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Henry Fowler (engineer)
Encyclopedia
Sir Henry Fowler, KBE was a Chief Mechanical Engineer
of the Midland Railway
and subsequently the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
.
, on 29 July 1870. His father, also called Henry was a furniture
dealer, and his family were Quakers
. He was educated at Prince Henry's High School, Evesham, and at Mason Science College
, Birmingham
between 1885 and 1887 where he studied metallurgy
. He served an apprenticeship
under John Aspinall
at the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
(L&YR)'s Horwich Works from 1887 to 1891. He then spent four years in the Testing Department under George Hughes
, whom he succeeded as Head of the Department.
Between 1895 and 1900 he was Gas Engineer of the L&YR, moving on 18 June 1900 to the Midland Railway
(MR). On 1 November 1905 he became Assistant Works Manager, being promoted to Works Manager two years later. In 1909 he succeeded Richard Deeley
as Chief Mechanical Engineer
(CME) of the MR.
Between 1915 and 1919 Fowler was employed on war work and James Anderson
became acting CME. In 1919, Fowler was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) for his contributions to the war effort.
In 1923 on the Grouping
, he was appointed deputy CME of the newly formed London, Midland and Scottish Railway
(LMS), under George Hughes and became CME in October 1925.
Along with Anderson, Fowler was responsible for the adoption by the LMS of the Midland's small engine policy. Various Midland standard types were built by the LMS, including the 4P Midland Compound
4-4-0
, the 2P 4-4-0, the 4F 0-6-0, and the 3F 0-6-0T. The small engine policy resulted in frequent double-heading
, as the locomotives were not powerful enough to cope with loads, and thus increased expense. Standardisation also left these standard locomotives with short-travel valves
and small axle boxes, the former leading to inefficiency and the latter to frequent hot axle boxes.
In 1928, the LMS introduced the Royal Scot
4-6-0
express passenger locomotive, based on the SR Lord Nelson Class
.
In another departure from the small engine policy, several 2-6-0+0-6-2 Beyer-Garratt
s were acquired for the Toton-Brent
coal trains but interference from Derby saw these receive standard small axle-boxes and short-travel valves with the result that they were poor performers.
Sir Henry retired in 1933, Ernest Lemon
initially taking over as CME for a short period before William Stanier
was head-hunted into the job from the Great Western Railway
. Stanier was to reform LMS locomotive policy.
Sir Henry died in 1938.
Chief Mechanical Engineer
Chief Mechanical Engineer and Locomotive Superintendent are titles applied by British, Australian, and New Zealand railway companies to the person ultimately responsible to the board of the company for the building and maintaining of the locomotives and rolling stock...
of the Midland Railway
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
and subsequently 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...
.
Biography
Fowler was born in Evesham, WorcestershireWorcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, on 29 July 1870. His father, also called Henry was a furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
dealer, and his family were Quakers
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
. He was educated at Prince Henry's High School, Evesham, and at Mason Science College
Mason Science College
Mason Science College was founded by Josiah Mason in 1875, the buildings of which were opened in Edmund Street, Birmingham, England on 1 October 1880 by Thomas Henry Huxley...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
between 1885 and 1887 where he studied metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
. He served an apprenticeship
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
under John Aspinall
John Aspinall
John Aspinall may refer to:* John Aspinall , zoo owner and gambler* John Aspinall , engineer* John Thomas Walshman Aspinall , English Conservative Party politician, Member of Parliament for Clitheroe 1853...
at the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways...
(L&YR)'s Horwich Works from 1887 to 1891. He then spent four years in the Testing Department under George Hughes
George Hughes (engineer)
George Hughes was a locomotive engineer, and Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.-L&YR:...
, whom he succeeded as Head of the Department.
Between 1895 and 1900 he was Gas Engineer of the L&YR, moving on 18 June 1900 to the Midland Railway
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
(MR). On 1 November 1905 he became Assistant Works Manager, being promoted to Works Manager two years later. In 1909 he succeeded Richard Deeley
Richard Deeley
Richard Mountford Deeley was a British engineer, chiefly noted for his five years as Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Midland Railway....
as Chief Mechanical Engineer
Chief Mechanical Engineer
Chief Mechanical Engineer and Locomotive Superintendent are titles applied by British, Australian, and New Zealand railway companies to the person ultimately responsible to the board of the company for the building and maintaining of the locomotives and rolling stock...
(CME) of the MR.
Between 1915 and 1919 Fowler was employed on war work and James Anderson
James Anderson (engineer)
James Edward Anderson, CBE was a mechanical engineer of the Midland Railway and later the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and had a great influence on the latter's adoption of the former's unwise locomotive policies....
became acting CME. In 1919, Fowler was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) for his contributions to the war effort.
In 1923 on the Grouping
Railways Act 1921
The Railways Act 1921, also known as the Grouping Act, was an enactment by the British government of David Lloyd George intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, move the railways away from internal competition, and to retain some of the benefits which...
, he was appointed deputy CME of the newly formed 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...
(LMS), under George Hughes and became CME in October 1925.
Along with Anderson, Fowler was responsible for the adoption by the LMS of the Midland's small engine policy. Various Midland standard types were built by the LMS, including the 4P Midland Compound
Compound locomotive
A compound engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages.A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure cylinder, then having given up heat and losing pressure, it exhausts directly into one or more larger...
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...
, the 2P 4-4-0, the 4F 0-6-0, and the 3F 0-6-0T. The small engine policy resulted in frequent double-heading
Double-heading
In railroad terminology, double-heading or double heading indicates the use of two locomotives at the front of a train, each operated individually by its own crew. The practice of triple-heading involves the use of three locomotives....
, as the locomotives were not powerful enough to cope with loads, and thus increased expense. Standardisation also left these standard locomotives with short-travel valves
Valve gear
The valve gear of a steam engine is the mechanism that operates the inlet and exhaust valves to admit steam into the cylinder and allow exhaust steam to escape, respectively, at the correct points in the cycle...
and small axle boxes, the former leading to inefficiency and the latter to frequent hot axle boxes.
In 1928, the LMS introduced the Royal Scot
LMS Royal Scot Class
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway Royal Scot Class is a class of 4-6-0 express passenger locomotive introduced in 1927. Originally having parallel boilers, all members were later rebuilt with tapered type 2A boilers, and were in effect two classes.-Background:Until the mid-1920s, the LMS...
4-6-0
4-6-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels. This wheel arrangement became the second-most popular...
express passenger locomotive, based on the SR Lord Nelson Class
SR Lord Nelson Class
The SR class LN or Lord Nelson class is a type of 4-cylinder 4-6-0 steam locomotive designed for the Southern Railway by Richard Maunsell in 1926. They were intended for Continental boat trains between London and Dover harbour, but were also later used for express passenger work to the South-West...
.
In another departure from the small engine policy, several 2-6-0+0-6-2 Beyer-Garratt
LMS Garratt
The London Midland and Scottish Railway Garratt was a class of Garratt 2-6-0+0-6-2 steam locomotive designed for heavy freight. A total of 33 were built from 1927, making them the most numerous class of Garratt in Britain.-Overview:...
s were acquired for the Toton-Brent
Brent sidings
Brent sidings was an important marshalling yard and freight facility on the Midland Railway extension to London.-History:The sidings were situated on both sides of the Midland Main Line between and stations, close to the triangle formed where the Dudding Hill Line left the main line...
coal trains but interference from Derby saw these receive standard small axle-boxes and short-travel valves with the result that they were poor performers.
Sir Henry retired in 1933, Ernest Lemon
Ernest Lemon
Sir Ernest John Hutchings Lemon, OBE was Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and later one of its three Vice-Presidents...
initially taking over as CME for a short period before William Stanier
William Stanier
Sir William Arthur Stanier, FRS was Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.- Biography :...
was head-hunted into the job from the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
. Stanier was to reform LMS locomotive policy.
Sir Henry died in 1938.
Locomotive Designs
The following classes of steam locomotive were introduced by Sir Henry:- LMS Class 2P 4-4-0LMS Class 2P 4-4-0The London Midland and Scottish Railway Class 2P 4-4-0 was a class of steam locomotive designed for light passenger work.- Overview :The class was introduced in 1928 and was a post-grouping development of the Midland Railway 483 Class with modified dimensions and reduced boiler mountings.The...
- LMS Class 2F "Dock Tank" 0-6-0TLMS Fowler Dock TankThe London, Midland and Scottish Railway Fowler Dock Tank was a 0-6-0T steam locomotive. Designed for shunting in docks, it had a short wheelbase in order for it to negotiate tight curves.-History:...
- LMS Class 3MT 2-6-2TLMS Fowler 2-6-2TThe London, Midland and Scottish Railway Fowler 2-6-2T was a class of steam locomotive. The LMS classified them 3P, BR 3MT.- Overview :...
- LMS Class 3F "Jinty" 0-6-0T
- LMS Class 4P "Compound" 4-4-0LMS Compound 4-4-0The London, Midland and Scottish Railway Compound 4-4-0 was a class of steam locomotive designed for passenger work.- Overview :One hundred and ninety five engines were built by the LMS, adding to the 45 Midland Railway 1000 Class, to which they were almost identical...
- LMS Class 4MT 2-6-4TLMS Fowler 2-6-4TThe London, Midland and Scottish Railway Fowler 2-6-4T is a class of steam locomotive designed by Henry Fowler. 125 were built.The LMS numbered them 2300–424, BR adding 40000 to their numbers to make them 42300–424. The LMS classified them 4P, BR 4MT...
- LMS Class 4F 0-6-0
- LMS Class 7F 0-8-0LMS Class 7F 0-8-0The London, Midland and Scottish Railway Fowler Class 7F steam locomotive was an update of the London and North Western Railway G2 Class 0-8-0...
- LMS Class 6P "Patriot" 4-6-0LMS Patriot ClassThe Patriot Class was a class of 52 express passenger steam locomotives built for the London Midland and Scottish Railway. The first locomotive of the class was built in 1930 and the last in 1934. All of the Patriot class locomotives were withdrawn from service by 1965...
- LMS Class 7P "Royal Scot" 4-6-0LMS Royal Scot ClassThe London, Midland and Scottish Railway Royal Scot Class is a class of 4-6-0 express passenger locomotive introduced in 1927. Originally having parallel boilers, all members were later rebuilt with tapered type 2A boilers, and were in effect two classes.-Background:Until the mid-1920s, the LMS...
- LMS Garratt 2-6-0+0-6-2LMS GarrattThe London Midland and Scottish Railway Garratt was a class of Garratt 2-6-0+0-6-2 steam locomotive designed for heavy freight. A total of 33 were built from 1927, making them the most numerous class of Garratt in Britain.-Overview:...
- LMS 6399 FuryLMS 6399 FuryThe London Midland and Scottish Railway 6399 Fury was an unsuccessful British experimental express passenger locomotive. The intention was to save fuel by using high-pressure steam, which is thermodynamically more efficient than low-pressure steam....
- S&DJR 7F 2-8-0S&DJR 7F 2-8-0The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway 7F 2-8-0 is a class of steam locomotive designed for hauling heavy coal and goods trains. Eleven were built in two batches in 1914 and 1925, and were used until withdrawn between 1959 and 1964...
External links
- Sir Henry Fowler at www.steamindex.com