On his own account, he was responsible for the management of the design of: About 30 of these locomotives saw their way into the stock of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, some possibly gaining an extended lease of life due to the demands on the railway caused by the Great War.
Most of his engines had a reasonable service life for the period but were ill-suited for the age of standardisation that swept the country from the mid-1870s onwards.
Seen more as a running man than a designer and innovator, and with failing health and support from the board of directors that had appointed him, he was sidelined in a reorganisation of his department and appointed consultant, before resigning his £850/annum post in April 1882.
He married Margaret Grant, a Scot, by whom he had at least five children, all born in Carlisle, Cumberland.
His eldest daughter, Louisa Mary Brittain, married Andrew T. Scott on 7 June 1897 at St. John's Episcopal Church, Perth.