Locomotives 1

In 1862 Smith and Higgs began to concentrate on industrial machinery, which was probably more lucrative. This change in direction was to lead to the manufacture of steam railway locomotives at Coven.

In 1862 Fletcher, Solly & Urwick of Willenhall Furnaces decided that it was more economical to haul the coal and iron ore from their mines by locomotive, rather than horses. John Smith was already well known as a supplier of colliery plant and winding engines and so he was the obvious person to ask about the construction of a suitable engine.


An advert from 1863 showing engine number 122.
John Smith’s first railway locomotive was delivered to Willenhall around the end of 1862. It must have been successful from the word go, because a second and larger engine was ordered and delivered in July 1863. The first engine, an 0-4-0 saddle tank with a Lowmoor iron boiler and copper firebox, had to have a short wheelbase to cope with two sharp curves in the track. The wheels were 2ft 6 inches in diameter and the wheelbase was just 4 ft. The twin cylinders were 6½ inches in diameter with a 12 inch stroke. The boiler, which had a diameter of 2 ft 4 inches, had a steam pressure of 100 lbs per square inch, and the grate was 1 ft 10 inches by 2 ft 4 inches. The locomotive ran on track with a gauge of 2 ft 6 inches, and weighed 8 tons. The boiler capacity was 500 gallons.

The second locomotive was also an 0-4-0 tank engine, probably with an identical boiler. The wheels were also identical, but the wheelbase was slightly longer at 5 ft 6 inches. The cylinders were 10 inches in diameter with a 14 inch stroke, and the engine weighed 9 tons 5 cwt. The smaller engine was capable of hauling 53 tons up a gradient of 1 in 50, or 14 tons up a gradient of 1 in 30. The larger engine could haul 30 tons up a gradient of 1 in 20.


0-4-0 tank engine number 122.

 A third and larger engine was delivered to the Chillington Iron Company in September 1863. The Wolverhampton Chronicle described the engine as follows: “the third that has been built for and started in this neighbourhood by Smith and Higgs, engineers and machinists of the Village Foundry”. At least four such engines were purchased by the Chillington works.
Over the next ten years an unknown number of narrow gauge and standard gauge industrial locomotives were produced at the foundry. In about 1869 William Harrison’s Colliery at Brownhills was supplied with a standard gauge 0-6-0 tank engine with 13 inch diameter cylinders, 120 lb per square inch boiler pressure and an 11 ft wheelbase. The valve chests were mounted beneath the cylinders and the valves were held in place by springs. The locomotive was called “Success” and was broken up in 1913. Two 0-4-0 standard gauge tank engines were sold to G & R Thomas of Hatherton Furnaces in Bloxwich. The locomotives called “The Ajax” and “The Vulcan” had outside cylinders, 10 inches in diameter and 3 ft diameter wheels. The locomotives had no cab, just a weatherboard and the usual high Smith domes. The chimneys were 5 ft high and the safety valves on the top of the firebox were adjusted by springs. One of the locomotives was broken up in about 1914 and the other converted into a steam winch.


Another view of locomotive number 122.

A narrow gauge 0-4-0 tank engine with outside cylinders was supplied to the Ashmore Park Colliery near Wednesfield  and an 0-6-0 tank engine with 16 inch diameter cylinders and 3 ft 6 inch diameter wheels was supplied to the Pelsall Coal & Iron Company. This engine was delivered from Coven by road, the locomotive being temporarily fitted with road wheels and horse-drawn. The engine was given a boiler inspection in 1900 and described as having no coal bunker, but a coal box in each front corner of the cab. A sandbox occupied part of the rear of the cab and another was near the front. Two injectors were fitted, one on each side of the boiler, each feeding from its own tank. The screw brakes were hand operated and the brake blocks were of wood. The locomotive continued in use until 1916 and was broken up during the next few years. It may be that the company had a second such locomotive.

There were rumours that a Smith locomotive was hired by the LNWR at Bushbury and that another was sent to Stafford.
Return to the
Previous page		 Return to
the contents		 Proceed to
the next page