Hudswell Clarke

Hudswell Clarke builder's plate from 0-6-0T Nunlow

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 1899.

In 1862, soon after the company had been formed, they were given the initial design work on William Hamond Bartholomew'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 of 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 compartments, but did not get the main contract for their production once the design work had been done.[2]

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 superheaters.[3]

The locomotive part of the business is now part of the Hunslet Engine Company. 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.

4-6-2 1931 Neptune at Scalby on the Scarborough North Bay Railway

In 1911 Hudswell Clarke entered into an agreement with Robert Hudson for the manufacture of narrow gauge locomotives. This arrangement produced sixteen standardised designs, designated 'A' to 'Q', which ranged from four-coupled (0-4-0) 5 hp engines to six-coupled (0-6-0) 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.[4] In 1931 4-6-2 Neptune was delivered to Scarborough North Bay Railway, followed a year later by 4-6-2 Triton, both being 20 inches (510 mm) gauge. In the same year they supplied a 4-6-4T Robin Hood to Golden Acre Park in Leeds followed by a 4-6-2 May Thompson in 1933.[5] They also supplied 4-6-2 Mary Louise and 4-6-4T Carol Jean to Blackpool Pleasure Beach for use on the 21 inches (530 mm) gauge Pleasure Beach Express in 1933. A fire in 1934 badly damaged Carol Jean so 4-6-2 Princess Royal was ordered as a replacement. They went on to build two more 4-6-2 class locomotives, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret Rose[6] for Billy Butlin to use at the Empire Exhibition in Glasgow in 1938 which were then transferred to his holiday camp in Clacton when the exhibition closed.[7]

In later years, Hudswell Clarke designed and built diesel locomotives for both main-line and private company use, mainly for use on shunting operations.

A Blue Danube bomb

During the Second World War the company was one of many engineering firms that diversified into armaments. After the War, Hudswell Clarke was closely involved in various secret programmes, including the British nuclear weapon programme. The airframe (casing) for the first British nuclear bomb, Blue Danube, was manufactured by Hudswell Clarke at its Roundhay Road plant in Leeds.[21] 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. Wallis was a consultant on the design of Blue Danube.

A Red Beard bomb on its bomb trolley awaiting loading into a Canberra bomber

The airframe for Red Beard, 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; 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, the Interim Megaton Weapon. All the bombs detonated at the Christmas Island 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 for many years. The contraction of defence manufacturing in the mid-1960s contributed to the sale and demise of the company.

Locations of preserved Hudswell Clarke locomotives include:

United Kingdom

• Aln Valley Railway, Northumberland
• Buckinghamshire Railway Centre, Quainton Road, Buckinghamshire
• Chasewater Railway, Staffordshire
• East Lancashire Railway, Greater Manchester and Lancashire
• Ecclesbourne Valley Railway, Derbyshire
• Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway, North Yorkshire
• Great Central Railway (Nottingham), Ruddington, Nottinghamshire
• Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, West Yorkshire
• Middleton Railway, Hunslet, West Yorkshire
• Nene Valley Railway, Wansford, Cambridgeshire
• North Bay Railway, Scarborough, North Yorkshire
• North Norfolk Railway, Sheringham, Norfolk
• Penrhyn Castle Railway Museum, Bangor, North Wales
• Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway, South Wales
• Ribble Steam Railway, Lancashire
• Rutland Railway Museum, Cottesmore, Rutland
• Statfold Barn Railway, 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, Carver, Massachusetts

• List of early British private locomotive manufacturers

• Atkins, P. (1999). The Golden Age of Steam Locomotive Building. Atlantic. pp. 66–67. ISBN 978-0906899878.

Various public domain files declassified by:

• Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
• Ministry of Supply (and successors)
• Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough

now archived in the Public Record Office, London.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hudswell, Clarke and Company.

• Huwood-Hudswell Diesel Mines Locomotives
• Manchester Ship Canal locomotive 67
• Oamaru Steam and Rail
• "The Leeds Engine web site", leedsengine.info