Locomotives produced by Fairlie Engine and Steam Carriage Company 1869- 1870
A history of locomotives built by Robert Fairlie at Hatcham Iron Works
1869/Works no.n/k/0-4-4-0T/Outside cylinders 81/4"x13"/Driving wheel/ 2'4"/1'11 1/2" gauge/Festinog Railway/No.7 "Little Wonder"
1869/Purchased by England-(not built at Hatcham, built by James Cross in 1865 for Neath & Brecon Railway- see under Robert Fairlie blog)/0-4-4-0T/Cylinders n/k/Driving wheel n/k/Standard Gauge/Built for Neath & Brecon Rly/"Progress"
"According to Engineering for 11th June 1869 p 406, England had purchased from James Cross of St Helens the engine "Progress". It had been built "three or four years ago" says the article and "has recently become the property of Mr. England."
What he did with it, i do not know, unless he altered it and sold it under another name. Was it the Fairlie engine which went to the Chemin de fer de la Vendee?"
GH Dickson SLS Journal 1961 p211
1869/Steam Car
1869/Works no.n/k/0-4-4-0T/Outside cylinders 10"x18"/Driving wheel 3'6"/Standard gauge/Nassjo Oscarshamm Rly/ "Pioneer" then "Mountaineer".
"Two locomotives of the 0-4-4-0 type were ordered by the Nassjo-Oscarshamm Railway in Sweden, but the first of those, when completed in December 1869, was sold instead to the Burry Port & Gwendraeth Valley Railway in South Wales. This locomotive, originally named "Pioneer", was renamed "Mountaineer" and is illustrated in Fig.7. The photograph shows a name plate on the edge of the footplate, the inscription reading 'FAIRLIE ENGINE AND STEAM CARRIAGE CO. LONDON. 1870'. In 1877 it was tried on the severe gradients of the Pantyffynon to Rhos line of the Great Western Railway.
The length of time that this locomotive remained in service is not known, but it appears to have been dismantled at Burry Port before 1900; the bogies being used for the transport of machinery to the local collieries, while the boiler shells were converted for use as a culvert at West Dock, Burry Port. The second of the the locomotives ordered for Sweden was delivered there to the British contractor, J Morton & Sons, and was named "Morton". After the failure of this firm it was transferred to their successors, Clark, Punchard & Co who renamed it "Clark".
Later it carried the No1 of the railway, and when taken over by NOJ in 1874 it was renamed again, "Hultenhein". It ceased work in 1902 after a boiler explosion. A third locomotive, identical with the above pair was built for the Chemins de fer de la Vendee in France and was officially recorded as being in use use there in 1871. When this line was taken over by the State system in 1879 this locomotive was already out of use.
These three small locomotives had the following leading dimensions: the cylinders were 10" diameter by 18" stroke; wheels were 3ft 6" diameter, with unusual divided balance weights; bogie wheelbase 5ft; total wheelbase 19ft 6". The boiler barrels were 8ft 6" long by 2ft 10" diameter. Heating surface of tubes 763 sq ft, fireboxes 70 sq ft, making a total heating surface of 833 sq ft. Grate area 11 sq ft. Capacity of water tanks 700 gallons, while the coal bunkers held 15cwt. The total weight was 25 tons. It should be noted that no brake blocks are visible in the photograoh; was some form of band brake used?"
"The Fairlie Locomotive" by Rowland A S Abbott David & Charles 1970
1870/Works no.n/k/0-4-4-0T/Outside cylinders 10"x18"/Driving wheel 3'6"/Standard gauge/Chemin de fer de la Vendee/"Angleterre"
"The President of the Vendee Railway, Monsieur Charles Jenty had inspected the Festiniog Railway in 1870, according to 'Engineering' of 25th February 1870, as a member of a French Commision sent to report on the line and it's system of working. A curious error in the lsit of engines taken over from the Cdf de la Vendee, points to George England as the builder of their one and only Fairlie locomotive.
All the other engines taken over are listed under the maker's name, but in the case of the Fairlie locomotive there is merely the mention of "Angleterre".
I am quite convinced that this is an error, the name of the builder being taken for that of the country of origin. It might have been Cross's engine "Progress" which England purchased"
GH Dickson SLS Journal 1961 p212
(Unsure if this is correct! GH)
Tagged as: Hatcham Iron Works, Robert Fairlie
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