John Fowler & Co.


John Fowler & Co Engineers of Leathley Road, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England produced traction engines and ploughing implements and equipment, as well as railway equipment. Fowler also produced the Track Marshall tractor which was a tracked version of the Field Marshall. British Railways Engineering Department locomotives ED1 to ED7 were built by Fowler

History

John Fowler was an agricultural engineer and inventor who was born in Wiltshire in 1826. He worked on the mechanisation of agriculture and was based in Leeds. He is credited with the invention of steam-driven ploughing engines. He died 4 December 1864, following a hunting accident. After his death, John Fowler & Co., was then continued by Robert Fowler and Robert Eddison. In 1886 the limited company of John Fowler & Co., Ltd., was formed. It merged with Marshall, Sons & Co., Ltd., of Gainsborough in 1947 to form Marshall-Fowler Ltd.
Although not well known for them, Fowler also built a small number of steam wagons. These were vertical-boilered, with an unusual single-crank cross-compound vee-twin engine. They featured a gearbox to provide a low drive ratio for climbing steep hills with heavy loads. At least one was preserved, as part of the Tom Varley collection.
During the Second World War, the Hunslet factory also produced Matilda, Cromwell, and Centaur tanks for the Army. Production finally ceased in early 1974.

Preservation

Railway locomotives

Some locations of preserved Fowler railway locomotives include:
;Australia
;Brazil
;Germany
;New Zealand
;India
;Pakistan
;United Kingdom