James Holden (locomotive engineer)

[1] He was apprenticed to his uncle, Edward Fletcher and, in 1865, joined the Great Western Railway, where he eventually became chief assistant to William Dean.

[2] He held office from 1885 to 1907 and was succeeded by his son Stephen (1908–1912), who enlarged the "Claud Hamilton" type into the capable Class S69 4-6-0 design.

Some of the extensively-built locomotive classes may not have been outstanding in performance on the road, or in fuel economy, but they were rugged in design and with their massive working parts were reliable and easy to maintain.

At the beginning of his tenure the GER possessed some 75 bogie single or four-coupled engines, but by the end of 1897 their number had dwindled to twelve.

Holden continued for thirteen years to fit his engines with stovepipe chimneys, and also with Thomas Worsdell's capacious cab, with its gracefully curved side-sheets.

710, prototype of the well-known T19 Class, which was to prove the mainstay of Great Eastern main line passenger service for many years.

By then their numbers had been further reinforced by the twenty built in 1900 and 1901 with 160 psi (1,100 kPa) boilers, and by a further twenty turned out in 1904, the latter with 180 psi (1,200 kPa) pressure, larger boilers giving 988 sq ft (91.8 m2) heating surface and 14.5 sq ft (1.35 m2) grate area, and side-tanks holding 1,200 imp gal (5,500 L; 1,400 US gal), which increased the weight to 42+1⁄2 long tons (43.2 t).

Those built from 1912 onwards were decorated with flared-top chimneys, in place of stovepipes, and the high-roofed cab with side-windows which was now the Holden standard.

A massive boiler with Wootten firebox, three cylinders each with its own blastpipe cone, and ten smallish driving wheels ensured a lively acceleration.

On trial it did rather better than 30 mph (48 km/h) in thirty seconds, accelerating at 1.46 ft/s² (0.45 m/s²): This performance put an end to the electrification scheme even though (as Holden had known all the time) the regular use of so massive a machine would never have been permitted by the civil engineer.

712 and 759 to 767 inclusive were fitted with it, and their tenders acquired on top two cylindrical tanks, arranged longitudinally, to accommodate the oil fuel; No.

[8] Holden oil burners were briefly fitted used on steam locomotives by various companies, including the Caledonian Railway during the national coal strike of 1912.

[8] Distinguished services rendered by T19 Class 2-4-0s included the working of the funeral train of the late Duke of Clarence from King's Lynn to Windsor by No.