locomotive Company.-Preserved locomotives:...
, taking a number of key staff with him. James Reid, who had previously worked for Neilson, however, returned and became a partner.
Locomotives
By 1855, the company was building four-coupled tank engines, along with 2-4-02-4-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-4-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels....
and 0-4-2
0-4-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-2 represents the wheel arrangement with no leading wheels, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle...
tender locos. Some of these were for Cowlairs
Cowlairs railway works
Cowlairs Locomotive, Carriage and Wagon Works , at Cowlairs in Springburn, an area in the north-east of Glasgow, Scotland, was built in 1841 for the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway and was taken over by the North British Railway in 1865. It was named after the nearby mansion of Cowlairs, with both...
and St. Rollox
St. Rollox railway works
St. Rollox Locomotive Works and St Rollox Carriage and Wagon Works were built in 1856 in Springburn, an area in the north-east of Glasgow, for the Caledonian Railway, moving away from their works at Greenock...
, but many more went to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Through the 1870s considerable numbers of 0-4-4
0-4-4
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-4 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and four trailing wheels on two axles...
tank engines were built for the London, Chatham and Dover Railway
London, Chatham and Dover Railway
The London, Chatham and Dover Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1859 until the 1923 grouping which united it with other companies to form the Southern Railway. Its lines ran through London and northern and eastern Kent to form a significant part of the Greater London...
, the Midland
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
and the Great Eastern
Great Eastern Railway
The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...
. Many other types were built for railways at home and abroad, including fifty 0-4-2
0-4-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-2 represents the wheel arrangement with no leading wheels, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle...
s for India. The company's first eight-coupled locos were built in 1872, also for India.
In 1879 the first 2-6-0
2-6-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels. This arrangement is commonly called a Mogul...
s to run on British rails were built for William Adams of the Great Eastern. One of these was named "Mogul" and this became the name applied to all locomotives of this wheel arrangement. (However, the name had already been employed in the USA about ten years earlier.)
More overseas orders followed, with engines for South Africa and South America.
Turn of the 20th century
In 1884, Neilson left to form a new company, the Clyde Locomotive CompanyClyde Locomotive Company
The Clyde Locomotive Company was a firm of locomotive manufacturers in Springburn, Glasgow, Scotland.The company was founded in 1884 by Walter Montgomerie Neilson, after he left the partnership of Neilson, Reid and Company in 1876 following a disagreement with James Reid.In 1886, the first...
; although Reid became the sole owner of Neilson & Co., it was not until 1898 that the company changed its name to Neilson, Reid and Company.
However, by this time, intense competition from America meant that small companies were unable to survive. There was a need for amalgamation, and in 1903 Neilson Reid combined with Dübs and Company
Dûbs and Company
Dübs & Co. was a locomotive works in Glasgow, Scotland, founded by Henry Dübs in 1863 and based at the Queens Park Works in Polmadie. In 1903 it became part of the North British Locomotive Company.-Preserved locomotives:...
and Sharp Stewart and Company to form the North British Locomotive Company
North British Locomotive Company
The North British Locomotive Company was created in 1903 through the merger of three Glasgow locomotive manufacturing companies; Sharp Stewart and Company , Neilson, Reid and Company and Dübs and Company , creating the largest locomotive manufacturing company in Europe.Its main factories were...
, the largest locomotive company in the world, outside of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Finland
- Finnish Railway MuseumFinnish Railway MuseumThe Finnish Railway Museum is located in Hyvinkää, Finland. It was originally founded in 1898 and located in Helsinki. The museum was moved to Hyvinkää in 1974.The museum is on the original station and yard site of the Hanko–Hyvinkää railway...
at HyvinkaaHyvinkääHyvinkää is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in Uusimaa region, approximately north of the capital Helsinki. The town was chartered in 1960. Hyvinkää belongs to the Province of Southern Finland. The population of Hyvinkää is ....
0-6-0 No 1427 of 1869 (oldest known surviving Neilson locomotive)
New Zealand
- Ferrymead RailwayFerrymead RailwayThe Ferrymead Railway is a New Zealand heritage railway built upon the formation of New Zealand's first public railway, the line from Ferrymead to Christchurch, which opened in 1863. On the opening of the line to Lyttelton on 9 December 1867, the Ferrymead Railway became the Ferrymead Branch and...
– "Peveril" No. 1692 of 1872 (F13) - Helensville Railway StationHelensville railway stationHelensville is on the North Auckland Line and is the next major station north of Waitakere. The station still features the original wooden building, which has been restored, and has a shunting yard and ONTRACK depot....
– No. 2563 of 1880 (D170) - Kaitaia Township – No. 2565 of 1880 (D221)
- Ocean Beach RailwayOcean Beach RailwayThe Ocean Beach Railway is a heritage railway that operates in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is located between John Wilson Drive in the suburb of Saint Kilda and sports grounds near Forbury Park Raceway, and runs parallel with the city's main beach, Ocean Beach...
– No. 2564 of 1880 (D6) - Pleasant Point Railway – No. 2306 of 1878 (D16)
- Silverstream Railway – No. 1847 of 1874 (D143)
- Bush Tramway ClubBush Tramway ClubThe Bush Tramway Club is a heritage railway 12 km west of Huntly along the Rotowaro Road, in the Waikato region of New Zealand. It regularly operates restored locomotives along a 5.4 km Rotowaro-Glen Afton section of the former Glen Afton Branch...
– No. 3751 of 1888 (F216)
It is interesting to note that Neilson and Company supplied the first (F13 of 1872) and last (F216 of 1888) members of the 88-strong New Zealand Railways F class. 6 builders supplied F class engines between the arrivals of F13 and F216.
United Kingdom
- North Woolwich Old Station MuseumNorth Woolwich Old Station MuseumThe North Woolwich Old Station Museum was a small railway museum in East London. It was housed in what was the original Great Eastern Railway terminal station building at North Woolwich railway station. The building was in use as a ticket office until 1979 when it was replaced by a more austere...
– 0-4-0ST No. 2119 of 1876 - Scottish Railway Preservation SocietyScottish Railway Preservation SocietyThe Scottish Railway Preservation Society is a charity, whose principal objective is the preservation and advancement of railway heritage in Scotland. The Society was formed in 1961, and it has been actively collecting and displaying railway artifacts of Scottish significance ever since...
, Bo'ness – 0-4-0ST No. 2203 of 1876 - Chasewater RailwayChasewater RailwayThe Chasewater Railway is a former colliery railway running round the shores of Chasewater in Staffordshire, England. It is now operated as a heritage railway.The line is approximately two miles in length, contained entirely within Chasewater Country Park...
, Brownhills, Staffordshire – 0-4-0ST No. 2937 of 1882
In fiction
A character in The Railway SeriesThe Railway Series
The Railway Series is a set of story books about a railway system located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first being published in 1945. Twenty-six were written by the Rev. W. Awdry, up to 1972. A further 16 were written by his son, Christopher Awdry; 14...
by the Rev. W. Awdry
W.V. Awdry
Wilbert Vere Awdry, OBE , was an English clergyman, railway enthusiast and children's author, better known as the Reverend W. Awdry and creator of Thomas the Tank Engine, who starred in Awdry's acclaimed Railway Series.-Life:Awdry was born at Ampfield vicarage near Romsey, Hampshire in 1911...
is based on a Neilson prototype. Neil is a 'box tank' locomotive, who worked on the Sodor & Mainland Railway
Sodor & Mainland Railway
The Sodor & Mainland Railway is a fictional railway that existed on the Island of Sodor in The Railway Series books written by the Rev. W. Awdry. In the books it is known as the S&M and was built when railway-mania was still in force, opening in 1853...
between 1853 and 1901.