EddieB

Sorry, but any self-respecting Oirishman would have found a wall or bushes.

WF Pettigrew?

Yes, looking back it's amazing just how much of the pre-nationalisation operations, infrastructure and even rolling stock was still in use, despite the demise of steam and depredations of Beeching.

Process of elimination from a handful - I'll try Lawson Billington, but am not that confident.

Yes, Sir Raphael ("Roy") Welensky, who never lost his affection for steam locomotives, and indeed wrote a short autobiographical piece that appears in Ted Hamer's most recent work on the locomotives of Zimbabwe. Chrisf had the right country, but as far as I'm aware "Smithy" never fired steam locos. Back to you, Mike.

Leaving school at fourteen, I joined the railway and started my career as a fireman. My political life developed from being leader of a trade union representing European railway workers. From there I moved into the colonial legislature, forming my own political party in 1941. From the start I was involved in bringing together two colonies, eventually three joining together in a Federation within the British Commonwealth. I became the second and final Prime Minister of that Federation. Despite my career in politics, I retained a great affection for steam locomotives throughout my life.

Sir Felix Pole

Yes, based at Atlas Works first in Manchester, then in Glasgow. Over to you, Arthur.

Three days and no takers? Might be worth looking up an old Atlas?

Robert Riddles?

Correct. Am I making these too easy? I'm sure you won't, Mike.

I studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, choosing to work in places of railway interest. I spent two years at Swindon, once meeting Churchward, but making the acquaintance of William Stanier whose introduction obtained many privileges for me on railways all over the world. My first trip to Europe was a motor-cycle tour to Budapest in 1929 and from that time I visited at least one foreign country every year. I served in the Royal Navy during the second World War. This gave further opportunities to travel and study railways overseas. When my income dropped with the introduction of the NHS, I offset some of the shortfall by writing books and articles, mostly on railway subjects. In the early nineteen-sixties I foulnd myself approached by the BBC for a series a radio broadcasts. Once, while photographing a steam-hauled special train carrying the President of France, I was mistaken for Richard Dimbleby by a horde of some 200-autograph hunting women. Photography of locomotives and trains has always been a means to an end, to serve a more technical interest in the subjects. My first published photograph was in the Railway Magazine in January 1925. My photographs now form part of the National Railway Museum collection. Who am I?

Locomotive builders, or at least the private ones, tended to allocate works numbers to identify their products. Which locomotive builder (who underwent some early changes of name and later relocated to the locomotive building "capital" of Great Britain), originally allocated letters to its products, deciding to switch to numbers after reaching "U"?

Archibald David Kennedy, 7th Marquess of Ailsa. I think you've been reading the same latest issue of Railway Bylines as me this morning!

One of Matthew Stirling's designs for the Hull & Barnsley Railway? The H&BR A class 0-8-0s or "Tinies" (LNER class Q10), whose boilers (rebuilt with domes) went on to give sterling (like the pun) service on the Q5 class.

Phew, that didn't last long! I did take out the word "compounding" as I thought that was just too easy. Ok Paul, your turn.

Yes. (Had you said "Severn Valley Railway", that would have been sufficient.) After several years on static display at Kidderminster (SVR) Station (adjacent to the museum), "Warwickshire" (MW 2047/1926, ex-Rugby Portland Cement Co. no. 4) has recently been taken to Bridgnorth for assessment pending possible overhaul. Your turn.

This quiz concerns well-known people connected with railways - be they engineers, board members, notable staff members, politicians, artists, historians, authors or photographers, plus of course those drawn from the motley ranks of eccentrics that follow our hobby. I'll stipulate two rules, that the subject of the question is not a member of the RMWeb Community and that they should be traceable via the internet (i.e. no obscure names plucked from company minutes).. To start things off, here's the first one. Although generally regarded as French, I was born in Sydenham of Baltic-German ancestry. My most famous work was carried out in France, where I was responsible for a steam locomotive development that bears my name. Aside from numerous French locomotives, my system was also used in Germany and Belgium. Three locomotives of this type were purchased by a British railway for evaluation. I adapted my surname to a French style when I settled in France. Who am I?

Not quite. I did say "general or specific" but your answer is just a little too wide of the mark.

Right then, where (generally or specifically) can you find the last steam locomotive built by Manning Wardle?

Assuming that the locos entered service in the same sequence that they were built and delivered.... The first batch were built at Vulcan Foundry (nice tie in!), with 5020 (BR 45020) being the first. Last batch were built at Horwich in 1951, with 44687 bringing up the rear.

Didn't Corporal Jones suggest something similar in the movie version of Dad's Army?

Yes, well done. Thwaites & Carbutt as they were at that time, of the Vulcan Works in Bradford. The locomotive had a transverse cylinder arrangement, located between the two pairs of driving wheels,with diametrically opposed cranks driving connecting rods to each of the four driving wheels giving an 0-2-2-2WT configuration. This so-called "Cambrian System" (which might have been found from the clue about the Burgess Shale) arose from a patent taken out by John Jones of Bristol, and was designed to fully balance out the reciprocating parts (in comparison to a conventional locomotive). According to Lowe (British Steam Locomotive Builders), EB Wilson & Co. had been approached, but declined to build the locomotive, leading to the first locomotive to be built by a company that otherwise turned out a variety of machinery. It was delivered to the South Yorkshire Railway as their no. 5 "ALBION", becoming Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire no. 156 in 1864. It apears to have been withdrawn in 1870, but may have been rebuilt as a more conventional locomotive at some point in its life. There is a detailed side elwevation drawing in Lowe, which would be a good starting point should anyone fancy building a model... To you again, pH.

No takers so far? Ok, the first pair of clues aren't specific in themselves but will help to validate answers obtained from the other pair. The third is quite specific and contains enough information to Google your way to the right answer. Perhaps the final clue is more cryptic, but again it should generate a word which will lead to the identity of the locomotive. At this stage, the only thing I'll add is that the loco was standard gauge. I can add more clues, but don't want to give the game away without at least a serious attempt - and I trust that, once found, the "merits" of the locomotive will provide some interest, perhaps even amusement.

He had no ikea it was dangerous.