Sharp.2C Roberts and Co Charles Beyer

the company manufactured cotton mill machinery , had started building locomotives liverpool , manchester railway. roberts prolific inventor despite being self-taught, no university education or training. genius constrained inability state ideas on paper; said of draughtsman:

there man can tell every word say, cannot put ideas upon paper; , here (mr. beyer) scarcely knows english, can not understand put shape mean.

beyer s technical training in dresden, coupled natural aptitude drawing , design, made him perfect partner roberts.

the latter s skills in designing cotton mill machinery did not translate success in locomotive design, put faith in beyer , let him take on design , production of company s new locomotives. beyer designed locomotives made sharp, roberts & co famous locomotive builders. roberts retired firm in 1843, , beyer became chief engineer.

in 1842 beyer designed tender became standard british railways. featuring outside frames. on 3 october 1846, 1 of 0-6-0 luggage engines hauled train of 101 wagons weighing 597 tons longsight in manchester crewe, 29 miles @ average speed of 13.7 mph. world record @ time. in 1847, similar locomotive, ran 3,004 miles on london , birmingham railway coke consumption of 0.214 lb per ton per mile.the next best locomotive burned 0.38 lb per mile, record. 1849, beyer had helped produce on 600 locomotives.

in 1844 king of saxony visited atlas; beyer showed him works, , saxony government ordering locomotives company. beyer s main design features placing boiler line @ higher level made smoother running. first give boiler freedom expand. shape , appearance of british railway locomotives owed more beyer, other designer.

on 5 november 1852 beyer naturalised in england. following year (1853), despite being @ height of chosen profession, vice-president of imeche , friend of george stephenson, robert stephenson, sir daniel gooch, john ramsbottom , others, left company. move may have resulted after overlooked partnership (mr c p stewart appointed partner), or possibly because of unrequited love 1 of sharp nieces; nonetheless spent 6 months touring europe , contemplating study @ oxford or cambridge.

institution of mechanical engineers

beyer co-founder of institution. grace s guide states:

@ opening of present headquarters in birdcage walk in 1899 commemorative pamphlet issued members stating meeting took place in house in cecil street, manchester @ house of charles beyer, manager of sharp brothers locomotive works. although beyer involved in formation of imeche, more meeting no more conversation among friends.

an informal gathering george stephenson , friends @ beyer s house on cecil street may have been, autumn 1846 gathering did lead formal founding @ queen hotel @ curzon street, birmingham on 27 january 1847. beyer proposed stephenson president; beyer elected vice-president.

beyer member of institution of civil engineers, and, 24 january 1854, member of manchester literary , philosophical society. john dalton, james prescott joule, william fairbairn, henry roscoe , joseph whitworth contemporary members.