Dübs and Company

Dübs & Co.
Company type	Private
Industry	Locomotive manufacturing
Founded	1863; 163 years ago
Founder	Henry Dübs
Defunct	1903
Fate	Merged to form North British Locomotive Company
Headquarters	Glasgow, Scotland

Dübs & Co. was a locomotive manufacturing company located in Glasgow, Scotland, established by Henry Dübs in 1863. The company operated from the Queens Park Works situated in Polmadie. In 1903, it combined forces with two other Glasgow-based locomotive manufacturers to create the North British Locomotive Company.

Preserved locomotives

Dübs produced eleven locomotives for the New Zealand Railways Department and supplied many others to destinations including South Africa and the Isle of Man's Manx Northern Railway.

Preserved locomotives in New Zealand

Among the surviving units are four of the 0-4-0 NZR A class locomotives constructed in 1873. Of these, A 64 and A 67 remain operational on heritage railways; A 64 is housed at The Plains Vintage Railway & Historical Museum in Ashburton, while A 67 is managed by the Ocean Beach Railway / Otago Railway & Locomotive Society Inc. A 62 is privately held but currently damaged, and A 66, also under Ocean Beach Railway ownership, suffered fire damage and is now leased long-term to a preservation railway in Southland.

Two examples of the NZR C class still exist; only five out of sixteen were built by Dübs. One locomotive from 1875, initially an 0-4-0, was early converted to an 0-4-2 configuration and is operational at the Silver Stream Railway. Another unit, C class no. 803, was salvaged from Buller Gorge on the West Coast in 1993 by the Westport Railway Preservation Society and is undergoing restoration with plans to return it to working order. In 2024, it was transferred to the National Railway Museum of New Zealand.

Five preserved locomotives from the 0-6-0 NZR F class, built between 1878 and 1880, remain. Among these, F 163 and F 185 are in working condition. F 111’s boiler was condemned in 1980; its owners, Ocean Beach Railway, have yet to replace it. F 150, also owned by Ocean Beach Railway, was loaned unrestored to Plains Vintage Railway in Ashburton in 1986. In July 2019, it was relocated to Invercargill for restoration by the Southern Steam Train Charitable Trust, with completion anticipated by 2026. F 230 was modified to an 0-4-2 wheel arrangement for use on a private industrial line and is now displayed statically at Hamilton Lake Park in a deteriorated state. Other surviving F class engines were manufactured by different firms.

Preserved locomotives in Australia

Tasmania’s oldest steam locomotive is Dübs No.1415 (1880), belonging to Queensland Railways' Queensland 4D9 class designed for narrow gauge track. After being sold in 1917 to the Strahan Marine Board, it assisted in breakwater construction at Hells Gates on Macquarie Harbour. Currently, it is exhibited without its cab at the Don River Railway.

On December 30, 1900, the Emu Bay Railway (EBR) received three Dübs-built 4-8-0 locomotives for service on the Melba line running from Burnie to Zeehan: Nos. 6 (3854/1900), 7 (3856/1900), and 8 (3855/1900). No.7 was dismantled in 1963. In 1960, Nos. 6 and 8 were renamed Murchison and Heemskirk, respectively, and repainted in a two-tone blue livery to pull the Westcoaster train ferrying vehicles between Burnie and Rosebery. No.6 is now displayed at the West Coast Pioneers Museum in Zeehan after recent restoration to its blue colors; No.8 remains operational in black at Don River Railway in Devonport.

The Mount Lyell Mining & Railway Company purchased five rack tank locomotives with a 0-4-2RT wheel arrangement for their railway between Queenstown and Strahan that utilized the Abt rack system. Four of these were produced by Dübs; three survive: Mount Lyell Nos.1 (3369/1896), 2 (3594/1898), and 3 (3730/1898). All three continue operating on the West Coast Wilderness Railway. Locomotive No.3730 was locally modified for compatibility with the Abt rack system and remains active.

Victorian Railways’ steam crane No.2, constructed by Dübs in 1890 (works number 2711), is preserved at Melbourne’s Newport Railway Museum.

Locomotives Preserved Internationally

Within the United Kingdom, the 1901-built Dübs crane tank No. 4101 is maintained in working order at the Foxfield Light Railway in Stoke-on-Trent, where it remains regularly operational as of late 2012.

In Ireland, the Slieve Callan No. 5 locomotive is conserved at the West Clare Railway.

The Natal Government Railways 'A' Class 4-8-2 tank engine No. 196 (Works Number 3819, constructed in 1899) was brought back to the UK by the NBL Preservation Group in May 2011 and is exhibited at the Mizens Railway near Woking, Surrey.

On the Isle of Man Railway, the Manx Northern Railway 0-6-0 no. 4 Caledonia, manufactured in 1885 (works no. 2178) and renumbered as 15 in 1904, was returned to service to honor its contribution to constructing the Snaefell Railway. After undergoing extensive refurbishment, it has resumed active operation.

Norway’s NSB class XXI locomotives Nos. 1 and 2, built in 1894, are preserved at the Setesdal Line heritage railway. No. 2 remained in regular service until recently, while both are now maintained for museum use.

Locomotive No. 3, originally built for the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1882, is owned by the Prairie Dog Central heritage railway based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and had been fully restored by early 2009.

The Class-A No. 88 locomotive, constructed in 1882 for Natal Government Railways, a forerunner of South African Railways, is preserved by the Umgeni Steam Railway in Durban. It operates on routes connecting Durban with Point Road and Johannesburg.

Dubs #2351, a 2-6-4T engine built in 1888 initially for Brazil’s Companhia Paulista de Estradas de Ferro and later utilized industrially at Frigorífico Bordon, has been completely restored and is exhibited statically at São Paulo’s Technology Museum.

A JGR Class 2100 (0-6-2) locomotive, number 2109 (maker’s plate #2774), constructed in 1891, remains operational at the Nippon Institute of Technology located in Saitama Prefecture. This engine formerly served on the Seino Railway hauling limestone until its retirement in 1966 before entering preservation.

The Manila Railway Dagupan class 0-6-2T locomotive No.17 Urdaneta, built in 1888 and withdrawn from service in 1927, is among four steam engines preserved by Philippine National Railways and currently displayed in Dagupan.

References

Anon. (1951) "The North British Locomotive Co. Ltd", Railway Magazine, 97, Part 1, p. 3–8; and Part 2, p. 82–90 & 92–93
Boyd, J.I.C., (1996), The Isle of Man Railway: Volume 3, The Oakwood Press,
Durrant, A.E. (1989) Twilight of South African Steam, David & Charles,
Heath, Bateman, and Stott, Bob (1993) Classic Steam Locomotives Of New Zealand, Vol. 1, Grantham House,

External links

Comprehensive List of Surviving Dubs & Co. Steam Locomotives
Silver Stream Railway’s page on preserved locomotives – includes details on the C class
Umgeni Steam Railway - Durban-based steam preservation group: [1]