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James I'Anson Cudworth (12 January 1817 - 22 October 1899) was Locomotive Superintendent of the South Eastern Railway (SER). He served in this capacity from 1845-76. He is notable for designing a successful method for burning coal in steam locomotives without significant emission of smoke, and for introducing the 0-4-4T wheel arrangement to English railways.

Early life

Cudworth was born in Darlington on 12 January 1817, the second of three children born to William Cudworth and Mary I'Anson (born 18 November 1785, Darlington). His parents were Quakers, and had married in 1810; William Cudworth was a grocer and druggist, whilst Mary I'Anson's family name was of Scandinavian origin.

Career

Cudworth was apprenticed to Robert Stephenson & Co Ltd from March 1831. After completing his apprenticeship, he became a chargehand at Stephenson's, before being appointed Locomotive Superintendent of the Great North of England Railway in February 1840.

In 1845, Cudworth was appointed Locomotive Superintendent to the South Eastern Railway. In that year, he built the 2-2-2 locomotive White Horse of Kent, which was constructed on the uniflow principle. In 1847, Cudworth established the railway works at Ashford, Kent.

Cudworth's early locomotives were on the Stephenson long-boilered principle. White Horse of Kent was not a success, being described by Daniel Gooch as unsafe. It was later converted to a 2-4-0. The first engines constructed at Ashford Works were 2-4-0s for the Hastings Line. These engines were known as the 59 class. In 1847, the SER purchased a number of 4-2-0 Cramptons from Tulk & Ley, Whitehaven, Cumberland. Cudworth converted four long-boilered 4-2-0s to Cramptons in an effort to improve their riding.

By 1855, Cudworth started to introduce more conventional steam locomotives. Fifty three 0-6-0 goods engines were constructed at Ashford Works between 1855 and 1876. The engines were double framed, with 16" x 24" cylinders. A number of these engines were rebuilt twice, firstly by Cudworth and later by Stirling. The engines gave over 40 years service on the South Eastern Main Line. In 1857, Cudworth introduced a class of 2-4-0s. Forty eight were built by contractors, and 68 were built at Ashford Works between 1857 and 1875. Many of them were rebuilt by Stirling. These engines also gave many years service on the SER.

In 1861, Cudworth introduced a class of 2-2-2 express passenger locomotives with 7 feet (2.13 m) diameter driving wheels. These engines gave over 20 years service on the boat trains serving Folkestone and Dover, finally being replaced in 1884 by Stirling's F class 4-4-0s. Cudworth was also responsible for the introduction of the 0-4-4T wheel arrangement for steam locomotives to English railways, with his 235 class of 1866.

Cudworth had three main achievements on the SER: he planned the layout of Ashford Works and brought it to such a standard that the company was able to begin production of its own locomotives in 1853; with two of his classes (the "Standard Goods" 0-6-0 of 1855 and the 118 class 2-4-0 of 1859), practiced locomotive standardisation on a scale unheard of on other contemporary railways; and, at a time when coke (a smokeless fuel) was normal for railways, he designed a firebox which was able to burn coal with little smoke, patenting it in 1857. The main feature of this firebox was a longitudinal water-filled vertical partition (known as a mid-feather), which required two firedoors to be provided; the idea was that when one side had burnt down, it could be stoked whilst the other side was at peak temperature and consuming its smoke. It worked well, but was expensive to construct, which was to prove his downfall. When other engineers later produced cheaper solutions, Cudworth preferred to stick with his own design rather than change.

In 1874, Cudworth was appointed Locomotive Engineer of the SER, with Alfred Watkin, son of SER Chairman Sir Edward Watkin appointed Locomotive Superintendent at a salary of £500. Cudworth was not one who was disposed to toe Watkin's line, which put a strain on their relationship. In 1876, Watkin persuaded John Ramsbottom of the London & North Western Railway (LNWR) to design a number of 2-4-0 passenger engines for the SER, unbeknown to Cudworth. Orders were placed with Sharp, Stewart of Manchester and Avonside of Bristol for ten engines each. The locomotives were very similar to the LNWR's Precedent Class locomotives. Known as the Ironclads, they replaced the Singles on the boat trains for a short time, but were quickly relegated to less prestige duties and the Singles resumed their former role. When Cudworth found out about the engines, he was furious and resigned. It was considered by many on the Board of the SER that Cudworth had been sacked. Cudworth died on 22 October 1899.

Locomotive classes

The class letters were allotted by James Stirling in September 1879. Classes without such a letter were either extinct, or in the process of withdrawal at that date.

References

1. "Our Children's Ancestors & Others Families". Rootsweb. Ancestry.com. Descendant Register, Generation No. 5; items 58 & 100-102. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
2. ^ Bradley, D.L. (1985) . The Locomotive History of the South Eastern Railway (2nd ed.). London: RCTS. p. 10. ISBN 0 901115 48 7. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
3. Penney, Norman (1920). "The Ianson Family". In Ille, Maureen Lilian (ed.). My Ancestors. pp. 202–219. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
4. Ille, Maureen Lilian (ed.). "The I'Anson name and its Variants". I'Anson international. Gainsborough. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
5. ^ "James l'Anson Cudworth". Steamindex. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
6. ^ Hodgkins, David (February 1955). "Railway influence in parliamentary elections at Grimsby" (PDF). The Journal of Transport History. 23 (2). Manchester University Press: p159-77. Retrieved 13 January 2010. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
7. ^ Nock, O. S. (1961). "VI. Early Locomotives and Trains". The South Eastern and Chatham Railway. London: Ian Allan. pp. 70–79. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |coauthors= and |month= (help)
8. "Later SDR locomotives (notably those which formed part of NER stock)". Steamindex. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
9. ^ Bradley 1985, p. 122
10. Ahrons, E.L. (1987) . The British Steam Railway Locomotive 1825-1925. London: Bracken Books. p. 172. ISBN 1 85170 103 6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
11. Bradley 1985, p. 128
12. ^ Bradley 1985, p. 15
13. Bradley 1985, p. 32
14. Bradley 1985, pp. 67–69
15. Bradley 1985, pp. 66–67
16. ^ Bradley 1985, pp. 65–66
17. Bradley 1985, pp. 69–72
18. Bradley 1985, pp. 72–74
19. Bradley 1985, pp. 74–76
20. Bradley 1985, pp. 77–78
21. Bradley 1985, p. 79
22. Bradley 1985, pp. 81–83
23. Bradley 1985, pp. 87–88
24. Bradley 1985, pp. 83–85
25. Bradley 1985, pp. 88–90
26. Bradley 1985, pp. 91–98
27. Bradley 1985, pp. 99–100
28. Bradley 1985, pp. 100–101
29. Bradley 1985, pp. 101–112
30. Bradley 1985, pp. 113–119
31. Bradley 1985, pp. 119–121
32. Bradley 1985, pp. 122–123
33. Bradley 1985, pp. 123–125

• 1817 births
• People from Darlington
• Mechanical engineers
• Locomotive builders and designers
• British people in rail transport
• British railway mechanical engineers
• 1899 deaths
• English Quakers