George Hughes

Born	9 October 1865
Died	27 October 1945
Nationality	English
Employer	Crewe Works, LNWR (apprentice 1882); Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, Horwich (Carriage & Wagon Department; Chief Mechanical Engineer 1904–1922); London, Midland and Scottish Railway (first Chief Mechanical Engineer 1923–1925)

George Hughes (1865–1945) was a British locomotive engineer who served as Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway from 1904 until the 1923 Grouping and as the first Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway from January 1923 until his retirement in 1925 — a position that placed him at the head of the largest railway engineering organisation in Britain at a moment of fundamental structural change.

Born at Newport, Shropshire on 9 October 1865, Hughes was apprenticed at Crewe Works under Francis Webb in 1882 and joined the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway's Carriage and Wagon Department at Horwich Works in 1894. He succeeded John Aspinall as CME of the L&YR in 1904 when Aspinall was promoted to General Manager, taking charge of the Horwich Works and the L&YR's substantial and diverse locomotive fleet.

Hughes's L&YR designs were notable for their ambition: the four-cylinder 4-6-0 'Dreadnought' of 1908 was the L&YR's most powerful express engine, and he made Horwich one of the leaders in superheating practice. His most enduring design contribution came at the LMS: the Hughes-Fowler 2-6-0 mixed-traffic engine of 1926, nicknamed the 'Crab' from its high-mounted outside cylinders and inclined motion, was a capable and free-running locomotive of which 245 were eventually built, giving the LMS a useful mixed-traffic type that outlasted many of its contemporaries in BR service into the 1960s.

Hughes's position as LMS CME was never as powerful as his title suggested. The influence of Henry Fowler and the Midland Railway 'small engine' school was strong in the new company's management, and Hughes retired in 1925 before his preferred design policies could be fully implemented. He was succeeded by Fowler. He died at Stamford on 27 October 1945.

Biography

George Hughes (1865–1945) was a British locomotive engineer who served as Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway from 1904 to the 1923 Grouping and as the first Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway from 1923 until his retirement in 1925.

Born at Newport, Shropshire on 9 October 1865, Hughes was apprenticed at Crewe under Francis Webb in 1882 and joined the L&YR's Carriage & Wagon Department at Horwich in 1894. He succeeded John Aspinall (who had been promoted to General Manager) as CME in 1904.

His L&YR designs included the four-cylinder 4-6-0 'Dreadnought' of 1908 (the L&YR's largest express engine) and the Class 31 eight-coupled goods. At the Grouping he was the senior English engineer in the new LMS and was made the first overall CME, but the influence of Fowler from the Midland was always strong in the new company. His most enduring LMS design was the Hughes-Fowler 'Crab' 2-6-0 mixed-traffic engine, a free-running and capable engine of which 245 were built.

Hughes retired in 1925 in poor health and was succeeded by Fowler. He lived in retirement at Stamford and died there on 27 October 1945.

Locomotives designed

L&YR Class 27 — Aspinall's 1889 L&YR Class 27 0-6-0 "Aspinall A class" — the L&YR's standard goods 0-6-0, 446 built between 1889 and 1918 (most numerous L&YR class). The L&YR equivalent of the Webb DX. None preserved (a notable absence).
L&YR Class 28 — Hughes's 1913 L&YR Class 28 0-6-0 — Hughes's superheated standard goods 0-6-0. None preserved.
L&YR Class 31 — Hoy's 1907 L&YR Class 31 0-8-0 "B class" — heavier development of the Class 30. None preserved.
L&YR Class 32 — Hughes's 1907 L&YR Class 32 0-8-0 "D class" — superheated development of Class 31. None preserved.
L&YR Hughes A Class — Hughes's 1908 L&YR "Hughes A class" 4-6-0 — the L&YR's flagship express engine, eventually evolved into the celebrated LMS Hughes Crab 2-6-0. None preserved in original form.
LMS Hughes Crab 2-6-0 — George Hughes's mixed-traffic 2-6-0 for the LMS, designed in 1926 as a long-overdue successor to the older Lancashire and Yorkshire 2-6-0s. Notable for the steeply-inclined outside cylinders that gave the class its "Crab" nickname, the design proved extremely successful and 245 were built between 1926 and 1932. Four examples have survived into preservation.