LOCOMOTIVE

[Sir Frederick Joseph Bramwell, mechanical engineer.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Mr Lanyon’

Author: 
Sir Frederick Joseph Bramwell (1818-1903), mechanical engineer, President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, associated with the Stockton and Darlington Railway
Publication details: 
8 April 1888. On letterhead of 1A Hyde Park Gate, S.W. [London]
£65.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged, with small strip of discoloration at head of first page and traces of previous mount on discoloured blank reverse of second leaf. He thanks Lanyon for his ‘renewed kindness’ durimg his ‘recent visit to Belfast’, and extends an invitation to ‘a party of a few friends we are about to have on the 5th of May’. With respect to Lanyon’s visit, ‘and to the earlier call I hope you will make on my wife (who is generally not in from her drive till 5.0)’, he makes him a street plan (on lower part of second page).

[Railways in British India.] Printed account of ‘Proceedings at the Fortieth Ordinary General Meeting of the Proprietors in the Bengal-Nagpur Railway Company, Limited, [...] Sir Samuel Hoare, Bart., in the Chair’.

Author: 
The Bengal-Nagpur Railway Company, Limited [Sir Samuel Hoare, Chairman; Robert Miller, Managing Director; British India; the Raj]
Publication details: 
‘Held at 132 Gresham House, Old Broad Street, [London] on Tuesday, 18th December, 1906’.
£80.00

The Bengal Nagpur Railway Company was formed in 1887 and continued until 1952, when it merged with the East Indian Railway Company to form the Eastern Railway. The present item is 4pp, 4to. Bifolium. Printed in small type, in double column. In good condition, lightly aged, with one central vertical fold. Excessively scarce: no other copy traced, either on WorldCat, JISC, or ViaLibri.. The business of the meeting includes ‘receiving the Directors’ Report and Audited Statements of Accounts and Balance Sheet to 30th June, 1906, and the Auditors’ Report thereon’.

[The Stephenson Centenary 1881'.] Well-designed lithographic poster, 'Presented as a memento of the Centennial Commemoration' by Thomas Pumphrey, Newcastle grocer, with central portrait of Stephenson surrounded by seven related engravings.

Author: 
The Stephenson Centenary, 1881; Thomas Pumphrey, Grocer, Newcastle-on-Tyne; George Stephenson (1781-1848), engineer, 'Father of the Railways'
Publication details: 
'Presented as a memento of the Centennial Commemoration, by Thomas Pumphrey, Grocer, 48, Cloth Market, Newcastle-on-Tyne.' 9 June 1881.
£250.00

An extremely attractive memento, no other copy of which has been traced, either on OCLC WorldCat or COPAC. Lithographic printing in black on 57 x 44.5 cm piece of wove paper. In good condition, lightly aged and worn, with slight creasing to margin at one edge, and the merest of spotting. Folded four times.

[ William Bridges Adams, locomotive engineer. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('W Bridges Adams') regarding the reprinting of a forthcoming Spectator article by him in the Mechanics Magazine.

Author: 
William Bridges Adams (1797-1872), locomotive engineer, author, inventor of the Adams axle
Publication details: 
1 Adam Street, Adelphi [ London ]. 22 June 1854.
£38.00

2pp., 12mo. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper. Adams' handwriting is difficult, and the name of the recipient is unclear. The letter begins: 'I expect the Spectator will have the article in on Saturday next - as I have returned the proof with the title which I composed to day | The Mechanics Magazine will I dare say be glad to copy it from the Spectator [...]'. He gives the address at which he will be staying for the following week: 'The Crouch | Lidford | Nr Lewes | Sussex'.

[ Sir Frederick Bramwell, engineer. ] Six Typed Letters Signed and four Typed Notes Signed (all ten 'Frederick Bramwell') to Sir Henry Trueman Wood, regarding matters relating to the Royal Society of Arts, including a royal visit.

Author: 
Sir Frederick Bramwell [ Sir Frederick Joseph Bramwell ] (1818-1903), British locomotive and civil engineer [ Sir Henry Trueman Wood; Royal Society of Arts; Stockton and Darlington Railway ]
Publication details: 
All ten on letterheads of Bramwell & Harris, 5 Great George Street, Westminster, SW [ London ]. All ten dating from 1901.
£80.00

Each item 1p., 4to. The collection in good condition, on lightly aged paper. The correspondence shows the eighty-three-year-old Bramwell as an active member of the Society's Council. One letter relates a paper by 'Mr. Madgen' on 'the dwelling accommodation in London', another refers to the death of a 'charming colleague' named Cobb.

[ Robert Stephenson, railway engineer. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Rob Stephenson') to '- Moberley Esq', regarding the purchase of a 'Machine'.

Author: 
Robert Stephenson (1803-1859), pioneering railway engineer, constructor of 'Stephenson's Rocket'.
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 24 Great George Street, Westminster [ London ]. 1 June 1852.
£450.00

2pp., 8vo. Bifolium. In good condition, with the text of the letter on the first leaf, and the second laid down on a leaf removed from an album. Stephenson's letter in good condition, on lightly aged paper. He writes that he is sending the recipient the reply he has received from 'Mr Harrison'. He feels that it would be better for Moberley to 'purchase the old Machine of the Contractors Messrs Rush & Lawton'. He does not know their address, but if they send him 'any drawing, it will be forwarded'. Rush and Lawton were Newcastle railway contractors. The recipient is probably W. H.

Printed handbill timetable headed on one side '1837. Irish Mails. DOWN' and on the other side 'Western and Foreign Mails. - 1837. - Up and Down.' With contemporary manuscript note.

Author: 
[British West Country locomotives; early nineteenth-century Irish railways; 1837.]
Publication details: 
[London or Dublin? 1837.]
£45.00

2pp., 8vo. On aged and worn paper. The side headed '1837. Irish Mails. DOWN' with timetable arranged in two columns, under headings: 'To Kingston via Holyhead', 'To Waterford (P) via Gloucester and Milford', and 'To Waterford (P) via Bristol and Pembroke'. Footnote reads: 'It may be curious to note that the present train mail service is under the liability of a penalty of £1 14s. for each minute it is after time through any avoidable cause.' The table on the other side arranged lengthwise on the page, with one section relating to the service from St.

[Richard Bentley, publisher.] Two copies (one proof) of his pamphlet 'Death of the Broad Gauge', describing a Great Western Railway journey during the switch to Narrow Gauge, in a series of letters to his father George Bentley. With printed envelope.

Author: 
Richard Bentley the younger (1854-1936), member of celebrated firm of London publishers, son of George Bentley (1828-1895) and grandson of Richard Bentley (1794-1871) [Great Western Railway]
Publication details: 
[Privately printed for Richard Bentley the younger, of Richard Bentley & Son, New Burlington Street, London. 1892 and 1893.]
£320.00

All three items in good condition, lightly aged and worn. ONE: Untitled proof, with 'Proof 6.12.92 [i.e. 6 December 1992]' in manuscript at foot of first page. 20pp., 8vo. Unbound and unstitched. Two manuscript corrections, and two indications of where maps are to be placed. The first letter is written from 'Dawlish, S. Devon, | May 20, 1892', and the last from 'Clifton, | May 31, 1892'. A passage, on pp.5-8, is under the heading 'The End of the Broad Gauge', the first paragraph reading: 'On Thursday the men arrived from all parts of the G.W.

[Sir Joseph Paxton.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Joseph Paxton') to 'Mr. Smith', regarding the financing of a project, with reference to Sir Joshua Walmesley and 'the liberal party'.

Author: 
Sir Joseph Paxton (1803-1865), landscape gardener and architect, designer of the Crystal Palace, head gardener to the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth, Derbyshire [Sir Joshua Walmesley (1794-1871)]
Publication details: 
Chatsworth [Derbyshire]. 6 September 1848.
£220.00

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In very good condition, on lightly-aged paper. The letter begins: 'My dear Sir, | Having a day to spare, and having a little business in London, I left home by midnight mail yesterday, but unfortunately got into the smash that took place on the North Western line [i.e.

[Samuel Smiles, railway administrator and author of 'Self-Help'.] Autograph notebook, containing information relating to his work as Secretary of the South Eastern Railway, including memorandums, tables and transcripts of letters.

Author: 
Samuel Smiles (1812-1904), railway administrator, biographer and author of the influential book 'Self-Help' (1859) [South Eastern Railway; Victorian steam engines; nineteenth-century locomotives]
Publication details: 
Smiles's ownership inscription on fly-leaf: 'S Smiles, South Eastern Railway | 1854.' Entries dating from between 1854 and 1886.
£2,800.00

According to Smiles's entry in the Oxford DNB, he was 'prominent in the negotiations for the amalgamation of the Leeds and Thirsk Railway [by which he was employed] with the North Eastern, which was effected in 1854 and abolished his own office. Thereupon he left Leeds for London on being appointed secretary to the South Eastern Railway (11 November). He held the post for twelve years, in the course of which he successfully arranged for the extension of the line from Charing Cross to Cannon Street (1858–9).

[William Huskisson, as joint secretary to the Treasury.] Two secretarial letters, both signed by him 'W. Huskisson', to the Quarter Master General Major General Robert Brownrigg.

Author: 
William Huskisson (1770-1830), Tory Member of Parliament for Liverpool and the first railway fatality [Sir Robert Brownrigg (1759-1833); the Royal Military Canal; Sir Brook Watson]
Publication details: 
Both from Treasury Chambers [London]. 12 December 1805 and 24 January 1806.
£135.00

Both documents 1p., folio. Both in good condition, on lightly-aged laid paper, the first with pin-holes from its attachment to another item. The first letter relates to 'the Expences incurred in constructing the Royal Military Canal', with reference to a 'Letter from Sir B[rook]. Watson Bt' and 'Lieut. Col. Brown's Accounts for expenditure'. The second letter again deals with communications from Watson and Brown, the latter 'enclosing Accounts & Vouchers for the Expenditure on the Royal Military Canal & Rampart'.

[Ann Bill, daughter of Thomas Bill, Leeds china dealer.] Autograph Letter Signed to her mother, describing an excursion to Chester, with reference to the construction of the Manchester and Leeds Railway, and the Marquess of Westminster's Eaton Hall.

Author: 
Ann Bill, daughter of Thomas Bill, china dealer of Leeds [Robert Grosvenor (1767-1845), 1st Marquess of Westminster, of Eaton Hall, Cheshire; Manchester and Leeds Railway]
Publication details: 
'Chester Sept 15th. 1837', '1/2 Past two Friday afternoon'.
£120.00

4pp., 4to. Bifolium. 76 lines of closely and neatly written text, including a four-line postscript cross-written on the first page. Addressed, with Chester postmark, on reverse of second leaf to 'Mr. Bill | Boar Lane | Leeds | Yorkshire'. ('Bill Thomas, 7, Boar lane' is listed among the 'Glass, China, and Earthenware Dealers' in Haigh's 'General and Commercial Directory of the Borough of Leeds', Baines & Co., 1839). The reverse of the second leaf also carries the remains of the wax seal, stamped 'Ann'. In fair condition, on worn and aged paper.

Two printed documents, 'In the Matter of the Hull and Selby Railway': 'In the House of Lords. [...] Copy of the Petition of Robert Raikes, Esq. in Opposition to the Bill' and 'Objections against the Bill, on the Part of Robert Raikes, Esq.'

Author: 
[Robert Raikes (1765-1837) of Welton House, banker; The Hull and Selby Railway Bill, 1836]
Publication details: 
Both documents printed by 'Meredith and Reeve, Lincoln's Inn, For Wilkinson, Hull.' Both dated 1836.
£120.00

The two items are uniform in layout, on folio bifoliums, with the text covering the whole of the recto of the first leaf, and the details printed lengthwise on the reverse of the second. Both in good condition, and folded into the customary packets. An early example of nimbyism, rather rich coming from a banker. The petition begins: 'In the House of Lords.

Long Autograph Letter Signed ('Frank H. Evans') from the banker Sir Francis Henry Evans, writing while a young man in Santos, Brazil, to his parents in England, describing a mishap with a tent at the turning of 'the first sod' of a railway station.

Author: 
Sir Francis Henry Evans (1840-1907) of Tubbendens, Orpington, Kent, banker and company director, Liberal Member of Parliament for Southampton, 1896-1900, and Maidstone, 1901-1906 [Santos, Brazil]
Publication details: 
Santos [São Paulo state, Brazil]. The first part, to his mother, dated 29 and 30 May 1860; the second part, to his father, dated 30 May 1860.
£80.00

14pp., 12mo. The first 11pp. are addressed to his mother and signed, and the last 3pp. to his father and not signed (possibly indicating that a continuation is lacking). In fair condition, on aged paper, with the last leaf worn and creased. He explains his situation at the beginning of the letter: 'First of all you may see from my address above that I am in Santos, & secondly from the more cleanly appearance of the letter that I am not in the woods. - Would that I were back again for ever since I have been here I have been ill [...] On the 11th.

Letter, in a secretarial hand, signed by the Whig politician William Huskisson ('W. Huskisson'), to John Sweetland on Treasury business.

Author: 
William Huskisson (1770-1830), British Whig politician [John Sweetland, Principal Commissary of Stores and Provisions at Gibraltar; Stephenson's Rocket; railways; locomotives]
William Huskisson (1770-1830), British Whig politician
Publication details: 
11 August 1807; Treasury Chambers [London].
£125.00
William Huskisson (1770-1830), British Whig politician

Folio, 1 p. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Removed from an album, and with docketing on second leaf slightly obsucred by thin strip of paper in margin. Written while Huskisson was Secretary to the Treasury, and requiring Sweetland to provide to the Lords Commissioners 'an account of the Revenues of Gibraltar for the last three Years distinguishing the amount under each head of Revenue and also a Statement fo all Payments charged upon the said Revenue'. Despite his achievements, Huskisson is now best-remembered as the first railway fatality.

Printed notice from the General Manager of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway's Managing Committee, headed 'Government Control of Railways. Free conveyance of traffic carried on behalf of the Admiralty or War Office'.

Author: 
Francis H. Dent, General Manager, South Eastern and Chatham Railway's Managing Committee [First World War; British Army; Royal Navy; War Office; Admiralty]
South Eastern and Chatham Railway. Printed Notice
Publication details: 
[London.] Dated in print 10 October 1916.
£95.00
South Eastern and Chatham Railway. Printed Notice

Folio, 1 p. Thirty-eight lines. Text clear and complete. On aged and creased paper, with spike-hole at head, with 'ack[nowledge]d 3/10/16' in manuscript. Giving instructions regarding the means by which 'all consignments conveyed by Passenger or Goods Trains over controlled Companies' Lines on behalf of the Admiralty or War Office, [...] be invoiced without charges'. 'The above instructions will also apply to Traffic with Irish Ports when conveyed by Controlled Companies' Steamboats.'

Detailed coloured hand-drawn plan of a broad gauge locomotive, with dimensions, on large piece of cloth headed 'F.C.G.O.A.', and text in Spanish and English, designed by the Stephenson Locomotive Works for the Argentine Great Western Railway Company.

Author: 
Robert Stephenson & Co. Ltd., Locomotive Works, Darlington [railway engines; F.C.G.O.A.; Ferro Carril Gran Oeste Argentino; the Argentine Great Western Railway Company]
Publication details: 
Stamped 'ROBERT STEPHENSON & CO. LTD. | LOCOMOTIVE WORKS | 29 APR. 1907| DARLINGTON'.
£185.00

An attractive item, on one side of a piece of cloth roughly 57 x 94 cm. Good: lightly aged and creased. Side section of the engine roughly 21 x 61 cm, with dimensions in grey, outlines and other lines in purple, one block in pink and red, and a few small parts in blue. Also a cross-section from the front, of the left side of the train only, roughly 22 x 9.5 cm. Beneath the heading 'F.C.G.O.A. are six lines of neatly-written text, the first reading 'Trocha de. 1676<?> Gauge.

Two Autograph Letters Signed and one Typed Letter Signed (all three 'A. W. Pimm') on 'loco matters' to King.

Author: 
Arthur Watson Pimm [A. W. Pimm] (b.1881), locomotive engineer and inventor [H. G. King of the Institution of Locomotive Engineers; Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd; Vickers; LNER; LMS Railways]
Publication details: 
Autograph Letters: 14 October and 18 December 1942. Typed Letter: 4 November 1942. All three from 5 Oakhill Road, Orpington, Kent.
£450.00

Text of all three letters clear and entire. A well-written and well-informed correspondence relating to 'locomotive matters'. Letter One (14 October 1942): Manuscript. Foolscap, 4 pp. Good, on aged high-acidity paper. 'Knowing, and to some extent, at least, sharing' King's 'interest in loco matters', Pimm informs him that the Ministry of Supply 'have ordered 360 L.M.S. mixed traffics generally like the 227 that AW's [Armstrong Whitworth] bill as their last order'.

Detailed pencil illustrations of nine steam engines [locomotives].

Author: 
B. Reynell [Victorian, Edwardian illustration; railway locomotives; steam engines]
Publication details: 
Without date or place [Edwardian?].
£200.00

Landscape sketchbook of twelve leaves. Dimensions of each leaf roughly 26.5 x 38 cm. Unbound and stitched. In original brown patterned wraps. Good, on lightly discoloured and spotted drawing paper, with some wear to extremities, heavy wear at head of spine, and in heavily-worn wraps. The first leaf, otherwise blank, has had a small square taken out of it, and there are stubs indicating the removal of a couple of leaves.

Autograph Note Signed to 'Mr. Hearson'.

Author: 
Sir Frederick Robert Upcott
Publication details: 
13 March 1913; on letterhead '227, ST. JAMES' COURT, | BUCKINGHAM GATE, S.W.'
£26.00

Chairman of the Board of Indian Railways (fl. 1916). One page, 12mo. In very good condition, with one rough edge caused by removal from mount. 'It is my intention to be present at the dinner of Devonians in London on 3 May'. Signed 'F. R. Upcott'.

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