Yorkshire Engine Company

The Yorkshire Engine Company (YEC) was a small independent locomotive manufacturer in Sheffield, England. The Company was formed in 1865 and continued to produce locomotives and carry out general engineering work until 1965. Mainly known for shunting engines for the British market, but also built main line engines for overseas customers.

They built steam locomotives from 1865 to 1956 and diesel locomotives from 1950 to 1965.

Yorkshire Engine Company should not be confused with the Yorkshire Patent Steam Wagon Co. of Leeds.

The early years

Early YEC locomotives produced for the UK market consisted mainly of 0-4-0STs and 0-6-0STs. The style of these was typical of small locomotives of the time with the so-call ‘ogee’ tanks and very little protection for the driver. That did not stop early locomotives surviving with industrial users until the 1950s.

Not surprisingly, the collieries and steelworks of Yorkshire were regular customers, but UK sales were not limited to the such a narrow area with 5 narrow gauge locomotives going to the Lodge Hill and Upnor Railway, a military railway in Kent.

The 1890s saw YEC building locomotives to much further a field and the start of long term relationships with railways in Chile, Peru and India. They also built a single electric locomotive for the British War Office.

It is said they the first locomotive to be built in Britain with Walschaerts valve gear was a product of Yorkshires.

Mainline Engines

In common with many other private builders, YEC undertook orders for mainline locomotive for the UK and overseas countries.

Various locomotives were built for the Great Northern Railway, Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and the Great Eastern Railway.

In 1874, an order of 13 F class locomotives was dispatched to New Zealand. Two of these engines survived into preservation.
* F12 at Ferrymead Railway, in a derelict state,
* F180 "Meg Merriles" at Auckland's Museum of Transport and Technology, in static restored condition.

In 1901 4 locomotives were built for use on the Metropolitan Railway mainline to Aylesbury. These were F Class 0-6-2Ts and survived for around 60 years. More orders from the Metropolitan Railway followed in 1915 and 1916 for larger G Class 0-6-4Ts. Unlike the F Class, the G Class locomotives passed to the LNER and only lasted in service for 30 years.

1928 saw the LNER get locomotives delivered directly from Sheffield. These were 9 locomotives (LNER 2682 to 2690) were Class N2 0-6-2Ts from working suburban trains.

Along with a number of other private builders, YEC built a batch of GWR 5700 Class 0-6-0PTs in 1929/1930.

Between 1949 and 1956 50 GWR 9400 Class 0-6-0PTs were built for British Railways. The last of these BR No. 3409 (YE2584 of 1956) was the last Steam locomotive built at Meadowhall. The order for these locomotives had actually been given to the Hunslet Engine Company in Leeds but as they were already busy, the work was sub-contracted to Sheffield.

Far bigger than anything built for use in Britain were the export locomotives. 2-8-2 and 4-8-2 tender locomotives for South America were, in the long run, the exception rather than the rule.

Car Production

During 1907 Yorkshire Engine Co. started to build motor cars. These were not a success and very few were produced.

Miniature locomotives

The Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway “Mainline in Miniature” built by Captain Howey was, and still is, well known for its fleet of engines built by Davy Paxman and based on the locomotives of Nigel Gresley. A flaw with these designs was shown up when the railway started running to Dungeness through the winter. This was the lack of protection for the driver. Captain Howey and Henry Greenly started work on a pair of 4-6-2 locomotives based on Canadian designs, with larger, better protected, cabs.

The closure of the main workshops at Romney in 1930 left the railway with the boilers, wheels and cylinders for the locomotives and nowhere to build them, so a deal was done with Yorkshire Engine Co. and the locomotives were completed in Sheffield. It is assumed that all the detailed design works was done by Yorkshires based on a few sketches drawn by Captain Howey.

YE 2294 & 2295 are better known as ‘No. 9 Winston Churchill’ and ‘No.10 Doctor Syn’, they are still running (other than when being overhauled) and are the best known of any Yorkshire Engine Co. locomotives, even if few people realise the significance.

United Steel Companies and diesel locomotive development

The business was bought by the United Steel Companies Limited (USC) in 1948. It would appear that the reasons for this purchase were twofold. Firstly USC needed replacement locomotives so it made sense to buy a manufacturer (at the right price) and secondly the idea had been put forward on developing a central engineering workshop for their steelworks at Templeborough (Rotherham) and Stocksbridge. Both works were being expanded and redeveloped, and were easily accessible by rail from the YEC works. In the post war climate, the YEC management were willing to sell.

Following the purchase, work began on building steam locomotives for the internal rail systems at several steelworks as well as ironstone mines around Britain. YEC continued to build locomotives for other customers, just as they had before the takeover. The design for a modern 0-6-0ST locomotive was bought from Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns and locomotives of this type were built for various steel works, primarily as replacements for locomotives worn out during World War II. This design was undoubtedly chosen because a number were already in use at Appleby-Frodingham works, Scunthorpe and given various type names (these include "Type 1", "16inch" and "Group 17"). A small number of locomotives were built for ironstone mines to a War Department ‘Austerity’ design. It is believed that the use of this design was connected with the sub-contract of other locomotive construction from Hunslet Engine Company.

In 1950 a diesel-electric locomotive was designed and built specifically for use in melting shop of Templeborough steelworks. The duty had special requirements for a locomotive to fit through small opening and around tight curves while being powerful enough to haul heavy ‘Casting Cars’. The weight of the locomotive had to be quite high to give better grip. The first locomotive (Works number 2480) left the works at the end of 1950 with a second (No. 2481) leaving in early 1951.

No.2480 was displayed and demonstrated before final delivery while No.2481 was delivered direct from the works (a journey of about 1 mile). Both locomotives survived to be preserved in the late 1980s.

No other locomotives were built to this design.

Production diesel-electric locomotives

It was 2 years before another diesel locomotive was built but during this time the diesel-electric design was refined and YEC were soon marketing 4 designs all based on engines and electrical equipment similar to the first diesel locomotives.

*DE1 – 0-4-0, 240 hp, 37tons, 25 mph

*DE2 – 0-4-0, 275 hp, 45tons, 22 mph

*DE3 – 0-4-0, 400 hp, 50tons, 25 mph

*DE4 – 0-6-0, 400 hp, 51tons, 27 mph

(not every locomotive was built to these exact details)

The DE2 design was popular with steelworks and continued to be built until 1965. Small numbers of the DE1 and DE4 were built but were superseded in 1955 and 1956 by new designs. No locomotives were built to the DE3 design, probably because they were too big and heavy for use on normal railway work.

Rolls-Royce Engines

When Rolls-Royce Diesels introduced their C series engine range, it was quickly adopted by locomotive builders for use in Diesel-hydraulic locomotives. These benefited from having a faster running engine (1800 rpm). Likewise, YEC used the C series engines in a new range of locomotives, the first of which was introduced in 1955 and which continued to evolved until 1965, the higher engine speed being an advantage for diesel-electric locomotives as well.

Generally the diesel locomotives built with Rolls-Royce engines shared many or all of a number of design features – rounded engine covers (bonnets) narrow enough to permit walkways to be put down each side; 4 cab windows overlooking the engine(s); fuel tanks and/or battery boxes built into the running boards; walkways or balconies at each end; access to the cab from a walkway or balcony.

None of the Rolls-Royce engined locomotives were given class/type numbers but several were given names. The first to be given a name was the ‘Janus’. This design was symmetrical with two engines (C6SFL rated at 200 hp each) and a central cab. The name was appropriate as Janus was a Roman god with two faces. ‘Taurus’, ‘Indus’ & ‘Olympus’ designs were produced which had many similarities in style.

Diesel-hydraulics and locomotives for British Railways

Around 1960, the first diesel-hydraulic were produced. Other builders had shown that a type of hydraulic transmission, called a ‘multi-stage torque converter’, was cheap to buy, needed very little maintenance and was very easy to use. YEC immediately found customers for these locomotives and increased the number of designs available.

In 1960 and 1961 batches of 180 hp locomotives, totalling 20, were built for British Railways. These were very closely related to the standard small diesel-hydraulic locomotives but with a few modifications to suit their use on a main line railway (different arrangement of fuel tanks, vacuum train brake system & marker lights). These locomotives were later designated Class 02.

At least three YEC locomotives were demonstrated or given trials on British Railways between 1956 and 1963, these were a Janus, a Taurus and a 300 hp diesel-hydraulic

Yorkshire Engine Co were also involved with the construction of the mechanical parts of 10 prototype Class 15 locomotives.

Exports to India

Yorkshire Engine Co had been exporting steam locomotives to India for most of their existence, but between 1958 and 1964 several batches of locomotives of several designs were built for use at the Durgapur Steel Works in Eastern India. The Durgapur works was developed in conjunction with United Steel Companies, so it is hardly surprising that YEC locomotives were used there.

Closure and life after death

Locomotive construction ended in 1965. It is not recorded exactly why the works was closed but three facts seem to have all had an influence on the decision. Firstly the market for new locomotives was shrinking rapidly with a number of other manufacturers closing around this time. Secondly, most of the USC works were fully equipped with YEC locomotives. Thirdly, nationalisation of the British steel industry was to take place in 1967 and it is unlikely that the locomotive business was wanted as part of the new corporation.

Several locomotives under construction at the time of closure left the works before they had been completed. These locomotives were destined for USC steelworks which had the capability to complete the construction work in their own engineering works.

The rights to the YEC designs and the good will of the business were sold to Rolls-Royce ‘Sentinel Division’ at Shrewsbury who had previously supplied a high proportion of diesel engines used by YEC and were a competitor in the industrial locomotive market. In 1967 three locomotives were bought from Shrewsbury for use at Scunthorpe Steelworks, these were built to the Janus design to match the many similar locomotives there built in Sheffield. A fourth locomotive, to a different YEC design, was supplied to AEI in Manchester.

When Rolls-Royce hit financial problems in 1971 they stopped all locomotive work and the YEC designs, along with those for Rolls-Royce locomotives passed to Thomas Hill at Kilnhurst, near Rotherham who had been agents for Rolls-Royce for some time. (Thomas Hill built three locos to Yorkshire design, for the Durgapur Steel Works in Eastern India).

The former Yorkshire Engine Company works at Meadowhall, Sheffield was transferred to McCall and Company another part of the United Steel Companies group. Reinforcing bars (for concrete) were produced here. The works passed to Rom River Reinforements in the mid 1990s but was closed early in the 21st century when the roof of the main building was deemed to be beyond repair.

Locomotives returned to the site on a regular basis between 1988 and 2001 when the South Yorkshire Railway Preservation Society used the few remaining railway lines in the Meadowhall works to load and unload numerous preserved locomotives that were moved by Lorry (the lines between the buildings were set into the roadway). A number of these locomotives were products of Yorkshire Engine Company, including YE2480, the first diesel locomotive they built.

Major Customers for Diesel Locomotives

*British Railways

*ICI

*National Coal Board

*Pilkington Glass

*Port of London Authority

*United Steel Co (locomotives still in use)

Re-use of the Yorkshire Engine Co Name.

In 1988 the name "Yorkshire Engine Company" was re-registered by a new business. This new company was again in the Industrial Locomotive business but with efforts concentrated on hiring locomotives to various industrial users and also undertaking rebuilds and re-engining work on existing locomotive.The new YEC went into receivership in 2001 and ceased trading. The yard was based on the army camp at Long Marston, which these days (2007) is used for storage of locomotives and rolling stock, both for preservation groups and commercial organisations.

References

*The Industrial Railway Society - Various records and publications

*One man’s Railway, J.B.Snell, 1983

*Yorkshire Engine Co. - Various records and publications