[Sir] Henry Fowler Anderson and Lemon Chacksfield has written an extensive biography of Fowler which possibly concentrates too much on his many, and varied, external activities, rather than to his contribution as an engineer. Ellis in his book on the Midland Railway brought into question the extent to which locomotives could be attributed to specific engineers. Firstly, he cited James Holden of the Great Eastern "who was an excellent man for carriages". His most famous locomotive designs, including the Claud Hamiltons and the great Decapod, were made for him by the late Fred V. Russell, who also produced the Great Eastern 4-6-0s officially ascribed to Stephen Holden. Ellis then stated: "What all this is leading up to is the question of whether H Fowler of the Midland ever designed a locomotive. He is reported as having once said, after dining, that he never did such a thing in his life. Only two really new designs appeared from Derby during the last years of the Midland Railway, one a banking engine for the .Lickey incline, and the other a heavy goods for the Somerset and Dorset." The Ellis remark is liable to be misunderstood: firstly the "after dining" might imply inebriation, but Fowler was a teetotaller, and secondly it might be thought that he was totally uninterested in locomotive design and this was obviously not the case: indeed one suspects that no other mechanical engineer was as interested in locomotives, especially their boilers, as Sir Henry.. Fowler's qualities as a mechanical engineer were vastly greater than those of Collett, and one suspects that like Webb, Fowler has suffered from glib assessments. Cox's paper to the Institution of Locomotive Engineers is especially important for the LMS period. He is also included in Marshall.

Michael Rutherford's The era of Sir Henry Fowler. (Railway Refections [No. 33]). Backtrack, 1997, 11, 501-9. examined Fowler in the usual Rutherford style. Several sources are listed which fall outside the period covered by Jones, notably an appreciation by Baldwin, and an important paper by James Clayton. On the other hand it was written prior to Chacksfield's biography. "Direction in new design, if it came, was more by accident and lack of interference than by purpose. It certainly didn't come from Fowler. The Garratts (Anderson's variant) were an example of where the CME should have put his foot down..." The illustrations include Sir Henry Fowler in Scout uniform with Dr H.H.Bemrose Scout commissioner for Derbyshire at the naming of Boy Scout.

See also Fowler locomotives

Patents

with James Edward Anderson
2445/1911 Improved automatic control of dampers for superheaters in locomotive and other boilers. Applied 13 June 1911 Accepted 10 August 1911.
2446/1911 Automatic control for cylinder bye-pass valve on locomotive or steam engines. Applied 31 January 1911. Accepted 26 October 1911
12884/1911 Improvements in steam superheaters. Applied 23 May 1911. Accepted 22 February 1912.
with William Chatterton
16533/1912 Improved fire extinguisher. Applied: 15 July 1912. Published: 17 October 1912

Own papers:  this list is still incomplete (mainly due to the dominant agrarian nature of Norfolk): there are further incomplete references to papers by Fowler presented to the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1897 and in 1922 and to the Institute of Metals in 1933, and to the Faraday Society in 1921.

Lighting of railway premises: indoor and outdoor. Proc. Instn mech. Engrs., 1906, 865-906. Disc.: 906-41.
Presented when he was Gas Engineer at Derby. Includes arc lighting, oil lamps and gas lighting; the use of a portable photometer for assessing lighting in passenger stations; the cost of gas mantles; fuel consumption; the use of incandescent electric lamps; and the problems of lighting goods yards, locomotive sheds and workshops. Hughes, his former chief, contributed to the Discussion (pp 917-20)

Consumption of fuel in locomotive practice. Engineering, 1930, 130, 380. Bibliog.
Abstract of a British Association (Bristol 1930) paper .

The electrification of English main line railways. Proc. Instn mech. Engrs., 1922, 102, 317-30.

Latest types of steam and internal-combustion locomotives [in:] Institution of Civil Engineers Engineering Conference, 1928. London, Institution of Civil Engineers, 1928.214 p.
with Gresley, H.N. Pp. 147-52 (Disc.; 152-68): a general survey.

Locomotive boilers. Rly Engr, 1924, 45, 81-5; 117-23; 179-83; 237-40; 301-5, 427-31. illus., 53 diagrs., 2 tables.
with Symes, S.J.

Locomotive railway traction. Engineering, 1935,139, Silver Jubilee Section (May 3rd) p. 32 + plate p. 28.illus.
A general survey of the period; 1910-1935.

Locomotive repairs. J. Instn Transp., 1929/30,11 ,59-66; 73-89. Disc.: 67-72. 6 illus., 3 tables, 11 facsim. forms.
The Derby "progressive" system of locomotive repair. Noted that probably the most important work done on the mechanical engineering side of a railway is the maintenance of locomotive stock in an efficient condition..

The maintenance and repair of locomotives. Trans. Instn Loco. Engrs,, 1913, 3, 1-15. (Paper No. 14)
Address by the President without discussion: boilers received the most treatment and were regarded by the speaker of being of primary importance. Topics examined included pitting and corrosion, burning of the firebox and expansion/contraction which led to grooving. Wear of the motion and cylinders, wheels and axles and boiler mountings were also considered. 

Metallurgy in relation to mechanical engineering. Proc. Instn mech. Engrs., 1922, 102, 331-5.
with H.S. Hele-Shaw

Address by the President [of the Institution of Automobile Engineers]. Some notes on production. Proc. Instn Automobile Engrs, 1920, 15, 6-31.

[Presidential Address]. Proc. Instn mech. Engr, 1927, (2) , 723-47.
A review of general advance in engineering materials. "In 1848, Dr Pole translated, from the German, Alban's book on a high pressure boiler, which was in fact an interesting water-tube boiler" (running at 1000 psi). "I have always been impressed by the fact that George Stephenson seemed to be not only conversant with, but an expert on all that was known and of interest concerning mechanical engineering in his day." Standardizing materials: (steels, brasses, bronzes); steel  manufacture, metallography, fatigue, radiology, education and higher pressure boilers. Several quotes from Ecclesiasticus: "They will maintain the fabric of the world; and the handywork of their work in their prayer." Aspinall gave the Vote of Thanks pp 746-7.

Railway carriage lighting in Railway mechanical engineering: a practical treatise by engineering experts. London, Gresham, 1923. Volume 1: 261-90.
Considers lighting with oil gas before turning to electric lighting. Even lighting by rape seed oil is considered.

The recent development of the steam locomotive and its future aspect. Proc. Wld Engng Congr. (Tokyo), 1929, 15, (3), 1-15. Disc.: 16-18. 11 diagrs. Bibliog. (Paper No.253) .
A world survey of locomotive development with the topics of high pressure boilers and turbines accentuated .

Solid crank axles. J. Instn Loco. Engrs, 1925, 15, 130-43. Disc.: 143-55; 323-34. illus., 6.diagrs., 2 tables. (Paper No.177).
Results of metallurgical research carried out by H.A. Treadgold under Sir Henry Fowler's supervision.

Steels for locomotive purposes. J. Instn Loco. Engrs, 1922, 12, 106-27. Disc.: 127-33. (Paper 115).

Superheating. Proc. Instn mech. Engrs., 1921, 101, 649-52.
with John Dewrance

Superheating steam in locomotives. Proc. Instn civ. Engrs., 1914, 196: extract below

Transport and its indebtedness to science. Engineering, 1923, 116, 377-80. diagr. Bibliog. (footnotes).
Abstract of a( Liverpool 1923) British Association paper .

Discussion at:

International Railway Congress Association. 11th Session, Madrid, 1930. 2nd Section. Question 5. Locomotives of new types. Bull. int. Rly Congr.Ass., 1931, 13, 97-8.
Comment on the operating costs of the Ljungstrom turbine locomotive

International Railway Congress Association. 11th Session, Madrid, 1930. 2nd Section. Question 6. Improvements in the steam locomotive. Bull. int. Rly Congr. Ass., 1931, 13,115.
Notes on the savings which resulted from the equipment of the Claughton class with Caprotti valve gear.

Fowler as compiler

The question of reduction of the cost of traction: lubrication of axlebox for all rolling stock: Report No.3 (British Empire) : Subject 4B for discussion at the 10th Session of the International Railway Congress Association, London, 1926. Bull. int. Rly Congr. Ass., 1925, 7, 313-87 .8 diagrs., 10 tables.
Review based on questionnaires.

Discussion on other's papers

Sir Henry commented upon Fry's paper (pp: 955-61) on the performance of three-cylinder compound locomotives and the Royal Scot classes.

Gresham, J.N. (Paper No. 184 Vacuum brake ejectors. J. Instn Loco. Engrs., 1925, 15, 335-48. Disc.: 349-63.
Sir Henry Fowler (351): leak tests very dependent upon size and shape of hole: had collaborated with Gresley on testing. He also noted that with long trains the dimensions of the pipe were very important. He also refered to Fig. 4 as it shows how essential it is that the vacuum creating apparatus, whatever it is, is at the highest state of efficiency. There is a difficulty getting drivers to understand that there are certain conditions which allow him, if he will take the trouble, to work very much more efficiently in maintaining the vacuum. The figures which are given are particularly interesting with regard to the question of the 15 mm., ejectors. We have had some experience with them, but:feel that with an ordinary train one is running pretty near the margin when using them. A vacuum-fitted wagon is one of the worst offenders as regards leakage, due to the maintenance of the train pipe. On the locomotive side, care need to be taken in the fitting of the pipes on locomotives: he had figures which show the very great variation and losses which one can have even on the locomotive itself, necessitating a very much larger amount work being done by the ejector which creates the vacuur owing to the fact of the poor fitting of the pipes.

Gresley, H.N. High-pressure locomotives. Proc. Instn Mech, Engrs., 1931, 120,101-35. Disc.:135-206
Sir Henry Fowler (138-9) commented on other high pressure locomotives, on the oil separator on the Löffler boiler, and on the chimney and smoke deflectors fitted to No. 10000

Kelway-Bamber, H. (Paper No. 182). Railway carriage bogie trucks in service. J. Instn Loco. Engrs., 1925, 15, 335-48. Disc.: 349-63.292-8. Disc.: 298-310.
Sir Henry (298-301) noted the lack of slipping on Underground trains between Charing Cross and Strand and wondered if this was due to hot wheels: tyres became hot in service. He also made observations on the loads on bearings: 7¼ tons on LER as against 19¼ tons on the GIP. Col. Graham (301-2) noted that the dryness of the Underground system reduced the risk of slipping; he also made observations on bearing pressures and on brakes acting upon wheel flanges.

Wagner, R.P. (Paper No. 253)
Some new developments of the Stephenson boiler. 5-21. Disc.: 21-47. J. Instn Loco. Engrs., 1930, 20, Fowler p. 24
Sir Henry Fowler (24-5): I agree with Mr. Maunsell that the Paper we have heard requires a great deal of discussion and also a great deal of thought. To begin with, in the first part of the Paper reference is made to the question of a corrugated firebox, and no doubt the Author will remember that the Jacob box of the Santa Fé Railroad of America was on the same principle, but for various reasons it has been abandoned. In the box with which Mr Wagner is experimenting, I am rather doubtful whether trouble may not be experienced owing to the "breathing' which must take place in the corrugations. Something will probably also depend upon the class of water used, and I think difficulties may arise with water which gives a hard china-like scale which might crack along the corrugation and lead to subsequent corrosion.

With regard to the interesting proposal of increasing the number of superheater elements in the smoke tubes, I would point out that one railway in England has adopted for many years elements comprised of six small tubes in each superheater flue tube as against the normal arrangement. On the old Midland Railway, we have tested an engine so fitted, but it did not meet with the success we had hoped.

Coming to the main point of the Paper, which refers to the proportions of the tubes, one can compare the suggestion of Mr. Wagner of area of free space to area of surface of tube with that of Mr. Lawford Fry, who has, as is well known, done such a great work on the proportions of the ordinary boiler tubes, and who advocates that the ratio between the diameter of a tube and its length should not exceed 1 to 100, and it is interesting to note that in the case of a plain boiler tube, if the ratio A /S is 1 /400, as recommended by Mr. Wagner, this is identical with Mr. Lawford Fry's proposed maximum ratio mentioned above.

I would like to know how the figures on Fig. 9 were obtained, because they are of very considerable interest. It is also interesting to see the efficiencies which Mr. \Vagner has given, for after all, one's own children are always much better looking than anyone else's, and I would like to say that on my Company's "Royal Scot" engine, on a run in which we reached l,300 drawbar h.p. and an average speed of about 52 miles, the average boiler thermal efficiency is found to be 80½ per cent.

I have made a tabulated list (see abstract of paper) of boiler proportions which are looked upon as fairly satisfactory and efficient. The manufacturing question comes in with regard to the first three, because they have the same tube plate. We look upon the first boiler; G.7, as probably being the best proportioned one, and it will be seen that the ratios for it vary considerably from those according to Mr. Wagner's proportions.

I have also taken the ratio of internal diameter to length for one of the boilers guoted by Mr. Wagner and I find that this ratio is 1 to 112, somewhat in excess of Mr. Lawford Fry's maximum. I would, however, say that I am not at all in favour of tubes 22 feet in length and of the diameter given.

Biography

This is based on A.F. Cook, Radford. Baldwin and Westwood (and in part on Chacksfield). Fowler was born at Evesham, Worcestershire, on 29 July 1870. His father, Henry, dealt in furniture, including antiques. The family were Quakers. The family enjoyed rowing and celebrated Christmas by swimming in the Avon. He was initially educated at the local Grammar School and then attended Mason Science College, Birmingham, between 1885 and 1887 and studied metallurgy under Professor T. Turner. He served an apprenticeship under J.A.F. Aspinall at Horwich from 1887 to 1891. He then spent four years in the Testing Department, working under G. Hughes, whom he succeeded as chief of the department. From 1895 to 1900 he was Gas Engineer of the LYR, transferring to the MR in the same capacity in the latter year.

He was a strict teetotaller, extremely energetic being involved in football, cricket and hockey. He could keep goal or wicket with equal facility. In his spare time he devoted much of his time to the Boy Scout movement, being also keen on cycling and the collection of coins and medals.

Radford: Henry Fowler had joined the Midland Company on June 18, 1900 at a salary of £350 per annum in the position of Gas Engineer & Chief of the Testing Department, from a similar position on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway at Horwich. He was to be in just the right place at the right time and reap the full fruits of the clash of personalities soon to develop between Deeley and Paget. Fowler became Assistant Works Manager on November 1, 1905 in succession to Paget. In 1905 he became Assistant Works Manager at Derby, and Works Manager in 1907. In 1907 he was sent to North America to study work management. Two years later he succeeded Deeley as CME. During World War 1 he was seconded to the Ministry of Munitions, being Director of Production from 1915 to 1917 and then Assistant Director General of Aircraft Production. He was knighted in 1918 for his war work.

In 1923 he became Deputy CME of the LMS and Mechanical Engineer, Derby, succeeding Hughes as CME in October 1925. Although notable progress was made in locomotive design under Fowler with the introduction of the Royal Scot 4-6-0, the 2-6-4T and the 0-8-0, he failed to exercise the technical lead and the strict control needed to overcome traditional hostilities and to fuse the CME's department into a unified team. Cox is especially critical of this period.

Fowler had a keen interest in research, particularly in metallurgy. Under his influence the LMS sponsored a major investigation into the behaviour of copper in fireboxes, and he had a reputation for being expert on aspects of boiler materials and design. This interest in research was eventually the means whereby he was removed from the post of CME without openly being down-graded. In 1930 he was given a new post of Assistant to the Vice-President for Works (Research and Development). In this post he pursued his research interests for several years to the Company's benefit, and was responsible for laying the foundations of the LMS Research Depart ment, which in turn formed the basis of the British Railways research organisation. Fowler was also interested in training, and maintained close contact with premium apprentices and pupils for whom he was nominally responsible. C.S. Lake noted that Sir Henry had told him that "he had no enemy but the clock"..

Fowler retired in 1933 and died on 16 October 1938.

Carpenter, George W. biography Oxford Dictionay of National Biography

Hamilton Ellis (The Midland Railway) adds something to the strange relationship between Deeley, Paget and Fowler:  On January 1, 1904, Deeley became locomotive superintendent, Paget was made works manager, and Fowler assistant works manager. In spite of their work together, Deeley and Paget were an ill-assorted pair, though both excellent men. To make matters worse, while Deeley was Paget's chief, Paget was a son of Sir Ernest Paget, Bart., chairman of the Midland company, and had wonderful ideas of his own which he intended to put into practice at his earliest convenience. Already people wondered, without speaking, which was really the Sultan and which the Grand Vizier. the background still was Henry Fowler, the Lord in Waiting.

Dow's anecdote is worth adding: At the time corridor tenders for the London-Edinburgh non-stop runs were being considered one of Sir Nigel's daughters found her father one evening on all fours in the family dining-room, squeezing his great bulk through the narrow space formed between a wall and a row of chairs, set side by side. To his daughter's astonished exclamation, 'What on earth are you doing, father?' came the reply, 'If I can get through this, my biggest engineman can' Curiously enough, there was a parallel incident in the career of the late Sir Henry Fowler, the distinguished C.M.E of the old Midland, and of the L.M.S from 1928 to 1931, who was in the habit of cycling round Derby Works to save time. On entering his office one day his assistant, H.G. Ivatt—son of H.A. and later C.M.E of the L.M.S and now of the London Midland Region—discovered Sir Henry on the floor endeavouring to get himself through the round back of his office chair. When Ivatt expressed his surprise Sir Henry explained that he wanted to find out whether or not he could get through a certain type of locomotive firehole which happened to be the same size as the hole in the back of his chair!

Radford tells a similar tale: So far as his employment is concerned, he was extremely particular about boilers and fireboxes, being happy if he could put on a boiler suit and tinker about. He was easily irritated, but this did not last for long, and his usual reply when faced as he was on one occasion by an estimate of six months for a new cylinder pattern was "I want it in three". And that was the end of the discussion. His tours of the Derby Works, while the manager there, were usually made by bicycle, he being easily recognisable in his strawyard hat. He would ride around the Shops inside and out and if he chanced upon someone committing a misdemeanour he would remonstrate with him and then instruct the offender to "clock off" and come back on the morrow, punishment indeed in those days of small wages !

Rudgard (Presidential address Instn Loco. Engrs) stated "On the former Midland Railway, with which I was particularly associated, a tribute is due to the memory of  Sir Henry Fowler. His collaboration with Cecil Paget, and their understanding of the running shed angle, helped to produce a school of design which was pre-eminent amongst all the railways forming the London Midland and Scottish in 1923 for reliability and low repair costs, and which, continuing under the LMS, lent itself admirably to the introduction of developments in motive power practice and organisation; Sir William Stanier carried on the good work".

Westwood considered that Henry Fowler was an engineer of all-round ability with (according to Westwood) no great talent in any direction. During his terms of office new designs were built but these could rarely be called his own designs and in some cases were introduced without his genuine approval. As a young man he was involved in the early years of automobile engineering, but ... after he became Chief Mechanical Engineer, Midland locomotive design seemed to stagnate, but this was largely due to the civil engineering department's aversion to larger locomotives; double-heading was preferred to track renewal. Fowler did, however, build his solitary 0-10-0 for banking on the Lickey Incline. After the Railway Amalgamation Fowler became assistant to the chief mechanical engineer of the new LMSR (Hughes) until the latter retired. As chief mechanical engineer in succession to Hughes, he allowed a kind of  'Derby imperialism', foisting Midland practice and design on to the constituent parts of the LMSR. This was resented, and also meant that the Midland 'small engine' policy infected the whole LMSR, Britain's largest railway. However, it was one way of promoting standardization, and Midland locomotives were very robust and cheap in construction and repair. Fowler's proposed 4-6-2 compound, designed to provide the LMSR with a locomotive large enough for its needs, was never built. The superintendent of motive power (J. Anderson) appears to have been the most potent source of opposition to Fowler's proposal; in the end, the LMSR., with scant reference to Fowler, ordered the Royal Scot 4-6-0 from the North British Locomotive Company instead of accepting Fowler's proposed 4-6-2. The introduction of Garratt locomotives also seems to have been more the work of Anderson than of Fowler. Among new designs in the Midland tradition of this period were 2-6-2 and 2-6-4 tank locomotives, the last being the most successful of the Fowler designs. His 0-8-0 was a relative failure, and his proposed 2-8-2 was never built. The peak of Fowler's career was probably 1914-18, when he proved an excellent organizer of munitions production (for which he received a knighthood). See: B. Haresnape, Fowler Locomotives (1972).

Summary

From examination of what Sir Henry actually reported it is obvious that Fowler has been grossly maligned by history and by E.S. Cox and Hamilton Ellis (journalist and painter). Certainly, the birth of the LMS was one of the most disastrous corporate events of the twentieth century. In retrospect it was absurd to attempt to merge the LNWR and the Midland Railway. It would have been like bringing the Great Western into common ownership with either of these giants. The LNER worked because the North Eastern was able to retain sufficient status through its contribution to the new company of the brilliant General Manager, Wedgewood, and this enabled Gresley to achieve brilliance. The Southern only worked once it became a greater South Western (the Lord Nelson was a partial failure or success).

A structure which would have tolerated autonomy to remain at both Crewe and Derby might have worked and such a system was briefly contemplated by the LNER. It is probable that both Hughes' and Fowler's reputations might have remained unsullied in such a situation. Unfortunately, the Fowler Pacific was intended for the WCML, and it might have been almost as good as Stanier's earlier attempts: it would certainly have had a less troublesome boiler and left on his own Fowler would have gleaned much from Gresley. The negative contribution of Anderson requires further research

One gets the impression that Fowler was an amiable man with a great interest in people, and although (like Collett) he appears to have been less interested in locomotive design, although more so than has been given credit) he was a considerable engineer with interests in metallurgy, a vital element in locomotive design, and in boilers, and it is tragic that Fury (the high-pressure locomotive should have met with disaster due to metallurgical failure of one of its tubes. The paper on superheating must have been comparable with Gresley's one on high pressure boilers, and this emphasises that Fowler has been badly treated by commentators. His comments on George Stephenson are highly perceptive and contrast sharply with some of the rubbish written by intellectual minnows. Fowler was clearly a brilliant scientific engineer and he must have been extremely well-equipped to assess George Stephenson's extraordinary genius. He must certainly have been a most likeable man: Marjorie Bulleid, Ivatt's daughter, wrote that "The Fowlers were always very kind on Railway Congress meetings".

Superheating

The following is taken from Cox's Speaking of steam which quotes from Fowler's magnus opus: "From the very dawn of locomotive history the possibility of superheating was being thought about. . . R. Trevethick was the first to apply the system to locomotive engines, and in 1828 he wrote that he was building a small locomotive boiler in which he proposed to heat the steam in small iron tubes as it passed from the boiler to the cylinder. From his patent No 6308 of 1832 it is evident that it was his intention that these tubes should be placed over the fire itself. . . In 1839, Messrs Hawthorn patented a smokebox superheater, while between 1850 and 1870 numerous devices were brought out including examples of practically all the types which have been experimented with in recent years. .. . It seems to have been recognised early that in order to obtain the best results, a fair degree of superheat was necessary, but in practice it was found that this led to trouble both with the valves and the packing. . . . After 1870 use of superheated steam was gradually abandoned and its extensive practical use is a matter of very recent date."

Fowler went on to state that Dr Wilhelm Schmidt began in 1895 to apply to locomotives the knowledge he had gained in the use of superheated steam for other purposes, and in 1897 he produced his first practical design. His previous experience had indicated that the best results were to be looked for in the use of a high degree of superheat, and his successful redevelopment of the process was greatly indebted to the practical trials carried out by Herr Robert Garbe in charge of motive power on the Prussian State Railways. The Schmidt superheater passed through two preliminary design phases before it arrived at the form in which it is known all over the world today. Originally a nest of superheater elements was situated in a vast central tube 1ft 8in diameter connecting firebox to smokebox. Secondly, a superheater entirely within the smokebox was devised, the temperature of the hot gases as they emerged from the small tubes being supplemented by what came out of an additional single large empty tube of 1ft diameter. In both these cases the problem of keeping these large tubes tight in the tubeplates proved insurmountable and the final manifestation was to divide the saturated steam in a header, and pass it down multiple elements placed inside a number of flue tubes of approximately 5in diameter, the steam thus superheated returning to separate compartments in the header, whence it was conveyed by suitable steampipes to the cylinders–the ultimate and basic Schmidt lay out.

This layout proved so wonderfully flexible in permitting by suitable proportions any desired degree of superheat, and relative volume and velocity of hot gases issuing into the smokeboxes and was so simple and cheap and reliable, that in spite of many intermediate variations by engineers who thought they knew better it remained practically unchanged until the last days of steam. Not so was the ancillary gadgetry which was at first thought necessary for its successful use, nor the designs of valves and piston packing which were developed to cope with the high steam temperatures attained. Although many attempts were made, some of them partially successful, to retain slide valves, use of piston valves became general, and since these bore the brunt of the highest temperatures conveyed by the incoming steam, their design was critical. Fowler describes the history of the inception of the Schmidt wide piston valve ring which was for the first two decades and more in almost universal use:

Portraits

Cox: Locomotive panorama v.1 fp. 4: shown with L&YR officers and  with Gresley, O'Brien, Hughes, and Aspinall at a formal function in 1912.

Bibliography (about Fowler)

Appointment as CME Midland Railway. Loco. Rly Carr. Wagon Rev.,  1910, 16, 5.
Chacksfield, J.E. Sir Henry Fowler: a versatile life. Usk(Mon): Oakwood
Slightly disappointing in that too little attention is paid to his considerable technical expertise.
Cox, E.S. 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. (Paper No. 457).
Glover, F.G. British locomotive design, 1923-1947. Part 3. The work of Henry Fowler and the advent of the Stanier regime on the L.M.S.R., Rly Mag., 1965, 111, 10-13.5 illus.
A broad introduction.
Lake, C.S. Some C.M.E.s I have known. ll — Sir Henry Fowler. Rly Mag., 1942, 88, 287-90 + plate f.p. 257. 8 illus. (incl. port.)
Personal reminiscences.
The LATE Sir Henry Fowler. Rly Gaz., 1938, 69, 674.
Editorial.
The LATE Sir Henry Fowler, K.B.E.. Rly Gaz., 1938, 69, 685-6. illus. (port.)
MEMOIRS: Sir Henry Fowler, K.B.E., L.L.D., B.Sc.. Proc. Instn mech. Engrs, 1938, 140, 600-1.
NEW "Royal Scot" locomotive, L.M.S. Ry.. Loco. Rly Carr. Wagon Rev., 1930, 36, 363.
The naming ceremony of No.6169 The Boy Scout performed by Sir Henry Fowler, acting in the capacity of a former Scout District Commissioner
Nock, O.S. Steam locomotive : the unfinished story of steam locomotives and steam locomotive men on the railways of Great Britain. London, Allen & Unwin, 1957. 233 p. + 32 plates. 106 illus. (incl.. 29 ports.)
Includes a biographical portrait of Fowler.
OBITUARY, Sir Henry Fowler, K.B.E.. Loco. Rly Carr. Wagon Rev., 1938, 44, 336.
The RAILWAY portrait gallery : Sir Henry Fowler, K.B.E.. Rly Mag., 1925, 57, 237. illus. (port.)
The RAILWAY portrait gallery : Sir Henry Fowler, K.B.E.. Rly Mag., 1931, 68, 36. illus. (port.)

Anderson, James Edward

Patent: see

Papers

Presidential Address - the locomotive of today. J. Instn Loco. Engrs, 1925, 15, 125-9.
"In traffic engines should not be systematically called upon to work up to their maximum power. The loads should be regulated to be well within their maximum capabilities and should be such that the engines are working at an efficient rate." This encapsulated MR practice, and came to notice via Rutherford (Backtrack 2001 15 494 (actually on page 501) as it is not in Jones (who presumably thought that Anderson was from some Ruritanian outpost).

Cook observes that Anderson was born on 3 April 1871 (Atkins Rlys South East, 1988/9, 1, 122 states son of the manse in Kincardineshire), and served an apprenticeship with the Great North of Scotland Railway. Later he worked for Sharp Stewart, Dübs and the GSWR (leading draughtsman) before becoming Assistant to the Chief Draughtsman of Robert Stephenson Ltd of Darlington where he was assistant to the Chief Draughtsman. He therefore had a wide grounding in the arts of locomotive engineering and brought a lot of experience onto the Midland scene when in April 1903 he moved to Derby as a draughtsman and became Chief Draughtsman when J.W. Smith left for the GCR, and was also left in charge of the Locomotive Works in the absence of Henry Fowler. It interesting to note that he was interviewed for the post of Chief Draughtsman of the GCR at Gorton but was not appointed because the company would not pay the salary (£450 per annum according to Radford) he required; had he left the Midland at that time, subsequent MR and LMS locomotive history might have been different.

During Anderson's time as Chief Draughtsman the 990 class 4-4-0 was designed, and superheater was introduced with the Class 4F 0-6-0 and to rebuilt Class 2P 4-4-0. There were also two major deviations from the Derby small engine policy with the SDJR 2-8-0 and the Lickey Banker 0-10-0 (although the construction of the latter was delayed by the war). Atkins (Railways South East 1, 122) notes that one of Anderson's design triumphs was the 0-6-4T "Flatiron". 1913 Anderson became Works Manager at Derby, and was thus next in seniority to the CME, so that he became Acting CME from 1915 to 1919 during Fowler's absence on war work. On Fowler's return he was appointed Deputy CME. He was awarded the CBE in March, 1920, for service rendered during World War I.

Anderson had become a kind of mediator, getting orders both from Deeley as Locomotive Superintendent and Paget as General Superintendent. The building of Paget's engine was largely financed by himself. Coming from this powerful background, it is hardly surprising that as Cox states, Anderson, as Motive Power Superintendent, was able to force the standardisation of erstwhile Midland Railway practices and details onto the LMS and by 1932, 2002 new engines had been built in this style of fourteen different designs: some being former Midland types altered only in detail, and the rest being larger improvisations upon the basic theme as in the case of the well-known as in the case of the well-known Royal Scot class of 4-6-0, where Cox (Chronicles of steam) notes that it was Anderson who advocated three cylinders for the Royal Scot and was lukewarm abou long travel gear for the design. Cox also notes that Anderson took a lively interest in the Castle tests..

Anderson retired in 1932, but whilst Motive Power Superintendent of the LMS, he exerted a strong pro-Derby influence on LMS locomotive design until Stanier's arrival, in way which his counterparts on the other groups could never have done. In particular, his addiction to certain details of Derby design, such as the axlebox and the use of short-travel valves, retarded development of LMS locomotive policy until Stanier imposed a proper lead by the CME.

Anderson retired to Ayr, where he continued to take an interest in locomotives, particularly as a Vice-President of the Stephenson Locomotive Society. He died on 15 January 1945 aged  73.

See Marshall: Biographical dictionary

Bob Mills. Motive power problems in the first decade of the LMS. .BackTrack Special Issue (LMS) 32-5.
Identifies problems with poorly specified Beyer Garratts including their inadequate brake power.

Final note

It is tempting to wonder if the supposed antagonism between Anderson and Fowler really existed and that Fowler merely permitted Anderson to get on with doing what Anderson considered to be the best. The index to Chacksfield's biography of Fowler contains twenty refernces to Anderson.

Lemon, [Sir] Ernest John Hutchings

Cox (Locomotive Panorama V.1) entitles his chapter ((4) on Lemon Interregnum. This provides a sharp portrait: "short, dark, abrupt and exceedingly experienced and competent in all aspects of production and administration.", but of "locomotives he was largely ignorant".

Cook: Lemon was born on 9 December 1884 and was educated at Heriot Watt College in Edinburgh. He served an apprenticeship at the North British Locomotive Company, after which he worked for the HR and for Hurst Nelson of Motherwell. In 1911 he returned to railway service as Chief Wagon Inspector of the MR. In 1917 he became Carriage Works Manager at Derby and at Grouping was appointed Divisional Carriage & Wagon Superintendent at Derby, with control also of Newton Heath and Earlestown. Distinguished as an organiser, he developed the application of production line methods to carriage and wagon construction and repairs, following on the pioneer work of his predecessor, R.W. Reid. On page 96 of LMS 150 (Whitehouse and Thomas) the period sprent on the Highland Railway is described in the following way: "the year's footplate and running shed experience with the Highland Railway at Inverness, of which he could occasionally be persuaded to reminisce both affectionately and entertainingly". The piece called him a career mechanical engineer.

In 1931 Lemon was appointed CME in succession to Fowler. As far as he knew, he had been appointed CME until retirement, but the Board may have had his promotion to Vice-President already in mind. In the event J.H. Follows, a former Chief General Superintendent who had become Vice-President, Railway Traffic, Operating and Commercial, retired early due to ill-health, and Lemon was appointed to succeed him after less than a year as CME. Under his direction as Vice-President, the LMS undertook a major programme of modernisation of motive power depots. He was the driving force behind the major acceleration of passenger trains in the 1930s, and he was also responsible for the establishment of the LMS School of Transport at Derby.

During World War 2, Lemon was Director General of Aircraft Production, and was knighted for his services. He retired from the railway service at nationalisation, and died in Epsom on 15 December 1954 at the age of 70.

That extraordinary biographical rag-bag the ODNB includes Lemon with a biography by Harold Hartley (which in itself is interesting) and this was revised by Ralph Harrington (a name which requires more research)

Updated: 2007-11-10

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