Henry Hughes Locomotives Information Gathering

[844fan]

Hey all this is a bit of a follow up to my Industrial Tank topic in a way since it deals with a Industrial company built loco.

 

Anyway I was looking over the Industrial Railway Society's back issues and found this little locomotive in this article on the IRS site.

 

http://www.irsociety.co.uk/Archives/52/Alderney.htm#Camelshe is in the last photo at the bottom.

 

From what is said on the site it was built by a company called Henry Hughes of Loughborough and it was named Waverley.

 

Anyone know anything more on this little industrial? Apparently she had a external water pump (the little Flywheel and cylinder on her smokebox.) I can find very little on the builders and only know Waverley was built for standard gauge and worked at Alderney Breakwater. Also she seems to sport a bit of crew decoration on her front above the smokebox door of a cast horse or dragon not sure thanks to the photo quality.

Edited May 18, 2015 by 844fan

[Andy Kirkham]

From memory, Hughes was either the predecessor or successor of the Falcon Engine Co, which ultimately morphed into Brush, which still operates at Loughborough. One of its surviving products (much rebuilt) is the Talyllyn's No.3 Sir Haydn which in its original form had a similar look to the loco in your post.

[EddieB]

As Andy has identified, the firm founded by Henry Hughes survives through to the present day as Brush Engineering at Loughborough.  Hughes was an engineer and timber merchant, who founded the Falcon Works (at a site alongside the Midland Railway main line) in 1865.  The company went into the manufacture of carriages and small steam locomotives.  They became a significant builder of tram locomotives, such that the company was renamed "Hughes' Locomotive and Tramway Engine Works Ltd" in 1877, and subsequently adopting the names "Falcon Engineering and Car Works Ltd" in 1882 and "Brush Electrical Engineering" in 1889.  Unfortunately no official builders records survive from the earliest Hughes eras.

 

The Alderney locomotive (which I've also come across named "Waverney" - a spelling mistake somewhere) was fairly typical of the firm's products in the mid- to late-1860s - many going to contractors.  (Can I suggest that you replace the "lifted" picture with a link to the IRS site and IRR 52 article from which it comes?)  This locomotive had 3'0" diameter wheels, outside cylinders of 12" diameter and 20" stroke.

 

Many of the locomotives built at the Falcon works over the years were exported (there is also an interesting history in locomotives supplied via agents - sometimes with the agents affixing their own "works plates") and today some preserved examples still survive overseas.  Here is "ELFKARLEÖ BRUK", owned by the Swedish Railway Museum at Gävle, an 0-4-0WT built by Hughes in 1872 (and one of two Hughes locomotives that still exist in Sweden).

 

[844fan]

As Andy has identified, the firm founded by Henry Hughes survives through to the present day as Brush Engineering at Loughborough.  Hughes was an engineer and timber merchant, who founded the Falcon Works (at a site alongside the Midland Railway main line) in 1865.  The company went into the manufacture of carriages and small steam locomotives.  They became a significant builder of tram locomotives, such that the company was renamed "Hughes' Locomotive and Tramway Engine Works Ltd" in 1877, and subsequently adopting the names "Falcon Engineering and Car Works Ltd" in 1882 and "Brush Electrical Engineering" in 1889.  Unfortunately no official builders records survive from the earliest Hughes eras.

 

The Alderney locomotive (which I've also come across named "Waverney" - a spelling mistake somewhere) was fairly typical of the firm's products in the mid- to late-1860s - many going to contractors.  (Can I suggest that you replace the "lifted" picture with a link to the IRS site and IRR 52 article from which it comes?)  This locomotive had 3'0" diameter wheels, outside cylinders of 12" diameter and 20" stroke.

 

Many of the locomotives built at the Falcon works over the years were exported (there is also an interesting history in locomotives supplied via agents - sometimes with the agents affixing their own "works plates") and today some preserved examples still survive overseas.  Here is "ELFKARLEÖ BRUK", owned by the Swedish Railway Museum at Gävle, an 0-4-0WT built by Hughes in 1872 (and one of two Hughes locomotives that still exist in Sweden).

 

PICV7775.jpg

Eddie again you amaze me my friend. I can attempt a Drawing of Waverley now with those specs.

 

Ah so they are the Falcon Works founders. I do indeed know them from Sir Hayden of the TR and your right Andy there is a family resemblance.  I'll have to look into the other locos they put out.

 

Oh and I will amend my first post to have links to the article.

[Adam]

Very interesting. Have you found these images from the Grace's Guide website?

 

http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Henry_Hughes_and_Co

 

Adam

[844fan]

Hey all this is a bit of a follow up to my Industrial Tank topic in a way since it deals with a Industrial company built loco.

 

Anyway I was looking over the Industrial Railway Society's back issues and found this little locomotive in this article on the IRS site.

 

http://www.irsociety.co.uk/Archives/52/Alderney.htm#Camel she is in the last photo at the bottom.

 

Ok I know this topic is old and I do hope you'll pardon me for bumping it like a shunted truck but I had a thought about the photo of Waverley from the link in my OP. First off as sad as I am to admit it I have decided to try my best at designing a reasonable look alike of the tank engine given that I have only that photo to go off of and not a measurement to find. So while I'm going to do it as close as I can it technically will be a freelanced design.

 

I've already decided to find a fellow Hughes 0-4-0 from my recent purchase of "Chronicles of Bolton Sidings" which has so many great diagrams. But there is one thing about Waverley that is the proverbial elephant in the room and that is the small motor/pump/feed/flywheel thing on her smokebox. I have never seen anything like it and I'm just wondering what kind of device it could be and what I could use as a reasonable replacement as far as looks.

 

If my eye serves me well from what I see the device is fully enclosed like it was a envelope or a Dome cover like case. 

[Hando]

On 18/05/2015 at 11:17, EddieB said:

As Andy has identified, the firm founded by Henry Hughes survives through to the present day as Brush Engineering at Loughborough.  Hughes was an engineer and timber merchant, who founded the Falcon Works (at a site alongside the Midland Railway main line) in 1865.  The company went into the manufacture of carriages and small steam locomotives.  They became a significant builder of tram locomotives, such that the company was renamed "Hughes' Locomotive and Tramway Engine Works Ltd" in 1877, and subsequently adopting the names "Falcon Engineering and Car Works Ltd" in 1882 and "Brush Electrical Engineering" in 1889.  Unfortunately no official builders records survive from the earliest Hughes eras.

 

The Alderney locomotive (which I've also come across named "Waverney" - a spelling mistake somewhere) was fairly typical of the firm's products in the mid- to late-1860s - many going to contractors.  (Can I suggest that you replace the "lifted" picture with a link to the IRS site and IRR 52 article from which it comes?)  This locomotive had 3'0" diameter wheels, outside cylinders of 12" diameter and 20" stroke.

 

Many of the locomotives built at the Falcon works over the years were exported (there is also an interesting history in locomotives supplied via agents - sometimes with the agents affixing their own "works plates") and today some preserved examples still survive overseas.  Here is "ELFKARLEÖ BRUK", owned by the Swedish Railway Museum at Gävle, an 0-4-0WT built by Hughes in 1872 (and one of two Hughes locomotives that still exist in Sweden).

 

Wonderful loco, apparently it was bought second hand from somewhere in Great Britain. I reckon the rather Scandinavian-looking spark arrestor was probably made by the mill.

[EddieB]

4 hours ago, Hando said:

Wonderful loco, apparently it was bought second hand from somewhere in Great Britain. I reckon the rather Scandinavian-looking spark arrestor was probably made by the mill.

I'd be interested to learn more, as my records point to it being supplied new to Älvkarleö bruk in Sweden.

 

Unfortunately there appears to be no surviving list of original Hughes orders and works numbers, which hinders attempts to tie together the history of locomotives that may have been supplied first to small concerns or contractors and subsequently sold on.