Chatham HistoricDockyard Railway

Experiments in motion · 1878

The Handyside
trials.

Six tiny locomotives. A bold military idea. And a proving ground at Chatham.

Explore the story
A chapter in the Dockyard railway story Chatham · Kent
01An unusual machine

Built for a railway
that could go anywhere.

Fox, Walker & Co built six experimental 18-inch gauge locomotives in the spring of 1878.

They were designed with military field use in mind: compact engines that could haul supplies on narrow tracks, negotiate tight curves and climb steep gradients. One was sent to Chatham for trials at the School of Military Engineering.

18inTrack gauge
8tonsApprox. working weight
12mphRecorded level speed
15ftMinimum curve radius
02At Chatham

A tough test
for a small engine.

Initial testing took place at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich. The following year, one locomotive came to Chatham to face a mile-long continuous test track, with approach gradients of 1 in 10 and 1 in 11.

It reached 12 miles per hour on level track, rounded curves of just 15 feet, and could haul about 50 tons on the level. Using its front-mounted winch, it could pull 10 tons up a 1-in-10 gradient.

The trial showed real promise, but it also exposed design problems that mattered in the field.

03What the trials revealed

Ingenious.
Imperfect.

The engines’ compact design pushed machinery into a tight space. The tests highlighted practical issues that would make them difficult and potentially unsafe to use in demanding conditions.

  • High boiler positionThe raised centre of gravity created a risk of instability.
  • Limited side controlThe pony trucks lacked side-control springs.
  • Winch controls out of reachThe winch could not be operated from the footplate.
  • Unmanaged cableThere was no mechanism to coil the steel traction rope.
04After the trials

From experiment
to fortification.

The Handyside locomotives were rejected for military field service. Some still found useful work at Chatham, helping construct the fortifications between 1880 and 1884.

Their rejection ended plans for a locomotive designed specifically for 18-inch gauge trench railways. The trials remain a vivid example of the Dockyard’s role as a place to test ambitious engineering ideas.

Further reading from the Industrial Railway Society
Continue exploringBack to the collection