Locomotives that attain their “jubilee” of active service are indeed very few and far between, and it redounds much to the honour of the late firm of Bury, Curtis and Kennedy, of the Clarence Foundry, Liverpool, that locomotives constructed by them in the year 1846 are still engaged in hauling trains on an English railway.

This firm of builders ceased to exist 46 years ago, but engines Nos. 3 (Fig. 47) and 4 of the Furness Railway are continuing monuments of the good material and sound workmanship of Bury, Curtis and Kennedy. The locomotives in question are mounted on four wheels (coupled) of 4ft. 9in. diameter, the cylinders are 14in. diameter, and stroke 24in., the valves being between the cylinders. The wheel base is 7ft. 6in. The boiler is 11ft. 2in. long, with a mean diameter of 3ft. 8in., and contains 136 tubes of 2in. diameter, the total heating surface being 940 sq. ft. Steam pressure, 110lb. The tenders are carried on four wheels of 3ft. diameter, the wheel base being 6ft. 9in. The tank holds 1,000 gallons of water, and the coal space is 100 cubic feet. The engines weigh 20 tons each, and the tenders 13 tons each.

The prominent “Bury” features—bar framing and round back fire-boxes with dome tops—are, of course, en évidence.

The chimneys appear abnormally high when viewed side by side with modern engines; whilst the pair of Salter safety valves with long horizontal arms, the one reaching from the centre to the back of the fire-box, and its fellow continuing to the front, are also noticeable objects. These engines are usually employed in shunting goods trains in the Barrow Docks and goods yards, and are locally called the “old copper nobs.”

Two further peculiarities of these Bury engines are worth recording—viz., the splashers, which are extended in a curious way over the rear of the wheels, and reach within a few inches of the rails, and the round “old copper nobs.”

The period under review was a time of considerable competition between the rival gauges, and this competition naturally led to the projection of various extraordinary designs in locomotive construction, such designs being the results of the efforts made by the narrow-gauge engineers to equal the splendid broad-gauge locomotives then recently introduced.

During the first weeks of 1848 E. Wilson and Co., of the Railway Foundry, Leeds, turned out a remarkable specimen of locomotive construction; the engine in question was named “Lablache” (after a celebrated singer). This locomotive had two inside cylinders 16in. diameter, 20in. stroke, and was supported on four wheels each 7ft. diameter; the wheel base was 16ft.

It is necessary to describe the mode of working introduced into the “Lablache.” Between the two pairs of wheels was a straight bar, or shaft, extending under the boiler, parallel with the axles, and projecting on each side beyond the frames. Between the frames two levers were attached to this shaft, and the other extremities of these levers were attached to the pistons by the usual piston-rod and connecting-rods. Now comes the difference in working; the driving axle, it will be observed, was not cranked, but provided with arms. The axle did not revolve, but simply vibrated backwards and forwards. Outside the frames were double-ended levers, one end being coupled to a crank on the leading wheel, and the opposite end connected in a similar manner to the trailing wheels. The wheels on both sides of the locomotive were connected in the same way that a rotary motion is communicated to a lathe by a treadle. When first constructed india-rubber springs were provided for this engine’s bearings.

Another engine of a similar design was built, but much lighter. It ran upon the York, Newcastle, and Berwick line for some years. We may say that no other engine on this system was ever built. With a train of three carriages, an average speed of 75 miles an hour is said to have been maintained between Rugby and Leicester. This was, however, due to the high pressure of the steam. Upon another occasion 80 miles an hour was attained; and the engine hauled a train of 53 loaded wagons, weighing 430 tons, at an average speed of 30 miles an hour. After some little time, the fire-box of the “Lablache” was destroyed, and she was then returned to the Railway Foundry, and altered into a four-coupled engine of the usual type, and sold to a railway contractor.

Another locomotive of peculiar design now deserves notice. At a first glance it might be supposed that the “Albion” was propelled on the same principle as the “Lablache” previously described. Such is not, however, the case, the machinery being of an entirely different character. We have been fortunate enough to secure the original working drawings of the “Albion” and the three other engines constructed on the same method, designated the “Cambrian” system. A patent for this method of working steam engines was obtained in 1841 by Mr. John Jones, of Bristol, and applied to stationary engines.

Broadly speaking, the modus operandi is as follows:—A central shaft is provided, extending under the boiler of the locomotive and projecting beyond the frames on both sides. Between the frames the shaft passes through a segmental cylinder, within which and fitted to the shaft was a species of disc piston, made to vibrate throughout the length of the hollow segment of the cylinder. It will, therefore, be observed that the motion was obtained from a vibrating disc engine, the blades of which were fixed on the driving shaft; the difference between Wilson’s locomotive and the ones we are now describing being that the former was actuated by two horizontal engines working a rocking shaft by connecting-rods, whilst the latter were driven by a disc engine, fixed directly upon the rocking-shaft. The arrangement for connecting the driving wheels with the shaft was very similar in both classes of engines.

The premier “Cambrian” locomotive was named “Albion” (Fig. 48), and was built in 1848 by Messrs. Thwaites Bros., of the Vulcan Foundry, Bradford. She was a six-wheel engine, the leading and middle pairs of wheels both receiving motion by means of the connecting-rods from the outside levers attached to the driving shaft. The top of the fire-box was considerably above the level of the top of the boiler barrel. Upon this raised fire-box was fitted a steam dome with a square seating, above the dome was an enclosed Salter pattern safety valve.

The principal dimensions of the “Albion” were:—Leading and driving wheels, 5ft. 6in. diameter, and trailing, 3ft. 9in. diameter; wheel base—leading to driving, 9ft. 6in.; driving to trailing, 5ft. 8in.; boiler, 12ft. long, containing 149 tubes; throw of cranks, 20in.

It should be observed that the “Albion” was fitted with the “link” motion.

The patentee claimed the following advantages for locomotives built on the “Cambrian” system—viz., perfect balance of working parts, thus entirely doing away with the centre pressure and strain; the complete avoidance of all dangerous oscillation; the ends of the oscillating levers, in passing through the greater part of a circle, gained increased power at the extremities of the stroke, and so compensated for the loss of power in the cranks as they approached the dead centres.

This is explained by observing that as the lever approaches the extremities of the stroke the actual length diminishes, and becomes from 18in. to 17¾in., 16in., 15½in., 14in., and 13¼in. at the centres, so that the power of the lever increases in proportion to its diminution in length.

The wear and tear of the machinery was less than in an ordinary locomotive, there being fewer working parts, whilst the centre of gravity was considerably lowered.

The above advantages summarised amounted to the advantages of the long-stroke crank without a long-stroke cylinder, and consequently the absence of a high-piston velocity.

The “Albion” made its initial trip in June, 1848, the length of line selected being from Bradford to Skipton, on the Leeds and Bradford Railway; the distance was about 18 miles. The speed attained and the low fuel consumption are stated to have more than satisfied the builders and others concerned. The “Albion” was afterwards tried on the Midland Railway between Derby and Birmingham, and the result of these trials showed that the coke consumption was 5lb. per mile less than with the ordinary locomotives, although the trains hauled were of greater weight than usual. We have been unable to obtain further details of the working of this interesting locomotive. The patentee appears to have sent details of the duties performed by the “Albion” to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1849; but these were not printed in the “Proceedings,” nor is the Secretary of the Institution now able to find any trace of the papers in question among the archives of the Institution. Messrs. Thwaites Bros., the builders, inform us that about 30 years ago the engine in question was working at Penistone, near Sheffield, and that she was afterwards taken over by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway.

Unfortunately, the locomotive department of that railway does not appear to have preserved any particulars relating to the “Cambrian” locomotive after it came into the possession of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway.

The other three engines with “Cambrian” machinery were tank locomotives. Two of these were propelled in a similar manner to the “Albion,” the segmental cylinder being below the frames, and located between the driving and leading wheels, both pairs of which were 5ft. 3in. diameter, the trailing wheels being 3ft. 9in. diameter. One of these two tank engines had a raised fire-box, similar to that of the “Albion”; but the other had a “Gothic” fire-box, with the wood lagging exposed to view. The other features of the former were a boiler 12ft. long, and a steam dome on the fire-box, fitted with two Salter safety valves, placed side by side. This engine had the “link” motion. Three water-tanks were provided, one beneath the foot-plate, the second below the frames between the leading and driving wheels, and the third extended from the front of the leading axle under the smoke-box, and terminated at the buffer beam. The wheel base was, L. to D. 9ft. 6in., D. to T. 5ft. 8in. The engine had inside frames and bearings.

The locomotive with the “Gothic” fire-box was fitted with a gab reversing gear, worked off the leading axle; the throw of the cranks was 19in. The boiler was 12ft. long and 3ft. 5in. diameter, and contained 121 tubes. Two water-tanks were provided—one beneath the foot-plate, the other below the frames between the leading and driving wheels. The wheel base of this engine was, L. to D. 11ft., D. to T. 5ft. 8in.

The third Cambrian tank engine of which we possess the drawings was a six-wheel locomotive, with single driving wheels 5ft. 6in. diameter, the leading and trailing wheels being 3ft. 9in. diameter. The wheel base was 15ft. 5in., equally divided.

This engine also had a “Gothic” fire-box, and was provided with a sledge brake, which acted on the rails between the driving and trailing wheels. The reversing gear was of the fork pattern. The water-tanks were fixed—one below the foot-plate, the other beneath the frames, between the driving and trailing wheels. The boiler was 11ft. 2in. long, and contained 126 tubes. The machinery in this engine was arranged in an entirely different manner, the segmental cylinder being below the smoke-box. The driving shaft passed through the cylinder, and projected beyond the frames on either side of the engine, and vibrated in an arc, as did that of the “Albion”; but instead of a lever being attached to each end of the cranks, the latter only extended in one direction, so that at one end the crank was fixed on the driving shaft, while to its other extremity was pivoted a connecting-rod, 4ft. long, the other end of which was pivoted on a vertical arm, the upper end of this arm being attached to the frame by a horizontal bolt, on which it hung. It is very difficult to explain the method of propulsion without a drawing, but it will be understood that the connecting-rod from the driving shaft to the hanging-rod only vibrated. Another crank, 6ft. long, was also attached to the bottom end of the vertical swinging-rod; the other end of this crank was connected with the driving wheel by means of the usual outside pin. It will, therefore, be seen that by means of the hanging-rod the vibrating motion was transformed into a rotary one. The feed pumps were worked off the vertical rod, the motion of which was similar to that of a pendulum, with the connecting-rods fastened to its bottom end. The drawings of these four remarkable locomotives are on a large scale, and are well executed; parts of them being coloured, they are also mostly in a good state of preservation.