Ernest Stewart Cox
Born Glasgow 1900. Died Berkhamsted 14 September 1992. The final chapter of Chronicles of steam is autobiographical in terms of his earlier life: the other books give some details of the remainder. Marshall notes that he was educated at Merchant Taylors School, Crosby and was apprenticed under Hughes at Horwich Works. His books, sometimes criticised by Rutherford in Backtrack, remain one of the greatest insights into locomotive development on the LMS and (for steam) on British Railways. Only K.J. Cook and Holcroft offer comparable glimpses. Cox was highly critical of Fowler and Beames, yet was equally stubborn in his own views on three-cylinder design (of which he may have been an inept practitioner) and of things non-LMS. The page on E.L. Diamond probably tells us much about Cox, and is a warning for future historians. There is a danger that Cox's view may be reproduced unchallenged.
On page 87 of Locomotive Panorma (Vol. 1) there is an interesting observation: "However, the old insularity was gradually dissolving and as part of the Royal Scot investigation I was sent, in November, on to the Southern Railway to ride the Lord Nelsons. It was now that I was able to meet Clayton and Holcroft who, sharing the same office at Waterloo, had so great an influence upon the trend of design on that region [sic]. Although these engines rode much better I am afraid that the expedition threw little light upon our own particular trouble." It was probably that Cox's own insularity was ending when he met people of the stature of Clayton, and possibly Holcroft who could be viewed as his equal, but had far greater experience. Thus future historians should take note of Cox's limitations, especially when he relates to the period outwith his own expertise. His remarks concerning Beames should be treated with caution. There is some evidence that he was careless in his citation of others: "E.W." Selby, for instance, rather than "F.W.". In this respect he is less reliable than Holcroft..
Perhaps the most damning evidence against the overall competence of Cox is that there appears to be no reference to Goss in any of his works (that is through examining the indexes to his books) and this may explain why boiler performance on some of the Stanier designs was far from satisfactory.
J. Hadfield wrote in 1948 "We have come to expect a good deal from any paper associated with the name of E.S. Cox, and are certainly not disappointed in the present instance"
Papers
Balancing of locomotive reciprocating
parts. J. Instn Loco. Eng 1942, 32, 2-37.
Disc.:1943, 33, 218-36. 4 illus,, 11 diagrs., 3 tables. (Paper 432).
British standard locomotives. J.
Instn Loco. Engrs, 1951, 41, 287-335. Disc.: 336-403 + 5 folding
plates. 22 illus., 20 diagrs., 7 tables. (Paper No. 502).
Experiences with British Railways standard locomotives. J. Instn Loco.
Engrs, 1954, 44, 212-54. Disc.: 254-305. + folding plate. 4 illus.,
31 diagrs., 7 tables. (Paper No. 532).
Analysis of the performance of the locomotives in service and on test.
Locomotive axleboxes J. Instn Loco.
Engrs, 1944, 34, 275-317. Discussion: 317-40:1945, 35,
221-38:1946, 36, 171-6+ 3 folding plates. 21 diagrs., 8 tables. (Paper
No. 447).
A modern locomotive history: ten years'
development on the L.M.S.- 1923 to 1932. J.Instn Loco. Engrs, 1946,
36, 100-41. Disc.: 141-70; 275-6. 9 illus., 14 diagrs., (incl. 9 s.
els.), 11 tables. (Paper No. 457).
The contribution to railway engineering made by two Institutions: I. Mech.
E. [and] I. Loco. E.: 1847—1911—1969. Rly Div. J., 1970,
1, 35-61.
Survey of the contribution made by the two institutions to recording the
activity of railway mechanical engineering, especially within the Institution
of Mechanical Engineers.. Cites major contributors of papers beginning with
J.E. McConnell and John Ramsbottom. Unfortunately, the papers are not cited
in sufficient detail to be requested via the limited bibliographical resources
available in Nelson's County. Nevertheless dates are cited, such as Webb's
1883 paper on Compound locomotive engines. The activities of the Institution
of Locomotive Engineers is also surveyed.
with others
Cox, E,S. and Johansen, F.C. Locomotive
frames.. J. Instn Loco. Engrs, 1948, 38,
81-115. Disc.: 115-96 + 2 folding plates. 28 illus., 17 diagrs. bibliograpy.
(Paper No. 473)
Includes diffuculties experienced with Royal Scot class.
Comment on other's papers
McClean, H.G. (Paper 454)
The mechanical design of the latest class F high-speed electric locomotives
of the Swedish State Railways. 336-65. Disc. 365-77.
E.S. Cox (369-72) spoke about Bissel trucks and Cartazzi axleboxes.
Spencer, B. The development of L.N.E.R. locomotive design, 1923-1941.
J. Instn Loco. Engrs, 1947,
37, 212-14. (Paper No. 465)
Remarked that if it was possible to do so without disrespect to the
memory of a great locomotive engineer he would like to say that he had always
thought that Sir Nigel Gresley's policy of applying the three-cylinder design
to almost every type of locomotive was a little inconsistent. Where the power
required was greater than could conveniently be provided by two cylinders,
the three-cylinder arrangement was, of course, logical and suitable; but
for medium and low powers it was very difficult to see what advantage could
be expected from it. Mr. Bulleid had referred to the question of the turning
moment, which had always been put forward as the principal advantage of the
three-cylinder system, but which in practice and by common observation did
not give any great advantage. So far as acceleration was concerned, he himself
had never seen any test results to show that three cylinders could offer
anything more than two, and so long as a percentage of reciprocating weights
were balanced the three-cylinder engine was certainly not without a hammer-blow
effect. On the L.M.S. they had a very modern design of medium-size three-cylinder
2-6-4 tank engine, and also a larger number of two-cylinder engines of exactly
corresponding design. When those three-cylinder engines first came out their
work was carefully examined, but under no heading was any advantage whatever
found from the three-cylinder system of propulsion in an engine of that size,
and all further construction had been with two cylinders. He also commented
at length on balancing three cyclinder locomotives..
British Railways standard steam locomotives.
London: Ian Allan, 1966. 218pp. + 41 plates (incl. 1 folding). 70 illus.,
31 diagrs. (incl. 25 s. els.), 42 tables. Bibliog. (footnote references).
Chronicleas of steam. London: Ian Allan,
1967.
Mainly autobiographical
Locomotive panorama. London: Ian Allan,
1965/6. 2v.
Vital sources of internal information both relating to the Stanier
period on the LMS and under Riddles on British Railways.
Speaking of steam. London: Ian Allan, 1971. 128pp.
Extracts, with extensive commentary, from papers by Webb, Hughes,
Churchward, Bowen-Cooke, Fowler, Gresley, Stanier and Bulleid. Inevitably
includes extracts, and other material relating to other engineers not
included.
World steam in the twentieth century.
London: Ian Allan, 1969. 191pp. + plates.
2006-05-09