Yorkshire Engine Company
Encyclopedia
The Yorkshire Engine Company (YEC) was a small independent locomotive
manufacturer in Sheffield
, England
. The Company was formed in 1865 and continued to produce locomotives and carry out general engineering work until 1965. Mainly known for shunting engines for the British market, but also built main line engines for overseas customers.
They built steam locomotives from 1865 to 1956 and diesel locomotives from 1950 to 1965.
. At the time, Eden was Chairman of the South Yorkshire Railway
, and a director of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
(MSLR), posts which he had taken up after retiring as a diplomat. He invited Archibald Sturrock
, who was employed by the Great Northern Railway
as its locomotive engineer, to be the Chairman of the new company. Alfred Sacré would be the Managing Director, and his older brother, Charles, then the Engineer and Locomotive Superintendent for the MSLR, was also part of the team. By April 1865, investors had promised £120,000 towards the estimated cost of £200,000 for setting up the company. Although Sturrock joined the board in May 1866, he did not become chairman until January 1867. A 22 acres (8.9 ha) site near Blackburn Meadows
was chosen for the works. Construction and the procurement of machinery began in mid-1865, and Meadowhall Works was virtually complete in May 1867, by which time all of the 2,000 shares had been taken up.
The first order received was for three 2-2-2 locomotives for the Great Northern Railway. The specification was changed and they were supplied with a 2-4-0 wheel arrangement. They were delivered two months late, the last in February 1867, and the company made a loss on them, largely because the works was not yet complete. An order for ten more followed, which were also delivered late. The first was two month late, but the final one was eight months overdue by the time it was delivered in March 1869. Next came orders for fifty 0-6-0 locomotives for two Indian railways, but then demand tailed off. In order to keep the workforce together, other work was undertaken, including armour plated shields, lamp posts for the Chief Constable of Sheffield, and 10,000 safes. Orders from three Russian railways kept the works busy, but difficulties in obtaining payment resulted in cash-flow problems. The original directors all resigned in 1871. Locomotives were supplied to Argentina, Australia and Japan, and a number of small 0-4-0 saddle tanks were supplied to local collieries. The company continued to take on general engineering work to supplement the building of locomotives for most of its existence.
A modest profit was made in 1871, following serious losses in the previous two years. The building of locomotives to Robert Fairlie's patent started at the end of that year. Between 1872 and 1883, thirteen were supplied to the Mexican Railway in three batches. They were 0-6-6-0 double ended machines, and the middle batch had Walschaerts valve gear, believed to be the first time that this design was built in Britain. The Mexican locomotives were capable of burning coal or wood as a fuel, while two supplied to Sweden burnt peat. The peat burners were not a success and were rebuilt at four 2-4-0 saddle tanks. An order for ten Fairlies received in 1873 for nitrate railways in Peru were built, but were not shipped because payment was not received. Four went to the Trancaucasian Railway near the Black Sea, and six were eventually shipped to a new Nitrate Railway Company in 1882. They had a 2-6-6-2 wheel arrangement, and at 85 tons each, Engineering reported that they were the heaviest locomotives in the world in 1885.
An attempt to build marine engines and traction engines to patents by Loftus Perkins was less successful. When purchasers pulled out, Perkins sued the company, which lost £34,532 on the venture. A joint venture with Perkins for the construction of tramway engines was also a failure. When there was insufficient work, the company built 0-4-0 saddle tanks for stock, which enabled collieries and engineering works to buy locomotives off the shelf. This practice continued throughout the life of the company. By 1880, the company was in serious financial difficulties. The Russian debts were never paid, and a dubious method was used to write off the loss made on the marine engines. Despite a successful call to shareholders for more money, the company chose voluntary liquidation as the best option in July 1880. Liquidators ran the business for three and a half years, during which time turnover increased and profits of £9,419 were made. In September 1883, the second Yorkshire Engine Company was launched, by issuing 2,400 shares valued at £25, giving a capital of £60,000. Few locomotive manufacturers were profitable at the time.
Early YEC locomotives produced for the UK market consisted mainly of 0-4-0STs and 0-6-0STs. The style of these was typical of small locomotives of the time with the so-call ‘ogee’ tanks and very little protection for the driver. That did not stop early locomotives surviving with industrial users until the 1950s. Not surprisingly, the collieries and steelworks of Yorkshire were regular customers, but UK sales were not limited to such a narrow area with five narrow gauge locomotives going to the Chattenden and Upnor Railway
, a military railway in Kent
.
The 1890s saw YEC building locomotives to much further a field and the start of long term relationships with railways in Chile
, Peru
and India
. They also built a single electric locomotive for the British War Office.
Various locomotives were built for the Great Northern Railway
, Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
and the Great Eastern Railway
.
In 1874, an order of 13 F class locomotives was dispatched to New Zealand. Two of these engines survived into preservation.
In 1901 4 locomotives were built for use on the Metropolitan Railway
main line to Aylesbury. These were F Class
0-6-2
Ts and survived for around 60 years. More orders from the Metropolitan Railway followed in 1915 and 1916 for larger G Class
0-6-4
Ts. Unlike the F Class, the G Class locomotives passed to the LNER and only lasted in service for 30 years.
1928 saw the LNER get locomotives delivered directly from Sheffield. These 9 locomotives (LNER 2682 to 2690) were Class N2 0-6-2Ts for working suburban trains.
Along with a number of other private builders, YEC built a batch of GWR 5700 Class
0-6-0PTs in 1929/1930.
Between 1949 and 1956 50 GWR 9400 Class
0-6-0PTs were built for British Railways. The last of these, BR No. 3409 (YE2584 of 1956), was the last steam locomotive
built at Meadowhall and the last BR
locomotive to be built to a pre-nationalisation design. The order for these locomotives had actually been given to the Hunslet Engine Company
in Leeds
but as they were already busy, the work was sub-contracted to Sheffield.
Far bigger than anything built for use in Britain were the export locomotives. 2-8-2 and 4-8-2 tender locomotives for South America were, in the long run, the exception rather than the rule.
“Mainline in Miniature” built by Captain Howey was, and still is, well known for its fleet of engines built by Davy Paxman
and based on the locomotives of Nigel Gresley
. A flaw with these designs was shown up when the railway started running to Dungeness
through the winter. This was the lack of protection for the driver.
Captain Howey and Henry Greenly
started work on a pair of 4-6-2
locomotives based on Canadian designs, with larger, better protected, cabs. While Howey was in Australia, Greenly quarrelled with the management and engineers of the railway, before destroying the working drawings and departing. The parts, including boilers, wheels and cylinders were shipped to the Yorkshire Engine Co. and the locomotives were completed in Sheffield. It is assumed that all the detailed design works was done by the company based on a few sketches drawn by Captain Howey. YE 2294 and 2295 are better known as No. 9 Winston Churchill and No.10 Doctor Syn; they are still running (other than when being overhauled) and are the best known of any Yorkshire Engine Co. locomotives, even if few people realise the significance.
Limited (USC) on 29 June
1945. It would appear that the reasons for this purchase were twofold. Firstly USC needed replacement locomotives so it made sense to buy a manufacturer (at the right price) and secondly the idea had been put forward on developing a central engineering workshop for their steelworks at Templeborough (Rotherham
) and Stocksbridge
. Both works were being expanded and redeveloped, and were easily accessible by rail from the YEC works. In the post war climate, the YEC management were willing to sell.
Following the purchase, work began on building steam locomotives for the internal rail systems at several steelworks as well as ironstone mines around Britain. YEC continued to build locomotives for other customers, just as they had before the takeover.
The design for a modern 0-6-0ST locomotive was bought from Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns
and locomotives of this type were built for various steel works, primarily as replacements for locomotives worn out during World War II. This design was undoubtedly chosen because a number were already in use at Appleby-Frodingham works, Scunthorpe
and given various type names (these include "Type 1", "16inch" and "Group 17"). A small number of locomotives were built for ironstone mines to a War Department ‘Austerity’ design. It is believed that the use of this design was connected with the sub-contract of other locomotive construction from Hunslet Engine Company.
In 1950 a diesel-electric locomotive was designed and built specifically for use in melting shop of Templeborough steelworks. The duty had special requirements for a locomotive to fit through small opening and around tight curves while being powerful enough to haul heavy ‘Casting Cars’. The weight of the locomotive had to be quite high to give better grip. The first locomotive (Works number 2480) left the works at the end of 1950 with a second (No. 2481) leaving in early 1951.
No.2480 was displayed and demonstrated before final delivery while No.2481 was delivered direct from the works (a journey of about 1 mile). Both locomotives survived to be preserved in the late 1980s.
No other locomotives were built to this design.
(not every locomotive was built to these exact details)
The DE2 design was popular with steelworks and continued to be built until 1965. Small numbers of the DE1 and DE4 were built but were superseded in 1955 and 1956 by new designs. No locomotives were built to the DE3 design, probably because they were too big and heavy for use on normal railway work.
When Rolls-Royce Diesels
introduced their C range engine
, it was quickly adopted by locomotive builders for use in Diesel-hydraulic locomotives. These benefited from having a faster running engine (1800 rpm). Likewise, YEC used the C series engines in a new range of locomotives, the first of which was introduced in 1955 and which continued to evolved until 1965, the higher engine speed being an advantage for diesel-electric locomotives as well.
Generally the diesel locomotives built with Rolls-Royce engines shared many or all of a number of design features – rounded engine covers (bonnets) narrow enough to permit walkways to be put down each side; 4 cab windows overlooking the engine(s); fuel tanks and/or battery boxes built into the running boards; walkways or balconies at each end; access to the cab from a walkway or balcony.
None of the Rolls-Royce engined locomotives were given class/type numbers but several were given names. The first to be given a name was the ‘Janus’. This design was symmetrical with two engines (C6SFL rated at 200 hp each) and a central cab. The name was appropriate as Janus
was a Roman god with two faces. ‘Taurus’, ‘Indus’ & ‘Olympus’ designs were produced which had many similarities in style.
In 1960 and 1961 batches of 180 hp locomotives, totalling 20, were built for British Railways. These were very closely related to the standard small diesel-hydraulic locomotives but with a few modifications to suit their use on a main line railway (different arrangement of fuel tanks, vacuum train brake system & marker lights). These locomotives were later designated Class 02
.
At least three YEC locomotives were demonstrated or given trials on British Railways between 1956 and 1963, these were a Janus, a Taurus and a 300 hp diesel-hydraulic
Yorkshire Engine Co built the chassis and bodies of the 10 prototype Class 15
locomotives under contract from British Thomson Houston co ltd (BTH)
was to take place in 1967 and it is unlikely that the locomotive business was wanted as part of the new corporation.
Several locomotives under construction at the time of closure left the works before they had been completed. These locomotives were destined for USC steelworks which had the capability to complete the construction work in their own engineering works.
The rights to the YEC designs and the good will of the business were sold to Rolls-Royce ‘Sentinel Division
’ at Shrewsbury who had previously supplied a high proportion of diesel engines used by YEC and were a competitor in the industrial locomotive market. In 1967 three locomotives were bought from Shrewsbury for use at Scunthorpe Steelworks, these were built to the Janus design to match the many similar locomotives there built in Sheffield. A fourth locomotive, to a different YEC design, was supplied to AEI in Manchester.
When Rolls-Royce hit financial problems in 1971 they stopped all locomotive work and the YEC designs, along with those for Rolls-Royce locomotives passed to Thomas Hill
at Kilnhurst, near Rotherham
who had been agents for Rolls-Royce for some time. (Thomas Hill built three locos to Yorkshire design, for the Durgapur Steel Works in Eastern India).
The former Yorkshire Engine Company works at Meadowhall, Sheffield was transferred to McCall and Company another part of the United Steel Companies group. Reinforcing bars (for concrete) were produced here. The works passed to Rom River Reinforements in the mid 1990s but was closed early in the 21st century when the roof of the main building was deemed to be beyond repair. Subsequently the works has been completely refurbished and is now (2009) occupied by the long established engineering firm of Chesterfield Special Cylinders
Locomotives returned to the site on a regular basis between 1988 and 2001 when the South Yorkshire Railway Preservation Society used the few remaining railway lines in the Meadowhall works to load and unload numerous preserved locomotives that were moved by Lorry (the lines between the buildings were set into the roadway). A number of these locomotives were products of Yorkshire Engine Company, including YE2480, the first diesel locomotive they built.
The new YEC went into receivership in 2001 and ceased trading. The yard was based on the army camp at Long Marston, which these days (2007) is used for storage of locomotives and rolling stock, both for preservation groups and commercial organisations.
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 Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, 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 1865 and continued to produce locomotives and carry out general engineering work until 1965. Mainly known for shunting engines for the British market, but also built main line engines for overseas customers.
They built steam locomotives from 1865 to 1956 and diesel locomotives from 1950 to 1965.
The early years
The idea of a locomotive builder based near Sheffield was first suggested in 1864 by W. G. Eden, who later became the fourth Baron AucklandBaron Auckland
Baron Auckland is a title in both the Peerage of Ireland and the Peerage of Great Britain. The first creation came in 1789 when the prominent politician and financial expert William Eden was made Baron Auckland in the Peerage of Ireland. In 1793 he was created Baron Auckland, of West Auckland in...
. At the time, Eden was Chairman of the South Yorkshire Railway
South Yorkshire Railway
The South Yorkshire Railway was a railway company which was based in the south of the former West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Its first section of line opened on 10 November 1849 between Swinton Junction and Doncaster...
, and a director of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway was formed by amalgamation in 1847. The MS&LR changed its name to the Great Central Railway in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension.-Origin:...
(MSLR), posts which he had taken up after retiring as a diplomat. He invited Archibald Sturrock
Archibald Sturrock
Archibald Sturrock was a Scottish mechanical engineer who was locomotive superintendent of the Great Northern Railway from 1850 until c. 1866, having from 1840 been Daniel Gooch's assistant on the Great Western Railway....
, who was employed by the Great Northern Railway
Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)
The Great Northern Railway was a British railway company established by the Great Northern Railway Act of 1846. On 1 January 1923 the company lost its identity as a constituent of the newly formed London and North Eastern Railway....
as its locomotive engineer, to be the Chairman of the new company. Alfred Sacré would be the Managing Director, and his older brother, Charles, then the Engineer and Locomotive Superintendent for the MSLR, was also part of the team. By April 1865, investors had promised £120,000 towards the estimated cost of £200,000 for setting up the company. Although Sturrock joined the board in May 1866, he did not become chairman until January 1867. A 22 acres (8.9 ha) site near Blackburn Meadows
Blackburn Meadows
Blackburn Meadows is an area of land in England, just inside the Sheffield city border at Tinsley, which became the location of the main sewage treatment works for the city in 1884...
was chosen for the works. Construction and the procurement of machinery began in mid-1865, and Meadowhall Works was virtually complete in May 1867, by which time all of the 2,000 shares had been taken up.
The first order received was for three 2-2-2 locomotives for the Great Northern Railway. The specification was changed and they were supplied with a 2-4-0 wheel arrangement. They were delivered two months late, the last in February 1867, and the company made a loss on them, largely because the works was not yet complete. An order for ten more followed, which were also delivered late. The first was two month late, but the final one was eight months overdue by the time it was delivered in March 1869. Next came orders for fifty 0-6-0 locomotives for two Indian railways, but then demand tailed off. In order to keep the workforce together, other work was undertaken, including armour plated shields, lamp posts for the Chief Constable of Sheffield, and 10,000 safes. Orders from three Russian railways kept the works busy, but difficulties in obtaining payment resulted in cash-flow problems. The original directors all resigned in 1871. Locomotives were supplied to Argentina, Australia and Japan, and a number of small 0-4-0 saddle tanks were supplied to local collieries. The company continued to take on general engineering work to supplement the building of locomotives for most of its existence.
A modest profit was made in 1871, following serious losses in the previous two years. The building of locomotives to Robert Fairlie's patent started at the end of that year. Between 1872 and 1883, thirteen were supplied to the Mexican Railway in three batches. They were 0-6-6-0 double ended machines, and the middle batch had Walschaerts valve gear, believed to be the first time that this design was built in Britain. The Mexican locomotives were capable of burning coal or wood as a fuel, while two supplied to Sweden burnt peat. The peat burners were not a success and were rebuilt at four 2-4-0 saddle tanks. An order for ten Fairlies received in 1873 for nitrate railways in Peru were built, but were not shipped because payment was not received. Four went to the Trancaucasian Railway near the Black Sea, and six were eventually shipped to a new Nitrate Railway Company in 1882. They had a 2-6-6-2 wheel arrangement, and at 85 tons each, Engineering reported that they were the heaviest locomotives in the world in 1885.
An attempt to build marine engines and traction engines to patents by Loftus Perkins was less successful. When purchasers pulled out, Perkins sued the company, which lost £34,532 on the venture. A joint venture with Perkins for the construction of tramway engines was also a failure. When there was insufficient work, the company built 0-4-0 saddle tanks for stock, which enabled collieries and engineering works to buy locomotives off the shelf. This practice continued throughout the life of the company. By 1880, the company was in serious financial difficulties. The Russian debts were never paid, and a dubious method was used to write off the loss made on the marine engines. Despite a successful call to shareholders for more money, the company chose voluntary liquidation as the best option in July 1880. Liquidators ran the business for three and a half years, during which time turnover increased and profits of £9,419 were made. In September 1883, the second Yorkshire Engine Company was launched, by issuing 2,400 shares valued at £25, giving a capital of £60,000. Few locomotive manufacturers were profitable at the time.
Early YEC locomotives produced for the UK market consisted mainly of 0-4-0STs and 0-6-0STs. The style of these was typical of small locomotives of the time with the so-call ‘ogee’ tanks and very little protection for the driver. That did not stop early locomotives surviving with industrial users until the 1950s. Not surprisingly, the collieries and steelworks of Yorkshire were regular customers, but UK sales were not limited to such a narrow area with five narrow gauge locomotives going to the Chattenden and Upnor Railway
Chattenden and Upnor Railway
The Chattenden and Upnor Railway was a narrow gauge railway serving the military barracks and depot at Upnor and associated munitions and training depots...
, a military railway in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
.
The 1890s saw YEC building locomotives to much further a field and the start of long term relationships with railways in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
and 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...
. They also built a single electric locomotive for the British War Office.
Mainline engines
In common with many other private builders, YEC undertook orders for mainline locomotive for the UK and overseas countries.Various locomotives were built for the Great Northern Railway
Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)
The Great Northern Railway was a British railway company established by the Great Northern Railway Act of 1846. On 1 January 1923 the company lost its identity as a constituent of the newly formed London and North Eastern Railway....
, Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways...
and the Great Eastern Railway
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...
.
In 1874, an order of 13 F class locomotives was dispatched to New Zealand. Two of these engines survived into preservation.
- F12 at Ferrymead Railway, in a derelict state,
- F180 "Meg Merriles" at Auckland's Museum of Transport and Technology, in static restored condition.
In 1901 4 locomotives were built for use on the Metropolitan Railway
Metropolitan railway
Metropolitan Railway can refer to:* Metropolitan line, part of the London Underground* Metropolitan Railway, the first underground railway to be built in London...
main line to Aylesbury. These were F Class
Metropolitan Railway F Class
The Metropolitan Railway F class was a class of 0-6-2Tside tank steam locomotive. They were based on the earlier E Class.Four locomotives, numbered 90 to 93 were built by Yorkshire Engine Company in 1901...
0-6-2
0-6-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-2 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle...
Ts and survived for around 60 years. More orders from the Metropolitan Railway followed in 1915 and 1916 for larger G Class
Metropolitan Railway G Class
The Metropolitan Railway G class consisted of four 0-6-4T steam locomotives, numbered 94 to 97. They were built by Yorkshire Engine Company in 1915....
0-6-4
0-6-4
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-4 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and four trailing wheels on two axles....
Ts. Unlike the F Class, the G Class locomotives passed to the LNER and only lasted in service for 30 years.
1928 saw the LNER get locomotives delivered directly from Sheffield. These 9 locomotives (LNER 2682 to 2690) were Class N2 0-6-2Ts for working suburban trains.
Along with a number of other private builders, YEC built a batch of GWR 5700 Class
GWR 5700 Class
The Great Western Railway 5700 Class is a class of 0-6-0 pannier tank steam locomotive, built between 1929 and 1950. 863 were built, making them the second most-produced British class of steam locomotive.- Overview :...
0-6-0PTs in 1929/1930.
Between 1949 and 1956 50 GWR 9400 Class
GWR 9400 Class
The Great Western Railway 9400 Class is a class of 0-6-0 pannier tank steam locomotive, used for shunting and banking duties.The first ten 9400s were the last steam engines built by the GWR. After nationalisation in 1948, another 200 were built by private contractors for British Railways...
0-6-0PTs were built for British Railways. The last of these, BR No. 3409 (YE2584 of 1956), was the last steam locomotive
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...
built at Meadowhall and the last BR
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
locomotive to be built to a pre-nationalisation design. The order for these locomotives had actually been given to the Hunslet Engine Company
Hunslet Engine Company
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 as his Works Manager.In 1871, James Campbell bought the company for...
in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
but as they were already busy, the work was sub-contracted to Sheffield.
Far bigger than anything built for use in Britain were the export locomotives. 2-8-2 and 4-8-2 tender locomotives for South America were, in the long run, the exception rather than the rule.
Car production
During 1907 Yorkshire Engine Co. started to build motor cars. These were not a success and very few were produced.Miniature locomotives
The Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch RailwayRomney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway
The Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway is a gauge light railway in Kent, England. The line runs from the Cinque Port of Hythe via Dymchurch, St...
“Mainline in Miniature” built by Captain Howey was, and still is, well known for its fleet of engines built by Davy Paxman
Paxman (engines)
Paxman is a major British brand of diesel engines. Ownership has changed on a number of occasions since the company's formation in 1865, and now the brand is owned by MAN SE, as part of MAN Diesel & Turbo. At its peak, the Paxman works covered 23 acres and employed over 2,000 people. Engine...
and based on the locomotives of Nigel Gresley
Nigel Gresley
Sir Herbert Nigel Gresley was one of Britain's most famous steam locomotive engineers, who rose to become Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London and North Eastern Railway . He was the designer of some of the most famous steam locomotives in Britain, including the LNER Class A1 and LNER Class A4...
. A flaw with these designs was shown up when the railway started running to Dungeness
Dungeness railway station
Dungeness railway station is a station on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway on Romney Marsh in Kent.-History:The line to Dungeness was opened on 24 May 1928, a year after the line reached New Romney...
through the winter. This was the lack of protection for the driver.
Captain Howey and Henry Greenly
Henry Greenly
Henry Greenly was amongst the foremost miniature railway engineers of the 20th century, remembered as a master of engineering design.-Miniature railways:...
started work on a pair of 4-6-2
4-6-2
4-6-2, in the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle .These locomotives are also known as Pacifics...
locomotives based on Canadian designs, with larger, better protected, cabs. While Howey was in Australia, Greenly quarrelled with the management and engineers of the railway, before destroying the working drawings and departing. The parts, including boilers, wheels and cylinders were shipped to the Yorkshire Engine Co. and the locomotives were completed in Sheffield. It is assumed that all the detailed design works was done by the company based on a few sketches drawn by Captain Howey. YE 2294 and 2295 are better known as No. 9 Winston Churchill and No.10 Doctor Syn; they are still running (other than when being overhauled) and are the best known of any Yorkshire Engine Co. locomotives, even if few people realise the significance.
United Steel Companies and diesel locomotive development
The business was bought by the United Steel CompaniesUnited Steel Companies
The United Steel Companies were a steel making, engineering, coal mining and coal by-product group based in South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.-History:...
Limited (USC) on 29 June
1945. It would appear that the reasons for this purchase were twofold. Firstly USC needed replacement locomotives so it made sense to buy a manufacturer (at the right price) and secondly the idea had been put forward on developing a central engineering workshop for their steelworks at Templeborough (Rotherham
Rotherham
Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of...
) and Stocksbridge
Stocksbridge
Stocksbridge is a small town and civil parish in the City of Sheffield, in South Yorkshire, England, with a population of 13,663. It lies just to the east of the Peak District....
. Both works were being expanded and redeveloped, and were easily accessible by rail from the YEC works. In the post war climate, the YEC management were willing to sell.
Following the purchase, work began on building steam locomotives for the internal rail systems at several steelworks as well as ironstone mines around Britain. YEC continued to build locomotives for other customers, just as they had before the takeover.
The design for a modern 0-6-0ST locomotive was bought from Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns
Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns
Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns Ltd was a locomotive builder with works in North East England.-History:The company was formed in September 1937 when Robert Stephenson and Company, which was based in Darlington took over the locomotive building department of Hawthorn Leslie and Company, based in...
and locomotives of this type were built for various steel works, primarily as replacements for locomotives worn out during World War II. This design was undoubtedly chosen because a number were already in use at Appleby-Frodingham works, Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe is a town within North Lincolnshire, England. It is the administrative centre of the North Lincolnshire unitary authority, and had an estimated total resident population of 72,514 in 2010. A predominantly industrial town, Scunthorpe, the United Kingdom's largest steel processing centre,...
and given various type names (these include "Type 1", "16inch" and "Group 17"). A small number of locomotives were built for ironstone mines to a War Department ‘Austerity’ design. It is believed that the use of this design was connected with the sub-contract of other locomotive construction from Hunslet Engine Company.
No.2480 was displayed and demonstrated before final delivery while No.2481 was delivered direct from the works (a journey of about 1 mile). Both locomotives survived to be preserved in the late 1980s.
No other locomotives were built to this design.
Production diesel-electric locomotives
It was 2 years before another diesel locomotive was built but during this time the diesel-electric design was refined and YEC were soon marketing 4 designs all based on engines and electrical equipment similar to the first diesel locomotives.- DE1 – 0-4-00-4-0Under 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...
, 240 hp, 37 tons, 25 mph
- DE2 – 0-4-00-4-0Under 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...
, 275 hp, 45 tons, 22 mph
- DE3 – 0-4-00-4-0Under 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...
, 400 hp, 50 tons, 25 mph
- DE4 – 0-6-00-6-0Under 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...
, 400 hp, 51 tons, 27 mph
(not every locomotive was built to these exact details)
The DE2 design was popular with steelworks and continued to be built until 1965. Small numbers of the DE1 and DE4 were built but were superseded in 1955 and 1956 by new designs. No locomotives were built to the DE3 design, probably because they were too big and heavy for use on normal railway work.
Rolls-Royce engines
Rolls-Royce Limited
Rolls-Royce Limited was a renowned British car and, from 1914 on, aero-engine manufacturing company founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry Royce on 15 March 1906 as the result of a partnership formed in 1904....
introduced their C range engine
Rolls-Royce C range engines
The Rolls-Royce C6SFL and its variants were a series of diesel engines used in small railway locomotives, construction vehicles and similar applications...
, it was quickly adopted by locomotive builders for use in Diesel-hydraulic locomotives. These benefited from having a faster running engine (1800 rpm). Likewise, YEC used the C series engines in a new range of locomotives, the first of which was introduced in 1955 and which continued to evolved until 1965, the higher engine speed being an advantage for diesel-electric locomotives as well.
Generally the diesel locomotives built with Rolls-Royce engines shared many or all of a number of design features – rounded engine covers (bonnets) narrow enough to permit walkways to be put down each side; 4 cab windows overlooking the engine(s); fuel tanks and/or battery boxes built into the running boards; walkways or balconies at each end; access to the cab from a walkway or balcony.
None of the Rolls-Royce engined locomotives were given class/type numbers but several were given names. The first to be given a name was the ‘Janus’. This design was symmetrical with two engines (C6SFL rated at 200 hp each) and a central cab. The name was appropriate as Janus
Janus (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion and mythology, Janus is the god of beginnings and transitions, thence also of gates, doors, doorways, endings and time. He is usually a two-faced god since he looks to the future and the past...
was a Roman god with two faces. ‘Taurus’, ‘Indus’ & ‘Olympus’ designs were produced which had many similarities in style.
Diesel-hydraulics and locomotives for British Railways
Around 1960, the first diesel-hydraulic were produced. Other builders had shown that a type of hydraulic transmission, called a ‘multi-stage torque converter’, was cheap to buy, needed very little maintenance and was very easy to use. YEC immediately found customers for these locomotives and increased the number of designs available.In 1960 and 1961 batches of 180 hp locomotives, totalling 20, were built for British Railways. These were very closely related to the standard small diesel-hydraulic locomotives but with a few modifications to suit their use on a main line railway (different arrangement of fuel tanks, vacuum train brake system & marker lights). These locomotives were later designated Class 02
British Rail Class 02
The British Rail Class 02 were a class of twenty 0-4-0 diesel-hydraulic shunting locomotives built by the Yorkshire Engine Company in 1960 and 1961 for service in areas of restricted loading gauge and curvature such as docks...
.
At least three YEC locomotives were demonstrated or given trials on British Railways between 1956 and 1963, these were a Janus, a Taurus and a 300 hp diesel-hydraulic
British Rail Janus
Janus and Taurus were two models of diesel shunting locomotives by the Yorkshire Engine Company; one prototype of each being loaned to British Railways for demonstrations. However, BR did not buy any production versions after testing...
Yorkshire Engine Co built the chassis and bodies of the 10 prototype Class 15
British Rail Class 15
The British Rail Class 15 diesel locomotives, also known as the BTH Type 1, were designed by British Thomson-Houston, and built by the Yorkshire Engine Company and the Clayton Equipment Company, between 1957 and 1961.- Design history :...
locomotives under contract from British Thomson Houston co ltd (BTH)
Exports to India
Yorkshire Engine Co had been exporting steam locomotives to India for most of their existence, but between 1958 and 1964 several batches of locomotives of several designs were built for use at the Durgapur Steel Works in Eastern India. The Durgapur works was developed in conjunction with United Steel Companies, so it is hardly surprising that YEC locomotives were used there.Closure and life after death
Locomotive construction ended in 1965. It is not recorded exactly why the works was closed but three facts seem to have all had an influence on the decision. Firstly the market for new locomotives was shrinking rapidly with a number of other manufacturers closing around this time. Secondly, most of the USC works were fully equipped with YEC locomotives. Thirdly, nationalisation of the British steel industryBritish Steel
British Steel was a major British steel producer. It originated as a nationalised industry, the British Steel Corporation , formed in 1967. This was converted to a public limited company, British Steel PLC, and privatised in 1988. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
was to take place in 1967 and it is unlikely that the locomotive business was wanted as part of the new corporation.
Several locomotives under construction at the time of closure left the works before they had been completed. These locomotives were destined for USC steelworks which had the capability to complete the construction work in their own engineering works.
The rights to the YEC designs and the good will of the business were sold to Rolls-Royce ‘Sentinel Division
Sentinel Waggon Works
Sentinel Waggon Works Ltd was a British company based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire that made steam-powered lorries, railway locomotives, and later, diesel engined lorries and locomotives.-Alley & MacLellan, Sentinel Works, Jessie Street Glasgow:...
’ at Shrewsbury who had previously supplied a high proportion of diesel engines used by YEC and were a competitor in the industrial locomotive market. In 1967 three locomotives were bought from Shrewsbury for use at Scunthorpe Steelworks, these were built to the Janus design to match the many similar locomotives there built in Sheffield. A fourth locomotive, to a different YEC design, was supplied to AEI in Manchester.
When Rolls-Royce hit financial problems in 1971 they stopped all locomotive work and the YEC designs, along with those for Rolls-Royce locomotives passed to Thomas Hill
Thomas Hill (Rotherham) Ltd
Thomas Hill Limited was a company which repaired and sold steam road vehicles, diesel and electric road vehicles and railway locomotives. It later made its name building and rebuilding diesel locomotives.-History:...
at Kilnhurst, near Rotherham
Rotherham
Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of...
who had been agents for Rolls-Royce for some time. (Thomas Hill built three locos to Yorkshire design, for the Durgapur Steel Works in Eastern India).
The former Yorkshire Engine Company works at Meadowhall, Sheffield was transferred to McCall and Company another part of the United Steel Companies group. Reinforcing bars (for concrete) were produced here. The works passed to Rom River Reinforements in the mid 1990s but was closed early in the 21st century when the roof of the main building was deemed to be beyond repair. Subsequently the works has been completely refurbished and is now (2009) occupied by the long established engineering firm of Chesterfield Special Cylinders
Locomotives returned to the site on a regular basis between 1988 and 2001 when the South Yorkshire Railway Preservation Society used the few remaining railway lines in the Meadowhall works to load and unload numerous preserved locomotives that were moved by Lorry (the lines between the buildings were set into the roadway). A number of these locomotives were products of Yorkshire Engine Company, including YE2480, the first diesel locomotive they built.
Major customers for diesel locomotives
- British RailBritish RailBritish Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
ways
- ICIImperial Chemical IndustriesImperial Chemical Industries was a British chemical company, taken over by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate, one of the largest chemical producers in the world. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British...
- National Coal BoardNational Coal BoardThe National Coal Board was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...
- Pilkington Glass
- Port of LondonPort of LondonThe Port of London lies along the banks of the River Thames from London, England to the North Sea. Once the largest port in the world, it is currently the United Kingdom's second largest port, after Grimsby & Immingham...
Authority
- United Steel Co (locomotives still in use)
Re-use of the Yorkshire Engine Co name
In 1988 the name "Yorkshire Engine Company" was re-registered by a new business. This new company was again in the Industrial Locomotive business but with efforts concentrated on hiring locomotives to various industrial users and also undertaking rebuilds and re-engining work on existing locomotive.The new YEC went into receivership in 2001 and ceased trading. The yard was based on the army camp at Long Marston, which these days (2007) is used for storage of locomotives and rolling stock, both for preservation groups and commercial organisations.