Steam Railway Mini Magazine

Railwaymen at
In a follow-up to our popular feature ‘Engineers at Rest’ in SR451,
TOM BRIGHT uncovers the final resting places of more of this
country’s most prominent railwaymen
Did you know that the death of
one chief mechanical engineer
indirectly led to the death of
another? As part of Steam
Railway’s ongoing study of
the final resting places of our most eminent
engineers, the tragic tale of Massey Bromley
and Charles Reboul Sacre came to light.
Bromley’s tenure as CME of the Great
Eastern Railway only lasted three years, and
none of his locomotive designs survived into
LNER ownership. He was killed, along with
23 others when, at Penistone in 1884, while
travelling on the 12.30pm Manchester-King’s
Cross service, the locomotive’s crank axle
snapped and the train derailed.
The engine, Manchester, Sheffield &
Lincolnshire Railway ‘D12’ 4‐4‐0 No. 443, was
designed by MS&LR CME Charles Reboul
Sacre. While no blame could be apportioned
to him or his design, Sacre reportedly felt such
overwhelming guilt that he committed suicide
by shooting himself five years later.
By commemorating CMEs, we overlooked
innumerable others who played their part in
developing the railways. One such man was
Col Holman Fred Stephens, best known for
his light railways. SR reader Ross Shimmon
explains Colonel Stephens’ importance: “He
exploited the terms of the Light Railways Act
of 1896, intended to help rural communities
by encouraging construction of railways
where conventional ‘heavy’ railways would
be unviable, and engineered or managed 16
lines in England and Wales. He also designed
several locomotives and experimented with
unconventional motive power.”
Col Stephens also extended the Welsh
Highland Railway to Porthmadog from Rhydddu
in 1923, the same year he became civil
engineer and locomotive superintendent for
both the WHR and Ffestiniog.
Staying with these North Wales lines,
another who adapted the steam locomotive
for all types of use included Robert Francis
Fairlie. His ‘Double Fairlies’ transformed the
Ffestiniog, and not only is 1879-built Merddin
Emrys still in service, but the railway is
planning to build another; a testament to the
quality of Fairlie’s innovative design.
Equally innovative are the Beyer-Garratts,
patented by Herbert W. Garratt in 1907. While
the type was never widely adopted in Britain,
former South African ‘NGG16s’ form the
backbone of WHR passenger services today.
Henry Greenly is most famous for his
locomotive designs for the Romney, Hythe &
Dymchurch Railway. Greenly’s one-third scale
15in gauge ‘Pacific’ and ‘Mountain’ engines
took inspiration from Gresley’s ‘A3s’ in 1927
and still run today at speeds of up to 25mph -
equivalent to 75mph in full-size terms. SR
1. LAWSON BILLINTON
(Locomotive Engineer)
London, Brighton & South Coast Railway (1912-22)
Born: 1882, Brighton, Sussex
Died: 1954, Lyme Regis, Dorset
Cremated: Weymouth Crematorium, Dorset
2. JOHN BLENKINSOP
(Pioneering Locomotive Engineer),
Middleton Railway (1808-31)
Born: 1783, Felling, County Durham
Died: 1831, Leeds
Buried: Holy Trinity Churchyard, Rothwell, Leeds
3. THOMAS BOUCH (Bridge Designer)
Born: 1822, Thursby, Cumberland
Died: 1880, Moffat, Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland
Buried: Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh
4. MASSEY BROMLEY
(Chief Mechanical Engineer)
Great Eastern Railway (1878-81)
Born: 1847, Leamington, Warwickshire
Died: 1884, Penistone, South Yorkshire
Buried: Leamington Cemetery, Warwickshire
5. THOMAS EDMONDSON
(Ticketing Innovator)
Born: 1792, Stonewell, Lancaster
Died: 1851, Meltonville, Manchester
Buried: Friends’ Burial Ground, Mount Street,
Manchester
6. ROBERT FRANCIS FAIRLIE
(Locomotive Engineer and Designer)
Born: 1830, Glasgow
Died: 1885, Clapham Common, London
Buried: West Norwood Cemetery, London
7. SIR SAM FAY (General Manager)
Midland & South Western Junction
Railway (1892‐99)
Great Central Railway (1902-22)
Born: 1856, Hamble-le-Rice, Hampshire
Died: 1953, Awbridge, Hampshire
Buried: All Saints Church, Awbridge, Hampshire
8. SIR JOHN FOWLER (Civil Engineer)
London Underground & Forth Bridge
Born: 1817, Wadsley, Sheffield
Died: 1898, Bournemouth, Dorset
Buried: Brompton Cemetery, London
9. HERBERT WILLIAM GARRATT
(Locomotive Engineer and Designer)
Born: 1864, London
Died: 1913, Richmond, Surrey
Buried: Municipal Cemetery, Richmond, Surrey
Named after its designer, ‘A2’ No. 60525 A.H. Peppercorn stands outside Doncaster in ex-works condition on September 26 1959.
The locomotive’s namesake is buried at St Wilfrid’s Church, Cantley, Doncaster. NORMAN PREEDY/RAIL PHOTOPRINTS
10. HENRY GREENLY
(Miniature Locomotive Designer)
Born: 1876, Birkenhead, Merseyside
Died: 1947, Heston, Hounslow, London
Buried: St Leonard’s Church, Heston, Hounslow
44 Issue 455 June 17-July 14 2016
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