Nasmyth, Gaskell and Company

Nasmyth, Gaskell and Company
General partnership
Industry Engineering
Heavy industry
Predecessor The Bridgewater Foundry
Successor James Nasmyth and Co.
Patricroft Ironworks
Nasmyth, Wilson and Co.
Founded 1836
Founder James Nasmyth
Holbrook Gaskell
Defunct Dissolved 1940
Headquarters Patricroft, Salford, United Kingdom
Products Heavy machine tools
Locomotives

Nasmyth, Gaskell and Company, originally called The Bridgewater Foundry, specialised in the production of heavy machine tools and locomotives. It was located in Patricroft, in Salford England, close to the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the Bridgewater Canal and the Manchester Ship Canal. The company was founded in 1836 and dissolved in 1940.

Nasmyth

The company was founded in 1836 by James Nasmyth and Holbrook Gaskell.[1] Nasmyth had previously been employed in Henry Maudslay's workshop in Lambeth and his interest was mainly, but not limited to, specialist machine tools.

Modern materials handling

The Bridgewater Foundry is an example of modern materials handling that was part of the evolution of the assembly line.

The buildings were arranged in a line with a railway for carrying the work going through the buildings. Cranes were used for lifting the heavy work, which sometimes weighed in the tens of tons. The work passed sequentially through to the erection of the framework and final assembly.[2]

Machine tools

In the period up to 1856, the foundry concentrated on building a large number of machine tools. Before Nasmyth, machine tools were custom built on demand. Nasmyth published a catalogue of standard designs which he then marketed. His design for the steam hammer was produced first in France by Le Creusot, another firm. On seeing it, Nasmyth then ensured that it was correctly patented. He produced a complete range of steam hammers, planers and shapers. He designed and produced pile drivers and a hydraulic press.

Locomotives

The company produced nine locomotives in 1839, thirteen in 1840, eight in 1841 and sixteen in 1842.[3] These were sub-contracted from other makers such as Edward Bury, and produced to their designs.[4] Those for the Midland Counties and London and Southampton Railways were 2-2-0 with 5-foot-6-inch (1.676 m) driving wheels and 12-by-18-inch (305 mm × 457 mm) cylinders, similar to those railway's Bury machines. (One Midland Counties locomotive was 2-2-2, and had smaller drivers, with 5 ft 0 in (1.524 m) and 14-by-18-inch (356 mm × 457 mm) cylinders.) In 1841 the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway had found some American Norris 4-2-0 locomotives very successful, especially on the notorious Lickey Incline, and the company built six similar ones for the line.

Expansion

In 1850 the name of the firm was changed to James Nasmyth and Company, then in 1857 to Patricroft Ironworks. In 1867 Robert Wilson and Henry Garnett became the principal partners and the company's name changed again to Nasmyth, Wilson and Company.

From about 1873 the demand for locomotives from overseas increased. By 1938 over 1,650 locomotives had been produced, over one thousand of which were exported.[5]

In 1883, Nasmyth Wilson and Co. produced the very first design of Prairie or 2-6-2 locomotives in the world, for the New Zealand Railways Department. These locomotives entered traffic between 1885 and 1890 after a somewhat rough start. several were dumped in rivers as flood protection in the 1920s, and have since been exhumed for preservation.

Decline and closure

A Nasmyth steam hammer at the site of the former foundry

During World War I the factory was mainly engaged in munitions work, but it built twenty 2-8-0 locomotives for the French Chemin de fer de l'État (140-251 to 140-270) and 32 for India, along with a hundred small petrol driven locomotives.[6]

Sales continued after the end of the war but by the early 1930s orders had begun to dwindle.[7] In 1934 the works supplied four standard gauge N class 0-6-0T shunters to Palestine Railways.[8] These were evidently satisfactory as Palestine Railways bought four more in 1935, two in 1936 and a final pair in 1938.[9]

The last locomotive order was for two 2-6-4T metre gauge tank locomotives, Works No. 1649 and 1650, dispatched in 1938 to the South Indian Railways. Only two other locomotives were produced in 1938; these were the last pair of N class 0-6-0Ts for Palestine Railways, Works No. 1651 and 1652.[10] [8]

As part of a planned reorganisation of the industry, the company ceased manufacture of locomotives and handed over all its drawings and patterns to the British Locomotive Manufacturers Association.[11] The company continued to make steam hammers and machine tools.

On 1 June 1940 the Ministry of Supply took over the factory and it became an engineering Royal Ordnance Factory, ROF Patricroft.[12] The company, however, was formally wound up on 7 November 1940, having reported a loss of £2,663 for 1939.[13]

In 1987 the Royal Ordnance Factories were bought by British Aerospace; and in 1989 the Patricroft engineering works was closed down. The site, including some of the original buildings, is now used as a business and technology centre.

By 2009 a large section (the central building) had been demolished.

Locomotive production list

Serial
numbers 		Year Quantity Customer Class Wheel
arrangement 		Road
numbers 		Notes
25–32 1841 8 Great Western Railway Firefly 2-2-2 various names [14] 7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm) gauge.
35–42 1842 8 Great Western Railway Firefly 2-2-2 various names [14] 7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm) gauge.
43–46 1842 4 Great Western Railway Hurcules 0-6-0 various names [15] 7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm) gauge.
120–124 1872 5 Great Eastern Railway 477 0-6-0 507–511 [16] Renumbered 0507–0511 in 1899.
216–223 1882 8 Bengal Central Railway H 4-4-0 1–8 [17] 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) gauge. Two to Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway, six to Eastern Bengal Railway
252–261 1885 10 New Zealand Government Railways V 2-6-2 various
272–281 1885 10 New Zealand Government Railways P 2-8-0 various
282–284 1885 3 Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company V 2-6-2 6–8 later New Zealand Government Railways 450–452
354–365 1889 15 Queensland Railways B15 4-6-0 206–219
425–430 1892 6 London, Tilbury and Southend Railway 1 4-4-2T 31–36 [18] to Midland Railway 2140–2146 in 1912
460–462 1895 3 Cambrian Railways 0-4-4T 3, 5, 7 to Great Western Railway 10, 11, 15 in 1922
552–557 1899 6 Furness Railway 7 0-6-0 7–12 [19] to LMS 12468–12473 in 1923
558–560 1899 3 Cambrian Railways 0-4-4T 8, 9, 23 to Great Western Railway 19–21 in 1922
561–562 1899 2 Neath and Brecon Railway 0-6-0ST 7–8 to Great Western Railway 2174–2175 in 1922
584–586 1900 3 Brecon and Merthyr Railway 0-6-0T 27–29 later Great Western Railway 2171–2173
588–593 1900 6 North Staffordshire Railway 159 0-6-0 159–164 [20] to LMS 2351–2356 in 1923
689–693 1904 5 Furness Railway 98 0-6-2T 98–102 [21] to LMS 11625–11629 in 1923
697–700 1904 4 Donegal Railway 4 4-6-4T 12–15 [22] 3 ft (914 mm) gauge. To County Donegal Railways Joint Committee in 1906; renumbered 9–12 in 1937
701–706 1904 6 East Indian Railway 0-4-0ST 1/980 to 6/980 [23] 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) gauge. Construction locomotives.
748–750 1905 3 East Indian Railway 0-4-0ST 7/85 to 9/885 [23] 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) gauge. Construction locomotives.
794–798 1907 5 East Indian Railway M Railmotor 1350–1354 [24] 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) gauge. Rebuilt as works shunters between 1927 and 1929
800–809 1907 10 Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway 8B 2-6-2T 289–298 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) gauge. Renumbered 3401–3410 in 1912; to Ferrocarril General Roca in 1948
828–833 1907 5 County Donegal Railways Joint Committee 5 2-6-4T 16–20 [22] 3 ft (914 mm) gauge. Renumbered 4–8 in 1937; three preserved
834–836 1908 4 Federated Malay States Railways H2 4-6-2 131–134 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) gauge.
839–842 1908 4 Federated Malay States Railways H2 4-6-2 79–82 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) gauge.
864–869 1908 6 Assam Bengal Railway K/2
(BESA G) 		4-8-0 130–135 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) gauge.
870–875 1908 6 Assam Bengal Railway C/1
(BESA T) 		2-6-2T 70–75 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) gauge.
911 1910 1 Buenos Aires Midland Railway F 4-6-0 38 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) gauge.
929–933 1911 5 Great Northern Railway (Ireland) NQG 0-6-0 9, 109, 112, 38–39 [22] 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) gauge.
945–947 1911 3 Eastern Bengal Railway SP 4-4-0 265–267 [25] 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) gauge. Renumbered 406–408.
950 1911 1 Great Northern Railway (Ireland) NLQG 0-6-0 165 [22] 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) gauge.
951–955 1911–12 5 East Indian Railway G 2-8-0 990–994 [24] 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) gauge.
956–958 1912 3 County Donegal Railways Joint Committee 5A 2-6-4T 2A, 3A, 21 [22] 3 ft (914 mm) gauge. Renumbered 2, 3, 1 in 1937; one preserved
995–1000 1913 6 Bombay Port Trust A 2-6-0T 1–6 [26] 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) gauge
1009–1013 1913 5 Kenya-Uganda Railway EE 2-6-4T 391–395 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) gauge. To East African Railways and Harbours Corporation 1001–1005; EAR&H class 10
1024–1023 1913 10 Bengal Nagpur Railway B5 2-8-2 0066–0075
not in order 		[27] 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge.
1026–1031 1914 6 East Indian Railway BT 2-6-4T 159–164 [28] 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) gauge. Five renumbered 26821–26825 in all-India scheme.
1032–1033 1914 2 Bombay Port Trust A 2-6-0T 7–8 [26] 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) gauge
1041–1043 1913 3 Kenya-Uganda Railway EE 2-6-4T 396–398 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) gauge. To East African Railways and Harbours Corporation 1006–1008; EAR&H class 10
1054–1059 1914 6 East Indian Railway ST 0-6-0T 677–682 [28] 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) gauge. Renumbered 34364–36369 in all-India scheme.
1060–1065 1915 6 South African Railways J 2-6-4T 341–346 [29] 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge.
1087–1094 1915 8 Bengal Nagpur Railway BS1 2-8-2 0076–0083 [27] 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge.
1106–1111 1915 6 Bombay Port Trust A 2-6-0T 9–14 [26] 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) gauge
1115–1119 1921 5 Great Northern Railway (Ireland) T2 4-4-2T 1–5 [22] 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) gauge. Subcontracted to Beyer, Peacock & Co.
1120–1139 1916–17 20 Chemins de fer de l'État 140-101 2-8-0 140-251 to 140-270 [30]
1244–1267 1917–1918 24 Railway Operating Division ROD 2-8-0 2-8-0 1701–1724 [31]
1269–1280 1919 12 Taff Vale Railway A 0-6-2T various to Great Western Railway in 1922
1281–1288 1919 8 Railway Operating Division ROD 2-8-0 2-8-0 1725–1732 [31]
1322–1332 1921 11 Assam Bengal Railway H/7
(BESA M) 		4-6-0 143–153 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) gauge.
1352 1921 1 Assam Bengal Railway H/7
(BESA M) 		4-6-0 154 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) gauge.
1357–1358 1922 2 Bombay Port Trust H 2-10-2T 25–26 [26] 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) gauge hump shunters
1359–1368 1921 10 Bombay Port Trust A 2-6-0T 15–24 [26] 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) gauge.
1371–1375 1922 5 Bengal Nagpur Railway BS3 2-8-2 0096–00100 [27] 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge. Renumbered 632–636 in 1957 all-India scheme
1423–1427 1924 5 Great Northern Railway (Ireland) T2 4-4-2T 21, 30, 115, 116, 139 [22] 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) gauge.
1428–1432 1924–25 5 Great Northern Railway (Ireland) SG2 0-6-0 15–19 [22] 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) gauge.
1435–1439 1924 5 Great Northern Railway (Ireland) T2 4-4-2T 142–144, 147, 148 [22] 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) gauge.
1448–1452 1925 5 London, Midland and Scottish Railway 3P 4-4-2T 2120–2124 [32] Continuation of London, Tilbury and Southend Railway 79 class
1453–1462 1925 10 London, Midland and Scottish Railway 2P 0-4-4T 15260–15269 [33] Continuation of Caledonian Railway 431 Class
1471–1476 1926 6 Nigerian Railways 4-6-2 405–410 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge.
1482–1486 1926 5 Barsi Light Railway F 2-8-2 19–23 [34] 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge. Renumbered 712–716 in 1957 all-India scheme
1487–1488 1926 2 Great Indian Peninsula Railway B/1 2-8-2 13–14 [35] 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge. Renumbered 770–771 in 1957 all-India scheme
1489–1491 19263 Ceylon Government Railway B8 4-6-0 229–231 [36] 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) gauge.
1497–1504 1927 8 South Indian Railway K 0-6-0 K58–K65 [37] 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) gauge. Renumbered 37059–37066 in all-India scheme
1525–1526 1927 2 Barsi Light Railway F 2-8-2 29–30 [34] 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge. Renumbered 717–718 in 1957 all-India scheme
1531–1532 1928 2 North Western Railway (India) ZE 2-8-2 190–191 [38] 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge. Renumbered 221–222; renumbered 93–94 in all-India scheme
1533–1536 1928 4 Nigerian Railways 4-6-2 411–414 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge.
1539–1543 1928 5 Barsi Light Railway G 4-6-4 31–35 [34] 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge. Renumbered 728–732 in 1957 all-India scheme
1550–1554 1928 5 Eastern Bengal Railway YB 4-6-2 409–413 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) gauge. To Assam Bengal Railway 251–255 in 1936
1563–1566 1929 4 Bengal Nagpur Railway RD 2-6-2 07–010 [27] 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge, for Raipur–Dhamtari line; renumbered 687–690 in 1957 all-India scheme
1574–1576 1929 3 Barsi Light Railway F 2-8-2 36–38 [34] 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge. Renumbered 719–721 in 1957 all-India scheme
1586–1587 1930 2 Barsi Light Railway G 4-6-4 4–5 [34] 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge. Renumbered 725–726 in 1957 all-India scheme
1934 4 Palestine Railway N 0-6-0T
1935 4 Palestine Railway N 0-6-0T
1649–1650 1938 2 South Indian Railway ST 2-6-4T ST1–ST2 [39] 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) gauge. Renumbered 37366–37367 in all-India scheme
1651–1652 1938 2 Palestine Railway N 0-6-0T

References

  1. ↑ Cantrell (2005) pp=7–8
  2. ↑ Musson & Robinson 1969, pp. 491–495.
  3. ↑ Cantrell (2005) Appendix: Locomotives produced at the Bridgewater Foundry 1838–1938
  4. ↑ Bradley (1965) p.26.
  5. ↑ Cantrell (2005) Appendix: Locomotives produced at the Bridgewater Foundry 1838–1938
  6. ↑ Cantrell (2005) pp.95
  7. ↑ Cantrell (2005) pp.105
  8. 1 2 Cotterell 1984, p. 55.
  9. ↑ Cantrell (2005) pp.105
  10. ↑ Cantrell (2005) Appendix: Locomotives produced at the Bridgewater Foundry 1838–1938
  11. ↑ Cantrell (2005) pp.107
  12. ↑ Cantrell 2005, p. 107.
  13. ↑ Cantrell (2005) pp.107
  14. 1 2 Reed 1952, p. B14.
  15. ↑ Reed 1952, p. B17.
  16. ↑ Baxter 2012, p. 42.
  17. ↑ Hughes 1990, p. 32.
  18. ↑ Baxter 1982, p. 40.
  19. ↑ Baxter 1984, p. 222.
  20. ↑ Baxter 1984, p. 247.
  21. ↑ Baxter 1984, p. 221.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rowledge 1993, p. 17.
  23. 1 2 Hughes 1990, p. 48.
  24. 1 2 Hughes 1990, p. 45.
  25. ↑ Hughes 1990, p. 34.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 Hughes 1990, p. 100.
  27. 1 2 3 4 Hughes 1994, p. 19.
  28. 1 2 Hughes 1990, p. 42.
  29. ↑ Holland 1972, p. 32.
  30. ↑ Davies 2001, p. 88.
  31. 1 2 Boddy et al. 1983, p. 47.
  32. ↑ Rowledge 1975, p. 4.
  33. ↑ Rowledge 1975, p. 33.
  34. 1 2 3 4 5 Hughes 1994, p. 15.
  35. ↑ Hughes 1994, p. 45.
  36. ↑ Hughes 1990, p. 94.
  37. ↑ Hughes 1990, p. 91.
  38. ↑ Hughes 1994, p. 69.
  39. ↑ Hughes 1992, p. 98.
  • Baxter, Bertram (1982). Baxter, David, ed. British Locomotive Catalogue 1825–1923, Volume 3A: Midland Railway and its constituent companies. Ashbourne, Derbyshire: Moorland Publishing Company. 
  • Baxter, Bertram (1984). Baxter, David, ed. British Locomotive Catalogue 1825–1923, Volume 4: Scottish and remaining English Companies in the LMS Group. Ashbourne, Derbyshire: Moorland Publishing Company. 
  • Baxter, Bertram (2012). Baxter, David; Mitchell, Peter, eds. British Locomotive Catalogue 1825–1923, Volume 6: Great Eastern Railway, North British Railway, Great North of Scotland Railway, Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway, remaining companies in the LNER group. Southampton: Kestrel Railway Books. ISBN 978-1-905505-26-5. 
  • Boddy, M. G.; Brown, W. A.; Neve, E.; Yeadon, W. B. (November 1983). Fry, E. V., ed. Locomotives of the L.N.E.R., Part 6B: Tender Engines—Classes O1 to P2. Kenilworth: RCTS. ISBN 0-901115-54-1. 
  • Cantrell, John. Nasmyth, Wilson & Co.: Patricroft Locomotive Builders. Stroud: Tempus Publishing Limited. ISBN 0-7524-3465-9. 
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  • Cotterell, Paul (1984). The Railways of Palestine and Israel. Abingdon: Tourret Publishing. ISBN 0-905878-04-3.  External link in |publisher= (help)
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  • Hughes, Hugh (1992). Indian Locomotives: Part 2 – Metre Gauge 1872–1940. Harrow, Middlesex: The Continental Railway Circle. ISBN 0-9503469-9-3. 
  • Hughes, Hugh (1994). Indian Locomotives: Part 3 – Narrow Gauge 1863–1940. Harrow, Middlesex: The Continental Railway Circle. ISBN 0-9521655-0-3. 
  • Holland, D. F. (1972). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways. 2: 1910-1955 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, Devon: David & Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-5427-8. 
  • Lowe, J. W. (1989). British Steam Locomotive Builders. Guild Publishing. 
  • Musson, Albert Edward; Robinson, Eric (1969). Science and technology in the Industrial Revolution. Manchester University Press. p. 491. ISBN 978-0-7190-0370-7. 
  • Reed, P. J. T. (February 1953). White, D. E., ed. The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway, Part 2: Broad Gauge. Kenilworth: RCTS. ISBN 0-901115-32-0. 
  • Rowledge, J.W.P. (1975). Engines of the LMS built 1923–51. Oxford: Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 0-902888-59-5. 
  • Rowledge, J. W. P. (1993). Irish Steam Locomotive Register. Stockport, Merseyside: Irish Traction Group. ISBN 0-947773-33-9. 
  • Smiles, Samuel (1912). James Nasmyth Engineer: An Autobiography. John Murray. Retrieved 2009-11-14. 
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