Newton-le-Willows
the history of our local area
Some sections of this website make use of Adobe Flash objects, your browser doesn't allow these objects
to run, you can download the needed adobe flash component for your browser type, from this link for free.
to run, you can download the needed adobe flash component for your browser type, from this link for free.
Paypal Donations
Donations are appreciated, and help with the costs of keeping the website online and free
Links to Local Book Lists
|
Social Network Links
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
News Feeds
Content & Copyright
Most all items in the gallery are scanned from items owned by Steven Dowd, a few items in the gallery have been scanned from photos or postcards owned by others, and are shown here with their permissionThe content and Images within this website, unless otherwise noted, are the copyright of Steven Dowd ©2001-2009.
| A history of the Vulcan Foundry |
|
|
| Written by Steven Dowd | |||||||||||||||||||||
Page 3 of 7 Period : 1866-1895
Ten broad gauge saddle tank engines were built at The Vulcan Foundry in 1866-7 to the order of the. Bristol & Exeter Railway. They had 5 ft. 6 in. coupled wheels, 8 ft. 6 in. wheelbase, and in addition to the 530 gallon saddle tank another tank below the footplate carried 740 gallons of water. The footplate was placed very high over the trailing axle, and access to it was obtained by ladder-like footsteps in front of the trailing wheels. The weight of this engine in working order, was 47 1/2 tons.
It is not generally known that the first Locomotive to run in Japan was built at The Vulcan Foundry in 1870. This was a side tank engine with 4 ft. 3 in. coupled wheels for the Imperial Railway of Japan, working the line between Tokio and Yokohama. It was followed later by an order for six coupled tender engines whilst later still, a number of side tank engines were supplied for the Sanyo Railway in Japan. The Fairlie Patent double Locomotive came into use in 1865, and the first engines of this type were built at The Vulcan in 1872 for the Dunedin and Port Chalmers Railway, New Zealand. They had double boilers, with the firebox at the centre, the barrels running fore and aft, and two four-wheeled bogies each with its two cylinders arranged at the outer ends of the frame. Built for 3 ft. 6 in. gauge these engines weighed about 30 tons. The Fairlie type was adopted on various gauges of railway, and a Fairlie engine was constructed for the mountain section of the Denver and Rio Grande Railway, U.S.A., by The Vulcan Foundry in 1873. Other Fairlie types were built about this time for Mexico, Portugal, Norway, Queensland and Peru. The Vulcan introduced some important improvements to the Fairlie engine, and in a modified type for Burma, the two boilers were separate, placed back to back with a footplate between, and carried on a deep girder frame at the extremities of which the bogie pivots were arranged 8 in. behind the bogie centre, instead of at the centre as was formerly the practice.
To alter the sequence of events a little, a word at this stage about the Vulcan Village may not be out of place. The first cottages were built about 1832, and plans are still in existence of additional cottages erected in 1847. The Village is now a self contained community, comprising 114 cottages, complete with school, stores, post office, and Inn, the whole surrounding the traditional Village Green. An old print of sixty years ago shows the communal wash-house, standing approximately where the patch of greensward now confronts the village school; the same photograph depicts the manager's house surrounded by trees, on land now occupied by the Forge, and the "T. & S." Stone can be discerned on the gable end of what is now the small turning shop. Before the extensions to the Works, the Village must have presented a delightful sylvan picture with just beyond its confines the limpid waters of the Milling-ford Brook flowing to its confluence with the Sankey. The Brook is the main outlet for Newton Mere and over thirty years ago, before the lake was polluted, I have happy memories of lifting roach up to a pound weight from the stream with my bare hands during the dinner hour! Amongst records of long service with the firm, that of an old village worthy in the person of the late John Lawson, stands supreme. John was born at 28 Manchester Row, and lived there all his life. In 1923, he was placed third in a long-service competition organised by the Liverpool Evening Express," and had at that time 69 years' service with The Vulcan Foundry, but he continued work up to December, 1927, when he retired with 73 years and 5 months service at the ripe age of 85, unfortunately passing away only a few weeks after his retirement. A truly notable record of service especially when one realises that he had an arduous life as a Blacksmith's Striker. To deal with the traffic over the Suburban lines and Metropolitan extensions of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway, a very suitable design of side-tank engine was introduced by the Locomotive Superintendent, Mr. William Kirtley, and a contract for several of these was placed with The Vulcan Foundry in 1875. They proved so efficient in service, that most were still running when electric traction was substituted for steam in the Southern Railway, London area. Four powerful eight coupled side-tanks were built in 1879 for the Seville & Jerez Railway, now part of the Northern Railway of Spain. In 1880. the 4-4-0 type of passenger tender engine was introduced on the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway, and a considerable number were built by different firms to Mr. Barton Wright's design. Thirty-five were constructed at The Vulcan Foundry; twenty in 1884 and fifteen in 1886. The first ten-wheeled tank engines with inside cylinders were built at The Vulcan in 1888 for the Taff Vale Railway, and initiated a type which became extensively used. They were the first engines built at the Vulcan with the cylinders cast en bloc, each engine weighing 54 tons each in working order. In 1890, The Vulcan Foundry delivered five passenger tank engines to the Rhymney Railway, which were unique in being the only engines in this country with saddle-tanks combining the features of the 2-4-2 wheel arrangement, with double frames to all wheels, except the trailing pair.
put on the line in 1889 for assisting trains on the sharp inclines of the Ghat section, over the Vindhya Hills leading into Bhopal State. They were of somewhat novel appearance, as the tanks projected well in front of the chimney. Twenty-four 2-6-0 Tender Engines were supplied to the same railway in 1894-6, and at that time were considered the last thing in locomotive design. They had extended smoke-boxes of taper form, and two of this design, loaded for delivery, can be seen on the aforementioned photograph of the village and its confines about sixty years ago.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
Total Pages Viewed: 