R & W Hawthorn Leslie were a major locomotive & marine engine manufacturer & shipbuilder on Tyneside between 1886 & 1937, when the loco building arm was bought by RSH. Hawthorn Leslie continued as a major marine engine maker & shipbuilder, becoming part of British Shipbuilders in 1977.
Tanfield Railway has the largest collection of locos built by Hawthorn Leslie:
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| HL 2711/1907 South Bank CYCLOPS 0-4-0 ST |
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| HL 2859/1911 Keighley No.2 0-4-0 ST |
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| HL 3056/1914 Hetton No.14 0-4-0 ST |
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| HL 3513/1927 Brancepeth STAGSHAW 0-6-0 ST |
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| HL 3575/1923 Glasshoughton No.3 0-6-0 ST |
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| HL 3732/1928 Dunston No.13 0-4-0 ST |
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| HL 3746/1929 Huncoat No.3 0-6-0 F |
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| HL 3872/1936 Kearsley No.2 Bo-Bo E |
Examples of web sites which detail the history & products of the company include:
Grace's Guide on Hawthorn LeslieTyne Built Ships - Hawthorn Leslie
Tyne Tugs - Hawthorn Leslie
Hawthorn Leslie on Flickr
Hawthorn Leslie Locos on a Pre Grouping Railway
Hawthorn Leslie Locos Extant Worldwide
Company History from National Archives
R & W Hawthorn Leslie were formed in 1886 by the merger of:
R & W Hawthorn (2009/1884 No.3 Enterprise 0-4-0 ST is at Tanfield)
Andrew Leslie
5 comments:
Hello my name is Neil hunter I'm looking for information about a shunter at st peters basin she was called the sissyfuss I'm looking to see if there's any photos of it my grandad drove it from being a apprentice and my dad has even stood on the plate with my grandad his dad there was 3 generations of my family working at st peters in 50s any help would be fab.
Hi Neil
See my post for Fri 8 Oct 2021. The steam loco Sisyphus was an 0-4-0ST built as works no.2856 by Hawthorn Leslie at Forth Banks in 1911, used at HL's St Peter's marine engine works, and scrapped in 1951. I'd seen a nameplate from Sisyphus around the same time that I passed St Peter's basin on a lockdown bike ride, after which I wrote the post. I searched the web, but never found a photo of the loco Sisyphus. The best I found was a shot which probably shows part of the loco in the distance.
There was a replacement new diesel loco supplied in 1951 by Ruston & Hornsby - this was also named Sisyphus. It was sold to DS Bowram Ltd of Gateshead in 1974. I've never seen anything else about this loco.
Derek Smith
(In Greek mythology, the gods made Sisyphus forever roll a ball up a hill, but he never reached the top before it rolled back down.)
Hello
I am Ian Dunn
I knew Jimmy Hunter who drove the Ruston Hornsby shunter Sisyphus when I worked at St Peters from 1958 until 1982. If you ever saw the site in its working condition to see Sisyphus working the banking from the quayside up to the exchange sidings on the riverside line was a sight to behold. Bogie steel plate wagons were brought down one at a time with the loco preceding. Jimmy used o say that helped with the braking on the steep slopes.
unfortunately I do not have any photos of the loco but I do have two piston crowns from her engine which I converted into ash trays back then.
I worked at St Peters from 1958 until 1982.
I knew Jimmy Hunter who drove Sisyphus at that time. I was in charge of maintenance and the diesel shunter came under my care. She was well maintained receiving regular overhauls within house, but I do recall once she was sent to the British Rail workshops, now the Metro Rail sheds to have her wheels turned up to BR specification on their wheel lathe because she worked the exchange sidings on the riverside line at St Peters which were BR metals. Jimmy had to drive it there and back but had to have a BR driver and guard with him as well as a BR Brake Van. The shunter was too short without the brake van to operate the BR signalling system. Jimmy reported back that he was amused by peoples reaction at the Central Station around nine o clock in the morning when they reversed there to make their way from the Riverside line to the main line north to reach Longbenton over BR metals. Happy days
Hello Ian
Thanks for adding interesting info about Jimmy & Sisyphus. I happen to have Neil Hunter's email address, so I've let him know about your comments.
Derek
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