Fowler's Ghost (locomotive)

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This is the article about **the locomotive**, you might be looking for the episode

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## Fowler's Ghost

### Designer

Sir John Fowler

"**Fowler's Ghost"** is the commonly used name referring to an experimental 2-4-0 built for the Metropolitan Railway in 1861. The locomotive was a failure and is now used by locomotives as an expression for a failed experimental locomotive. Hughes is a common user of the term "Fowler's Ghost" when someone breaks down or is a failed design.

## History

### The locomotive itself

During the early years of the Metropolitan Railway, the gauge of track was the same as the Brunel's Great Western Railway (7ft 1/4in). The Metropolitan Railway's first order for locomotive were of conventional steam locomotives, but smoke could be a problem since they will be running underground. Sir John Fowler, engineer for the world's first underground railway", had the idea of a locomotive that would work conventally out in the open, but use heat stored in "fire bricks" when working underground, a so-called "fireless" locomotive. The locomotive ended up being a 2-4-0+T that would be later nicknamed "Fowler's Ghost". In those days, fireless locomotives were still a brand new practice that haven't been mastered, leading to early examples failing on test runs. Fowler's Ghost is one example of an early fireless locomotive.

Just a few years before the Metropolitan Railway opened, the locomotive underwent a test run at Hanwell, on the Great Western Railway (GWR), in 1861. Unfortunately, the boiler feed valves became blocked and water in the boiler was dropping. On a conventional locomotive, the fire would be dropped and the engine left to cool but since most of the heat was stored in its "fire bricks", the fear of an explosion was feared (since there was no way to remove heat bricks back then). During this failed test, the locomotive only covered 7.5 miles (12.1 km), when it had to cover around 20+ miles underground. Another test was done in 1862 on the Metropolitan and that also ended in failure. That year, development on the locomotive stopped and the engine's fate was to remain surprising odd afterwards. Isaac Watt Boulton bought the locomotive and had plans to rebuild it to Standard Gauge (4ft 8.5in) as a pure conventional locomotive, with drawings of the boiler existing. Sadly, the engine was not completed since Boulton's locomotive hiring business (Boulton's Siding) was going bust.

The locomotive was sold and broken up for scrap by Beyer Peacock & Company of Gorton, Manchester, in 1895. Only one photograph of this locomotive exists and the locomotive is known my Sir John Fowler as an embarrassment to his good name in engineering.

### "Fowler's Ghost"

For a long time, the existence of the locomotive was questioned, and denied by Sir John Fowler until the engine finally got a common name in 1901. That year, the January issue of 'The Railway Magazine' covered an article about the locomotive, and giving it the name "Fowler's Ghost', which will become the common reference to this locomotive.

## Livery

"Fowler's Ghost" is painted in a light shade of forest green with brass features.

## Basis

   "Fowler's Ghost" is based on the real locomotive. It was built by Robert Stephenson & Company under the design of Sir John Fowler and was an early fireless locomotive. This locomotive was a complete failure and the locomotive had a quiet life afterwards, even being quietly scrapped by Beyer Peacock & Company in 1895. The name was given to it by 'The Railway Magazine' in January 1901 and the name "Fowler's Ghost" has now become a standard reference to the locomotive.

## Trivia

In it's only physical appearance (via Hughes' story), "Fowler's Ghost" is scratch built from the only known photo of the locomotive and people's recreations of this locomotive.

"Fowler's Ghost" also appeared in Simon A. C. Martin's 'British Railway Series", but used a kit-built 'Der Adler' 2-2-2 and seen as an actual ghost. This wasn't the case for the real locomotive.

Hughes commonly uses the name "Fowler's Ghost" when a locomotive breaks down or is a failed experimental design (e.g. Henry in his original form).

Fowler's Ghost's theme is 'Distant Tension' by Kevin MacLeod. This is the same theme used by Simon A. C. Martin.

In real life, "Fowler's Ghost" wasn't seen as an actual ghost. The word 'ghost' referred to the fact that this locomotive was often never seen.

Fowler's Ghost is the first and only fireless locomotive in the series to be referenced by name.