• Name: Andrew Hurrell
  • Profession: Electrical Design Engineer and CAD Operator

Profile edit

My interests are predominantly Engineering, Heavy Industry and Railways. It all seems to stem from a childhood interest in trains mixed with a strong curiosity that lead my to want to find out about the reasons for railways being built to particularly.

This lead again to an involvement in Industrial Archaeology including practical work at Wortley Top Forge Industrial Museum and in the Slate Quarries of North Wales.

I have served as part of the (volunteer) management team for Wortley Top Forge Industrial Museum.

My interest in railways has continued but focused on curiosities and the technicalities of how things work. This has resulted in me training to be a Fireman (Stoker) on the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway (1986 to 1991) and acting as both driver and fireman on the replicas of Sans Pareil and Novelty (2001-2002 & 2005). I also have gained practical experience with Diesel Shunters and Railcranes, which has given me a particular interest in vehicle gearboxes and transmissions.

My work took me to Nigeria for 6 months during 1997 & 1999 where I was able to take in a small amount of site seeing between jobs (refurbishment of drink water treatment works). I have also travelled around India during early 2005.

I am the first in at least 4 generations not to work directly in the Sheffield steel industry.

I hope my particular interest, an ability to explain in with analogies and the ability to see things from a slightly different angle allow me to make a worthwhile contributions to Wikipedia.

Making Contact edit

My preference is for people wishing to contact me to do so using the E-mail this user functions, in the first instance.

"E-mail this user function" does not appear to work for you... Please see

Photo at top of the page

--Peter Horn 17:01, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

Websites edit

Developed as a spare time project starting in Autumn 2000, billed as an ‘Unofficial Site’, and hosted on Freeserve.

Transferred to current URL in Spring 2002, when it was re-branded as ‘Official Site’.

Although many ideas, a number of photographs and much information have come from other people, I am the only person currently editing this site.

(also see Wortley Top Forge)

This is the free web space provided by my ISP. It has been totally unused for many years. It is now being used to host a number of personal projects that are being constantly developed. Spare space will be used host additional Top Forge material.

Projects intended for this include – Yorkshire Engine Company (History and Locomotives); Locomotives of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, and; The Dorothea Beam Engine.

Wikipedia - To Do List edit

My Sandbox

  • Rainhill Trials Locomotives
  • Fell Diesel
  • Corus (Steel Making) (Rewrite with History & Current Sites)
  • British Industrial Locomotives and manufacturers