Callum the Cauliflower

Here is Day Eleven of Diamond Jubilee's Advent Calendar: a sprite of a mysterious engine with a mysterious life — Callum the LNWR Cauliflower.

From top to bottom:
- LNWR Blackberry Black, round top firebox, Ramsbottom safety valves
- LMS Black, round top firebox, number 8625, Ramsbottom safety valves
- LMS Black, Belpaire firebox, number 28625, ross pop safety valves
- example of a LNWR Cauliflower in BR Black with Early Crest, number 58409.

Callum was the last of a long line of simple, sturdy and reliable 0-6-0 goods engines, designed by Mr Francis W Webb, to be built at Crewe Works in 1902. Nothing much was known about his personality before 1918, but we can affirm that he was showy and a bit of a chatterbox. When the First World War broke out he was asked to 'shut up' by another engine, which promptly yet permanently stuck to him. As time went on, Calum grew shyer and behaved surprisingly well. Calum could now only express his feelings just like a real steam engine; for example, letting off steam mournfully suggests that he is either solemn or sad. He even did his duties without fuss, and no longer bragged about being the last of his type to be built; indeed he met his fate when he was destroyed in an explosion at Vicarstown station in the early-to-mid-1940s and scrapped, along with a few other engines.

The prototype 'Cauliflower' No. 2379 appeared in 1880 and was equipped with the 'Jumbo' boiler, 5-foot-3-inch drivers, 150 pounds-per-square-inch boiler pressure and 18-by-24-inch cylinders. Between 1880 and 1902 the class was turned out at Crewe Works in several batches. The first ten were built with H-spoked wheels, but the rest were built with conventional spoked wheels. All but two passed into Grouping in 1923, and re-numbered 8315-8624, leaving two numbers (8328 and 8329) available for new engines. The 'Cauliflowers' were always known as mixed-traffic engines in spite of their wheel arrangement, and like their predecessors the 'coal' engines they were extremely simple to build and easy to maintain. Their large wheels and sheer power made them so reliable that it was not unusual to see one pulling a semi-fast or a West Coast express passenger train.

Under LMS ownership several later received Belpaire fireboxes, and some had their cylinders lined out to 17 or 17-and-a-half inches. A large number were withdrawn by the 1930's, and in 1936 the survivors were placed on the duplicate list, having their numbers upped by 20,000. Seventy-five examples made it into Nationalisation, but mass withdrawals and scrapping continued. The oldest 'Cauliflower', numbered 58362, was scrapped at Crewe works in 1953. 58409, one of the last seven survivors to be withdrawn in 1955, is shown at the bottom of the picture; it was scrapped in January 1956. Number 58427 had retired in 1955 and was due to be scrapped, but it was given a reprieve and set aside for re-painting into LNWR livery. However, it was already re-built with a Belpaire firebox and by 1957 it was decided not to restore 58427, so the engine was eventually cut up. It is a particular disappointment that not one of these engines was saved for posterity, complete with a cauliflower on the middle splasher!

FACT: Callum is based on the LNWR's 18-inch goods engine, nicknamed 'Cauliflowers' due to the fact that the LNWR's company coat of arms was painted on the centre splasher, resembling said vegetable from a distance.

Thomas and Friends © HiT Entertainment, Britt Allcroft (Thomas) Ltd/Gullane, and Mattel.
The Railway Series © The Awdry Family, HiT, and Egmont Publishing.
Sprite style © Cj-The-Creator and LeMuffinQueen