H. P. M. Beames

Captain Hewitt Pearson Montague Beames (1875–1948) was a British locomotive engineer who served as the last Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London and North Western Railway from October 1920 until the LNWR's amalgamation into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in January 1923, and subsequently as Deputy CME of the LMS through three successive CME tenures. His own locomotive design record was modest, but his long service at Crewe and his transition management role at the Grouping made him an important figure in the continuity of the LNWR engineering tradition into the LMS era.

Born at County Wexford, Ireland on 22 April 1875, the son of a Royal Navy captain, Beames was educated at Marlborough College and apprenticed at Crewe Works under Francis Webb in 1893. He rose to Works Manager at Crewe by 1909 and served as a Captain in the Royal Engineers during the First World War, returning to the LNWR as Assistant CME under Charles Bowen Cooke. He succeeded Bowen Cooke as CME on the latter's death in October 1920.

Beames's two years as LNWR CME were dominated by the preparations for the impending Grouping and by the legacy problems of the Claughton 4-6-0 class — Bowen Cooke's large express engine that had proved unreliable in service due to undersized bearings and weak front-end design. His most significant design contribution was the LNWR 4-6-2T 'Prince of Wales Tank' for London suburban services. At the Grouping he became Deputy CME of the LMS under Hughes, and remained in that role under Fowler and into the Stanier era, retiring in 1934. He died at Crewe on 21 April 1948, a year almost to the day before his 73rd birthday.