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Beamish }luseum'sPuffing Billy replica is the latest development in the expandinginterest in early railways. The museum ts curator of transport PaulJarmandiscusses the earlvlocomotive lineage and suggests some further subjects for thereplica treatment.

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ffing Billyis the mosr recentreconstruction in a growing lineage oflocomotives dating back to Richard

Tievithickt Coalbrookdale locomotive of 1 803.It wili almost certainly not be the last either,

and it is the place ofrhis article to explore otherworthy candidates from the annals ofwhat wemight term 'early railway history', to about1850 when railway development andlocomotive science was both well establishedand increasingly sophisticated.

\X/hile much interesr is currently being shownin the 'nostalgic' replicas and reconsrrucrions,such as the ,A.1 Tornado, the Clan Hengist, F J,Counry Standard 3MT and Grange projects -which have primarily been conceived toresurrect Iost prototypes much loved andadmired by enthusiasts in the inrer-war andpost-\7orld\TarTwo periods (and there isabsolutely nothing wrong with this) - there is adeveloping movement towards'reconstructive'replicas where the objective is to understand,learn from and interpret to the public thegenesis, evolution and occasional demise ofsteam locomotives that reach far back beyondanyhuman memory.

Gatherings of early railway aficionados and

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This colour engraving, from the bookCostume ofYorlishirepublished in 1813, and entitl ed. Tbe Collierdepicts a miner in front ofa colliery scene that features one ofBlenkinsop's locomotives. Though the cogdrive is not readilyapparent, the similarityto the slightlylater Steam Elephant is so. BMMISH

Left: Atotal 568 years of historyline up on theBeamish waggonway! Pictured from left to rightat the County Durham are the replicas of PuffingBilb Q}OG),Steam Elephant (2001) andLoc omo tion No. I (197 5). BEAMISH

students often provoke lively discussion as towhat locomotive should be brought to lifeagain, wrenched from a tranquil existence in amythically honest and agrarian past into thehubbub and chaos ofthe microchip age.

Here I suggest perhaps a few of the gaps inBritish locomotive design in the'early' periodthat we might care to consider filling, but it isalso instructive to have a look at those keychapters of the locomotive storywhich wealready have, be it original or replica, so as toplace our'gap' suggestions into some sort ofcontext.

It should be remembered that thedevelopment of these steam locomotives was

largely to satisfy the desire of industry to makemoney, to reduce transport costs and so increase

profit margins. Other than George Stephenson'sbelief in the railway as a system and a means toopen up new opportunities, most sa\ / the steamlocomotive as little more than a tool for localisedeconomy and perhaps objects of some curiosiry'

In 1 803 Tlevithick's Coalbrookdalelocomotive is said to have set to work at theironworks there (site ofthe present IronbridgeGorge Museum). However, very little is knownofthis locomotive or understood ofitsopefation.

A conjectural replica of this locomotive has

been produced however and can be seen at BlistsHill, part ofthe Ironbridge museum.

At this point it is important to refer back tothe notion of'standard gauge', as ofcourse inthis period no such standard existed. However Ihave classified locomotives as such where thegauge and proportions that theywere originallybuili to are there or thereabouts our standard of4ft8'Ans.

Trevith ickt second rai lway crea t ion appears

in 1804 at Penydarren in\fales, this time muchbetter documented, and contemporary to histhird locomotive, built in Gateshead to test thewater for potential sales in the North East ofEngland where coal mining and thedevelopment of the waggonway was reaching a

state of some sophistication.\K/hether it was actually built byTievithick

himself seems unlikely (more likely is that theGateshead engine was built byTievithicktTyneside agent, JohnV/hinfieldwith inputfrom a former Penydarren foreman), but a

replica ofthe Penydarren locomotive has

nonetheless been made possible by the survivalof drawings of the presumed similar Gatesheadengine, this replica being a product oftheMuseum of\Zales and star of the Railfest 200celebrations in 2004.

Interestingly this replica has been constructedso that its operation might be converted fromrunning on plateway rails to edge rails, the rypeof track originally employed being anotherconfusing factor (in terms of the gauge) in theinrerprerat ion of early locomotives'

Sofarwe have one designer and two replicas.At this point I would suggest that we have ourfirst significant gap in our early locomotivenarrative, an example of the Blenkinsop/Murrayengine.

The first of these was tried in 1B 12, havingbeen constructed by Matthew Murray under theguidance of colliery engineer John Blenkinsop.- Incidentallyboth of these individuals hailedfrom the north east, further reinforcing thisregion's importance in the story of railways.Their locomotives (ofwhich there were two)used Blenkinsop's idea of a cog drive, thisengaging into a rack set alongside the'running

rail and so providing the propulsion, a

predecessoi ofthe established mountain rackrailway understood by most enthusiasts.

The locomotives had rwo cylinders set

vertically into the boiler and the overallaPPearance was not dissimilar to the SteamEl-phant, to which we shall return later' Therecreation in replica form ofone oftheselocomotives would be fascinating exercise giventhe form ofdrive. The system appeared to workwell enough and this rype oflocomotive set theprecedenifor some 13 years to come' TheMiddleton Railway, once home of the originalexamples, would seem an apt place to locatesuch a reconstruction.

Our next two steam locomotives are productsof the North East and see the first develoPmentofwhat might be termed 'practical' travelling

engines (ro usc rhe phraseology oFrhe r ime).ln I 8 I J (again a dareofnora little

uncertainry) \Yylam Dillybegan operation onthe \fylam waggonway serving \7y1am collieryin Northumberland. In 1814 Pffing Bill1followed. Despite numerous setbacks andmodifications, these two products of collieryengineer'$7illiam Hedley and a foremanblacksmith calledTimothy Hackworth were tosurvive at work into the I 860s, by which timethey were preserved for posterity in the RoyalScottish Museum in Edinburgh and the PatentOffice (later Science Museum) in London.

PffingBillywas considered to be ofsufficientsignificance to North East railway history th,at

Beamish commenced work on a repirica, PffingBilly S6eingcomplered in early 2006. There i' a -Frriher Prfhng Blly. Pufing Eilly 2. a replica

The replica Steam Elephant on test in November 2001. BEAMISH

w,heritagerailway. co.tk- June 2 00 7 4'1,

The replica ofl ocomotion No 1, the pioneer Stockton & Darlington locomotive, in action on the 1825PockerleyV'aggonway at Beamish Museum. A deliberate policy of allowing lineside vegetation and wildflowers to grow is implemented at Beamish, to some extent disgtrising the modern bullhead rail in use

and also attempting to better recreate what early mineral railway may have looked like. BEAMISH

constructed in the early-20th century for theDeutsches Museum in Germany, this examplestill being on displayin Munichtoday.

Inevitablywe would stumble across the nameofGeorge Stephenson, though perhaps muchearlier than manywould have appreciated. Hisfirst locomotive appeared in 1 8 14 and wasdesigned for use upon the Killingworthwaggonwayr though with iittle success.

Undeterred however he fought off the issuescrippling development at this time, such as theNapoleonic\fars (which reduced the prices ofhorses - an alternative motive power -considerably) and dwindling capital for designs

which often failed, returningwith a type oflocomotive that might be described as the first'class' ofengine rather than individualendeavour. Five ofthese were supplied to theKillingworth system, one to Llansamlet andthree to the Hetton Colliery system berween1 B 14 and 1 822. The design culminated in thefamous Stockton & Darling ton RailwayLocomotion No I of 1825 (and sister locomotiveHope, also of 1825).

The earlier locomotives had axles connectedby chains, coupling rods later being substituted.Some examples also employed a form ofsuspension that utilised the boiler pressure and a

cylinder adjacent to each wheel (supporting thatend ofthe axle) to create a'steam spring'. Insuch a form a replica would be fascinating and aworthy addition to Beamisht fleet.

However, one ofthis series does survive,r'arned Bil/1, and is part ofTyne & \VearMuseumt collection on display at MiddleEngine Lane, NorthTyneside. Afar moreinstructive exercise might be an archaeologicalsuwey of this engine, along the lines of thatfamously and widely reported exercise carriedout on Rocketby Professor Michael Bailey andJohn Glithero at the NRM inYork.

The next locomotive is another that existsonly in replica form is the engine that came tobe known as the Steam Elephant. It is thoughtthat the original was built for the'WallsendColliery, east ofNewcastle in 1 8 1 5 and wasdesigned by\Tilliam Chapman upon theinstruction ofJohn Buddle, the leading collieryengineer of the day (earning him the nickname'King of the coal trade').

Beamish completed a replica of this engine,based on nothing more than sketches,watercolours and a very good oil painting, in2001, with 'Nellie' being launched on 21 March2002. The outline of rhis Iocomotive is verysimilar to that of Blenkinsop and Murraytlocomotive, though the drive is through thedriving wheel treads directly onto the rail head.

The Royal George built byTimothy Hackworth in1827, the fust enginewith steam blast, taken froma compilation poster produced for the Stocktonand Darlington railwaycelebrations of 1875.BEAMISH

So far I have made oniyone suggestion forreplication, that of the Blenkinsop/Murray coglocomotive. I now make my second suggestion -Timothy Hactr<rvo rths Royal George. Hackworthhad been appointed to the position ofengineeron the Stockton & Darlington Railway, whichoperated with a mixture of rope, horse andlocomotive haulage. Stephensont earlier designs(Locomotion No 1 and Hope) had been of mixedsuccess and a design was required to convincebuilders ofpublic railways that locomotivehaulage on part or all of a railway line wasfeasible.

In 1 827 this engine appeared, an 0-6-0 toHackwortht own design, ponderous and slowbut aiso effective and reliable. Two verticalcylinders drove the rear axle, the weight on thefragile rails being spread by the six drivingwheels.

Variations ofthis design were produced as lateas the 1840s, examples being national firsts inCanada and Russia. Similar rypes appeared in1836 (Bradyll- preserved at Shildon) and 1 845(Deruent-pteserved at the Darlington RailwayCentre at North Road on the route ofthes&DR).

I therefore prop ose that Royal George is asignificant gap in the operating replica, or staticoriginal. story. This males ir a very atrractivecandidate for replication.

Perhaps the National Railway Museum at

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The replicaRainhillTiials runnet-ap Sans Pareilseeninsteamat the Locomotion museum at Shildon,its spiritual home. The original machine is displayed in the entrance building adjacent to the goods shedseen here.

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Above: This pa-inting, believed to be the oldestknown railwaypainting in the world, depicts'Steam Elephant' atwork on the'W'allsendW'aggonway. Itwas using this technicallycompetent yiew that made possible theconstruction of aworking replica at Beamish.BEAMISH

Right: The National Railway Museumt workingreplica ofStephensorls Rochet, seen here atShildon in 2004. PAUL JARMAN

Shildor-r would be suitable host for such a

goliath. It was considered by Beamish duringthe selection process that eve ntttally saw PffingBilly 3 produced, the tnore remote geographicalproximity to Beamish and lack of original tocopy being dec id ing lactors in its reiecr ion.That'.s not to say sornebody else couldnt build ithoweverl

\7e now reach a rich vein ofsurvivors andreplicas, with the 1 829-built Sa nspareil(Timothy Hackworth), Rocket (George, thoughmore likely Robert, Stephenso n), Agenoria(Rastrick of Stourbridge) and Inu icta (followinghot in their tracks in 1 830).

-fhe original Sanspareilis displayed at theNational Railway Museurn in Shildon,alongsidc.r u orking replica.

Fellow Rainhill trials contend er Rocket is alsowell understood and well replicated, the originalbeing displayed in the Science Museum inLondon with a working replica being based atthe National Railway Museum in York.

Robert Stephenson & Hawthorn alsoconstructed three replica working Rockets in1 929, one ofwhich survives atYork, and2rnother in the Henry Ford collection in theUSA.

All of these are l:xed on Roc/eeri as-builtappearance so there may be some value inrecreating a working replica ofit in its lattetindustrij, guise.

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Its history is well understood anddemonstrating it as it ran on the BramptonRailwayin Cumberland until 1862 wor.rld makean interesting cornparison to the NRM replicaatYork.

It would also recall the story of 'main line'locomotives being sold to dealers and intoindrrstrv that was once common and is so ably,".ou,ri.d in AlFred Ro.ling Bentrett , delighilulwork The Chronicles of Boulton's Siding, fttstpublished in 1927 and very much written firsthand by someone who had seen carlylocomotives cascaded into industrial use andstill being gainfully employed into the 1860sand 70s.

The replica /\Iaarl4i in Sweden (its originalbuilders being John Ericsson and JohnBraithwaite) should not bc overlooked at thispoint, the replica being an occasional visitor tothe UK.

Agenorirtis exutnt at Yo.rk and a replica wouldbe oflittle significance to the story oflocomotive development as we currentlyunderstand it. Likewise Inuicta, of theCirnterbury & \Thitstable Railway. However,detailed surveys ofboth ofthese remarkablesurvivors would be of considerable benefit toour knowledge ofthem and their significance toour narrative.

The year 1 829 is also notable for another verypoorll. known locomotive, a locomotive that ifreplicated would provide us with an almostunequalled spectacle of early railway motivepower. Perseueran cawas built in 1832 for theDowlais Iron Company in South \Wales,

Following in the footsteps oftevithicks 1804Penydarren engine, and being an 0-6-0 geared

plate*-ay er-rgine.

Constructed by Neath Abbey, ?arseuerance

Featured steeply inclined cylinders at thefootplate end, driving a crank axle locatedbetween the first and second wheeled axles, thisin turn being geared to drive both a Pinionwheel which engaged with a rack between therails, as well as the first rwo wheeled axles. Thethird axle was linked by coupling rods to thesecond rule, giving a mixture of geared andadhesion all-wheel drive. Another distinctiveleature of this techr-rically demanding designwas the provision of nvo chimneys, an unusualand highly distinctive feature which was theresult ofthe need to hinge them to run througha tunnel, a single hinged chimney still being outofgauge.

Running on plateway rails, ?erseueftlnce mLrsl

have made a startling sight, and not a littlecorrrmotion. Rebuilt in 1840 the locomotivewas scrapped or sold by 1 848.

There is a growing momentum for a replica ofthis fascinating engine to be built, though thelead-time lor any such project will invariably belengthy, likewise the accumulation of sufficientfunds to start work on an accurate replica.

\fle can only hope rhat it is achieved and thatone-day rve will be able to study the operation ofa large and complex plateway locomotive. It isalso significant as dating from an purelyindustrial railway, in an era where the main lineor public companywas becoming establishedelsewhere.

Returning to the'mainstream', anothermissirrg locomotive of note is l/a rthumbrian,built by Stephenson's lor the Liverpool &Manchester Railway and being a centre playerin the openir-rg day celebrations ir-r 1830.

This locomotive is a developm ent of Rocket,

with the cylinders being pitched at a nearhorizontai angle (rather than the highly inclinedfolm as iound o riginally on Rocket).Northumbrianwas very mucl-r leading the wayto production line locomotives, thc nextsignificant engine in this particular lineagebeingP/anet, a replica ofwhich can be four-rd in

An early wooden waggonway being reconstructed at Beamish during_ early 2006. A substantial

foundation withJarr-ih sleeper. (all hidden from view) was employed, so as to ensure the long-term

durability of this reconstruction. BEAMISH

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Above: The Beamish wooden waggonway completed. In due course it is hoped to operate this exhib-

it periodically, revealing to the p;Ltic and scholars alike some ofthe mysteries ofoperating a wood-en railway. BEAMISH

Below: The route of a former waggonway at Greenside, near Gateshead. Formed from deposits.of

waste coal and other mineral *aste, thi" embankment has been ablaze for many years, as is evident

from the rising smoke and pungent smell along the route. Note the fence posts - the bmes of these

having burnt r-*ry or.." recent ye"rs! Once a common sight across the 1egio1. most material

remains of these routes have now been reclaimed or removed. PAUL JARMAN

the Museum of Science and Industry inManchester.

After Planet came the yet more successful

Patentee. So was born an off-the-peg, reliable,robust and versatile locomotive of a style wemight call modern and inspiring several

manufacturers into producing similar designs.

So the railways of the world were opened up,opening up the world as theywent. And so wereach the end of this brieflook at what we mightdescribe as the early period.

Note that I have ignored developments andcoverage abroad, solely dealing with thesituation in the United Kingdom during the1 803 to I 848 period.

'What is surprising is that there are relativelyfew gaps worchy ofthe efforr to require filling.Perhaps this is a little disappoi nting or perhapsit shows howwell this era is actually served.

Consider other locomotives on the periphery ofthis period - the Great\Testerds North Star(1837), the Liverpool & Manchester's Lion(1838), the LNWRT Columbine (1845) andCorntpall(1847) and the Furness Railwayt'Coppernob' (1846). From the period 1 803 to1848-we can count some 15 survivors and eightreplicas, with a further two being desirable andtwo possible.

That makes for interesting contemplation -consider that from 1 848 to 1 870 there are

onlyl 3 standard gauge survivors and two(complete) replicas in existence. This reallymakei this mid-era the railway equivalent of thepost-Roman occupation of Britain DarkAges.Maybe this should andwill be the nextklondyke For railway study and research?

Beamish has established a comprehensivelibrary of early railway literature, underpinningthe research to bring about the three operatingreplicas at the museum. It has also proven thatth-ese early designs can be made safe enough andfunctional enough to survive daily operationthroughout the museumt high season(generally March to October).- \While we accepr rhe need for continuous

Durins its fust steaming at Beamish, Patrick Keef is seen attendin gto Puffing Billf s fire outside dre

*"ggoi*"y lo.o-oti""""h.d at Beamish. After this photogrtqh yq oq"t."tr:* :o" -ld".t.";J;;;;;i;i;"o-oti.,"t.pp"arance, darkeni"gd; tti$tpitch pine boilerlaggingand oakframes

and generally softening the very new appeiuance. BEAMISH

locomotives for Beamisht 1820s waggonway(we are now focussing on the 1870s industriallocomotive collection), but we may considerbuilding further.rolling stock and enhancing thewaggoilvay envrrons.

There is also the prospect ofhosting agarhering of replica locomotives, to create anunrivalled spectacle of early railway history.

\7e would be very interested to know ifthereis a demand within enthusiast circles for such anevent... n

brakes (we use a rwin line air system, which is

both highly effective and also discreet)'moderriboiler specifications (essential!) andoperating practices, visitors who watch andride behind the locomotives (Locomotion No l,Steam Elephan t and Pffing Bi$t) are

enchanted by their appirent crudeness, stately(though pedestrian) progress and almost totallack oinoise (thotgh Pffing Bilfi has a distinctive'chuff').

There is currently no plan to build further

w.heritagenilway. co.tk- June 2 007 45