George Brittain was Locomotive Superintendent of the Caledonian Railway

Caledonian Railway

The Caledonian Railway was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in the early 19th century and it was absorbed almost a century later into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, in the 1923 railway grouping, by means of the Railways Act 1921...

 from 1876 to 1882, between Benjamin Connor

Benjamin Connor

Benjamin Connor was Locomotive Superintendent of the Caledonian Railway from 1856 to 1876.-Sources:* Ian Allan ABC of British Railways Locomotives, January 1961, page 58...

 and Dugald Drummond

Dugald Drummond

Dugald Drummond was a Scottish steam locomotive engineer. He had a career with the North British Railway, LB&SCR, Caledonian Railway and London and South Western Railway...

.

Previously he had been locomotive superintendent of the Dundee, Perth and Aberdeen Junction Railway (1859–63) and assistant to Alexander Allan

Alexander Allan (locomotive engineer)

Alexander Allan was a Scottish mechanical engineer. He was born at Montrose, Angus, in 1809 and died on 2 June 1891.From 1843 to 1853 he was Works Manager at the Crewe Works of the Grand Junction Railway, later London and North Western Railway, under Francis Trevithick. Here he was responsible for...

 on the Scottish Central Railway

Scottish Central Railway

The Scottish Central Railway was formed in 1845 to link the Caledonian Railway near Castlecary to the Scottish Midland Junction Railway at Perth...

 (1863–65). Outdoor superintendent, Caledonian Railway (1865–76) and assistant/deputy to the incumbent and ailing Conner.

In common with many of his professional contemporaries he described himself as a civil engineer

Civil engineer

A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...

 in 1861 and 1871 but as a mechanical engineer (locomotive superintendent) in 1881.

Locomotive designs

On his own account, he was responsible for the management of the design of:

• 10 x 2-4-0
  2-4-0
  Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-4-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels....
  
   [1878]
• 30 x 0-4-2
  0-4-2
  Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-2 represents the wheel arrangement with no leading wheels, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle...
  
   [1878-1882]
• 10 x 4-4-0
  4-4-0
  Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-4-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels...
  
   [1882]
• 12 x 2-4-0
  2-4-0
  Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-4-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels....
  
  T [1879] (Tank locomotive
  Tank locomotive
  A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of pulling it behind it in a tender. It will most likely also have some kind of bunker to hold the fuel. There are several different types of tank locomotive dependent upon...
  
  )
• 1 x 2-2-2
  2-2-2
  Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-2-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle two powered driving wheels on one axle, and two trailing wheels on one axle. The wheel arrangement both provided more stability and enabled a larger firebox...
  
  WT [1881]
• 15 x 2-4-2
  2-4-2
  Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-4-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle...
  
  T [1880]
• 1 x 0-4-0
  0-4-0
  Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-0 represents one of the simplest possible types, that with two axles and four coupled wheels, all of which are driven...
  
  CT (Crane tank
  Crane tank
  A crane tank is a steam locomotive with a crane fitted to it. The crane may be fitted at the front, centre or rear of the locomotive and gives it a rather "top heavy" appearance...
  
  )
• 6 x 0-6-0
  0-6-0
  Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels...
  
  ST

About 30 of these locomotives saw their way into the stock of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway

London, Midland and Scottish Railway

The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...

, some possibly gaining an extended lease of life due to the demands on the railway caused by the Great War

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. All had outside cylinders.

Most of his engines had a reasonable service life for the period but were ill-suited for the age of standardisation that swept the country from the mid-1870s onwards.

Later years

Seen more as a running man than a designer and innovator, and with failing health and support from the board of directors that had appointed him, he was sidelined in a reoganisation of his department and appointed consultant, before resigning his £850/annum post in April 1882. He died shortly afterwards.

Family

He married Margaret Grant, a Scot

Scot

A Scot is a member of an ethnic group indigenous to Scotland, derived from the Latin name of Irish raiders, the Scoti.Scot may also refer to:People with the given name Scot:* Scot Brantley , American football linebacker...

, by whom he had at least five children, all born in Carlisle, Cumberland

Cumberland

Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....

. His eldest daughter, Louisa Mary Brittain, married Andrew T. Scott on the 7th June 1897 at St. John's Episcopal Church, Perth

Perth, Scotland

Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...

.

Sources

• British Locomotive Catalogue 1825-1923 Vol.4, B Baxter
• Forty Years of Caledonian Locomotives 1882-1922, H J Campbell Cornwell
• Scottish Locomotive History 1831-1923, C Highet
• Caledonian Railway, O. S. Nock
• The Locomotive (1946)
• Scottish census returns