Hawthorn's railway engine

Category

Library Item

Item no

38131

Title

Hawthorn's railway engine

Artist / maker

Unknown

Date

1957

Size

11.4 x 17.5 cm

Type

Press cutting; Reproduction

The Ellesmere locomotive (the '1861') was built by Hawthorns and Co. of Leith in 1861 for Howe Bridge Colliery near Atherton in Lancashire, where it shunted wagons in and around the works for many years. When the colliery closed in 1957, it was the oldest working steam locomotive in Britain. A trust fund was set up to maintain the engine which has since been put on permanent display in the National Museum of Scotland, as one of only two remaining examples of locomotive building in the east of Scotland (the other was also built by Hawthorn's, c. 1859).

In 1872 Hawthorn's closed their railway engine works, which had built more than 400 engines, but continued to build engines for ships.

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People > Adults > Men

Places > Edinburgh areas > Leith

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Transport > Land > Trains