Matthew Stirling (railway engineer)

Matthew Stirling (1856–1931) was Locomotive Superintendent of the Hull & Barnsley Railway (H&BR). Matthew Stirling was born in Kilmarnock on 27 November 1856. He was the son of Patrick Stirling, the nephew of James Stirling, and grandson of Robert Stirling – all of whom were also famous mechanical engineers.

Matthew Stirling
Born	27 November 1856 Kilmarnock, Scotland
Died	5 October 1931(1931-10-05) (aged 74) Kingston upon Hull, England
Nationality	Scottish
Citizenship	United Kingdom
Parent	Patrick Stirling
Engineering career
Discipline	Locomotive engineer
Employer(s)	Hull & Barnsley Railway

Career

Matthew was appointed Locomotive Superintendent of the H&BR on 13 May 1885. His first locomotive design was the H&BR Class B 0-6-0 tender locomotive (1889). This later became LNER Class J23. A larger and more modern version of the Class B was developed later. This was designated H&BR Class L, and later became LNER Class J28. Matthew Stirling's locomotive designs often incorporated the design traditions established by his father, including domeless boilers. His powerful H&BR Class A (LNER Class Q10) 0-8-0 freight locomotives were heavily used during World War I.

List of locomotive designs

H&BR class	LNER class	Wheels	Date
B	J23[1]	0-6-0	1889
G2	J80[2]	0-6-0T	1892
F2	N12[3]	0-6-2T	1901
G3	J75[4]	0-6-0T	1901
A	Q10[5]	0-8-0	1907
J	D24[6]	4-4-0	1910
L	J28[7]	0-6-0	1911
F3	N13[8]	0-6-2T	1913

The LNER Class N13s survived into the British Railways era and the last locomotive, No. 69114, was withdrawn in 1956.

Retirement and death

He retired in 1922 when the H&BR was taken over by the North Eastern Railway (NER). Stirling died on 5 October 1931 in Hull, aged 75.