Ken Hoole: historian of North Eastern Railway

Born at Doncaster on 21 September 1916; died at Scarborough, where he had lived most of his life, on 27 December 1988. Founder member of North Eastern Railway association. (Ian Johnson. Ken Hoole — a tribute. Rly Wld., 1989, 50, 153.

Was "hughly regarded" whilst alive as being a major expert on all things North Eastern. With the passage of time some of his output now appears to be rather shallow, and ceratinly lacks the depth of analysis provided by more recent writers on the locomotive output either at the hands of specific design teams or from specific works.

Page 105 of An illustrated history stated that: "When I commenced travelling to school by train in 1928 the engines working my morning train, the 8 am non-stop from Bridlington to Hull, were numbered between 1619 and 1639, but one engine, No. 1619, differed from the others. Not only was it painted green, but it had outside cylinders, whilst all the others had inside cylinders. It was at this time that the Locomotive Publishing Company were selling off copies of J.S. MacLean's Locomotives of the North Eastern Railway and I managed to persuade my parents to buy me a copy for Christmas 1929. There, illustrated and described, was my favourite No. 1619, and I learned that it had started life in 1893 as a 2-cylinder compound on the Worsdell-von Borries system, and that in 1898 it had beep converted to a 3-cylinder compound on the W.M. Smith system. This meant nothing to me at the time, but conversation with the two regular Bridlington drivers, W. Hall and E. Boyes, elicited a few more details and an explanation of the methods of compound working were provided by a very keen and knowledgeable passed fireman, Wilf Simpson, later a main line driver at York.

The 4-4-0 classes of the North Eastern Railway. London: Ian Allan, 1979.
Ottley 12439
The East Coast Main Line since 1925. London: Ian Allan, 1977. 128pp.
Divided into short chapters based on five-year periods. ECML as viewed from North East - only events impacting upon this part from elsewhere receive attention: thus Appendix 5 includes London to Harrogate services via Wetherby and Newcastle to Liverpool services, but no mention of Kings Cross to Cleethorpes services. Useful only for someone seeking information about what author regarded as core section of ECML.
The electric locomotives of the North Eastern Railway. Oxford: Oakwood, 1988. 40pp. (Locomotion Papers No. 167).
Noted lightness of catenary; short extract from Raven paper to North East Coast Instn Engrs Shipbuilders which compared performance of 0-8-2 tender locomotive with 0-6-6-0 electric freight locomotive.
An illustrated history of NER locomotives. Sparkford: Oxford Publishing,, 1988. 255pp.
Many illustrations which are clearly printed, and some diagrams. What and when rather than why.
The North-Eastern Atlantics. Hatch End (Middlesex), Roundhouse, 1965. 64 p. + 16 plates.
North Eastern locomotive sheds. Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1972. 263pp.
Ottley 12437.
North Road Locomotive Works, Darlington, 1863-1966. [Hatch End]: Roundhouse, 1967. xiv, 102pp.
Established by William Bouch for the S&DR; gives little information on Fletcher (as Gateshead) or even Alexander McDonnell. Raven was really first Darlington CME. Book extends into LNER/BR period. There was much work on standardization during the 1930s, notably the replacement of the Westinghouse brake by the vacuum type and the switch to left hand-drive.
North Eastern stations: a photographic collection. Clapham: Dalesman, 1978.
Ottley 12438

2014-04-18