Hudswell, Clarke and Company Limited was an

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

and

locomotive 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 ...

building company in Jack Lane,

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds Central parliamenta ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England.

History

Hudswell Clarke Nunlow at Lafarge Hope Cement Works 2

The company was founded as Hudswell and Clarke in 1860. In 1870 the name was changed to Hudswell, Clarke and Rodgers. There was another change in 1881 to Hudswell, Clarke and Company. The firm became a

limited company In a limited company, the liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by shares or by guarantee. In a company limited by shares, the li ...

in 1899. In 1862, soon after the company had been formed, they were given the initial design work on

William Hamond Bartholomew William Hamond Bartholomew (30 January 1831 – 19 November 1919) was an engineer in West Yorkshire, England who was responsible for the expansion of the Aire and Calder Navigation in the 19th century and invented a number of improvements in coal- ...

's compartment boats for the Aire and Calder Navigation. The choice of the company may have been influenced by the fact that Bartholomew, the chief engineer for the Navigation, and William Clayton, one of the founders of Hudswell and Clarke, both lived on Spencer Place in Leeds. They produced at least one of the prototype

Tom Pudding Tom Pudding was the name given to the tub boats on the Aire and Calder Navigation, introduced in 1863 and used until 1985, which were a very efficient means of transferring and transporting coal from the open cast collieries of the South Yorkshi ...

compartments, but did not get the main contract for their production once the design work had been done. As steam locomotive builders, like many of the smaller builders they specialised in small contractor's and industrial tank engines, and rarely built anything bigger than an 0-6-0T. They never built any locomotives with

superheater A superheater is a device used to convert saturated steam or wet steam into superheated steam or dry steam. Superheated steam is used in steam turbines for electricity generation, steam engines, and in processes such as steam reforming. There ...

s. The locomotive part of the business is now part of the

Hunslet Engine Company The Hunslet Engine Company is a locomotive-building company, founded in 1864 in Hunslet, England. It manufactured steam locomotives for over 100 years and currently manufactures diesel shunting locomotives. The company is part of Ed Murray & So ...

. Locomotive-building was always only one part of a diverse product inventory that included underground diesel-powered mining locomotives, hydraulic pit-props and related mining equipment. Neptune-by-Dr-Neil-Clifton

In 1911 Hudswell Clarke entered into an agreement with Robert Hudson for the manufacture of

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

locomotives. This arrangement produced sixteen standardised designs, designated 'A' to 'Q', which ranged from four-coupled () 5 hp engines to six-coupled () 55 hp models. The designs were sufficiently flexible to allow for the various track gauges in use. Over the years, 188 locomotives were supplied to these designs. In the 1930s the company manufactured narrow gauge steam outline diesel-hydraulic locomotives for use at amusement parks around the country. In 1931 ''Neptune'' was delivered to

Scarborough North Bay Railway Scarborough North Bay Railway (SNBR) is a ridable miniature railway (also known as a minimum-gauge railway) in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. It was built in 1931, to the gauge of , and runs for approximately between Peasholm Park an ...

, followed a year later by ''Triton'', both being gauge. In the same year they supplied a ''Robin Hood'' to Golden Acre Park in Leeds followed by a 4-6-2 ''May Thompson'' in 1933. They also supplied ''Mary Louise'' and ''Carol Jean'' to

Blackpool Pleasure Beach Blackpool Pleasure Beach is an amusement park situated on Blackpool's South Shore, in the county of Lancashire, North West England. It operates as a secure facility, and has introduced epayments via smartphones for admission charges, repla ...

for use on the gauge Pleasure Beach Express in 1933. A fire in 1934 badly damaged ''Carol Jean'' so ''Princess Royal'' was ordered as a replacement. They went on to build two more class locomotives, ''Princess Elizabeth'' and ''Princess Margaret Rose'' for

Billy Butlin Sir William Heygate Edmund Colborne Butlin (29 September 189912 June 1980) was a South African-born British entrepreneur whose name is synonymous with the British holiday camp.'' American Heritage Dictionary 2004'', p. 135. Scott 2001, p. 5. A ...

to use at the Empire Exhibition in Glasgow in 1938 which were then transferred to his holiday camp in Clacton when the exhibition closed. In later years, Hudswell Clarke designed and built diesel locomotives for both main-line and private company use, mainly for use on shunting operations.

Surviving locomotives

Steam locomotives

Diesel locomotives

Hudswell D707 at the Rutland Railway 05-09-25 31

;Standard gauge () * British Rail Class D2/7 (none preserved) * British Rail Class D2/12 (one preserved) * D577/1932 ''Mary'' at Middleton Railway * ''Southam'' (works no. D604) was outside the Great Western Country Pub and Restaurant,

Bishop's Itchington Bishop's Itchington is a village and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. It is about south-southwest of Southam and about southeast of Royal Leamington Spa. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's populat ...

, near Southam,

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avo ...

in 2006 but has since left for an unknown destination * ''Southam 2'' (works no. D625) at

Leeds Industrial Museum The Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills is a museum of industrial heritage located in Armley, near Leeds, in West Yorkshire, Northern England. The museum includes collections of textile machinery, railway equipment and heavy engineering amon ...

* ''Mighty Atom'' (works no. D628) at

Ribble Steam Railway The Ribble Steam Railway is a standard gauge preserved railway in Lancashire, in the United Kingdom. It was opened to the public on 17 September 2005, running along Preston Docks. The railway began by housing much of the collection from the ...

* ''Sparky'' (works no. D629) at Ribble Steam Railway * ''Margaret'' (works no. D1031) at

* ''Cadbury No. 14'' (works no. D1012) was at

Cadbury World Cadbury World is a visitor attraction in Bournville, Birmingham, England, featuring a self-guided exhibition tour, created and run by the Cadbury Company. The tour tells the history of chocolate, and of the Cadbury business. A second location ...

. Arrived at the

Statfold Barn Railway The Statfold Barn Railway is a narrow gauge railway based near Tamworth, Staffordshire and partially in Warwickshire, England. Founded by engineering entrepreneur Graham Lee and his wife Carol at their farm-based home, they originally designed wh ...

in 2022, where it is to be cosmetically restored as a "gate guardian". * Manchester Ship Canal 4001 ''Alnwick Castle'' (works no. D1075 of 1958) at Winfield's Store, Haslingden, Lancs * Manchester Ship Canal 4002 ''Arundel Castle'' (works no. D1076 of 1958) at East Lancs Railway * D631/1946 ''Carroll'' at Middleton Railway * D707 ''No. 21'' at the Rutland Railway * ''Elland No.1'' (works no. D1153) at

Mangapps Railway Museum The Mangapps Railway Museum (previously Mangapps Farm Railway Museum) is a heritage railway centre located near Burnham-on-Crouch in Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Ca ...

Burnham-on-Crouch Burnham-on-Crouch is a town and civil parish in the Maldon District of Essex in the East of England. It lies on the north bank of the River Crouch. It is one of Britain's leading places for yachting. The civil parish extends east of the town ...

; gauge * Eight 145HP, 20 ton locomotives, and twenty-four 225HP, 29 ton locomotives, for the

Sierra Leone Government Railway :''This article is part of the history of rail transport by country series'' The Sierra Leone Government Railway operated in Sierra Leone from 1897 to 1974. It was unusual in that it formed a national railway system constructed solely to a Narrow ...

, supplied between 1954 and 1961. (not necessarily preserved) ; gauge * No. D558 (built 1930) at the

Moseley Railway Trust The Moseley Railway Trust is a major British collection of industrial narrow gauge locomotives and other equipment. It originally had its base in south Manchester, but has relocated to the Apedale Community Country Park near Newcastle-under-Ly ...

at their

Apedale Valley Light Railway The Moseley Railway Trust is a major British collection of industrial narrow gauge locomotives and other equipment. It originally had its base in south Manchester, but has relocated to the Apedale Community Country Park near Newcastle-under-Ly ...

* No. D564 (built 1930) at the

Phyllis Rampton Trust The Phyllis Rampton Narrow Gauge Railway Trust is a British charity which is registered with the British Charity Commission as 292240 under the classification of "Education/Training Environment/Conservation/Heritage". The Trust is the 100% shar ...

Steam-outline diesel locomotives

; gauge * ''Neptune'' (1931),

* ''Triton'' (1932),

* ''Robin Hood'' (1932),

* ''Poseidon'' (1933),

; gauge * ''Mary Louise'' (1933), Pleasure Beach Express,

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...

* ''Carol Jean'' (1933), Pleasure Beach Express,

* ''Geoffrey Thompson OBE'' (1934), Pleasure Beach Express,

* ''Princess Elizabeth'' (1938), Midland Railway - Butterley undergoing restoration. * ''Princess Margaret Rose'' (1938), Midland Railway - Butterley

Military engineering

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

the company was one of many engineering firms that diversified into

armaments A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...

. After the War, Hudswell Clarke was closely involved in various secret programmes, including the British

nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...

programme. The airframe (casing) for the first British nuclear bomb, Blue Danube, was manufactured by Hudswell Clarke at its Roundhay Road plant in Leeds. The Blue Danube was 24 ft long x 62 inches diameter. It was known to the RAF as "Bomb, Aircraft, HE 10,000 lb MC". Released from 45,000 ft at 500 knots (930 km/h) its maximum velocity was 2480 ft/s (Mach 2.2). It bears a likeness to the Tallboy and Grand Slam "earthquake" bombs designed by

Barnes Wallis Sir Barnes Neville Wallis (26 September 1887 – 30 October 1979) was an English engineer and inventor. He is best known for inventing the bouncing bomb used by the Royal Air Force in Operation Chastise (the "Dambusters" raid) to attac ...

. Wallis was a consultant on the design of Blue Danube. The airframe for

Red Beard is a 1965 Japanese ''jidaigeki'' film co-written, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa, in his last collaboration with actor Toshiro Mifune. Based on Shūgorō Yamamoto's 1959 short story collection, '' Akahige Shinryōtan'', the film takes pl ...

, the second generation tactical nuclear bomb was also built by Hudswell, Clarke. This tactical atomic bomb had perforated baffles to reduce bomb bay buffeting when dropped from a

Canberra bomber The English Electric Canberra is a British first-generation, jet-powered medium bomber. It was developed by English Electric during the mid- to late 1940s in response to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the wartime de Havill ...

; they were not needed on other aircraft. Red Beard was known to the RAF as "Bomb, Aircraft, HE 2'000 lb MC", although its actual weight was 1650 lb. It was deployed on a wide variety of aircraft of the RAF and Royal Navy, being stockpiled in the UK, Cyprus, Singapore and afloat on carriers. Hudswell, Clarke also worked on

Violet Club Violet may refer to: Common meanings * Violet (color), a spectral color with wavelengths shorter than blue * One of a list of plants known as violet, particularly: ** ''Viola'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants Places United States * Vio ...

, the Interim Megaton Weapon. All the bombs detonated at the

Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. It is located in the Indian Ocean, around south of Java and Sumatra and around north-west of the ...

H-bomb tests were contained in airframes designed and built by Hudswell Clarke. The company were also major contributors to other military projects, including the Centurion main battle tank conversion into an armoured bridgelayer, that served with the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

for many years. The contraction of defence manufacturing in the mid-1960s contributed to the sale and demise of the company.

Preservation

Locations of preserved Hudswell Clarke locomotives include: United Kingdom *

Aln Valley Railway The Alnwick branch line is a partly closed railway line in Northumberland, northern England. A heritage railway currently operates a mile of the line, which originally ran from Alnmouth railway station, on the East Coast Main Line, to the town o ...

, Northumberland *

Buckinghamshire Railway Centre Buckinghamshire Railway Centre is a railway museum operated by the Quainton Railway Society Ltd. at Quainton Road railway station, about west of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. The site is divided into two halves which are joined by two ...

, Quainton Road, Buckinghamshire *

Chasewater Railway The Chasewater Railway is a former colliery railway running round the shores of Chasewater in Staffordshire, England. It is now operated as a heritage railway. The line is approximately in length, contained entirely within Chasewater Coun ...

, Staffordshire * East Lancashire Railway, Greater Manchester and Lancashire * Ecclesbourne Valley Railway, Derbyshire * Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway, North Yorkshire *

Great Central Railway (Nottingham) The Nottingham Heritage Railway (formerly known as Great Central Railway (Nottingham) and Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre) is a heritage railway and transport museum on the south side of the village of Ruddington in Nottinghamshire. The ...

, Ruddington, Nottinghamshire *

Keighley and Worth Valley Railway The Keighley & Worth Valley Railway is a heritage railway line in the Worth Valley, West Yorkshire, England, which runs from Keighley to Oxenhope. It connects to the National Rail network at Keighley railway station. History Inception ...

, West Yorkshire *

Middleton Railway The Middleton Railway is the world's oldest continuously working railway, situated in the English city of Leeds. It was founded in 1758 and is now a heritage railway, run by volunteers from The Middleton Railway Trust Ltd. since 1960. The rail ...

, Hunslet, West Yorkshire * Nene Valley Railway, Wansford, Cambridgeshire *

North Bay Railway Scarborough North Bay Railway (SNBR) is a ridable miniature railway (also known as a minimum-gauge railway) in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. It was built in 1931, to the gauge of , and runs for approximately between Peasholm Park ...

, Scarborough, North Yorkshire * North Norfolk Railway, Sheringham, Norfolk *

Penrhyn Castle Railway Museum The Penrhyn Castle Railway Museum ( cy, Amgueddfa Rheilffordd Castell Penrhyn) is a museum of industrial railway equipment, located at Penrhyn Castle near Bangor in Wales. In the nineteenth century, Penrhyn Castle was the home of the Pennan ...

, Bangor, North Wales *

Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway The Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Pont-y-pŵl a Blaenafon) is a volunteer-run heritage railway in South Wales, running trains between a halt platform opposite the Whistle Inn public house (famed for its collection of mine ...

, South Wales *

, Lancashire *

Rutland Railway Museum Rutland Railway Museum, now trading as Rocks by Rail: The Living Ironstone Museum, is a heritage railway on part of a former Midland Railway mineral branch line. It is situated north east of Oakham, in Rutland, England. Overview The museum of ...

, Cottesmore, Rutland *

, Tamworth, Staffordshire * Swindon and Cricklade Railway, Blunsdon, Wiltshire * Tanfield Railway, County Durham Ireland * Railway Preservation Society of Ireland, Whitehead, Co. Antrim New Zealand
Oamaru Steam and Rail Restoration Society
New Zealand Denmark
Nordsjællands Veterantog
Græsted, Denmark
Danmarks Tekniske Museum
The Danish museum of Technology, Helsingør/Elsinore, Denmark United States *

Edaville Railroad Edaville Railroad (also branded Edaville USA and Edaville Family Theme Park) is a heritage railroad and amusement park in South Carver, Massachusetts, opened in 1947, and temporally closed during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The park was onl ...

, Carver, Massachusetts

References

* Various public domain files declassified by: *

Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) The Ministry of Defence (MOD or MoD) is the department responsible for implementing the defence policy set by His Majesty's Government, and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces. The MOD states that its principal objectives are t ...

Ministry of Supply The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. A separate ministry, however, was responsible for airc ...

(and successors) *

Royal Aircraft Establishment The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), before finally losing its identity in me ...

, Farnborough now archived in the

Public Record Office The Public Record Office (abbreviated as PRO, pronounced as three letters and referred to as ''the'' PRO), Chancery Lane in the City of London, was the guardian of the national archives of the United Kingdom from 1838 until 2003, when it was ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

External links

Huwood-Hudswell Diesel Mines Locomotives

Oamaru Steam and Rail

* {{Authority control Locomotive manufacturers of the United Kingdom Defunct companies based in Leeds Manufacturing companies based in Leeds Manufacturing companies established in 1860 Companies with year of disestablishment missing