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

Fowler nameplate on a Showman's engine

1916-built John Fowler & Co. 'K7' 12nhp ploughing engine, "Linkey"

John Fowler & Co. steam roller of 1923

Fowler Tractor

Fowler shunter, Buckinghamshire Railway Centre

Fowler shunter on South Devon Railway

18 in (457 mm) gauge locomotive built for the Suakin Expedition

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. It merged with Marshall, Sons & Co., Ltd., of Gainsborough in 1947 to form Marshall-Fowler Ltd.

Although not well known for them, Fowler also built a small number (117 has been claimed) of steam wagons. These were vertical-boilered, with an unusual single-crank cross-compound vee-twin engine. They featured a gearbox (but no clutch) to provide a low drive ratio for climbing steep hills with heavy loads.[1] At least one was preserved, as part of the Tom Varley collection.

During the Second World War, the Hunslet factory also produced Matilda, Cromwell, and Centaur tanks for the Army. Production finally ceased in early 1974.[2]

Preservation

Railway locomotives

Some locations of preserved Fowler railway locomotives include:

Australia

• Bennett Brook Railway, a tourist railway in Perth, Western Australia
• Leeds Fowler 11277: restored in Bundaberg, Australia
• Leeds Fowler, 0-6-0T, "Faugh-a Ballagh", preserved at Port Douglas, Australia.[3]

Brazil

• Railway Museum in Jundiaí, SP (Brazil). Builder plates #1531 from 1870, she's a 4-4-0 for 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) gauge. Built for Companhia Paulista de Estradas de Ferro where she spent all of her active life and as CP's first locomotive she was numbered #1.

Germany

• Open Air Museum "Freilichtmuseum am Kiekeberg", near Hamburg, Germany

New Zealand

• Canterbury Steam Preservation Society, Christchurch, New Zealand
• Silver Stream Railway, Wellington, New Zealand
• Tokomaru Steam Museum, Tokomaru, New Zealand

India

• National Railway Museum, Delhi, India

Pakistan

• Changa Manga Forest Railway, Pakistan[4]

United Kingdom

• Amberley Museum Railway
• Bredgar & Wormshill Light Railway
• East Kent Railway (heritage)
• Middleton Railway – Two Fowler locomotives
• Midland Railway Butterley
• Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway
• Statfold Barn Railway
• Vale of Rheidol Railway Museum Collection - Not currently on public display
• Swanage Railway- Diesel Shunter 'May'- Under Restoration

Traction engines

• The Iron Maiden, a Fowler & Co.-built Showman's engine which was featured in the film, The Iron Maiden, is exhibited as part of the Scarborough Fair Collection of Fairground organs and machinery at events such as the Great Dorset Steam Fair.
• The Melbourne Steam Traction Engine Club of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, a volunteer organisation dealing with the preservation of Australia's mechanical heritage, has a number of Fowler Traction Engines and Steam Rollers in preservation, some privately owned by members, and some owned by the club. Most are in restored, operating condition and are demonstrated to the public regularly. Club engines include one of a pair of Z7 ploughing engines.
• John Fowler 7nhp Steam Road Locomotive, Serial No 13037, in Wellington, New South Wales, Australia.[5]

References

1. Andrade, Edward (1928). Engines. London: G. Bell & Sons. p. 205. OCLC 4415095.
2. • Introduction to the records of the company, held at Reading University.
3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
4. Changa Manga Forest Railway Archived 4 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine article at 'All Things Pakistan' - accessed 31 March 2008
5. "John Fowler 7nhp Steam Road Locomotive". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H01867. Retrieved 2 June 2018.

External links

• "The Leeds Engine web site", leedsengine.info
• Fowler traction engines
• Fowler diesel locomotive (model)
• Fowler Traction Engine list
• Leeds Fowler 11277 preserved in Bundaberg Australia
• Video clip of Leeds Fowler 11277 preserved in Bundaberg Australia
• 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)
• Brown, Jonathan. "Fowler, John (1826–1864)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/10010. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)