Coleman’s Coronation - the life and work of an ‘unknown’ master

IT IS a little more than 60 years since Tom Coleman, the LMS’ chief draughtsman, died in May 1958. He was, arguably, the most successful locomotive designer in a period when some of Britain’s most effective and iconic steam locomotives were produced by the ‘Big Four’ railway companies.

By nature, he was a modest man, who valued his privacy above all else, so didn’t seek the limelight or credit for achievements that were rightly his to claim. And because of this his death passed unnoticed by all except his family and close friends. Not for him the acclaim often given to lesser men and no gushing obituary to remind later generations of his life and truly great works.

And so it might have remained except for a small clue left by William Stanier in the early-1960s, shortly before his own death. On talking to Tom`s son-in-law, at a meeting of the IMechE in London, he recorded a short, but heartfelt tribute: “All we achieved in locomotive development would have been impossible without my chief draughtsman.” Yet even this most profound accolade from such a great man failed to break through the silence that surrounded Tom’s life. That is until recently.

Accomplishment

If an engineer laid claim to producing one great locomotive design in their career lasting fame could be theirs, but to say you had led a team in creating many more, including three of the most successful engines ever to run in Britain, takes us to a quite different level of accomplishment. This is exactly what Tom Coleman did, yet no honours or recognition followed, only the personal satisfaction of knowing a job had been well done. But now, 60 years since his death, the life and work of this most gifted engineer can be remembered.

He was born in Horton, Gloucestershire, on May 28, 1885, the eldest child of Tom and Helena Coleman. His father was a school master who harboured ambitions of becoming head of his own college, and this led in turn to a school in the agreeable village of Shere, in Surrey, during 1890. So, Tom, and his younger brother Reg, were brought up in a world of education and aspiration, but also in an environment well away from the pollution and overcrowding that pervaded city life, particularly in industrial areas. Here, deep in the countryside, Tom developed an interest in sport, photography, drawing and science that would stay with him for the rest of his life. Two scrapbooks he kept during these