Curly Lawrence
Encyclopedia
Curly Lawrence, known as LBSC, was one of Britain's most prolific and well known model or scale-steam-locomotive
designers. LBSC were the initials of Britain's London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
. LBSC, “Curly” to his friends, was born 27 September 1883 and christened William Morris Benjamin later changing his surname to Mathieson when his father changed the family name. After 1902 William changed his name to Lillian Lawrence - why he chose a girl's name is unclear. In 1908 he married Sarah Munt otherwise known as Mabel. Curly loved steam locomotive
s from the time he was a child and spent several years in the employ of the LBSC Railway, from which he later adopted his pen name.
. LBSC’s contention was that scale locomotives should be fitted with fire-tube boiler
s modeled very closely on full size locomotive practice i.e. be coal fired, with multiple fire-tubes and a number of superheater
elements, as compared with then commercial and hobbyist practice of building spirit fuelled, water-tube boiler
s.
LBSC’s live steam
locomotive type boilers proved to be outstanding steamers, quite capable of hauling real passengers. His 2½ inch gauge four coupled wheel locomotive, Ayesha (named after a character in the novel She: A History of Adventure by H. Rider Haggard
), could haul 200 lb, when the equivalent sized spirit fired water-tube locomotives of the day could only haul 30 lb. LBSC demonstrated this locomotive at the Society of Model & Experimental Engineers meeting in London in July 1922, as a result of which he was invited to contribute an article to Model Engineer magazine
describing its construction. A further challenge in 1924 - the "battle of the boilers" - between a Henry Greenly
designed Bassett-Lowke
spirit fired locomotive and one of LBSC’s finally vindicated his claims although it led to a life long animosity between him and Greenly.
s that ran on a gauge of 10¼ inch or greater which followed full scale practice in terms of boiler design and operation, as exemplified by the 15 inch gauge, Henry Greenly designed Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway
in Kent. The second encompassed locomotives that were of 2½ inch gauge or less which truly were models i.e. were meant only to look like full size locomotives and ran with spirit fired boilers, typified by those manufactured by Bassett-Lowke. These latter locomotives were usually run in realistic looking garden railway
layouts hauling groups of model carriages around the track. The gauges between 2½ and 10¼ inch essentially did not exist. The advent of LBSC’s designs that could haul their full size drivers, although a lot less realistic than a “model” railway, were much more fun. As the design of true locomotive type boilers in the smaller scales (0, 1¾ and 2½ inch gauges) improved, so the scale increased with many designs then being built to the larger 3½, 5 and 7¼ inch gauges. This is reflected in the spread of LBSC’s designs; in the 1920s he did 27 designs in the smaller scales versus only 1 of 3½ inch or larger, in the 1930s 50 designs in the smaller scales versus 7 in the larger, in the 1940s 17 versus 19, 1950s 10 versus 21 and finally in the 1960s 2 versus 5.
Live steam
Live steam is steam under pressure, obtained by heating water in a boiler. The steam is used to operate stationary or moving equipment.A live steam machine or device is one powered by steam, but the term is usually reserved for those that are replicas, scale models, toys, or otherwise used for...
designers. LBSC were the initials of Britain's London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its apex, practically the whole coastline of Sussex as its base, and a large part of Surrey...
. LBSC, “Curly” to his friends, was born 27 September 1883 and christened William Morris Benjamin later changing his surname to Mathieson when his father changed the family name. After 1902 William changed his name to Lillian Lawrence - why he chose a girl's name is unclear. In 1908 he married Sarah Munt otherwise known as Mabel. Curly loved steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
s from the time he was a child and spent several years in the employ of the LBSC Railway, from which he later adopted his pen name.
Battle of the boilers
The turning point in LBSC’s life was in 1922 when he sparked what became known as the "battle of the boilers". Within two and half years he was established as one of the top professionals in scale or model engineeringModel engineering
Model engineering is the hobby of constructing machines in miniature. The term was in use by 1888. There is some debate about the appropriateness of the term...
. LBSC’s contention was that scale locomotives should be fitted with fire-tube boiler
Fire-tube boiler
A fire-tube boiler is a type of boiler in which hot gases from a fire pass through one or more tubes running through a sealed container of water...
s modeled very closely on full size locomotive practice i.e. be coal fired, with multiple fire-tubes and a number of superheater
Superheater
A superheater is a device used to convert saturated steam or wet steam into dry steam used for power generation or processes. There are three types of superheaters namely: radiant, convection, and separately fired...
elements, as compared with then commercial and hobbyist practice of building spirit fuelled, water-tube boiler
Water-tube boiler
A water tube boiler is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which heats water in the steam-generating tubes...
s.
LBSC’s live steam
Live steam
Live steam is steam under pressure, obtained by heating water in a boiler. The steam is used to operate stationary or moving equipment.A live steam machine or device is one powered by steam, but the term is usually reserved for those that are replicas, scale models, toys, or otherwise used for...
locomotive type boilers proved to be outstanding steamers, quite capable of hauling real passengers. His 2½ inch gauge four coupled wheel locomotive, Ayesha (named after a character in the novel She: A History of Adventure by H. Rider Haggard
H. Rider Haggard
Sir Henry Rider Haggard, KBE was an English writer of adventure novels set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a founder of the Lost World literary genre. He was also involved in agricultural reform around the British Empire...
), could haul 200 lb, when the equivalent sized spirit fired water-tube locomotives of the day could only haul 30 lb. LBSC demonstrated this locomotive at the Society of Model & Experimental Engineers meeting in London in July 1922, as a result of which he was invited to contribute an article to Model Engineer magazine
Model Engineer magazine
Model Engineer Magazine was first published to support the hobby of model engineering in 1898 by Percival Marshall, who was to remain its editor for over 50 years. It has been published by My Hobby Store since 2008. The magazine addressed the emergence of a new hobby — the construction of models ...
describing its construction. A further challenge in 1924 - the "battle of the boilers" - between a Henry Greenly
Henry Greenly
Henry Greenly was amongst the foremost miniature railway engineers of the 20th century, remembered as a master of engineering design.-Miniature railways:...
designed Bassett-Lowke
Bassett-Lowke
Bassett-Lowke was a toy company in Northampton, England, founded by Wenman Joseph Bassett-Lowke in 1898 or 1899, that specialized in model railways, boats and ships, and construction sets...
spirit fired locomotive and one of LBSC’s finally vindicated his claims although it led to a life long animosity between him and Greenly.
Writing
LBSC then wrote construction articles for various British model engineering magazines from 1923 until 1967, very shortly before his death, including nearly 2,600 articles for Model Engineer Magazine from January 1922 (initially in the form of letters to the Editor and then from April 1923 as a full time contributor) to May 1959 and then again from January 1966 until October 1967. During this time, LBSC designed 166 different locomotives, ranging from 0 gauge up to 5 inch gauge, building over 50 himself. Many of these designs are still available today as sets of drawings, and some were later produced in book form,Track gauges
Before LBSC started publishing in the 1920s, model locomotive practice had been divided into two camps. The first encompassed steam locomotiveSteam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
s that ran on a gauge of 10¼ inch or greater which followed full scale practice in terms of boiler design and operation, as exemplified by the 15 inch gauge, Henry Greenly designed Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway
Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway
The Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway is a gauge light railway in Kent, England. The line runs from the Cinque Port of Hythe via Dymchurch, St...
in Kent. The second encompassed locomotives that were of 2½ inch gauge or less which truly were models i.e. were meant only to look like full size locomotives and ran with spirit fired boilers, typified by those manufactured by Bassett-Lowke. These latter locomotives were usually run in realistic looking garden railway
Garden railway
A garden railroad or garden railway is a model railway system set up outdoors in a garden. While G is the most popular scale for garden railroads, 16 mm scale has a dedicated and growing following especially in the UK. Model locomotives in this scale are often live steam scale models of British...
layouts hauling groups of model carriages around the track. The gauges between 2½ and 10¼ inch essentially did not exist. The advent of LBSC’s designs that could haul their full size drivers, although a lot less realistic than a “model” railway, were much more fun. As the design of true locomotive type boilers in the smaller scales (0, 1¾ and 2½ inch gauges) improved, so the scale increased with many designs then being built to the larger 3½, 5 and 7¼ inch gauges. This is reflected in the spread of LBSC’s designs; in the 1920s he did 27 designs in the smaller scales versus only 1 of 3½ inch or larger, in the 1930s 50 designs in the smaller scales versus 7 in the larger, in the 1940s 17 versus 19, 1950s 10 versus 21 and finally in the 1960s 2 versus 5.