Tag Archives: Railcars

Petrol Railmotors – The Railway Magazine, September 1922

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The Railway Magazine of September 1922 carried two short articles about new petrol Railmotors. …

North Eastern Railway (NER) – Petrol Rail Motor Bus

The first short article was about an experimental vehicle used by the NER.

On certain portions of the NER network, the company realised that “there was room for a service conducted on lines as nearly as possible identical with those of motor buses on the roads. With the view of ascertaining, without much initial expenditure, whether the scheme is likely to prove financially successful, they have converted one of their ‘Leyland’ road motor ‘buses, formerly running on the road services in the vicinity of Durham, so as to make it suitable for running on the railway.” [1: p234]

The war resulted in a significant increase in railway working expenses which made it impossible to provide a train unit on some of the country branches, where the number of people travelling was small, “sufficiently cheap to cover its working expenses out of the small revenue available,” [1: p234]

NER Rail Motor [1: p235]

The NER needed to devise a cheaper form of rail transport. As a first step, it decided to convert one of its own fleet of petrol-powered road buses. The company’s intention was to undertake a trial at low cost before developing a design specifically tailored to rail use.

The experimental unit entered service on 19th July 1922. If “the results  of the working of this vehicle are encouraging, the company intend[ed] to build vehicles [capable of] carrying up to 40 passengers, and maintaining an average speed of approximately 30 m.p.h.” [1: p236]

The railmotor operated between Copmanthorpe, York, Strensall and Earswick, and was “manned by a motorman and a conductor exactly in the same way as if it were running on the highway. Single journey tickets [were] issued on board, so that passengers [did not have] the trouble of going to the booking office. It [had] accommodation for 26 passengers. It [ could]  be driven from both ends, and run in either direction, and the motive power consist[ed] of a 35-h.p. Leyland engine of the standard type, supplied by the builders for their ordinary commercial road vehicles.” [1: p236]

The donor vehicle was one of three Leyland Motor Co. buses that the NER purchased on 21st July 1921. “With a long bonnet and a overhanging roof at the front, it was a typical design for that time. The conversion was completed at York Carriage Works. Initially No. 110 in the Road Vehicle fleet, it was renumbered as No. 130Y shortly after conversion because No. 110 was already occupied in the Coaching Stock list.” [2]

An “additional radiator and an additional driving position were located at the rear of the vehicle. Central passenger doors were fitted to both sides of the saloon. …. Folding steps were also added to allow access from rail level. These were later replaced with fixed steps, and eventually removed altogether. An electric headlamp was also fitted.” [2]

The LNER website continues: “the initial York duty involved a service to Haxby, Strensall, Earswick, and Copmanthorpe. NER Petrol Autocar No. 2105 took over this duty on 9th July 1923, and No. 130 was transferred to Selby. At Selby, No. 130 operated daily return trips to Straddlethorpe, York, Goole, Catleford, Goole, Market Weighton, Cawood, and Hemingborough. This resulted in a full timetable that started at 6:52am and finished at 7:44pm. No. 130 took part in the Stockton & Darlington Centenary celebrations, but continued these Selby duties until November 1926.” [2]

Railmotor No. 110, later No. 130. The fold-down steps can be seen clearly in this image. [2]

On 11th November 1926 the railmotor/railbus “caught fire whilst being filled up with petrol at Selby shed. The entire bus was reportedly gutted within 15 minutes. Reports also suggest that someone used a naked paraffin lamp to check the level of the petrol tank. Only the chassis remained, and it was eventually decided not to rebuild or replace the bus. No. 130 was officially withdrawn from stock on 9th April 1927.” [2]

It seems as though the initial experiment was successful enough to allow the NER to authorise the building of a further experimental petrol railmotor (No. 2105) in September 1922. A Daimler engine was purchased in October and “the remainder of the vehicle was built at York Carriage Works and was completed in July 1923. By this time, Grouping had occurred, and the autocar was given the LNER number 2105Y. It was later renumbered as No. 22105 in August 1926.” [3]

Railmotor No. 2105 (later renumbered 22105) [3]

It seated 40 in third class accommodation, seats were in pairs either side of a central gangway. “The distinctive wheel arrangement had a two axle bogie at the engine end, and a single fixed axle at the other end. The single fixed axle was powered from the motor via a clutch, three-speed gearbox, and propeller shaft with two universal joints. 40mph was reportedly possible. Radiators were fitted to both ends.” [3]

This Railmotor took over the service provided by No. 130 and continued to operate local services in and around York until 1930. By 1930, it had been renumbered 22105.Closure of a series of local stations that year led to it being reassigned to the Hull area. It is “known to have been given an extensive timetable in the Hull area from 1st May to 17th July 1932 when it worked a 14 hour timetable including Beverley, Thorne North, Brough, Willerby & Kirk Ella, and Hull. Reports suggest it was unreliable during this period and was often replaced by a Sentinel steam railcar.” [3]

Over the next two years, No. 22105 did not work any revenue-earning services. It was withdrawn from service on 19th May 1934.

What is perhaps surprising is that these two experimental vehicles were not the first ones used on the NER network. The NER had experimented with petrol railmotors just after the turn of the 20th century. Two examples are worthy of note.

A. Petrol-electric Railmotors/Autocars

The NER were reviewing their operation of suburban passenger services on Tyneside. Alongside the introduction of electric trains on an urban network of lines which would later develop into the Tyne and Wear Metro, the NER ordered two experimental railcars/railmotors to work other, non-electrified, parts of the network.

“Both railcars were built at the York Carriage Works, together with the original Tyneside electric stock, in 1902-3 and numbered 3170 and 3171. They were 53.5 feet long and weighed around 35 tons. They had clerestory roofs, bow ends, large windows and matchboard sides. There were four compartments inside, the engine room with the principal driving position, a vestibule, the passenger saloon and a driving compartment. There was no guard’s compartment. The passenger saloon had 52 seats. These were reversible and upholstered in standard NER pattern. With curtains at the windows, radiators between the seats and electric lighting, the passenger accommodation was described as ‘cosy’ and seems to have been very popular with the travelling public.” [4]

These two railmotors were referred to as ‘autocars’ after the steam push/pull autotrain services already operated by the NER.

The Embassy & Bolton Abbey Railway comments: “These NER railcars were the first in the world to use petrol-electric technology. At that time, diesel engines were less advanced and not as reliable as their petrol counterparts. The concept of using internal combustion engines to power electric traction motors would later be developed into the diesel electric technology used to power many of BR’s ‘diesel’ locos.” [4]

One of the two NER petrol-electric railmotors. [5]

Initially the railmotors/autocars saw service “between West Hartlepool and Hartlepool stations (in direct competition with electric tramcars) and Scarborough to Filey (as a replacement of a steam service). Later, the autocars were transferred to the Selby – Cawood branchline to work the passenger services there. In 1923, no.3170 was fitted with a larger engine and new generator giving it sufficient power to pull a conventional carriage, thus increasing passenger capacity. It worked in the Harrogate area for a while before rejoining its twin on the Cawood branch. No. 3171 was withdrawn in 1930 and No. 3170 in 1931.” [5]

These vehicles had a petrol engine and a generator in their engine rooms, producing electricity for two Westinghouse 55HP traction motors which were mounted on the bogie underneath. A series of different petrol engines were used during the life of these vehicles. “In 1923, no. 3170 was given a third engine, a 225HP 6 cylinder ex-WD engine rumoured to come from a First World War tank. This new engine gave 3170 more torque and enough power to haul an autocoach as a trailer, though it seems not to have affected the maximum speed.” [5]

The LNER showed an interest in these vehicles and went on to test Armstrong diesel-electric railcars in the 1930s, but by then Sentinel steam railcars had been introduced. “These were not as reliable or popular, they had more seats and fitted better into the contemporary infrastructure.” [4]

No. 3171 was dismantled when withdrawn. When No. 3170 was withdrawn on the 4th April 1931 it was transported to Kirkbymoorside near Pickering, where the body became a holiday home. “Fitted with a tin roof and veranda it was well protected from the weather and survived there until September 2003 when it was sold to carriage restorer Stephen Middleton who moved it to the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway.” [5]

B. A Petrol Directors’ Vehicle

NER Directors’ Inspection Car [8: p358]
Side elevation and Plan of NER Inspection Car [8: p460]
End elevation of NER Inspection Car. [8: p460]

The Engineer reported in early 1908 that “The North-Eastern Railway Company [had] recently built at its York carriage works and introduced into service a petrol rail motor inspection car designed for the use of its executive officers. The car [was] 17 ft in length by 7 ft in width, with a wheel base of 10 ft. It [was] arranged with a driver’s compartment at each end, and with an open saloon 10 ft. long in the middle. The saloon [was] entered through either of the driver’s compartments, and there [was] a permanent seating accommodation for six passengers, whilst two extra seats [were] provided on camp stools.” [8: p358]

It seems reasonable to ask why, with the  experience gleaned in the very early years of the 20th century, the NER felt the need in 1922 to commission further experimental vehicles. Was it because the technology had developed significantly? Had the early experiments been less than satisfactory?

Weston, Cleveland & Portishead Light Railway

The second short piece in The Railway Magazine of September 1922 related to a Railmotor constructed by the Drewry Car Company Limited (Works No. 1252), to the instructions of Colonel H.F. Stephens, who, along with other roles, was Engineer and General Manager of the Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway.

The railmotor was powered by a 4-cylinder Baguley 35 hp petrol engine with a 3-speed gearbox and its oil consumption, on easy gradients, [was] 16 miles to the gallon. It had a maximum speed of 25 mph. It was 19ft long and driven by a chain drive from either end. It had 2ft diameter wheels. [1: p239][6]

A Drewry Railmotor at the Weston, Cleveland & Portishead Light Railway. [1: p239]

The vehicle had full visibility all round. Glazed throughout above waist height. Side widows were openable. The panels below the windows were of steel. Acetylene lighting was provided for travel after-dark. The unit carried a maximum of “42 passengers – 30 sitting and 12 standing. The car [was] provided with rails round the roof to enable light luggage and market produce to be carried outside, thus giving the passengers more accommodation.” [1: p239]

Colonel Stephens “was a pioneer of petrol traction. The WC&PR was the first of his railways to introduce railcars. … Due to low running costs [the Drewry Railmotor] was relatively profitable. … Originally the petrol tank was fitted inside the railcar together with spare cans of petrol. As smoking was then common, it was later realised that this was a hazard and a cylindrical horizontal petrol tank was fitted at one end above the buffer beam.” [6]

“A light four-wheel wagon built by Cranes was bought in 1925 for the railcar to carry extra luggage or milk churns.” [6]

The Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway’s first Drewry railcar at the Ashcombe Road terminus in Weston-super-Mare. It was built for the WC&P in 1921 and operated until the line closed in 1940, © Public Domain. [7]

References

  1. The Railway Magazine, Westminster, London, September 1922.
  2. https://www.lner.info/locos/IC/ner_petrol_bus.php, accessed on 8th August 2024.
  3. https://www.lner.info/locos/IC/ner_petrol_autocar.php, accessed on 8th August 2024.
  4. https://www.embsayboltonabbeyrailway.org.uk/oldsite/nerautocar.html, accessed on 8th August 2024.
  5. https://electricautocar.co.uk, accessed on 8th August 2024.
  6. https://www.wcpr.org.uk/Railcars.html, accessed on 8th August 2024.
  7. https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ashcombe_Road_-_WCPLR_small_railcar.jpg, accessed on 8th August 2024.
  8. The Engineer; 3rd April 1908, p358 and 1st May 1908, p460.

Steam Railmotors – Part 7 – An Addendum.

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Fox, Walker & Co. Ltd

While looking for information about locomotives built by Fox, Walker &Co. for the Whitland & Taf Vale Railway, I came across the image below, which shows a ‘combined locomotive and carriage’.

Fox’s Combined Locomotive and Carriage. [8]

Grace’s Guide provides no more information about this unit, but more can be found on the Model Engineering website in the form of a short article dated 19th February 1869 which appeared in the journal ‘Engineering’. [9]

“We illustrate above an arrangement of combined locomotive and carriage designed and patented by Mr. Fox of the firm of Messrs. Fox, Walker, and Co., of Bristol. According to this plan a four-wheeled tank engine with a short wheel base is coupled by a strong draw-pin to a passenger carriage, this carriage having a single pair of wheels at the hind end only, the front end being supported by springs fixed on the engine frame, as shown in the plan. The carriage is, however, provided at the front end with a pair of wheels which can, by the arrangement of screw shown, be lowered down so as to bear upon the rail and support that end of the vehicle when it is desired to uncouple it from the engine. The engine shown in our illustration has four coupled wheels 5 ft. 6 in. in diameter, and outside cylinders 8 in. in diameter with 12 in. stroke; it has, moreover, a tank placed at the front end under the smokebox so as to approximately balance the weight placed on the hind end of the engine by the carriage. The total weight of the combined engine and carriage is estimated at 15 tons empty, and 24 tons with the engine in working order, and the carriage containing its full complement of passengers. The greatest weight on a pair of wheels is 9 tons. The engine is intended to draw two carriages, besides the one directly connected with it, and containing in all 150 passengers, at the rate of 40 miles an hour on a level, or its own carriage, carrying 50 passengers, up an incline of 1 in 50 at a speed of 15 miles per hour. To enable it to do this, however, it would be necessary either that the cylinder power should be increased, or that the boiler should be worked at a somewhat higher pressure than is adopted in ordinary locomotive practice. In describing Mr. Fox’s engine it is only fair that we should state that, before receiving his tracings we were shown by Mr. Fairlie the drawings of a combined engine and carriage which he had designed with the same object as led to the production of Mr. Fox’s plans, namely to effect a reduction in the dead weight and working expenses of railway trains, and to produce an arrangement suitable for carrying on a light traffic on a road abounding with sharp curves.” [9]

R.W. Kidner

Back in 1947, R.W. Kidner collaborated with the Oakwood Press to produce a series of monographs about road and rail transport. I had not been able to find a copy of the relevant part of Kidner’s work, [1] before completing the first six articles to which this article is an addendum. The first of those articles can be found here. [2]

This article includes relevant material from Kidner’s monograph. [1]

Kidner separates the period from 1847 to 1947 into three different railcar/railmotor eras: 1847-1899, 1900-1923 & 1923-1947.

1. Early Steam Railcars, 1847-1899

Kidner says that the “earliest railcars in the world were probably Detmole’s 12-seater cyclopede car of 1829, on the South Carolina R.R., and Andraud’s compressed-air-driven 8-seater of 1839 in France. In England, the first was the Express, a steam-driven car devised by James Samuel and W. Bridges Adams, of the Eastern Counties Railway. This little car made its inaugural trip on 23rd October 1847, from Shoreditch to Cambridge, covering the distance in three and three-quarter hours running time.” [1: p110]

J. Samuel’s ‘Express’ of 1847, with 3.5 x 6 in cylinders and 3ft 4in wheels. [1: p111]

Kidner notes that this diminutive vehicle successfully climbed the Lickey incline on the Birmingham & Gloucester Railway. This vehicle’s performance satisfied its designers and resulted in them building the larger six-wheeled vehicle which was 31ft 6in long. As we noted in Part 1, was named ‘Fairfield’, [2] this “became No. 29 on the broad-gauge Bristol & Exeter Railway, and worked the newly-opened Tiverton branch.” [1: p110-111]

The Bristol & Exeter broad gauge ‘Fairfield’ (No. 29) with 7x12in cylinders and 4ft 6in drivers. [1: p111]

Kidner tells us that the next railmotor, the ‘Enfield’, was built in 1849. There is a plan and elevation in the first article. [2] It was “carried on eight wheels and had seats for 42 passengers; on one recorded trip from London to Norwich 126 miles were covered in 215 minutes running time; normally, however, it worked between Enfield and Angel Road.” [1: p111]

Next year came the ‘Cambridge‘; it was a well tank (2-2-0WT) close-coupled to a four-wheeled saloon. Kidner highlights a similar unit, a “Ariel’s Girdle, built by Kitson Thompson and Hewitson and exhibited at the Great Exhibition. This combination seems never to have worked in public service in its original form, though the locomotive portion later worked the Millwall Extension line; in fact, although the rigid engine-cum-coach had given way to the handier flexible type, no great enthusiasm was shown for either.” [1: p111]

This is a Londonderry & Enniskillen Railway unit of 1852 which was similar to the ‘Cambridge’.

Several close-coupled units similar to the Cambridge were operated from 1852 by the Londonderry & Enniskillen Railway but otherwise J. Samuel’s invention was unsuccessful. However, his design work alongside R.F. Fairlie produced “a flexible steam-car embodying all the advantages which brought about the railcar ‘boom’ of 1903-11, virtually the only difference between Samuel’s and Drummond’s cars being that the former employed four-coupled driving wheels.” [1: p112]

The experimental steam railmotor built in 1869 by R.F. Farlie and J. Samuel reproduced in the Illustrated London News on 26th February 1869. Details according to Kidner: Cylinders 8 x 12 in., driving wheels 4ft; although the overall wheelbase was 57ft, curves of 35ft radius could be worked. There were seats for 18 first, 30 seconds, and 40 third class; unladen weight 14 tons. [1: plate XXIX]

Kidner says that “there is no record of this bogie car going into service. It was designed to negotiate curves of 35 ft. radius, and thus by the laying of such reversing curves at termini to avoid running round.”

The next use of a railcar/railmotor was by McDonnell, of the Great Southern and Western Railway of Ireland.

The Great Southern & Western Railway of Ireland 0-4-4T built in 1873 for service on the GSWR(I)’s Castle island branch in Co. Kerry. [1: p112]

Kidner tells us that in 1873 McDonnell built “two small 0-4-4T engines with short staff-carriages mounted at the rear, which were named Fairy and Sprite, and used for pay purposes.” A larger vehicle was built shortly after, and then two 0-6-4T cars were built in 1875 which were “35 feet long and carr[ied] eight first and six third-class passengers. … McDonnell’s cars suffered conversion to normal locomotives (except the eight-wheelers, which were scrapped), and no more railcars seen in passenger service until after the turn of the century.” [1: p112]

Instead, some railway companies chose to create railcars to convey railway executives across their networks.

Three Engineers’ cars: at the top, a Great Eastern Railway inspection car converted by Headley Brothers in 1849 from ‘Eagle’, a well tank (2-2-0WT), to make a six-wheeled inspection car; in the centre, a later GER car (No. 81), rebuilt in 1878 as a 4-2-4T car from a Gooch 2-2-2WT of 1853; and at the bottom, a LSWR 4-2-4T inspection car. [1: p113]
A thirty-foot-long engineer’s saloon of the LNWR with twelve seats, lavatory, coal-bunker and verandah attached to the single ‘Locomotion’. [1: plate XXIX]

A colourised photograph of this vehicle appeared on the Abergavenny Railways History Facebook Group

The same vehicle as in the first image above. This image was shared on the Abergavenny Railways History Facebook Group by David Bowen on 26th July 2024. [10]

Rather than rigid-bodied cars, some lines preferred close-coupled units. One of these is shown above. Kidner says that the LNWR “ran a number of these comprising 2-2-2 engines with six-wheeled car attached, and the Wordsell brothers on the North-Eastern had a saloon fitted for reverse running normally attached to a 2-2-4T.” [1: p113]

2. Later Steam Railcars, 1900-1923

Kidner talks of the contemporaries of Dugald Drummond naturally being interested in his experiment just after the turn of the 20th century. [1: p133][3] For here was a “method of providing rapid frequency without the capital outlay of electrification.” [1: p135]

Drummond’s railcar/railmotor “differed little from the Fairlie-Samuel car of thirty years ealier, though it was certainly less powerful; in fact, before going into service on the Southsea branch it was found necessary to replace the vertical boiler with a horizontal loco-type one. Unlike the old cars, however, it was fitted for control from either end, and since its ‘turn round time’ could be cut to the few seconds taken by the driver to walk fifty feet to the other end it was ideally suited for dense traffic on short branches.” [1: p135]

Three Steam Railmotors: at the top, the first LSWR Steam Railmotor of 1903, 56ft long (single driver); at the centre, the Furness Railway Railmotor of 1905, 61ft long (coupled drivers); and at the bottom, North Staffordshire Beyer Peacock railmotor of 1905,  50ft 6in long (single driver). [1: p134]
Three more Steam Railmotors: the first is the Great Northern Avonside of 1905, 66ft 6in long (coupled drivers); Rhymney Railway Hudswell-Clarke of 1907, 72ft long (coupled drivers); and at the bottom, Port Talbot Hawthorn of 1908, 77ft long (six-coupled drivers). [1: p134]

As we have already noted, the idea was taken up by the Great Western, in particular and by a significant number of other railway companies. [4][5][6]

Kidner notes that “these cars were undoubtedly successful when properly used, but in words spoken in 1905 by Hurry Riches, of the Taff Vale Railway, ‘when they are used to take trailer cars, and are in fact converted into mixed trains, their advantages soon disappear’.” [1: p135-136]

Isle of Wight Central Railway direct drive steam railmotor, built by Hawthorne Leslie in 1906, 61ft long.  [1: Plate XXXVII]

Almost inevitably a variety of different trailers were attached to these railcars/railmotors and as a result their key advantage was lost and their disadvantages dominated contemporary thinking. So, says Kidner writing in 1946/7, “building of steam cars ceased in 1911, and soon those already running were being converted into trailers; some of the Great Western’s 99 cars lasted until just before the late war, and at least one of the Lancashire and Yorkshire cars is running today, but of the rest few lived to see the grouping. Their inventor himself seems to have lost faith early, for in 1906 Drummond turned to separate autotrains.” [1: p136]

3. The Modern Steam Railcars, 1923-1947

Kidner was writing in 1946/7. For him, these later Railmotors were very much ‘Modern’. He comments: “In 1923 the branch railways were beginning to face severe competition from the buses; hundreds of such lines were being ‘carried’ by the main lines, and if they were to remain open something must be done to attract custom.” [1: p142]

We have already covered these ‘modern’ steam railmotors in Part 6 of this series. [7]

The most unusual of this later group of steam railmotors was that used by the Southern Railway on the Dyke branch. This is mentioned at the end of the previous article (Part 6) in this short series. Kidner provides a photograph of that Railmotor in action. [7] …

The Southern Railway Railmotor which was used on the Dyke branch. Shown here in action in 1933. [1: Plate XXXIX]

References

  1. R.W. Kidner; A Short History of Mechanical Traction & Travel – Part 6: Multiple Unit Trains, Railmotors & Tramcars 1829 – 1947; Oakwood Press, South Godstone, Surrey, October 1947, p107-150 with a series of plates before p107 and after p150.
  2. https://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/06/11/steam-railcars-part-1-an-early-example
  3. https://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/06/15/steam-railcars-part-2-dugald-drummond-lswr-and-harry-wainwright-secr
  4. https://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/06/17/steam-railcars-part-3-the-great-western-railway-gwr
  5. https://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/06/18/steam-railcars-part-4-rigid-bodied-railmotors-owned-by-other-railway-companies
  6. https://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/06/20/steam-railmotors-part-5-articulated-steam-railmotors
  7. https://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/06/26/steam-railmotors-part-6-after-the-grouping
  8. https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Fox,_Walker_and_Co, accessed on 26th July 2024.
  9. https://modelengineeringwebsite.com/Steam_carriages.html, accessed on 26th July 2024.
  10. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/mpoZKnE9ytwC1zRG, accessed on 26th July 2024.

Steam Railmotors – Part 6 – After the Grouping.

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The new companies which came into existence with the grouping in 1923 addressed once again the best way to serve lightly populated rural communities. The options available to them centred on various forms of light railcars. Two forms of propulsion were available, the internal combustion engine and the steam engine. Electricity, in many cases required too large an investment for the likely traffic on the intermediate routes in rural areas.

Given, the lack of success of the steam railmotor experiment in the first two decades of the 20th century, it must have seemed unlikely that steam railcars/railmotors woul prove to be a success in the inter-war years. But the LNER’s persistence and the arrival of a new articulated “form of steam railcar developed by the Sentinel Waggon Works Ltd. in association Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. [brought about] a renewed assessment of the role of the railcar.” [1: p46]

Jenkinson and Lane say that rather than simply using railcars to replace existing services, the aim became one of enhancement of services. A greater frequency of service would reduce the need for unsuitable powered units to pull trailers. Higher speeds would shorten journey times.

But, to do this “in the steam context … meant using a vehicle which, owing to its lightness and simplicity, needed a smaller and less complicated power unit than was offered by the conventional locomotive style of construction. … A tricky balancing act … because railway vehicles need to be much stronger than the road equivalent, … but the Sentinel-Cammell steam railcars were a very fine attempt.” [1: p46]

The LNER Sentinel Steam Railcars

The “Sentinel Waggon Works of Shrewsbury built their first steam railcar in 1923 for the narrow gauge Jersey Railways & Tramways Ltd. This used coachwork constructed by Cammell Laird & Co. of Nottingham, and was reportedly successful.” [2] This partnership with Cammell Laird continued when Cammell Laird became a part of Metropolitan-Cammell Carriage, Wagon & Finance Co. Ltd (‘Metro-Cammell’) in February 1929.

The first narrow-gauge railcar on Jersey plied its trade on the line  between St. Hellier and St. Aubin. [4][2] The remains of a later steam railcar is shown below, It was supplied to Jersey as a standard-gauge railcar.

The remains of Sentinel railcar ‘Brittany’ as it appeared in 1997. It was possibly one of a pair supplied by Sentinel in 1923 which ran on the 3ft 6in gauge lines on the Island of Jersey between St. Hellier and Corbiere. Were the pair articulated? Essery and Warburton say that the total weight of each original  unit “was 15 tons 3 cwt 2 quarters … The engine was totally enclosed with 6.25inch diameter cylinder with a 9inch stroke having poppet valves and mounted horizontally above the floor of the engine room. The drive from the crankshaft was by roller chain to an intermediate shaft then by separate chains to each axle of the 7’ 0” wheelbase bogie. The Sentinel vertical boiler with cross water tubes and super-heater supplied steam at 230lbs/sq. inch. Coal consumption was 5.37 lb per mile.” [12: p4]

Essery and Warburton note 3 such vehicles being employed on the narrow-gauge. [12: p7] These vehicles were probably re-gauged to standard-gauge when the narrow-gauge line closed. They also note a later purchase of 2 standard-gauge units. Although they give a date of 1924 for the later units [12: p7] which, given that this unit appears not to be articulated, is quite early. Is this, perhaps, actually one of the later rigid-bodied units? If so it would perhaps have been supplied to Jersey between 1927 and 1932.

This image was shared on the Narrow Gauge Enthusiasts Facebook Group on 20th December 2018 by John Carter, permission to include this image here is awaited. [3]

Sentinel exhibited a railcar at the British Empire Exhibition in 1924, which was noticed by Gresley. “The LNER was in need of vehicles that were cheaper than steam trains but with better carrying capacity than that of the petrol rail bus and autocar on trial in the North East (NE) Area. Hence Chief General Manager Wedgwood informed the Joint Traffic and Locomotive Committees on 31st July 1924 that a railcar would be loaned from Sentinel for a fortnight. If successful, this would be followed by the purchase of two railcars. The trial took place from 17th to 31st August 1924 in the NE Area.” [2]

The successful trial resulted in the purchase of eighty Sentinel steam railcars from 1925 to 1932.[2] (Essery & Warburton suggest that the very early Sentinel railcars were rigid-bodied units with later versions being articulated vehicles. [12: p4] This does not seem to have been the case. Early Sentinels were, in fact, articulated. There was a period when Sentinel railcars were rigid-bodied, Jenkinson and Lane talk of rigid-bodied Sentinel railcars being delivered in the years from 1927 up to 1932, [1: p54] which may have been a response to competition from Clayton. Clayton’s steam Railcars are covered below.)

In addition to the LNER’s own railcars, the Cheshire Lines railcars (4 No.) were maintained by the LNER and the  Axholme Joint Railway (AJR) railcar No. 44 was transferred to the LNER when the AJR ceased serving passengers in 1933.

The first two Sentinel railcars purchased by the LNER were set to work in “East Anglia to operate between Norwich and Lowestoft and from King’s Lynn to Hunstanton.” [1: p46]

One of the first two Sentinel railcars to be put into service by the LNER. They commenced work in May 1925 in East Anglia and were classified as Diagram 14600-614E. These railcars used the bodies from the trial railcars and the cost was discounted accordingly. They were numbered  Nos. 12E & 13E, ©  Public Domain. [2]

The East Anglian pair of railmotors “were considered to be lightweight. Later LNER Sentinel railcars were more substantial and included drawgear and buffers. Both railcars were withdrawn from traffic in November 1929 and sent to Metro-Cammell to be rebuilt into heavier railcars.” [2]

Sentinel offered two options. “One scheme was to rebuild the cars so that they resembled the later cars as closely as possible. The LNER chose to rebuild railcar No. 12E to this scheme, and was described as Diagram 153. The second scheme was to rebuild the railcars to the minimum necessary to meet the requirements. No. 13E was rebuilt to this scheme, and was described by Diagram 152.” [2]

Initially No. 13E was rebuilt without conventional drawgear and buffers. This was corrected within a few months of re-entering LNER service in 1930. [1: 46-47][2].

No. 13E (Diagram152) in ex-works condition at Doncaster in the Summer of 1930, at that time still without conventional drawgear and buffers. © Public Domain. [2]

“No. 13E was renumbered as No. 43307 in April 1932 and withdrawn in January 1940 with a mileage of 269,345 miles.” [2]

No. 12E was subject to an almost complete rebuild. It returned to the LNER by Metro-Cammell on 29th May 1930 and started trials at Colwick. After repainting at Doncaster in late June, it entered traffic on 26th September 1930. The body was raised by just over 10 inches and a third step was added below the doors. Drawgear and buffers were fitted before it re-entered service on the LNER network. [2]

No. 12E (Diagram153) in later life, As can be seen here, the 1930 refurbishment resulted in the railcar getting drawgear and buffers. © Public Domain. [2]

“No. 12E was renumbered as No. 43306 in November 1931, and was withdrawn in April 1940 with a mileage of 232,462 miles.” [2]

The RCTS tells us that, “The majority of the Sentinel railcars were named after former horse-drawn mail and stage coaches. The exceptions were the two original cars, Nos. 12E and 13E, No.51915 taken over from the Axholme Joint Railway and Nos. 600-3 on the Cheshire Lines which were all nameless. In addition the two 1927 cars, Nos. 21 and 22, ran without names for a while, before becoming Valliant (sic) and Brilliant respectively. The named cars had a descriptive notice inside detailing what was known about the running of the mail coach from which the car took its name and offering a reward for additional information.” [5: p13]

The story of the various Sentinel Railcars is covered in some detail in the LNER online Encyclopedia here. [2] If greater detail is required, then the RCTS’s Locomotives of the LNER Part 10B considers the Sentinel Railcars in greater depth. This can be found here. [5]

Sentinel produced their steam railcars for the LNER in a series of relatively small batches. Each batch varied in detailed design.

Rigid-bodied railcars were supplied by Sentinel in the period from 1927. The last rigid-bodied units being delivered in 1932. [1: p54,56] The first was an experimental unit which was in use on LNER lines in 1927 but not purchased until June 1928. [1: p58] A further 49 rigid-bodied Sentinels were ordered in 1928, 12 in 1929, 2 in 1930 [1: p56] and  3 further in 1932 [1: p54]

Jenkinson and Lane tell us that a solitary twin unit, LNER Sentinel No. 2291 ‘Phenomena‘, was developed in 1930. The rear bogie on the powered unit was shared with the trailer. They explain that the articulation between the coaches “allowed the individual unit lengths to be reduced compared with a single unit car. A more than doubled carrying capacity was achieved with only a 25% increase in tare weight.” [1: p64]

‘Phenomena’ was an articulated twin, the powered unit had much in common with the rigid-bodied Sentinel Railmotors. This image was carried by ‘The Engineer Journal of November 1930. [17]

As the number of Railcars on the LNER network increased the company felt that it would be prudent to undertake a review of the performance of all its railcars in use on its network. This review covered the year ending 30th September 1934. The best Sentinel steam railcars out-performed others on the network (particularly those of Armstrong-Whitworth). The fleet of “Sentinel railcars recorded over 2.25 million miles in the year, with railcar mileages often exceeding 30,000 miles.” [2].

“With the exception of No. 220 ‘Waterwitch’ which was wrecked in 1929, all of the Sentinel steam railcars were withdrawn between 1939 and 1948.” [2]

The LNER Armstrong-Whitworth Diesel-Electric Railcars

As a quick aside, the Armstrong Whitworth Railcars were direct competitors for the Sentinel Steam Railcars. They were early diesel-electric cars, diesel-powered precursors of what, from different manufacturers, became the dominant form of power source for railcars as the steam railmotors were retired; although what became the dominant form of diesel railcar was to use direct drive rather than traction motors. [1: p71] What became the GWR railcars were privately developed by Hardy Motors Ltd., AEC Ltd., and Park Royal Coachworks Ltd. [1: p72-73] The story  of the GWR diesel railcars is not the focus of this article, but the Armstrong Whitworth Diesel-Electric railcars were direct competitors for the Sentinel railcars and, as such, worth noting here.

In September 1919, Armstrong Whitworth became a Sulzer diesel engine licensee. During 1929 the board of Armstrong Whitworth approved the decision to enter the field of diesel rail traction and obtained a license from Sulzer Brothers for the use of their engines in these rail vehicles.

In 1931, Armstrong Whitworth began construction of “three heavy diesel electric railcars [for the LNER] which operated under the names of ‘Tyneside Venturer’, ‘Lady Hamilton’ & ‘Northumbrian’. They were powered by an Armstrong-Sulzer six cylinder 250hp four stroke diesel engine coupled to GEC electrical equipment. The vehicles were 60 feet long with a cab at each end and a compartment for the engine. They weighed 42tons 10cwt, could carry sixty passengers and luggage at 65mph. The bodywork was provided by Craven Railway Carriage & Wagon Co of Sheffield. The body was of sheet steel panels riveted together. Operating costs were expected to be half those of a steam service of similar capacity.” [8]

As well as running singly the railcars could haul a trailer coach.

“A fourth Armstrong-Whitworth diesel-electric vehicle entered service with the LNER in 1933. This was the un-named No. 294 lightweight railbus. Completed in May 1933, it performed six months of trials before entering regular services in the Newcastle area in September 1933. It was not taken into official LNER stock until August 1934, and is believed to have only been kept as a standby for one of the larger railcars.” [9][cf: 1: p70]

All of the Armstrong Whitworth railcars gave their best performances during the initial trials. “During regular operation, the Armstrong Whitworth diesel-electric railcars suffered from gradually declining performance. This was probably partly due to relatively poor maintenance on what was still a steam railway.” [9]

Ultimately, these units retired relatively early in April, May and December 1939. [9]

The LNER Clayton Steam Railcars and Trailers

The LNER on-line Encyclopedia comments that, “Clayton Wagons Ltd of Lincoln started to build steam railcars in 1927. The LNER purchased a total of eleven between 1927 and 1928.” [10]

Jenkinson and Lane note an earlier date for Clayton Wagons Ltd’s entry into the market. They say that the Clayton cars originated in 1925, originally for use in New Zealand.

The Clayton Steam Railcars were similar in overall appearance to the Sentinels but with one significant exception, the separate coal bunker and water tank that was carried on the power bogie in front of the coach body. Jenkinson and Lane comment that the unit was in essence a rigid railcar with a pivoting power bogie extending beyond the front of the rigid body, © Public Domain. [10][11][1: p50]

These cars were handicapped by the financial instability of Clayton Wagons Ltd. [10][1: p50] The LNER at times had to manufacture parts which were not available from suppliers. The first was withdrawn in July 1932. “With increasing maintenance problems, and a shortage of less strenuous short mileage work, the remainder were withdrawn between April 1936 and February 1937. Due to their short lives and persistent problems, none of the Clayton railcars clocked up significant mileages.” [10] Final mileages ranged from 72,774 to 174,691.

Trailer cars were supplied to the LNER by Clayton Wagons Ltd. The trailers were 4-wheeled with very basic accommodation. Their 4-wheel chassis may well have affected their riding quality. [1: p65] They were “classed as ‘Trailer Brake Thirds’, eight only were built and never seem to have very popular. Pictures of them in use are somewhat rare and little is on record of their working life; they were all withdrawn between March 1948 and March 1949.” [1: p55]

Three photographs can be found in Jenkinson and Jane’s book, one external and two internal views. [1:p 65]

The LMS Steam Railcars

In parallel with the LNER, the LMS had its own programme trials of Sentinel railcars. Jenkinson & Lane tell us that trials were carried out in 1925, “with a hired prototype on the Ripley Branch and a fleet of thirteen cars (the prototype plus a production batch of twelve) was put in service during 1926-7, a year or so ahead of the main LNER order. The LMS cars were all of lightweight low-slung design with less of the working parts  exposed below the frames and no conventional drawgear. They were unnamed and finished in standard crimson-lake livery.” [1: p49]

In many respects these railcars were very similar to the two early lightweight LNER vehicles. Differences were minor: “the LMS cars had only 44 seats and a slightly over 21T tare weight whereas the LNER lightweights were quoted with 52 seats at 17T tare. … The later … LNER … cars were almost 26T except for the 1927 pair (just over 23T).” [1: p49]

Essery and Warburton say that, “The thirteen LMS Sentinel/Cammell vehicles were authorized by LMS Traffic Minute 1040 dated 28th July 1926 at a cost of £3800 each and were allotted Diagram D1779 and ordered as Lot 312. The numbers first allocated are not known except one that was number 2232 with the 1932/3 renumbering scheme allocating numbers 29900-12 with all receiving the LMS standard coach livery in the first instance. … These early models suffered from poor riding qualities and so in 1928 a gear driven 100 hp vehicle was designed. The boiler was on the mainframe and the vertical two cylinder engine was mounted over the rear axle of the power bogie with the axle driven through gearing. The LNER purchased the only one built (named ‘Integrity’) that suffered from severe vibration.” [12: p4]

Essery and Warburton also provide more detail about the Axholme Joint Railway (AJR) Sentinel railcar. The line was jointly owned by the LMS and LNER “with the motive power supplied initially by the LYR and then the LMS after the grouping. The LMS supplied one of the thirteen steam railcars purchased in 1926/7 to the AJR. In February 1930 a larger car was ordered from Sentinels numbered 44 in the LMS carriage list and carried a green/cream livery carrying the name “Axholme Joint Railway” on each side. On 15th July 1933 the passenger service ceased. The car having done 53,786 miles was then purchased by the LNER and numbered 51915.” [12: p4] It seems as though the AJR railcar was rigid-bodied. [1: p62] Which suggests that the full series of LMS railcars were rigid-bodied. The illustration of the AJR railcar provided by Jenkinson and Lane shows it with drawgear and buffers which must have been added after it’s transfer from the LMS.

The Southern Railway (SR) Steam Railcar

The Sentinel railcar at Aldrington Halt which was where the Devil’s Dyke train broke away from the Brighton to Shoreham line, heading north. The station was opened in 1905, © RegencySociety.org [16]

The last steam railcar to be devised for use in the UK was an unusual unit supplied by Sentinel to run on the Southern Railway’s steeply graded branch line from Hove to Devil’s Dyke. Its design was signed off by Richard Maunsell at much the same time as the SR was introducing its new electric services to Brighton in 1933. [1: p67]

The unit was a lightweight Sentinel-Cammell railcar. It was numbered No 6 and had wooden wheel centres to reduce noise but this created problems with track circuit operation on the main line and necessitated the provision of lorry-type brake drums. [13][14][15]

Jenkinson and Lane do not have much that is positive to say about this railcar. They talk of, “the strange ‘torpedo’ shape of the solitary Southern Railway Sentinel … that … was designed for one man operation: the Devil’s Dyke branch was very short and the nature of the machinery was such as to make it possible to stoke up for a complete trip at the start of each journey.” [1: p66]

“Instead of using one of the well-proved LNER type cars (or even the lighter weight LMS alternatives), the whole operation was made the excuse for creating a new sort of one-man operated bus unit … [with] a fashionably streamlined ‘Zeppelin’ type body which seemed to be perched on top [of the chassis] as an afterthought.” [1: p67]

References

  1. David Jenkinson & Barry C. Lane; British Railcars: 1900-1950; Pendragon Partnership and Atlantic Transport Publishers, Penryn, Cornwall, 1996.
  2. https://www.lner.info/locos/Railcar/sentinel.php, accessed on 20th June 2024.
  3. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/djAxz1U23mUmaXFb, accessed on 20th June 2024.
  4. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentinel_Waggon_Works, accessed on 20th June 2024.
  5. Locomotives of the LNER Part 10B: Railcars and Electric Stock; RCTS, 1990; via https://archive.rcts.org.uk/pdf-viewer.php?pdf=Part-10B-Sentinel-Cammell, accessed on 21st June 2024.
  6. https://archive.rcts.org.uk/pdf-viewer.php?pdf=Part-10B-Armstrong-Whitworth-D-E-Railcars, accessed on 21st June 2024.
  7. https://archive.rcts.org.uk/pdf-viewer.php?pdf=Part-10B-Clayton, accessed on 21st June 2024.
  8. https://www.derbysulzers.com/aw.html, accessed on 21st June 2024.
  9. https://www.lner.info/locos/IC/aw_railcar.php, accessed on 21st June 2024.
  10. https://www.lner.info/locos/Railcar/clayton.php, accessed on 21st June 2024.
  11. https://www.pressreader.com/uk/model-rail-uk/20160505/282961039318286, accessed on 21st June 2024.
  12. R.J. Essery & L.G. Warburton; LMS Steam Driven Railcars; LMS Society Monologue No. 14, via https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:EU:1bd3492c-9d09-4294-889b-7a2406986bca, accessed on 22nd June 2024.
  13. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brighton_and_Dyke_Railway, accessed on 22nd June 2024.
  14. Frank S. White; The Devil’s Dyke Railway; in The Railway Magazine, March 1939, p193-4.
  15. Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith; South Coast Railways: Brighton to Worthing; Middleton Press, Midhurst, 1983, caption to image 42.
  16. https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC4F7QY, accessed on 22nd June 2024.
  17. This illustration appeared in ‘The Engineer’ of 28th November 1930. It was included in the third page about Cambridge in the era of the Big Four on the Disused Stations website: http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/c/cambridge/index6.shtml, accessed on 25th June 2024.

Steam Railmotors – Part 2 – Dugald Drummond (LSWR) and Harry Wainwright (SECR)

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“Drummond was born in Ardrossan, Ayrshire on 1st January 1840. His father was permanent way inspector for the Bowling Railway. Drummond was apprenticed to Forest & Barr of Glasgow gaining further experience on the Dumbartonshire and Caledonian Railways. He was in charge of the boiler shop at the Canada Works, Birkenhead of Thomas Brassey before moving to the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway’s Cowlairs railway works in 1864 under Samuel Waite Johnson.” [3]

“He became foreman erector at the Lochgorm Works, Inverness, of the Highland Railway under William Stroudley and followed Stroudley to the London Brighton and South Coast Railway’s Brighton Works in 1870. In 1875, he was appointed Locomotive Superintendent of the North British Railway.” [3]

In 1882 he moved to the Caledonian Railway. In April 1890, he emigrated to Australia, establishing the Australasian Locomotive Engine Works at Sydney, Australia. After only a short time he returned to the UK, founding the Glasgow Railway Engineering Company which was moderately successful, Drummond, “accepted the post as locomotive engineer of the London and South Western Railway [LSWR] in 1895, at a salary considerably less than that he had received on the Caledonian Railway. The title of his post was changed to Chief Mechanical Engineer in January 1905, [4] although his duties hardly changed. [5] He remained with the LSWR until his death” in 1912. [3]

“He was a major locomotive designer and builder and many of his London and South Western Railway engines continued in main line service with the Southern Railway to enter British Railways service in 1947.” [3]

Harry Smith Wainwright was the “Locomotive, Carriage and Wagon Superintendent of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway from 1899 to 1913. He is best known for a series of simple but competent locomotives produced under his direction at the company’s Ashford railway works in the early years of the twentieth century.” [13]

Drummond and Wainwright experimented with steam railmotors/railcars in the early years of the 20th century.

The first of Drummond’s Steam Railmotors/Railcars, in its earliest incarnation, © Public Domain. [11]

In 1902, Dugald Drummond had two built for a branch line near Portsmouth. [6][7: p7] Intended to provide “an economic service on the LSWR and London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) joint branch from Fratton to Southsea two steam railmotors were built by the LSWR in 1902, entering service in April 1903, and designated as K11 Class.” [6][8: p118, 123]

The 43-foot (13 m) long carriage-element seated thirty in third class and twelve in first class. The total length of the unit was 53 ft 5 in (16.28 m). The first of these railcars/railmotors to be built was lent to the Great Western Railway, returning with favourable reports. [8: p118] “However, when introduced in summer 1903 the units struggled with passengers on the gradients on the line and it was discovered that the GWR had trialed the unit on level track and without passengers. The units were rebuilt with a bigger firebox and boiler.” [6][8: p118-119][9: p22-25]

Rebuilt LSWR railmotor with a horizontal rather than vertical boiler. [10]

Wainwright  introduced similar steam railmotors on the SECR in 1904/5. He ordered 8 in total from Kitson of Leeds. The first two for use on the Sheppey Light Railway. Numbered 1 and 2 (WN 4292 and 4293, date 1904), “the engines were ordinary four-wheeled locomotives and could be detached from the car proper if necessary. They were fitted with the first Belpaire fireboxes on the [SECR]. Both engines and cars, were painted lake, the standard colour for the coaching stock on this line. There was accommodation for 56 passengers. all of one, class. ‘One of the cars had been running experimentally on the Deal branch.” [14] Wainwright’s railmotors, while superficially similar to the early Drummond Railmotors were actually articulated vehicles.

No. 3 is shown below on a public domain image found on the Westerham Heritage website. The same image appears on the dedicated webpage for Westerham Station on the Disused Stations website. [15] Disused Stations website tells us that the apparent side tanks on the locomotive portion of the unit “were actually coal bunkers, … with water carried in well tanks. The rail-motors were of the articulated type and the fairly conventional engine portions were built by Messrs Kitson. … Following eventual withdrawal the carriage portions were converted into four two-car hauled sets circa 1923, two of which were articulated twins while the other two were non-articulated push-and-pull sets.” [15]

SECR steam rail-motor No. 3 stands at Westerham in 1907. It was built by Kitson of Leeds was introduced to the Westerham branch of the SECR in April 1906. It was not popular and was withdrawn from the branch later in 1907. [12]

“The coach portion of [SECR] No. 3 was paired with that of No. 8 to form an articulated twin set No.514. The other articulated twin became set No.513, formed from railmotors 1 and 2. Both articulated pairs, which were unique to the Southern Railway, are known to have survived until at least 1959.” [15]

After his experience with the LSWR Railmotors and after modifications had been made, Drummond ordered a further fifteen steam railmotors for the LSWR. These new railcars/railmotors were numbered 1 to 15. The earliest ‘experimental’ Railmotors were ignored in this new numbering system.

The first two were built in 1904 in two parts, “the engines at Nine Elms and the carriages at Eastleigh, and were designated H12 class. These were two feet (600 mm) shorter than the earlier cars, seated eight in first class and thirty-two in third.” [8: p119-120] Nos 1 & 2 “displayed a fully enclosed engine part, encased in a rather severe ‘tin tabernacle’.” [1: p14]

The second LSWR railmotor numbered No.2, © Public Domain. [10]

Thirteen more were built in 1905–6 to slightly different design, as class H13. [8: p120-122] These had the boiler pressure increased from 150 psi (1.0 MPa) to 175 psi (1.21 MPa). Engines and carriages were not detachable and these units were capable of towing an additional carriage. [9: p26,28] After the outbreak of World War I limited the work available for railmotors, the joint stock was taken out of service in 1914 and by 1916 only three units remained in service, to be withdrawn in 1919.” [6][9: p24,28] These units had “a very neatly enclosed locomotive portion embodying ‘coachbuilt’ styling.” [1: p14]

LSWR No.3,  the design is modified compared with No. 1 and No. 2. The leading dimensions are as follows; cylinders l0-in. by 14-in., boiler pressure 175 lbs. per sq. in.; heating surface: firebox 76 sq. ft., water tubes 119 sq.ft., flue tubes 152 sq.ft., total 347 sq. ft.; grate area 61 sq. ft.; capacity of tank 485 gallons and of bunker 1 ton, weight of coach complete 32 tons 6 cwt.; seating accommodation: 1st class 8, and 2nd class 32 passengers, total 40, © Public Domain. [16]

References

  1. David Jenkinson & Barry C. Lane; British Railcars: 1900-1950; Pendragon Partnership and Atlantic Transport Publishers, Penryn, Cornwall, 1996.
  2. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_steam_railcars, accessed on 11th June 2024.
  3. https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Dugald_Drummond, accessed on 11th June 2024.
  4. D. L. Bradley; Locomotives of the L.S.W.R. Part 2; Railway Correspondence and Travel Society, 1967, p2.
  5. J.E. Chacksfield; The Drummond Brothers: A Scottish Duo; Oakwood Press, Usk, 2005, p89.
  6. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_steam_railcars, accessed on 14th June 2024.
  7. R.M. Tufnell; The British Railcar: AEC to HST; David and Charles, 1984.
  8. D.L. Bradley; Locomotives of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway. Part 3; Railway Correspondence and Travel Society Press, London, 1974.
  9. R.W. Rush; British Steam Railcars; Oakwood Press, 1970.
  10. https://victorianweb.org/victorian/technology/railways/locomotives/27.html, accessed on 16th June 2024.
  11. https://www.flickr.com/photos/29903115@N06/48434232291, accessed on 15th June 2024.
  12. https://www.westerhamheritage.org.uk/condtent/catalogue_item/steam-railmotor-number-3, accessed on 15th June 2024.
  13. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Wainwright, accessed on 15th June 2024.
  14. The Locomotive Magazine Volume 11 No. 150, February 1905, p20.
  15. Nick Catford; Westerham Station; http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/w/westerham/index1.shtml, accessed on 15th June 2024.
  16. The Locomotive Magazine Volume 12 No. 162, February 1906, p18; sourced as a .pdf file via:  https://www.oldminer.co.uk/pdf, accessed on 15th June 2024.