Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Redrose64 (talk | contribs) at 16:46, 22 May 2009 (added two items to Bibliography; corrected typo). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Dugald Drummond (1 January 1840—8 November 1912) was a Scottish steam locomotive engineer. He had a career with the North British Railway, LB&SCR, Caledonian Railway and London and South Western Railway. He was the brother of the engineer Peter Drummond.

He was a major locomotive designer and builder and many of his London and South Western Railway engines continued in main line service with the Southern Railway to enter British Railways service in 1947.

Career

Drummond was born in Ardrossan, Ayrshire on 1 January 1840. His father was permananent way inspector for the Bowling Railway. Drummond was apprenticed to Forest & Barr of Glasgow gaining further experience on the Dumbartonshire and Caledonian Railways. He was in charge of the boiler shop at the Canada Works, Birkenhead of Thomas Brassey before moving to the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway's Cowlairs railway works in 1864 under Samuel W. Johnson.

He became foreman erector at the Lochgorm Works, Inverness, of the Highland Railway under William Stroudley and followed Stroudley to the London Brighton and South Coast Railway's Brighton Works in 1870. In 1875 he was appointed locomotive superintendent of the North British Railway.

Tay bridge disaster

Drummond was involved as an expert witness in the Tay Bridge disaster of 1879, being called to give evidence about the state of the track after the disaster. Although Ladybank, a 0-4-2 locomotive of Drummond's design, had been booked to work the train it had broken down and was replaced by a 4-4-0 from Thomas Wheatley, thus freeing Drummond to act as an independent witness. He said that the entire train had fallen vertically down when the High girders collapsed, from the impact marks the wheels had made on the lines. All the axles of the train were bent in one direction. The evidence helped disprove Thomas Bouch's theory that the train had been blown off the rails by the storm that night.

Further career

In 1882 he moved to the Caledonian Railway. In April 1890 he tendered his resignation to enter business, establishing the Australasian Locomotive Engine Works at Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The scheme failed rapidly and he returned to Scotland, founding the Glasgow Railway Engineering Company. Although the business was moderately successful, Drummond accepted the post as locomotive engineer of the London and South Western Railway in 1895, at a salary considerably less than that he had received on the Caledonian Railway. He remained with the LSWR until his death.

Drummond died on 8 November 1912 aged 72 at his home at Surbiton. A myth has developed that he died as a result of scalding received on the footplate. However C. Hamilton Ellis states that he had got cold and wet and demanded a hot mustard bath for his numb feet. He was scalded by the boiling water. He neglected the burns, gangrene set in and amputation became necessary. He refused an anaesthetic and died of the shock. He is buried at Brookwood Cemetery, which is adjacent to the LSWR mainline, in a family grave just a stone's throw from the former terminus of the Necropolis Railway.

Locomotive designs

Drummond designed the following classes of locomotives:

North British Railway

Caledonian Railway

• CR 0F Class 0-4-0ST

London and South Western Railway

• LSWR 700 Class 0-6-0 known latterly as "the Black Motors"
• LSWR K14 Class 0-4-0 tank engines first designed by Adams as class B4
• LSWR C14 Class 2-2-0 motor tank - later rebuilt as 0-4-0
• LSWR C8 Class 4-4-0
• LSWR D15 Class 4-4-0
• LSWR E10 Class 4-2-2-0 "double single"
• LSWR E14 Class 4-6-0 known as "the Turkey"
• LSWR F13 Class 4-6-0
• LSWR G14 Class 4-6-0
• LSWR H12 Class railcar
• LSWR H13 Class railcar
• LSWR K10 Class 4-4-0 known as "Small Hoppers"
• LSWR K11 Class railcar
• LSWR L11 Class 4-4-0 known as "Large Hoppers"
• LSWR L12 Class 4-4-0 known as "Bulldogs"
• LSWR M7 Class 0-4-4 tank engines known as "Motor Tanks"
• LSWR P14 Class 4-6-0
• LSWR S11 Class 4-4-0
• LSWR T9 Class 4-4-0 known as "Greyhounds"
• LSWR T7 Class 4-2-2-0 prototype "double single"
• LSWR Class T14 4-6-0 known as "Paddleboxes"
• LSWR Mr Drummond's Car 4-2-4T known as "the Bug"

References

1. Rolt, Lionel (1955). "Bridge failures—Storm and Tempast". Red for Danger. London: John Lane.

External links

• Dugald Drummond at www.lner.info
• Dugald & Peter Drummond at www.steamindex.com

Bibliography

• Bradley, D. L. (1967). Locomotives of the L.S.W.R. part 2. Railway Correspondence and Travel Society.
• Bradley, D. L. (1986). An illustrated history of LSWR Locomotives: the Drummond Classes. Didcot: Wild Swan Publications. ISBN 0-906867-42-8.
• Chacksfield, J. E. (2005). The Drummond Brothers: A Scottish Duo. Usk: Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-632-9.
• Haresnape, Brian and Rowledge, Peter (1982). Drummond Locomotives: a pictorial history. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-1206-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Ellis, C. Hamilton (1956). The South Western Railway. London: Allen & Unwin.

• 1840 births
• 1912 deaths
• Mechanical engineers
• Locomotive designers/builders
• Burials at Brookwood Cemetery
• Expert witnesses
• People of the London and South Western Railway