Hudswell, Clarke and Company Limited
IndustryRailway Equipment
Founded1860 (age 166) in Leeds, United Kingdom
Defunct1972[1]
FateAbsorbed
SuccessorHunslet Engine Company

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

History

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 of 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.[2]

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.[3]

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.

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 () 5 hp engines to six-coupled () 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.[4] In 1931 Neptune was delivered to Scarborough North Bay Railway, followed a year later by Triton, both being 20 inches (510 mm) gauge. In the same year they supplied a Robin Hood to Golden Acre Park in Leeds followed by a 4-6-2 May Thompson in 1933.[5] They also supplied Mary Louise and 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 Princess Royal was ordered as a replacement. They went on to build two more class locomotives, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret Rose[6] 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.[7]

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
29718880-6-0Belambi Coal company NSW AustraliaSOUTH BULLI No2THNSW CHULLORA SYDNEYRecently acquired by THNSW and now stored undercover Chullora tank annex Sydney NSW
4021893Lord MayorKeighley and Worth Valley Railway
4311895431Chasewater Railway
4961898North Eton Mill1Privately owned near Numurkah, Victoria, Australia
4981899Østre Gasværk (Copenhagen, Denmark)

Nr. 1 *Skildpadden

(The Turtle)*

Nordsjællands Veterantog, Græsted, DenmarkPainted in red and black livery as delivered in 1899.
4991899Østre Gasværk (Copenhagen, Denmark)Nr. 2Danmarks Tekniske Museum, Helsingør, DenmarkOn 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
5261899HawardenMiddleton RailwayDonated from Penrhyn Castle in 2024 and now on display in the railway's 'Engine House' museum. Painted in a black livery with red lining.[8]
5551900Port Talbot Railway26Severn Valley RailwayLater Great Western Railway No 813, Backworth Colliery No 12 and NCB (Backworth Colliery) No 11. Restored as GWR 813.[9]
5731900HandymanStatfold Barn RailwayBuilt 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 it to Alan Keef in 2004, who in turn sold it to the National Railway Museum in July 2008; transferred to Statfold 2021. Some cosmetic restoration undertaken.[10] Currently in faded green but it is believed her original livery was grey with the name painted in red letters on the side tank.
6391902San JustoPrivately owned by Peter Rampton
6401902Santa AnaPrivately owned by Peter Rampton
6461903Wallaroo Phosphate Co,
Australian Portland Cement		6Bellarine Railway, Victoria, Australia
6791903CanalManchester Ship Canal31
Hamburg		Keighley & Worth Valley Railway
6801903CanalManchester Ship Canal32
Gothenburg		East Lancashire Railway
750190614" cylinder, 20" stroke, 3' 3 1/2" wheelsSkinner & Holford - Waleswood Colliery, SheffieldWaleswoodPeak RailMoved from the Chasewater Railway in early 2024 [11]
8951909Fife Coal Company
10261913Sir Robert McAlpine and SonsNo 31Fawley Hill Railway, Buckinghamshire
10671914Colonial 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.
11521919Guinness3Railway Preservation Society of Ireland
12231916VestaBury Transport MuseumMoved from the Penrhyn Castle Railway Museum in early 2024 [12]
12381916Ashanti Goldfields CorporationNo. 9Moseley Railway TrustDelivered 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.
12431917Port of London AuthorityRichboroAln Valley Railway[13]
13081918RhosRocks by Rail
13091917Henry de Lacy IIMiddleton Railway
13341918Oxfordshire Ironstone CompanySir ThomasBuckinghamshire Railway Centre
13661919Renishaw Iron WorksNo. 6Tanfield Railway
13691919Manchester Ship Canal67Middleton Railway
13751919War 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
14231922Corrimal Colliery (originally National Portland Cement Limited tramway, Tasmania)[14]'Hudson'Campbelltown Steam & Machinery Menangle, New South Wales
14351922NellieBradford Industrial Museum
14501922GladiatorEmbsay & Bolton Abbey Steam RailwayRebuilt as Thomas the Tank Engine with side tanks
14641921SwedenManchester Ship Canal70Swindon and Cricklade Railway
15391924Derek CrouchNene Valley Railway
15421924Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whitworth & Co.B10Oamaru Steam and Rail Restoration Society, New Zealand
15441924Slough Estates Ltd.No. 3Middleton Railway[15]
15551926Goondi Mill6Allambi Private Railway, Strath Creek, Victoria, Australia
15591925Pleystowe Mill4Puffing Billy Railway, Melbourne, Australia
15821926Rotorua Ngongotaha Railway, New Zealand[16]
163119305
16321929PatriciaBygones Museum, Torquay
16431930BronllwydStatfold Barn Railway
16441930Riga Sugar Mill, Bihar, India"Lilian"Rewari Steam Centre, India
16721937IrwellTanfield Railway
16821937Sir Lindsay Parkinson & Co Ltd, Chorley 1937–1946 British Sugar Corporation, Kelham, Newark, NottinghamshireSir Lindsay Parkinson & Co Ltd No 12 54
Julia		Private Site, DerbyshireUnder restoration
17001938WissingtonNorth Norfolk Railwayrestored 7/2012
17041938NunlowKeighley & Worth Valley Railway
17061939Victoria MillCairnsIllawarra Light Railway Museum, Albion Park Rail, New South Wales, Australia
17091939Slough Estates Ltd.No. 5Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway
1731194220
Jennifer		Aln Valley Railway
17371943Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0STNederlandse Spoorwegen8811Stoomstichting Nederland,
Rotterdam, Netherlands		ex WD 5080
17421946Millom Iron Works, CumberlandMILLOMBuckinghamshire Railway Centre
17761944Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0STNational Coal BoardHarryHorwich, Lancashireex WD 1499
17821945Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0STWar Department118
Brussels		Keighley and Worth Valley Railwayex WD 1505
18001947ThomasNene Valley RailwayName given by creator Wilbert Awdry in 1971.
18211948140
18221949S100Chasewater Railway
1823194938Tanfield Railway
18381950Victoria MillSydneyPrivately owned, Mount Molloy, Queensland, Australia
18621952Macknade Mill6Privately owned Mandalong Valley Tramway, Mandalong, New South Wales, Australia
18631925Macknade Mill9Puffing Billy Railway, Melbourne, Australia
18821955MirvaleMiddleton Railway
1884/551944Newmarket Colliery, WakefieldCathrynEcclesbourne Valley RailwayConverted by the National Coal Board (NCB) to a gas production system which entailed it being provided with an underfeed stoker. This also required the conversion of the chimney to a characteristic conical design that Cathryn now carries. The underfeed stoker has been removed and will not be refitted to the locomotive when the locomotive has been fully restored to working condition.
188519551 AlstonMid-Suffolk Light Railway
1664193521 Anne ElizabethEdaville Railroad, Carver, Massachusetts, USA

Diesel locomotives

Standard gauge ()
gauge
  • Eight 145HP, 20 ton locomotives, and twenty-four 225HP, 29 ton locomotives, for the Sierra Leone Government Railway, supplied between 1954 and 1961. (not necessarily preserved)
gauge

Steam-outline diesel locomotives

20-inch (510-millimetre) gauge
21-inch (530-millimetre) gauge

Military engineering

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 (casing) for the first British nuclear bomb, Blue Danube, was manufactured by Hudswell Clarke at its Roundhay Road plant in Leeds.[24] 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.

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 buffeting 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

Ireland

New Zealand

Denmark

United States

Model railways

In 2012, Ixion Models introduced an O gauge model of a Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST, similar to No. 1700 Wissington.[25]

See also

References

  1. ^ "A brief History of Hudswell, Clarke & Co". Leeds Engine
  2. ^ Crabtree, Harold (1993). Railway on the Water. Mike Clarke (ed.). The Sobriety Project. p. 24. ISBN 0-9522592-0-6.
  3. ^ Atkins (1999), p. 105.
  4. ^ "Scarborough North Bay Railway - about us". Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
  5. ^ "Parklife - Golden Acre Park". 18 January 2006. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
  6. ^ "Colin Peake examines the larger gauges in the miniature railway sphere". 31 May 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "Leeds-built Hawarden goes 'home' to Middleton Railway". Steam Railway. No. 555. 29 February 2024. p. 30.
  9. ^ "GWR 813 Saddle Tank - SVR Wiki"
  10. ^
  11. ^ "Nomadic Waleswood moves to new base at Peak Rail". Steam Railway. No. 555. 29 February 2024. p. 30.
  12. ^ "Penrhyn Vesta arrives at Bury Transport Museum". Steam Railway. No. 555. 29 February 2024. p. 31.
  13. ^ "Welcome to the Aln Valley Railway". Alnvalleyrailway.co.uk. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  14. ^ McCarthy, K (April 1978). "The Corrimal Colliery Railway". Light Railways. ' (60): 23–26.
  15. ^ Slough Estates Ltd, No.3
  16. ^ Maciulaitis, David. "Preserved Industrial Steam Locomotives"
  17. ^ "Preservedshunters.co.uk -> Shunter Details Page". preservedshunters.co.uk. Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  18. ^
  19. ^ "Preservedshunters.co.uk -> Shunter Details Page". preservedshunters.co.uk. Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  20. ^ "Preservedshunters.co.uk -> Shunter Details Page". preservedshunters.co.uk. Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  21. ^ "Ribble Steam Railway - Hudswell Clarke 1031/1956 'Margaret'". ribblesteam.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2015-03-10.
  22. ^ Photo of Elland No.1 Archived 1 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ "The Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust - 21" Gauge restoration". Archived from the original on 12 September 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
  24. ^ Cocroft, Wane. "Fort Halstead, Dunton Green Sevenoaks, Kent: A brief assessment of the role of Fort Halstead in Britain's early rocket programmes and the atomic bomb project". English Heritage. p. 15. Archived from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  25. ^ "Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST". British Railway Modelling. Vol. 20, no. 9. Bourne: Warners Group Publications. December 2012. p. 87. ISSN 0968-0764. OCLC 1135061879
  • 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.