Alfred Hickman Ltd. No. 1 and Shay B-20-2

Although the Shay locomotive is usually only being associated with the USA, a number was also exported. Only a single Shay is known to have been exported to the UK and its customer was Alfred Hickman Ltd., also known as “Staffordshire Steel & Ingot Iron Works”. Delivered in 1900, it most likely carried the number 1 and was only called “Lima” due to its manufacturer. It was of type B-20-2, what means it had two trucks of two axles each, three cylinders and an empty weight of around 20 tons. With a gear ratio of 2.176, it developed a huge pulling power for its size at the cost of a top speed of only 14.5 mph. Being an extremely exotic locomotive in its country, it couldn't enjoy a very long career and was scrapped in 1918.