The Independent Locomotive Builders

The big railway companies had famous locomotive works such as Crewe and Swindon, but this is the story of the very many other companies, who not only built locomotives for the British railways but supplied them to railways all round the world. Many of these companies were highly innovative, developing engines of many different types from narrow gauge to articulated locomotives and specialist engines for tramways. The list is inclusive, covering the famous names such as Robert Stephensons & Co and Beyer Peacock as well as companies that produced just a few locomotives. The time spam covers over two centuries from Fenton, Murray & Wood who built the locomotives for the world's first successful commercial railway, the Middleton Colliery of 1812 to the present day and the world of electric and diesel taction. In telling this story, the reader will come to appreciate how important these companies were in the whole story of locomotion development. In countries across the globe, from America to Australia, they were often the very first to supply engines to start up their new rail networks. With over a hundred illustrations in both black and white in colour, this is a book that will appeal to all who have an interest in the wide world of railways.