The KF1 (sometimes simply KF) 4-8-4 locomotives used by China’s railways are well-known, one example surviving in York Railway Museum and another in Beijing Railway Museum. The English language Wikipedia article for this class of locomotives names Kenneth Cantlie as the designer whereas some Chinese sources state that Ying Shangcai was the leader of the design team. The exact distribution of design responsiblilities between Cantlie, Ying and the Vulcan Foundry is now unlikely to be definitely known but it is possible to postulate some theories about the origins of this class of 4-8-4 locomotives.
Kenneth Cantlie states in his book “The Railways of China” (reference 1) that he took up his appointment as an adviser to the Chinese Ministry of Railways in June 1930. At this period the Minister of Railways was Sun Fo (also known as Sun Ke), who was the son of Sun Zhongshan, the provisional first president of the Republic of China.
Cantlie’s book gives an account of China’s railways and the difficulties they encountered in this period. Cantlie even describes how he himself had to repair works boilers owing to the shortage of experienced personel.
Later in the book, Cantlie describes his service on the Standards Committee, mentioning the committee’s Chairman Dr Yen Te-ching (this is the original transliteration, rather than the current PinYin transliteration).
Cantlie only mentions".
