Hunslet Engine Company

Hunslet Engine Company

Industry	Railway Locomotive Engineering
Founded	1864
Headquarters	Leeds , England
Number of locations	2 Heavy Overhaul Workshops 1 Administrative Centre
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Shunting locomotives
Services	Locomotive hire, overhaul and maintenance
Parent	Ed Murray & Sons Ltd.

TheHunslet Engine Companyis alocomotivebuilding company, founded in 1864 inHunslet,England. It manufacturedsteam locomotivesfor over 100 years and currently manufacturesdieselshunting locomotives.The company owns a substantial fleet of Industrial and depot shunting locomotives which are available for hire. The company is part of Ed Murray & Sons Ltd.

History

Irish Mailis typical of many small engines built at Hunslet for use in quarries

The early years 1864–1901

Louisa,works number 195 of 1877, one of the earliest examples of the Quarry Hunslet type

The company was founded in 1864 at Jack Lane in Hunslet byJohn Towlerton Leather,a civil engineering contractor, who appointed James Campbell (son of Alexander Campbell, a Leeds engineer) as his works manager.

The first engine was completed in 1865. It wasLinden,astandard gauge0-6-0STdelivered toBrassey 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.

In 1871, James Campbell bought the company for £25,000 (payable in five instalments over two years) and the firm remained in the Campbell family ownership for many years. Between 1865 and 1870, the company had averaged fewer than ten locomotives a year but, in 1871, seventeen were built, rising over the next 30 years to a maximum of 34.

Dolbadarnbuilt for theDinorwic Slate Quarriesin 1922 and now on theLlanberis Lake Railway

In 1870, Hunslet constructed its first narrow gauge engineDinorwic,a diminutive1 ft10+3⁄4in(578 mm) gauge0-4-0STfor theDinorwic Slate QuarryatLlanberis.This engine, later renamedCharlie,was the first of 20 similar engines built for this quarry and did much to establish Hunslet as a major builder of quarry engines. The quarry was linked toPort Dinorwicby a4 ft(1,219 mm) gauge line for which Hunslet built three0-6-0TenginesDinorwic,PadarnandVelinheli.Much larger than the normal quarry type,1 ft10+3⁄4ingauge0-4-0STenginesCharles,BlancheandLindawere built between 1882 and 1893 for use on thePenrhyn Quarry Railway"main line" betweenBethesdaandPort PenrhyninNorth Wales.

Many short wheelbase0-6-0Tlocomotives were supplied to theManchester Ship CanalCompany in the 1880s.

The first Hunslet engine built for export was its No. 10, an0-4-0STshipped viaHullandRotterdamtoJava.By 1902, Hunslet had supplied engines to over thirty countries, 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 unorthodox0-3-0engines for theLartigue Monorailsystem used by theListowel Ballybunion Railway.

From 1873 onwards, many Hunslet locomotives were exported to Australia for use on both main line and lesser lines.

1901–1939

In 1901, James Campbell was still in charge as proprietor and his four sons were 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. In 1902, the company was reorganised as a private limited company with the nameHunslet Engine Company Ltd.but was still a family business. Following the death of James Campbell in 1905, the chairmanship passed to Alexander III and brother Robert became works manager, while brother Will retained the role of secretary and traveller with a seat on the board.

At about this time, Hunslet was building a series of2-6-2Ts for theSierra Leone Government Railway,design elements of which were included in the construction of the famousRussella1 ft11+1⁄2in(597 mm) gauge engine built for thePortmadoc, Beddgelert & South Snowdon Railway.

Following family disagreements, both Will and the youngest brother Gordon 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 theGorton FoundryofBeyer-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. One example was an order for two 86 ton2-8-4Ts from theAntofagasta, Chile & Bolivia Railway.

During theFirst World War,overseas orders dried up. The company, like many others, found itself employing women on the shop floor and engaged in the manufacture of munitions. It continued to produce limited numbers of locomotives, significant examples being lightweight narrow gauge4-6-0Tdesigns for theWar Department Light Railways.

After the First World War, Hunslet was once more able to attract overseas orders and it also received a series of repeat orders from theLondon, Midland & Scottish Railwayfor 90LMS Fowler Class 3F"Jinty"0-6-0Tshunting engines. During the 1930s, Hunslet built its largest locomotives, two0-8-0Tengines, built for a specialtrain-ferryloading job in China – they 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 thedepression of the 1920s and 30sand Hunslet acquired the patterns, rights and designs of other builders includingKerr, Stuart & Companyand theAvonside Engine Company.

1930–2000

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 theinternal combustion engineto railway locomotion. Throughout the 1930s, Hunslet worked on the perfecting of thediesel locomotive.

Austerity68081

During theSecond World War,the company again served the country well in the manufacture of munitions, but it also built engines, both steam and diesel for the war effort. Noteworthy is its role in the production of the"Austerity"0-6-0STshunting locomotive. It was anausterityrevision of the 50550 shunter design, itself a development of the Hunslet 48150 shunter design, of which 16 had been built pre-war.Hunslet produced 149 Austerities during the hostilities, and sub-contracted construction of almost 200 more. A total of 485 Austerities were built by Hunslet and other builders between 1943 and 1964, of which over 70 examples have been preserved.

Locomotive construction resumed after the war. Important in post-war production was the Hunslet flame-proof diesel engine for use in the coal mines, as well as further batches of Austerity shunters for theNational Coal Board(NCB) and theBritish Army,and rebuilding some older Austerities, work which continued into the early 1960s. The last three Austerities were sold in 1970, one directly to preservation, one for scrap and one to the NCB.

The last industrial steam engine built in Britain was built at Hunslet in 1971 for export to Trangkil sugar mill inCentral Java,Indonesia.

The "Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds" works was closed in 1995, the last order being a batch of narrow gauge diesel locomotives for tunnelling on theJubilee Line Extensionof theLondon Underground.

2000–present

The former Hunslet works in 2009

In 2004, theHunslet Engine Companywas acquired by the LH Group. Production was moved toBarton-under-Needwoodwhile other operations remained in Leeds.

In 2006, the company manufactured remote-controlleddiesel electricshunters for John M. Henderson & Coto be supplied toPOSCO's coking plant inSouth Korea.In the same year, several orders for underground and mining diesel locomotives were completed.

In 2007, Hunslet began developing a new family of locomotives ranging from shunters to vehicles weighing up to 100 tons.The first locomotive of the new class, theDH60C,a three-axle C diesel hydraulic shunting locomotive, was unveiled in July 2010.

The company also operated a locomotive hire business (including aBritish Rail Class 08shunter acquired in 2006), mainly of industrial shunting locomotives.

In 2012, LH Group was sold toWabtecfor US$48 million.The company owns the rights to the names and designs of a number of former British locomotive manufacturers includingAndrew Barclay,Avonside Engine Company,North British Locomotive Company,Greenwood & Batley,Hudswell Clarke,John Fowler & Co,Kerr, Stuart & Company,Kitson & CompanyandManning Wardle.It also maintains and supplies spare parts for those brands.In 2021, the business was purchased by Ed Murray & Sons.

The Hunslet Steam Co.

The Hunslet Steam Co. is part of the LH Group. The company is involved in new-build steam locomotives (including two Quarry Hunslet0-4-0STlocomotives), boiler making and locomotive maintenance.

Related companies

Hunslet-Barclay Ltd

Main article:Hunslet-Barclay

The locomotive manufacturerAndrew Barclaywas acquired by the Hunslet group in 1972, and renamed Hunslet-Barclay. It chiefly undertook maintenance and refurbishment of diesel multiple unit passenger trains at the Andrew Barclay Caledonia Works inKilmarnock.In 2003, the LH Group acquired the locomotive interests of the company. In October 2007, Hunslet-Barclay went into receivership and in November was purchased byFKI(the owner ofBrush Traction) and renamed Brush-Barclay. In 2011, Brush Traction and Brush-Barclay were purchased byWabtec.

Preserved locomotives

For a complete list of preserved locomotives of the Austerity design, seeList of preserved Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST locomotives.

For a complete list of preserved Hunslet narrow gauge steam locomotives and links to the railways they work on, seeList of preserved Hunslet narrow-gauge locomotives.

Much-rebuilt HunsletBlancherunning on theFfestiniog Railway

Hunslet AD36 "Champion" at theOld Kiln Light Railway

Preserved examples

• No. 1440 Airedale – Preserved and currently stored atEmbsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway
• No. 1 Brookes
• No. 11 – Preserved and currently undergoing cosmetic restoration at theMiddleton Railway
• No. 243 – Preserved and currently undergoing cosmetic restoration at theFundación Camilo José CelaassignmentMadrid Railway Museum(Fundación de los Ferrocarriles Españoles),Spain
• No. 686 Lady Armaghdale – Preserved and on static display atHighley,on theSevern Valley Railway
• No. 1444 Preserved and running atMuseum of Transport & Technology,Auckland,New Zealand
• No. 1800 – Preserved and running on theNene Valley Railway
• No. 1821
• No. 1873 Jessie – Preserved and running on thePontypool & Blaenavon Railway
• No. 1982 Ring Haw – Preserved and running on theNorth Norfolk Railway
• No. 2705 Beatrice – Preserved and running on theEmbsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway
• No. 2868 B&W Engineering –
• No. 3694 Whiston – preserved an in operational condition at the Foxfield Railway though on loan at end of March 2019 at theChurnet Valley Railway
• No. 3715 Primrose No. 2 – Preserved and currentlyundergoing an overhaul atEmbsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway
• No. 3782 Arthur – Preserved and undergoing overhaul at theBuckinghamshire Railway Centre
• No. 3783 Darfield No. 1 – Preserved and running on theChasewater Railway
• Holly Bank No. 3 – Preserved and running on theChasewater Railway
• Jack's Green – Preserved and currently stored at theNene Valley Railway
• No. 1589 Newstead – Preserved and undergoing overhaul at theSpa Valley Railway
• Robert Nelson No. 4
• No. 79 "Plum" – 16 inch0-6-0ST,preserved on static display at theNSW Rail Museum,Thirlmere,Australia
• No. 2705–2-6-0+Tloco, preserved and currently running at the NSW Rail Museum, Thirlmere, Australia
• No. 1168 –0-6-0STbuilt in 1914; preserved and on static display at Fort San Andres Museum, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad' under the unofficial number "42"

Ireland

• Tralee and Dingle Light Railway,County Kerry
• Ulster Folk and Transport Museums,County Down

Israel

• Old Gesher Museum, Kibbutz Gesher

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Railways Class Y, No 681 working inGalle,Sri Lanka

• Sri Lanka Railwaysuses Hunslet diesel shunting locomotives in most railway yards.

New Zealand

• NZR/PWD Y class number 542 (Hunslet No. 1444) is preserved at theMuseum of Transport & Technology.

Brazil

• No. 106 is displayed on the Estrada de Ferro de Baturité Museum, in Baturité, state of Ceará, northeast region of Brazil.

See also

• List of Hunslet narrow-gauge locomotive designs

References

Literature

• Clarke, B. R.; Veitch, C. C. (1986).The Eighteen Inch Gauge Royal Arsenal Railway at Woolwich.Privately published by B.R. Clarke.ISBN0-948951-00-1.
• Neale, A. (1995).Hunslet Narrow Gauge Locomotives.Plateway Press.ISBN1-871980-28-3.
• "Second new Hunslet just £152,750!".Railway Magazine.Vol. 153, no. 1270. IPC Media. February 2007. p. 57.
• Rolt, L. T. C. (1964).A Hunslet Hundred: one hundred years of locomotive building by the Hunslet Engine Company.David & Charles.
• Townsley, D. H. (1998).The Hunslet Engine Works.Plateway Press.ISBN1-871980-38-0.

External links

• Hunslet Engine Company website
• The Quarry Hunslet web siteArchived3 August 2020 at theWayback Machine
• The Leeds Engine web site