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The Dodo and the Phœnix

first published in The Phœnix, Spring 1996.

by E A Wade

Unique survivor: Phœnix on display in the superb railway exhibition hall of the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, Cultra, Co. Down.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary a Phœnix is a bird "fabled to burn itself on a pyre and rise renewed from the ashes"; which makes it a very suitable title for the journal of a society seeking to restore the County Donegal Railway.

The title comes, of course, from the name of the diesel tractor, No. 11, of the CDR which itself had risen from the ashes of a supposedly unsuccessful vertical boilered steam locomotive purchased from the Clogher Valley Railway.

This locomotive had been constructed by Atkinson-Walker Wagon Ltd of the Frenchwood works, Preston, and, were that company to be assigned the name of a bird, it would surely be the Dodo given the seeming inevitability of its extinction as a result of its inability to move very fast.

Or so the stories of the locomotive's service on the CVR would have us believe. However, an examination of the other engines built by Atkinson-Walker presents a different picture.

Atkinson-Walker Wagons Ltd, which was an amalgamation of Atkinson Wagons Ltd (who had absorbed the Leyland Steam Wagon Company of Chorley) and Walker Bros (Wigan) Ltd., produced no more than twenty five locomotives between 1927 and 1931, the majority of which worked on industrial railways in Britain and overseas.

Walker Bros. (Wigan) Ltd. was founded in the 1890s as Walker J. Scarisbrick and Bros., the name being changed about 1880, and produced some twenty steam engines until about 1888; diesel passenger railcars being manufactured at a later date.

However, the design of the Atkinson-Walker engines is attributed solely to Atkinsons, who were much better known for their road steam vehicles. All of these locomotives had vertical boilers within all-enveloping bodywork, giving them the appearance of boxes on wheels. They were built in four classes with 0-4-0 or 0-6-0 wheel arrangements and either vertical or horizontal cylinders.

The works numbers began at 101 and they were all of standard gauge except numbers 111 and 114 (the Clogher Valley engine) both of which were 3ft gauge, and 105-108, which were exported to Singapore.

Information on the Atkinson-Walker locomotives is hard to come by and, in some cases, it is even uncertain as to which of the four classes (A-D) they belonged as, unfortunately, all the company's records and drawings were destroyed long ago by their successors, Atkinson Lorries (1933) Ltd.

Nevertheless, it is worth looking at the works list in detail and recording what information is known. No records exist of number 101 and it is possible that it was either never built or that it was a prototype engine of which the design was later modified. It may have been scrapped or butchered to supply parts for the other engines, but this is speculation.

Classes A and B account for most of the locomotives built and had 3ft diameter wheels (in most cases) with outside bearings; Class A having a two-cylinder vertical engine and Class B a three-cylinder vertical engine. All but one of the locomotives ran on just four wheels.

Number 102 was built in 1927 to standard gauge and went to the Leatham Flour Mills in York. No. 103, of 1927 or 1928, went to Hutchinson Hollingsworth & Co. Ltd. and was also of standard gauge. Both of these locomotives were of either Class A or B; although the former seems more likely.

Photo no. 1: Works number 104 in 1938. The nameplate, here removed, carried the name "R. Briggs & Sons Limited" although the locomotive was known as Lazarus. (W. P. Riley © B. D. Stoyel)

No. 104 was built in 1928, was standard gauge and was named Lazarus by its owners R. Briggs & Sons Ltd. of Clitheroe [photo no. 1]. To judge from its size it probably had three cylinders and was hence of Class B. It was some 21 ft. long, 8 ft. wide and 11 ft. 6 in. high, with a wheelbase of 5 ft. 6 in. It had cylinders of 7 in. bore by 10 in. stroke, a boiler pressure of 280 psi and weighed, in working order, 35 tons. It had a tank capacity of 1,000 gallons, a bunker capacity of 6 cwt, a grate area of 7 sq. ft., and a total heating surface of 125 sq. ft.

Photo no. 2: Works numbe 106 (B. D. Stoyel)

Photo no. 3: Works number 108 with two cylinders plainly visible. (B. D. Stoyel)

Nos. 105-108 were all built in 1928 and went to the Singapore Municipal Council where they became Nos. 1 to 4 respectively. They were all of narrow gauge, possibly metre gauge although the author would like to have this confirmed. Illustrations exist of No. 2 [photo no. 2] and No. 4 [photo no. 3] from which it will be seen that No. 2 (106), and presumably No. 1 (105), were rather different to all other Atkinson-Walker products in that they had semi-open bodywork and, as vertical cylinders cannot be seen, one assumes the cylinders were horizontal.

They were possibly of Class A but really constitute a sub-class of their own. The outside chain connecting the wheels should also be noted and was presumably occasioned by the narrowness of the gauge. No. 3 (107) may have been to the same design or identical to No. 4 (108) [photo no. 3] which was of Class A; the two vertical cylinders being plainly visible. No chain appears on this photograph (which, along with Photo no. 2, is probably a works photograph) but a chain sprocket can be seen.

Photo no. 4: Works number 109 at Finedon. (G. Alliez)

Works number 109 of 1928 [photo no. 4] became No. 2 of Oxford & Shipton Cement Ltd. It is presumed to be of Class A and the length of the cab in the photograph (taken in June 1950 when it was in the ownership of Frances T. Wright at Finedon, Northants, where it went c. 1937) should be compared with that of 104 [photo no. 1].

Photo no. 5: Works number 110 at West Thurrock, the only example of Class D (G. Alliez © B. D. Stoyel)

No. 110 was unique in that she was the only Atkinson-Walker to have six wheels, which simple fact makes it a Class D. It was also built for Oxford & Shipton Cement Ltd. in 1928 (by far the busiest year for Atkinson-Walker) where it was known as No. 1. The photograph [photo no. 5] shows the locomotive in November at Alpha Cement Ltd. of West Thurrock, Essex, where it was given the fitting name of Goliath after its arrival in c. 1940.

No. 111 was the locomotive which first caused the present author to take an interest in Atkinson-Walker as she ran on the 3 ft. gauge Redlake Tramway in South Devon, about which he wrote a book.* Built in 1928 for the Ivybridge China Clay Co. Ltd. (successors to the China Clay Corporation) which then owned the Redlake and Leftlake china clay works on southern Dartmoor, she was named Lady Mallaby-Deeley (after the proprietor's wife).

Photo no. 6: Works number 111 by the winding house on the Redlake Tramway. (Stephenson Locomotive Society)

An original general specification of this locomotive still exists, which accompanied her in 1933 when she was sold after having hauled the demolition trains on the tramway [photo no. 6], and which shows her to have had two vertical cylinders of 7 in. bore by 10 in. stroke and driving wheels of 2 ft. 4 in. diameter. She is described by the makers as being of Class A.3; the three clearly referring to the gauge. This is interesting with reference to the Singapore locomotives, which would presumably have also been classified as Class A; followed by a number indicating the gauge.

No 112 of 1928 was a standard gauge locomotive, of unknown class, which went to the Sharp Granite Co. as their Felspar 2.

Photo no. 7: Works number 112, the only example of Class C. (G. Alliez © B. D. Stoyel)

The only Atkinson-Walker known to be of Class C was works number 113 of 1928 [photo no. 7]; a standard gauge locomotive owned by Blaxters Ltd. of Northumberland. The photograph shows it when working at the Tottenham and District Gas Co. (their No. 10), in May 1947, and the principal distinguishing feature of the class is immediately apparent: the wheel bearings are inside the wheels. The reason for this departure from the standard design is unknown.

Photo no. 8: Works number 114 in the carriage and wagon shop at Aughnacloy, Clogher Valley Railway, September 1929. (H. C. Casserley)

We then come to number 114, the 3 ft. gauge A.3 Class locomotive which was built in 1928 and delivered to the Clogher Valley Railway in January 1929 as their No. 8 [photo no. 8]. She was visually almost identical to the engine on the Redlake Tramway, with the same 7 in. by 10 in. cylinders; however, the wheel diameter had been increased to 2 ft. 6 in.

Some of the measurements given by Edward M Patterson in his book, The Clogher Valley Railway, differ from the known dimensions of the Redlake engine and are as follows: wheelbase - 6 ft. 6 in. (114), 5 ft. 6 in. (111); tank capaity - 500 gallons (114), 300 gallons (111); bunker capacity - 10 cwt. (114), 12 cwt. (111). There were also slight though unimportant differences in the length, width and height.

Clearly, the Clogher engine had been given a greater capacity for water at the expense of coal space. However, the overall weight was identical at 12 tons, as was the heating surface, 60 sq. ft., the working pressure, 280 psi, and the tractive effort, 5,700 lbs.

Atkinson-Walker had offered to send her "on trial", an offer which was accepted by the CVR Committee of Management and the CVR considered, as a result of these trials, that she was somewhat unsuitable. In March 1929, Atkinson-Walker were asked to take the locomotive away and, anxious not to lose the order, they supplied a larger boiler with a total heating surface of 90 sq. ft. and a grate area of 5 sq. ft (previously, 3.3 sq. ft.). They even sent two fitters over to Ireland to install it but all to no avail.

The minutes of the CVR for November 1929 state "that no further dealings be entered into with Messrs Atkinson-Walker Wagons [sic] Ltd" following a further request to have the engine removed earlier that month. £950 was the price originally asked for for 114 but this had, seemingly, not been paid, though it had by now cost the makers £1,200.

Patterson states that Atkinson-Walker were in liquidation by the end of 1929, which may be correct, but they had certainly not stopped building locomotives. Perhaps the receiver permitted them to fulfil their orders in order to recoup as much cash as possible.

The Clogher Valley engine lay out of use for some time until in December 1931 it was purchased by the County Donegal Railways –minus its boiler, cylinders, brakes and lighting – for £125. It was then fitted with a Gardner diesel engine and became no. 11 in the CDR's railcar stock, proudly carrying the name Phœnix.

It had a useful life on the CDR despite a lack of speed, pulled demolition trains and survives to this day. Whether the conversion to diesel was actually necessary is very much open to question however. Given that there is no record of any of the other examples of the make proving unsatisfactory in service and that several of them had long and active lives, one must call into question the competence of her crew on the Clogher Valley Railway.

The technique of firing a vertical, water tube boiler is, after all, rather different to that required for a normal locomotive boiler. When one considers that her bigger replacement boiler had a heating surface increased by 50% over that of the Redlake Tramway engine (a locomotive otherwise very similar), which was considered by a one-time employee to have been the most efficient form of motive power on the line (where the other locomotives were well tried Kerr Stuart designs) and by her driver to have been " nice engine to drive", it seems inconceivable that all, or perhaps any, of the blame for the failure of 114 should rest with her makers.

Two more four wheeled locomotives (115 and 116) were built in 1928 (or possibly 1929) but their classification and destination is not recorded. Finally, in 1930, a set of three Class B standard gauge locomotives ( nos. 117-119) were purchased by Harold Arnold & Son Ltd. who were contractors of Doncaster and Leeds; where they became Nos. 1, 2 and 3 respectively [photo no. 9].

Photo no. 10: Atkinson-Walker boiler from The Engineer.

No original drawings of these locomotives are known to exist but The Engineer of 13th November, 1925, (just two years prior to the first railway locomotive) carried an article which included a section through the water tube boiler which was then being installed in the Atkinson Uniflow Steam Tractor [photo no. 10]. These steam tractors (or lorries), although called Atkinsons, were already being manufactured by Atkinson-Walker Wagons Ltd. at that date.

Photo no. 11: Section through a three-cylinder Atkinson-Walker "uniflow" steam engine.

The boiler fitted to the railway locomotives was of the same design and was notable in that the construction was largely effected by welding rather than rivets. A 1928 book entitled Modern Traction for Industrial and Agricultural Railways included a chapter on geared steam locomotives which contained a section through a three cylinder Atkinson-Walker "uniflow" steam engine [photo no. 11], a uniflow engine being one in which there are separate inlet and exhaust ports. This drawing clearly shows the bevel gear by which the drive was connected to the transmission shaft from which the power was transmitted to the axles by roller chains.

Further technical and historical information on works number 111, to which the Clogher Valley railway locomotive was closely related, appears in my book on the Redlake Tramway, which my publisher informs me is almost out of print. All the available evidence, other than the tales from the Clogher Valley, seems to point to these little locomotives having been more than equal to the work demanded of them.

Atkinson-Walker locomotives may not have been swifts but neither were they dodos. It is a happy circumstance that Phœ has survived to run once more on the County Donegal Railway, but waht a pity we shall never see her in steam.

* The Redlake Tramway and China Clay Works, E. A. Wade, Twelveheads Press, 1982.

References

British Steam Locomotive Builders, James W. Lowe, Goose and Son, 1975, pp. 31-32.

Industrial Locomotives of Central Southern England, Industrial Railway Society, 1981, p. 118.

The Redlake Tramway and China Clay Works, E. A. Wade, Twelveheads Press, 1982, pp. 76-80.

The Clogher Valley Railway, Edward M. Patterson, David & Charles, 1972, pp. 216-219.

The County Donegal Railways, Edward M. Patterson, David & Charles, 2nd ed. 1969, pp. 168-9.

General Specifications of Class A.3 Atkinson-Walker Rail Tractor, author's collection.

The Engineer, 13th November, 1925, pp. 513-514.

Geared Steam Locomotives, in Modern Traction for Industrial and Agricultural Railways, 1928, pp. 27-28.