blast furnaces and rolling mill equipment, sugar mills for export to the West Indies, iron 'bearers' (beams) for important buildings of the age, wrought iron rails, and four early steam locomotives. Of these 'The Agenoria' worked on the Kingswinford Railway, near Stourbridge and is now in the National Railway Museum, York. The other three were ordered by the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company and exported to the United States. The 'Stourbridge Lion' became the first steam locomotive to run on a commercial railway at Honesdale, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately it proved too heavy for the wooden track and after a few trial runs was removed. A few components remain in the Smithsonian Museum, Washington D.C. The 'New Foundry' built in 1821, with a magnificent iron roof structure spanning , produced components for the company and continued working as a foundry until early in the 21st century. For many years standing semi-derelict, the building has now been intelligently restored and is in use again as a medical centre for Stourbridge people. Foster formed a partnership with Thomas Jukes Collier (Thomas Jukes Collier & Co), which carried out mining in the Hadley area from around 1820. On 20 February 1821, Foster obtained a patent for "certain improvements in the manufacture of wrought malleable iron". In 1820s, Foster entered into a partnership with George Jones and John Barker, both of Wolverhampton, to construct the Chillington Ironworks. The three partners patented an improved method of producing malleable iron in 1832. They invented a method of conveying the molten iron produced in a blast furnace into the puddling furnace without the intermediate stage of producing solid pig iron. Foster's first entry into politics was in 1825 when he was appointed an Improvement Commissioner for the town of Stourbridge. He lobbied for a new Improvement Act, passed in 1825, which enabled the Commissioners to construct a market hall for the town. James Foster later became a member of parliament, as a Whig, for Bridgnorth (1831–1832), although he rarely took part in debates. He served as High Sheriff of Worcestershire in 1840. In 1828, Foster acquired the Madeley Court estate. Here he commenced mining operations, sinking 17 pits in total. Later (in 1843), Foster had blast furnaces constructed nearby. In 1833, Foster acquired a lease of Stourton Castle for £10,000. He subsequently modernised and added to the building, employing the architect Sir Robert Smirke to provide the designs. In