Sharp, Roberts and Company
Encyclopedia
Sharp, Stewart and Company was a steam locomotive
manufacturer, initially based in Manchester
, England
. The company was formed in 1843 upon the demise of Sharp, Roberts & Co. and moved to Glasgow
, Scotland
in 1888, eventually amalgamating with two other Glasgow-based locomotive manufacturers to form the North British Locomotive Company
.
first formed a partnership, Sharp, Roberts & Co. (about which, see also company section in article on Roberts), to manufacture textile machinery and machine tools. They opened the Atlas Works in Manchester in 1828.
They had built a few stationary steam engines, and in 1833 built a locomotive, Experiment
for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
. It was a four-wheeled 2-2-0
with vertical cylinders over the leading wheels. After a number of modifications, three similar locomotives (including Hibernia
) were built in 1834 for the Dublin and Kingstown Railway
. Although they were relatively fast, they were too hard on the track at speed.
However in 1834 Charles Beyer
also joined the firm and contributed to its success in locomotive building as Roberts soon delegated most of the locomotive design work to him. A new 2-2-2
design was soon produced with horizontal inside cylinders under the smokebox and additional bearings to support the crank axle. Around 600 of these Sharp Single locomotives were built between 1837 and 1857. Ten of the first were sold to the Grand Junction Railway
, with the "Sharpies" becoming a standard to compare with the "Bury" engines.
. From 1851 to 1853 twenty engines were built for the London and North Western Railway
to the design of James Edward McConnell, the so-called "Bloomers," subcontracted from Wolverton
.
In 1852, the senior partner, John Sharp, retired and was replaced by Charles Patrick Stewart, the name of the company changing to Sharp Stewart and Company. Thomas Sharp also retired and was succeeded by Stephen Robinson. In 1860 sole rights were obtained for Giffard's
patent injector
. The company acquired limited liability
in 1864.
The company provided a number of 0-4-0
tender engines for the Furness Railway
of which Number 20, built in 1863 has been restored to working order by the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway in Cumbria. In 1862, the company began making larger engines, first some 4-6-0
saddle tank engines for the Great Indian Peninsula Railway. By 1865 they were building 0-8-0
s, again for India
.
in Springburn
, Glasgow
, renaming it Atlas Works.
A number of compounds were built for the Argentine Central Railway
in 1889, some 4-4-0
and some 2-8-0
. In 1892 they received an order for seventy five 4-4-0
s and 0-6-0
s from the Midland Railway
. By now they had built a number of 4-6-0
engines for overseas railways, but in 1894 came their first Glasgow order for a British line, the "Jones Goods" of the Highland Railway
. By the end of the century they were supplying railways at home and all over the world.
to form the North British Locomotive Company
.
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
manufacturer, initially based in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The company was formed in 1843 upon the demise of Sharp, Roberts & Co. and moved to 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...
in 1888, eventually amalgamating with two other Glasgow-based locomotive manufacturers 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...
.
Early days
Iron merchant Thomas Sharp and mechanical engineer Richard RobertsRichard Roberts (engineer)
Richard Roberts was a British engineer whose development of high-precision machine tools contributed to the birth of production engineering and mass production.-Early life:...
first formed a partnership, Sharp, Roberts & Co. (about which, see also company section in article on Roberts), to manufacture textile machinery and machine tools. They opened the Atlas Works in Manchester in 1828.
They had built a few stationary steam engines, and in 1833 built a locomotive, Experiment
Experiment (locomotive)
Experiment was a steam locomotive designed and built by Richard Roberts in 1833 for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway . The locomotive had vertical cylinders driving via bell cranks.-History:...
for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
Liverpool and Manchester Railway
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the world's first inter-city passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance solely by steam locomotives. The line opened on 15 September 1830 and ran between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in North...
. It was a four-wheeled 2-2-0
2-2-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-2-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, two powered driving wheels on one axle, and no trailing wheels...
with vertical cylinders over the leading wheels. After a number of modifications, three similar locomotives (including Hibernia
Hibernia (locomotive)
Hibernia was a steam locomotive designed by Richard Roberts and built by Sharp, Roberts and Company in 1834 for the Dublin and Kingstown Railway . The locomotive had vertical cylinders driving via bell cranks.-History:...
) were built in 1834 for the Dublin and Kingstown Railway
Dublin and Kingstown Railway
The Dublin and Kingstown Railway , which opened in 1834, was Ireland’s first railway. It linked Westland Row in Dublin with Kingstown Harbour’s West Pier in County Dublin.-History:...
. Although they were relatively fast, they were too hard on the track at speed.
However in 1834 Charles Beyer
Charles Beyer
Charles Frederick Beyer was a German-British locomotive engineer, co-founder of the firm Beyer-Peacock.-Early life:...
also joined the firm and contributed to its success in locomotive building as Roberts soon delegated most of the locomotive design work to him. A new 2-2-2
2-2-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-2-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle two powered driving wheels on one axle, and two trailing wheels on one axle. The wheel arrangement both provided more stability and enabled a larger firebox...
design was soon produced with horizontal inside cylinders under the smokebox and additional bearings to support the crank axle. Around 600 of these Sharp Single locomotives were built between 1837 and 1857. Ten of the first were sold to the Grand Junction Railway
Grand Junction Railway
The Grand Junction Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846 when it was merged into the London and North Western Railway...
, with the "Sharpies" becoming a standard to compare with the "Bury" engines.
Sharp Brothers and Company
In 1843, Roberts left and the firm became Sharp Brothers and Company. Between 1846 and 1848 the company provided eight 2-2-2 passenger and two 0-4-2 goods locomotives to the Lynn and Dereham RailwayLynn and Dereham Railway
The Lynn and Dereham Railway was a standard gauge single track railway running between King's Lynn and Dereham in the English county of Norfolk...
. From 1851 to 1853 twenty engines were built for the London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
to the design of James Edward McConnell, the so-called "Bloomers," subcontracted from Wolverton
Wolverton railway works
Wolverton railway works was established in Wolverton, Buckinghamshire, by the London and Birmingham Railway Company in 1838 at the midpoint of the 112 mile-long route from London to Birmingham...
.
Sharp, Stewart and Company
Henri Giffard
Henri Giffard was a French engineer. In 1852 he invented the steam injector and the powered airship.-Career:Baptiste Henri Jacques Giffard was born in Paris in 1825...
patent injector
Injector
ʎ̩An injector, ejector, steam ejector, steam injector, eductor-jet pump or thermocompressor is a pump-like device that uses the Venturi effect of a converging-diverging nozzle to convert the pressure energy of a motive fluid to velocity energy which creates a low pressure zone that dɯaws in and...
. The company acquired limited liability
Limited liability
Limited liability is a concept where by a person's financial liability is limited to a fixed sum, most commonly the value of a person's investment in a company or partnership with limited liability. If a company with limited liability is sued, then the plaintiffs are suing the company, not its...
in 1864.
The company provided a number of 0-4-0
0-4-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-0 represents one of the simplest possible types, that with two axles and four coupled wheels, all of which are driven...
tender engines for the Furness Railway
Furness Railway
The Furness Railway was a railway company operating in the Furness area of Lancashire in North West England.-History:The company was established on May 23, 1844 when the Furness Railway Act was passed by Parliament...
of which Number 20, built in 1863 has been restored to working order by the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway in Cumbria. In 1862, the company began making larger engines, first some 4-6-0
4-6-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels. This wheel arrangement became the second-most popular...
saddle tank engines for the Great Indian Peninsula Railway. By 1865 they were building 0-8-0
0-8-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels...
s, again for 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...
.
Move to Glasgow
Since they were also dealing in general brass and ironmongery, and machine tools, it became necessary to move, which they did in 1888. They took over and moved to the works of 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...
in 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...
, 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...
, renaming it Atlas Works.
A number of compounds were built for the Argentine Central Railway
Argentine Central Railway
The Argentine Central Railway was a narrow gauge railroad in the United States built from the Colorado and Southern Railway at Silver Plume, Colorado to Waldorf, Colorado and onward to the summit of Mount McClellan. Construction began on August 1, 1905 and the line was opened a year later on...
in 1889, some 4-4-0
4-4-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-4-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels...
and some 2-8-0
2-8-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels...
. In 1892 they received an order for seventy five 4-4-0
4-4-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-4-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels...
s and 0-6-0
0-6-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels...
s from the Midland Railway
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....
. By now they had built a number of 4-6-0
4-6-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels. This wheel arrangement became the second-most popular...
engines for overseas railways, but in 1894 came their first Glasgow order for a British line, the "Jones Goods" of the Highland Railway
Highland Railway
The Highland Railway was one of the smaller British railways before the Railways Act 1921; it operated north of Perth railway station in Scotland and served the farthest north of Britain...
. By the end of the century they were supplying railways at home and all over the world.
North British
In 1903, having built over 5000 engines, the company amalgamated with Neilson, Reid and Company and Dübs and CompanyDûbs 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:...
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...
.