James Cross and Company

James Cross and Company
IndustryEngineering
Foundedc.1863
FounderJames Cross
Headquarters
St. Helens
,
England
Key people
James Cross, Edward Borrows, Arthur Sinclair
ProductsSteam locomotives
Mountaineer built in 1866 by James Cross and Company

James Cross and Company was a locomotive building company established around 1863 at Sutton Engine Works, St. Helens, England. The partners were James Cross, Edward Borrows and Arthur Sinclair,[1] all of whom were former employees of the St Helens Railway. The company is notable for having built the first double Fairlie locomotive.[2]

Locomotives

The company's first locomotive was White Raven, a 2-4-2T built for the St Helens Railway in 1863.[3] The second, built 1864, was a Fell locomotive for the Mont Cenis Railway.

A 0-4-4-0T Fairlie locomotive named Progress was built in 1865 for the Neath and Brecon Railway. This was followed in 1866 by another 0-4-4-0T Fairlie named Mountaineer for the Anglesey Central Railway. Three 3ft 6in gauge 0-6-6-0T Fairlies were built in 1866/67 for service in Queensland, Australia but these were rejected because they were overweight. They were returned to England, re-gauged and re-sold.

The company ceased trading in 1869 after building about 60 locomotives. The last batch, comprising 30 locomotives, was built for the East Indian Railway.

References

  1. ^ "Sutton's Lords & Masters (St.Helens) | Sutton Beauty & Heritage". www.suttonbeauty.org.uk.
  2. ^ "James Cross and Co - Graces Guide". www.gracesguide.co.uk.
  3. ^ "James Cross and Co: White Raven - Graces Guide". www.gracesguide.co.uk.


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