John Fowler & Co.

John Fowler & Co Engineers of Leathley Road, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England produced traction engines and ploughing implements and equipment, as well as railway equipment. Fowler also produced the Track Marshall tractor which was a tracked version of the Field Marshall. British Railways Engineering Department locomotives ED1 to ED7 were built by Fowler.

History

:"Main article: John Fowler (agricultural engineer)"John Fowler was an agricultural engineer and inventor who was born in Wiltshire in 1826. He worked on the mechanisation of agriculture and was based in Leeds. He is credited with the invention of steam-driven ploughing engines. He died 4 December 1864, following a hunting accident. After his death, John Fowler & Co., was then continued by Robert Fowler and Robert Eddison. In 1886 the limited company of John Fowler & Co., (Leeds) Ltd., was formed, merging with Marshall, Sons & Co., Ltd., of Gainsborough in 1947 to form Marshall-Fowler Ltd. Production finally ceased in early 1974 [* [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=007-fowler_1&cid=0#0 Introduction to the records of the company, held at Reading University.] ] .

Preservation

Some locations of preserved Fowler railway locomotives include:

* East Kent Railway (heritage)
* Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway
* [http://qldrailheritage.com/ascr/ Leeds Fowler 11277: restored in Bundaberg, Australia]
* Phyllis Rampton Trust
* Changa Manga Forest Railway, Pakistan [ [http://pakistaniat.com/2007/10/21/changa-manga-forest-railway/ Changa Manga Forest Railway] "article at 'All Things Pakistan' " - accessed 31-03-2008]

References

External links

* [http://www.steam-up.co.uk/fowler/fowler.htm Fowler traction engines]
* [http://www.davidlosmith.co.uk/LMS_Fowler.htm Fowler diesel locomotive (model)]
* [http://www.slcwebdev.co.uk/tractiontime/modules/articles/index.php?cat_id=4 Fowler Traction Engine list]
* [http://qldrailheritage.com/ascr/ Leeds Fowler 11277 preserved in Bundaberg Australia]
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=-xt6sqpjmuc Video clip of Leeds Fowler 11277 preserved in Bundaberg Australia]
* [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=007-fowler_1&cid=0#0 The records of the company, to 1974, are held at Reading University - Museum of English Rural Life - John Fowler and Co (Leeds) Ltd (TR FOW/AC - TR FOW/AD)]

* ODNB article by Jonathan Brown, ‘Fowler, John (1826–1864)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2007 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/10010, accessed 29 June 2008]