Yorkshire Engine Company facts for kids

The Yorkshire Engine Company (YEC) was a company in Sheffield, England, that built locomotives (train engines). It started in 1865 and kept making engines and doing other engineering work until 1965. They were mostly known for building small engines used for moving railway wagons around, called shunting engines, especially for customers in Britain. But they also made bigger engines for main railway lines that were sold to other countries.

What Was the Yorkshire Engine Company?

The Yorkshire Engine Company was a special factory that made train engines. It was located in Sheffield, a city in England. They built these engines for a whole century, from 1865 to 1965!

What Kind of Engines Did They Build?

The Yorkshire Engine Company was famous for making "shunting engines." These are smaller, powerful trains used to move railway wagons around in places like factories, ports, or big train yards. They didn't just build these for Britain; they also made larger engines for main railway lines that were sold to other countries around the world.

A Century of Building Trains

For 100 years, the company was busy building different types of locomotives. They started with steam engines, which were common back then. Later, they began to build diesel engines, which became more popular. They were always working on new designs and improving their engines.

Images for kids

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  YE 2481 at Kelham Island Museum in 2005

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  Typical Janus locomotive at a steelworks

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  One of the first YEC Diesel Hydraulic locomotives built for industrial use