George Forrester and Company was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

marine engine An inboard motor is a marine propulsion system for boats. As opposed to an outboard motor where an engine is mounted outside the hull of the craft, an ''inboard motor'' is an engine enclosed within the hull of the boat, usually connected to a pr ...

and

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...

manufacturer at Vauxhall Foundry in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, established by Scottish engineer George Forrester (b. 1780/81). The company opened in 1827 as

iron founder An iron founder (also iron-founder or ironfounder) in its more general sense is a worker in molten ferrous metal, generally working within an iron foundry. However, the term 'iron founder' is usually reserved for the owner or manager of an iron foun ...

s and commenced building

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s in 1834.

History

The company was noted in Liverpool directories from 1827 as "Iron founders", the works established in the former "Union Mill"

cotton factory Cotton Factory is an historic industrial complex formerly known as The Imperial Cotton Company Limited in the industrial north end of Hamilton, Canada. The complex has been renamed the Cotton Factory and is repurposed for small manufacturing and off ...

, known locally as the "Welsh Factory", built by Messrs. Kirkman & Co. on the east side of Vauxhall Road in the late eighteenth century, but closed after a few years, remaining empty for some time thereafter. The factory was later enlarged and the original building demolished. A significant product for the company in its early days was the production of machinery involved in sugar processing for the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

, before branching into marine engines. A few Railway locomotives were produced from 1834 to 1847. The

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

saw the factory stretched to its maximum output in order to produce

ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

Locomotives

Under Alexander Allan's attendance the first locomotives were types, one early in 1834 for the

Liverpool and Manchester Railway The Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR) was the first inter-city railway in the world. It opened on 15 September 1830 between the Lancashire towns of Liverpool and Manchester in England. It was also the first railway to rely exclusively ...

called '' Swiftsure'' and three later that year, ''Kingstown, Dublin'' and ''Vauxhall'' for the

Dublin and Kingstown Railway The Dublin and Kingstown Railway (D&KR), which opened in 1834, was Ireland’s first passenger railway. It linked Westland Row in Dublin with Kingstown Harbour (Dún Laoghaire) in County Dublin. The D&KR was also notable for a number of other ...

. In 1835, the Dublin and Kingstown Railway ordered two

tank locomotive A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of a more traditional tender. Most tank engines also have bunkers (or fuel tanks) to hold fuel; in a tender-tank locom ...

s, ''Victoria'' and ''Comet'', these being the first tank locomotives in public service. Two others of the same type produced for the

London and Greenwich Railway The London and Greenwich Railway (L&GR) was opened in London between 1836 and 1838. It was the first steam railway in the capital, the first to be built specifically for passengers, and the first entirely elevated railway. Origins The idea for t ...

between 1836 and 1837 were the first in England.

Innovations

They were groundbreaking in that for the first time horizontal cylinders were mounted at the front of the locomotive outside the frame. Forrester also used four fixed eccentrics, rather than two loose ones to operate the

valve gear The valve gear of a steam engine is the mechanism that operates the inlet and exhaust valves to admit steam into the cylinder and allow exhaust steam to escape, respectively, at the correct points in the cycle. It can also serve as a reversing g ...

. A single linkage operated the whole arrangement at once, rather than having four for the driver to operate, the handles no longer rocking to and fro while the locomotive was in motion.

Stability problems

Forrester's engines were extremely successful for their time, but the outside cylinders and cranks caused the locomotives to sway so much that they were referred to as "Boxers". From 1834 an extra

trailing axle On a steam locomotive, a trailing wheel or trailing axle is generally an unpowered wheel or axle (Wheelset (rail transport), wheelset) located behind the driving wheels. The axle of the trailing wheels is usually located in a trailing Bogie, t ...

was added for some for the

. The Dublin and Kingston Railway also converted all their Forrester engines to well tank engines by 1841, the process being described as "not difficult".

1840s

Three

2-4-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles and no trailing wheels. The notation 2-4-0T indi ...

locomotives A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the u ...

were supplied to the

London & Brighton Railway The London and Brighton Railway (L&BR) was a railway company in England which was incorporated in 1837 and survived until 1846. Its railway ran from a junction with the London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) at Norwood – which gives it access fro ...

between October 1842 and March 1843.

John Urpeth Rastrick John Urpeth Rastrick (26 January 1780 – 1 November 1856) was one of the first English steam locomotive builders. In partnership with James Foster, he formed Foster, Rastrick and Company, the locomotive construction company that built the '' ...

inspected the locomotives, which were designed for freight, at the factory and confirmed the workmanship was good but required his own modifications and alterations. On 6 October 1844, the South Eastern Railway (SER) ordered six Stephenson "long boiler" pattern goods from a "Robert Browne of Liverpool" though this seemed to be way disguising the manufacturer as Forrester's which whom a director had a familial connection. The largest order was for fifteen s in 1847 for the South Eastern Railway. These like the three for the London & Brighton Railway, were of the Stephenson "long boiler" pattern.

Influence

Between 1840 and 1844, the

built five locomotives at its Grand Canal Street Railway works to a design that drew heavily on the supplied engines from Forrester.

Marine engines

George Forrester and Company built direct-acting side-lever engines of 464 hp for the 1150

ton Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean * the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds ...

SS ''Liverpool'', second steam passenger vessel to cross the Atlantic Ocean from

. The ship was built at Liverpool in 1837 by Humble and Milcrest for former

Lord Mayor of Liverpool The office of Lord Mayor of Liverpool has existed in one form or another since the foundation of Liverpool as a borough by the Royal Charter of King John in 1207, simply being referred to as the Mayor of Liverpool. The position is now a most ...

Sir John Tobin Sir John Tobin (1763–1851) was a Manx merchant based in Liverpool. He was a merchant seaman who became a sea captain, making voyages both as a slave trader and as a privateer against French shipping. He was Mayor of Liverpool in 1819–1820. In ...

who sold her on completion to the

Transatlantic Steamship Company Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to: Film * Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950 * Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s * ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film) ...

, a subsidiary of the

City of Dublin Steam Packet Company The City of Dublin Steam Packet Company was a shipping line established in 1823. It served cross-channel routes between Britain and Ireland for over a century. For 70 of those years it transported the mail. It was 'wound-up' by a select commit ...

. The ''Liverpool'' was the first steamship built and fitted up for the transatlantic service and the first transatlantic vessel with two funnels; after making several return journeys to New York she was sold to the

Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company P&O (in full, The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company) is a British shipping and logistics company dating from the early 19th century. Formerly a public company, it was sold to DP World in March 2006 for £3.9 billion. DP World c ...

; it was on this vessel that

Samuel Cunard Sir Samuel Cunard, 1st Baronet (21 November 1787 – 28 April 1865), was a British-Canadian shipping magnate, born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, who founded the Cunard Line, establishing the first scheduled steamship connection with North America. H ...

came to Liverpool from Halifax, Nova Scotia to commence business as a ship owner. P&O extended the hull of the ''Liverpool'', increasing her tonnage to 1543 while changing the name to ''Great Liverpool'', and put her on the mail service between

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

; she was holed on a reef 24 February 1846 and went ashore off

Cape Finisterre Cape Finisterre (, also ; gl, Cabo Fisterra, italic=no ; es, Cabo Finisterre, italic=no ) is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain. In Roman times it was believed to be an end of the known world. The name Finisterre, like ...

. The surviving wreck is being studied to assess recovery and preservation in a museum. The first British ocean-going iron warship ''Nemesis'', launched 1839 was powered by 120 hp Forrester engines. In 1846 the firm built 180 hp engines for the ''Princess Clementine'' used in 1849 for superintendent of telegraphs for the South Eastern Railway Company,

Charles Vincent Walker Charles Vincent Walker FRS (20 March 1812 – 24 December 1882) was an English electrical engineer and publisher, a major influence on the development of railway telecommunications, he was also the first person to send a submarine telegraph sign ...

's successful experiment off

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

to pass messages by

submarine cable Submarine cable is any electrical cable that is laid on the seabed, although the term is often extended to encompass cables laid on the bottom of large freshwater bodies of water. Examples include: *Submarine communications cable *Submarine power ...

. Walker sent the first submarine telegraph messages to Chairman of the Railway, James MacGregor.

John McFarlane Gray John McFarlane Gray (7 April 1831 – 14 January 1908), also known as J. Macfarlane Gray, was a Scottish engineer who invented a portable steam riveting machine and a steam steering mechanism for Isambard Kingdom Brunel's famous ''SS Great Easte ...

(1831–1908) designed marine engines and various types of machinery for the firm including the first steam-steering gear, retrofitted to the Great Eastern Steamship Company's liner in 1867; between 1865 and 1878, the ''Great Eastern'' was employed laying submarine cables. Forresters also built engines for the

White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping company. Founded out of the remains of a defunct packet company, it gradually rose up to become one of the most prominent shipping lines in the world, providing passenger and cargo services between t ...

ocean liners An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...

RMS ''Atlantic'', and .

Personnel

The works manager was Scottish mechanical engineer Alexander Allan (1809–1891) until 1840, when he left to take charge of the workshops of the

Grand Junction Railway The Grand Junction Railway (GJR) was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846 when it was amalgamated with other railways to form the London and North Western Railway. The line built by the company w ...

at Edge Hill, using his experience with Forrester to design the outside-cylinder Crewe-type locomotives. Benjamin Hick Jr (1818–1845) engineer, formerly of

B. Hick and Sons B. Hick and Sons, subsequently Hick, Hargreaves & Co, was a British engineering company based at the Soho Ironworks in Bolton, England. Benjamin Hick, a partner in Rothwell, Hick and Rothwell, later Rothwell, Hick & Co., set up the company in par ...

, younger brother of politician

John Hick John Harwood Hick (20 January 1922 – 9 February 2012) was a philosopher of religion and theologian born in England who taught in the United States for the larger part of his career. In philosophical theology, he made contributions in the are ...

, was working for George Forrester and Co. during 1844 when he presented his improved double-cylinder marine engine to the

Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

; a pair equal to 220 hp were built for Scottish shipbuilder John Laird and the 573 ton iron

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses wer ...

PS ''

Helen MacGregor ''Rob Roy'' (1817) is a historical novel by Walter Scott, one of the Waverley novels. It is probably set in 1715, the year of the first Jacobite uprising, and the social and economic background to that event are an important element in the no ...

'', sailing between Hull and

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

for prominent ship owner Joseph Gee (1802–1860). One of the vessel's notable passengers during June 1847 was the young artist

James Abbott McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...

; the ''Helen MacGregor'' was the first Hull steamer in the

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

trade. Benjamin Jr died relatively young in 1845, age 27. Charles Hodgson Horsfall (1810–1847), younger brother of politician Thomas Horsfall, died two years later in 1847. Partner in the firm, also from a Scottish family, Walter Fergus MacGregor (1812–1863) was the younger brother of James MacGregor (1808–1858), politician, Chairman and General Manager of the South Eastern Railway. MacGregor's mother was also christened ''Helen''. Walter Fergus MacGregor has a stained glass window and memorial dedicated to his memory in St George's Church, Everton, also the last resting place of Charles Hodgson Horsfall, it reads:

This Monument is erected by a few of his numerous friends as a testimony of his great worth and many excellencies, and the unfeigned love and esteem they bear to his memory.

MacGregor's second son,

Reverend The Reverend is an style (manner of address), honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and Minister of religion, ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and c ...

William MacGregor (1848–1937), used his inherited wealth as benefactor to the town of

Tamworth, Staffordshire Tamworth (, ) is a market town and borough in Staffordshire, England, north-east of Birmingham. The town borders North Warwickshire to the east and north, Lichfield to the north, south-west and west. The town takes its name from the River T ...

and became a leading

Egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...

and collector of Egyptian antiquities. He eventually held the position of Vice President of the Liverpool Institute of Archaeology. Items from MacGregor's collection are housed in the

Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of ...

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

and Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, Swansea.

Professionalism

During the construction of the first locomotives for the Dublin and Kingstown Railway officers and directors on several occasions visited the works of both Forrester and

Sharp, Stewart and Company Sharp, Stewart and Company was a steam locomotive manufacturer, initially located in Manchester, England. The company was formed in 1843 upon the demise of Sharp, Roberts & Co.. It moved to Glasgow, Scotland, in 1888, eventually amalgamating wit ...

of Manchester, who were both constructing three engines each for their new railway. They noted visits to Forresters game them little cause for concern whereas at Sharps the mechanics were at times found to be partaking of "too ardent feasting at craft clubs" with related absenteeism and irregularities.

Closure

Locomotive building finished around 1847, thereafter the firm diversified, closing in 1890. Nothing remains of the former sites at 234, 224 and 40 Vauxhall Road, Liverpool.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:George Forrester And Company Engine manufacturers of the United Kingdom Forrester Steam engine manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in Liverpool Defunct companies based in Liverpool British companies established in 1827 Ammunition manufacturers