Head Wrightson

Walking over a bridge at Barnard Castle today, I noticed the builders plate:

Builder's plate on footbridge across the Tees,
upstream of old gas works site at Barnard Castle

Head Wrightson started in the early Victorian period at Stockton, expanding to Thornaby & Hartlepool to become a massive industrial manufacturer.   What did they build before closing in the 1980s?

Across the years, it seems that Head Wrightson built a huge range of industrial machinery, bridges, aircraft hangars, nuclear reactor vessels, etc, and about 40 steam locomotives in the later Victorian period, three being extant.

Newburn Bridge on the Tyne 

Gear driven vertical boiler loco at Beamish Museum 

Seaham Harbour OC loco No.17, now at Beamish
(photo from Beamish Museum on Flickr)

HW loco on a roundabout at Stockton in 2010,
since relocated to Preston Park Museum
(photo by John Yeadon on Wikipedia)

If you know, or have photos, of any other extant products from Head Wrightson, please comment.

Grace's Guide to British industrial history gives a good rundown on Head Wrightson

Head Wrightson Technical Services Ltd has the drawings etc of the old firm.

Builder's plate from a bogie bolster (photo added 9 Feb 2018)

I hope that you find this post interesting - I have included a few links, but Google for much more.   Please contact us via the TR blog email address if you would like to guest write a post such as this.   Also, Mark Pearce is always looking for articles for the Tanfield magazine ........