Hudswell Clarke

Hudswell, Clarke and Company Limited was an engineering and locomotive building company in Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.

Slough Estates Nº3 of 1924, showing typically Hudswell Clarke style of saddle tank and bunker

History
Hudswell Clarke builder's plate from 0-6-0T Nunlow

The company was founded as Hudswell and Clarke in 1860. In 1870 the name was changed to Hudswell, Clarke and Rodgers. There was another change in 1881 to Hudswell, Clarke and Company. The firm became a limited company in 1899.

In 1862, soon after the company had been formed, they were given the initial design work on William Hamond Bartholomew's compartment boats for the Aire and Calder Navigation. The choice of the company may have been influenced by the fact that Bartholomew, the chief engineer for the Navigation, and William Clayton, one of the founders of Hudswell and Clarke, both lived on Spencer Place in Leeds. They produced at least one of the prototype Tom Pudding compartments, but did not get the main contract for their production once the design work had been done.[1]

As steam locomotive builders, like many of the smaller builders they specialised in small contractor's and industrial tank engines, and rarely built anything bigger than an 0-6-0T. They never built any locomotives with superheaters.[2]

The locomotive part of the business is now part of the Hunslet Engine Company. Locomotive-building was always only one part of a diverse product inventory that included underground diesel-powered mining locomotives, hydraulic pit-props and related mining equipment.

4-6-2 1931 Neptune at Scalby on the Scarborough North Bay Railway

In 1911 Hudswell Clarke entered into an agreement with Robert Hudson for the manufacture of narrow gauge locomotives. This arrangement produced sixteen standardised designs, designated 'A' to 'Q', which ranged from four-coupled (0-4-0) 5 hp engines to six-coupled (0-6-0) 55 hp models. The designs were sufficiently flexible to allow for the various track gauges in use. Over the years, 188 locomotives were supplied to these designs.

In the 1930s the company manufactured narrow gauge steam outline diesel-hydraulic locomotives for use at amusement parks around the country.[3] In 1931 4-6-2 Neptune was delivered to Scarborough North Bay Railway, followed a year later by 4-6-2 Triton, both being 20 inches (510 mm) gauge. In the same year they supplied a 4-6-4T Robin Hood to Golden Acre Park in Leeds followed by a 4-6-2 May Thompson in 1933.[4] They also supplied 4-6-2 Mary Louise and 4-6-4T Carol Jean to Blackpool Pleasure Beach for use on the 21 inches (530 mm) gauge Pleasure Beach Express in 1933. A fire in 1934 badly damaged Carol Jean so 4-6-2 Princess Royal was ordered as a replacement. They went on to build two more 4-6-2 class locomotives, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret Rose[5] for Billy Butlin to use at the Empire Exhibition in Glasgow in 1938 which were then transferred to his holiday camp in Clacton when the exhibition closed.[6]

In later years, Hudswell Clarke designed and built diesel locomotives for both main-line and private company use, mainly for use on shunting operations.

Surviving locomotives

Steam locomotives
Works
No.		YearTypeWheel
arrangement
GaugeCompanyName or
No.		LocationNotes
40218930-4-0ST4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)Lord MayorKeighley and Worth Valley Railway
43118950-6-0ST4 ft 8 1⁄2 in431Chasewater Railway
49618980-6-0ST2 ft (610 mm)North Eton Mill1Privately owned, Near Numurkah, Victoria, Australia
498 1899 0-4-0ST 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Østre Gasværk (Copenhagen, Denmark) Nr. 1

*Skildpadden

(The Turtle)*

 Nordsjællands Veterantog, Græsted, Denmark Runs during the "Veterantog for børn" event (every second weekend of September). Is painted in red and black livery as delivered in 1899.
499 1899 0-4-0ST 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Østre Gasværk (Copenhagen, Denmark) Nr. 2 Danmarks Tekniske Museum, Helsingør, Denmark On Static Display outside the museum. Can be seen on the corner of Støberivej and Industrivej. Is painted Black with Red Buffers. Is Technically identical to Nr.1
52618990-4-0ST4 ft 8 1⁄2 inHawardenPenrhyn Castle Railway Museum
55519000-6-0ST4 ft 8 1⁄2 inPort Talbot Railway26Severn Valley Railway
Later Great Western Railway No 813, Backworth Colliery No 12 and NCB (Backworth Colliery) No 11. Restored as GWR 813. [7]
57319000-4-0ST3 ft (914 mm)HandymanNational Railway MuseumBuilt for the ironstone quarry at Burton Latimer and moved to the Cranford Ironstone Co in 1921. Purchased by the Scaldwell Tramway in 1936, it last worked there in 1961. Purchased in 1964 by three W&LLR volunteers: Gerald Rainbow, David Plant and Bob Harris. They sold her to Alan Keef in 2004, who in turn sold it to the NRM in July 2008. Some cosmetic restoration undertaken.[8] Currently in faded green but it is believed her original livery was grey with the name painted in red letters on the side tank.
63919020-4-2ST21 21⁄32 in (550 mm)San JustoPrivately owned by Peter Rampton
64019020-4-2ST21 21⁄32 inSanta AnaPrivately owned by Peter Rampton
64619030-4-2ST3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)Wallaroo Phosphate Co,
Australian Portland Cement		6Bellarine Railway, Victoria, Australia
6791903Canal0-6-0T4 ft 8 1⁄2 inManchester Ship Canal31
Hamburg		Keighley and Worth Valley Railway
6801903Canal0-6-0T4 ft 8 1⁄2 inManchester Ship Canal32
Gothenburg		East Lancashire Railway
750190614" cylinder, 20" stroke, 3' 3 1/2" wheels0-4-0ST4 ft 8 1⁄2 inSkinner & Holford - Waleswood colliery and coking plant, SheffieldWaleswoodChasewater
89519090-6-0T4 ft 8 1⁄2 inFife Coal Company
102619130-6-0ST4 ft 8 1⁄2 inSir Robert McAlpine and SonsNo 31Fawley Hill Railway, Buckinghamshire
106719140-6-02 ftColonial Sugar RefineryHomebushSucrogen Victoria Mill, InghamDelivered to CSR Homebush Mill Mackay, loco number 6. Transferred to CSR Victoria Mill 1922, named Homebush. Preserved in working order 1978.
115219190-4-0ST5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm)Guinness3Railway Preservation Society of Ireland
122319160-6-0T4 ft 8 1⁄2 inVestaPenrhyn Castle Railway Museum
123819160-6-0WT2 ftAshanti Goldfields CorporationNo. 9Moseley Railway Trust
Delivered in 1916 to what is now Ghana for their forestry railway. Crashed into a swamp and killed the driver in 1948, recovered 1996, and returned to the UK in 2008 for restoration. The restoration progressed well and the loco was in steam again by mid 2014.
124319170-6-0T4 ft 8 1⁄2 inPort of London AuthorityRichboroAln Valley Railway[9]
130819180-6-0ST4 ft 8 1⁄2 inRhosRocks by Rail
130919170-4-0ST4 ft 8 1⁄2 inHenry de Lacy IIMiddleton Railway
133419180-6-0T4 ft 8 1⁄2 inOxfordshire Ironstone CompanySir ThomasBuckinghamshire Railway Centre
136619190-6-0ST4 ft 8 1⁄2 inRenishaw Iron WorksNo. 6Tanfield Railway
136919190-6-0T4 ft 8 1⁄2 inManchester Ship Canal67Middleton Railway
137519190-6-0WT600 mm (1 ft 11 5⁄8 in)War Department Light Railways3205Preserved as Pejao at the CP museum at Santarem, Portugalorder sub-contracted from Robert Hudson Ltd Worked on the Pejoa Colliery system in Portugal with five O&K locos: Fojo, Pedamoura, Choupelo, Pedorido, Sao Domingos
142319220-4-0WT2 ftCorrimal Colliery (originally built for National Portland Cement tramway, Tasmania)[10]'Hudson'Campbelltown Steam & Machinery, Menangle, NSW, Australia
143519220-4-0ST4 ft 8 1⁄2 inNellieBradford Industrial Museum
145019220-6-0ST4 ft 8 1⁄2 inGladiatorEmbsay & Bolton Abbey Steam RailwayRebuilt as Thomas the Tank Engine with side tanks
14641921Sweden0-6-0T4 ft 8 1⁄2 inManchester Ship Canal70Swindon and Cricklade Railway
153919240-6-0ST4 ft 8 1⁄2 inDerek CrouchNene Valley Railway
154219240-4-0ST3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whitworth & Co.B10Oamaru Steam and Rail Restoration Society, New Zealand
154419240-6-0ST4 ft 8 1⁄2 inSlough Estates Ltd.No. 3Middleton Railway
framless
[11]
155519260-6-02 ftGoondi Mill6Allambi Private Railway, Strath Creek, Victoria, Australia
155919250-4-2ST2 ftPleystowe Mill4Puffing Billy Railway, Melbourne, Australia
158219260-4-0ST3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)Rotorua Ngongotaha Railway, New Zealand[12]
163119300-6-0WT4 ft 8 1⁄2 in5
163219290-4-0ST4 ft 8 1⁄2 inPatriciaBygones Museum, Torquay
164319300-6-0WT2 ftBronllwydStatfold Barn Railway
167219370-4-0ST4 ft 8 1⁄2 inIrwellTanfield Railway
168219370-6-0ST4 ft 8 1⁄2 inBritish Sugar Corporation, Kelham, Newark, Nottinghamshire.54
Julia		Great Central Railwayunder restoration
170019380-6-0ST4 ft 8 1⁄2 inWissingtonNorth Norfolk Railwayrestored 7/2012
170419380-6-0T4 ft 8 1⁄2 inNunlowKeighley and Worth Valley Railway
170619390-6-02 ftVictoria MillCairnsIllawarra Light Railway Museum, Albion Park Rail, New South Wales, Australia
170919390-6-0ST4 ft 8 1⁄2 inSlough Estates Ltd.No. 5Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway
173119420-6-0T4 ft 8 1⁄2 in20
Jennifer		Wensleydale Railway
17371943Austerity 0-6-0ST0-6-0ST4 ft 8 1⁄2 inNederlandse Spoorwegen8811Stoomstichting Nederland,
Rotterdam, Netherlands		ex WD 5080
174219460-4-0ST4 ft 8 1⁄2 inMillom Iron Works, CumberlandMILLOMBuckinghamshire Railway Centre
17761944Austerity 0-6-0ST0-6-0ST4 ft 8 1⁄2 inNational Coal BoardHarryHorwich, Lancashireex WD 1499
17821945Austerity 0-6-0ST0-6-0ST4 ft 8 1⁄2 inWar Department118
Brussels		Keighley and Worth Valley Railwayex WD 1505
180019470-6-0T4 ft 8 1⁄2 inThomasNene Valley RailwayName given by creator Wilbert Awdry in 1971.
182119480-6-0T4 ft 8 1⁄2 in140
182219490-6-0T4 ft 8 1⁄2 inS100Chasewater Railway
182319490-6-0T4 ft 8 1⁄2 in38Tanfield Railway
183819500-6-02 ftVictoria MillSydneyPrivately owned, Mount Molloy, Queensland, Australia
186219520-6-0T2 ftMacknade Mill6Privately owned Mandalong Valley Tramway, Mandalong, New South Wales, Australia
186319250-6-02 ftMacknade Mill9Puffing Billy Railway, Melbourne, Australia
188219550-4-0ST4 ft 8 1⁄2 inMirvaleMiddleton Railway
188519550-6-0T4 ft 8 1⁄2 in1 AlstonMid-Suffolk Light Railway
0-6-04 ft 8 1⁄2 in21 Anne ElizabethEdaville Railroad, Carver, Massachusetts, USA

Diesel locomotives
A typical Hudswell Clarke Diesel Locomotive from the 1950s
Standard gauge (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm))
2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge
2 ft (610 mm) gauge

Steam-outline diesel locomotives
20-inch (510 mm) gauge
21-inch (530 mm) gauge

Military engineering
A Blue Danube bomb

During the Second World War the company was one of many engineering firms that diversified into armaments. After the War, Hudswell Clarke was closely involved in various secret programmes, including the British nuclear weapon programme. The airframe for the first British nuclear bomb, Blue Danube was manufactured by Hudswell Clarke at its Roundhay Road plant in Leeds. The Blue Danube was 24 ft long x 62 inches diameter. It was known to the RAF as "Bomb, Aircraft, HE 10,000 lb MC". Released from 45,000 ft at 500 knots (930 km/h) its maximum velocity was 2480 ft/s (Mach 2.2). It bears a likeness to the Tallboy and Grand Slam "earthquake" bombs designed by Barnes Wallis. Wallis was a consultant on the design of Blue Danube.

A Red Beard bomb on its bomb trolley awaiting loading into a Canberra bomber

The airframe for Red Beard, the second generation tactical nuclear bomb was also built by Hudswell, Clarke. This tactical atomic bomb had perforated baffles to reduce bomb bay buffetting when dropped from a Canberra bomber; they were not needed on other aircraft. Red Beard was known to the RAF as "Bomb, Aircraft, HE 2'000 lb MC", although its actual weight was 1650 lb. It was deployed on a wide variety of aircraft of the RAF and Royal Navy, being stockpiled in the UK, Cyprus, Singapore and afloat on carriers.

Hudswell, Clarke also worked on Violet Club, the Interim Megaton Weapon. All the bombs detonated at the Christmas Island H-bomb tests were contained in airframes designed and built by Hudswell Clarke. The company were also major contributors to other military projects, including the Centurion main battle tank conversion into an armoured bridgelayer, that served with the British Army for many years. The contraction of defence manufacturing in the mid-1960s contributed to the sale and demise of the company.

Preservation

Locations of preserved Hudswell Clarke locomotives include:

United Kingdom

New Zealand

Denmark

United States

See also

References
  1. Crabtree, Harold (1993). Mike Clarke (ed.). Railway on the Water. The Sobriety Project. p. 24. ISBN 0-9522592-0-6.
  2. Atkins (1999), p. 105.
  3. "Scarborough North Bay Railway - about us". Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
  4. "Parklife - Golden Acre Park". 18 January 2006. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
  5. "Colin Peake examines the larger gauges in the miniature railway sphere". 31 May 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
  6. Scott, Peter (2001). A History of the Butlin's Railways: The Story of Billy Butlin's Amusement Park and Holiday Camp Miniature Railways, Including Other Associated Railways and Transport Systems. Peter Scott. ISBN 1-902368-09-6.
  7. https://www.svrwiki.com/GWR_813_Saddle_Tank
  8. Quine, Dan (2016). Four East Midlands Ironstone Tramways Part Four: Scaldwell. 112. Garndolbenmaen: Narrow Gauge and Industrial Railway Modelling Review.
  9. "Welcome to the Aln Valley Railway". Alnvalleyrailway.co.uk. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  10. McCarthy, K (April 1978). "The Corrimal Colliery Railway". Light Railways (60): 23–26.
  11. Slough Estates Ltd, No.3
  12. Maciulaitis, David. "Preserved Industrial Steam Locomotives".
  14. Industrial Locomotives: including preserved and minor railway locomotives. 15EL. Melton Mowbray: Industrial Railway Society. 2009. ISBN 978-1-901556-53-7.
  18. Photo of Elland No.1 Archived 1 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  19. "The Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust - 21" Gauge restoration". Archived from the original on 12 September 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
  • Atkins, P. (1999). The Golden Age of Steam Locomotive Building. Atlantic. pp. 66–67. ISBN 978-0906899878.

Various public domain files declassified by:

now archived in the Public Record Office, London.

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