up a similar position with the nearby Great Eastern Railway (GER). There he did not well appreciate the different requirements of the line, a far-flung concern compared with the North London, and his locomotive designs for the company were found to be underpowered for main-line work. However his refitting of the company's Stratford works using modern, standardised equipment saved a great deal of money and, when he left for the London and South Western Railway in 1878, his reputation was intact. Adams produced five locomotive designs for the GER, including two sizes of suburban passenger tank engine, an express passenger class, and a design for heavy coal traffic. This last, the 527 class, was the first 2-6-0 to be built for service in Britain, although they did not enter service until his successor Massey Bromley had taken office and incorporated some modifications to the design. He also designed the highly successful 1 class 4-4-2T for the London Tilbury and Southend Railway, most of which gave more than fifty years service. On the LSWR he designed 524 locomotives, supervised the expansion of Nine Elms Works and the transfer of the Carriage and Wagon Works to Eastleigh. Failing health forced his retirement on 29 May 1895 whilst living in Carlton House on Putney Hill. He lived elsewhere in Putney until his death on 7 August 1904. Five of Adams's locomotives survive in preservation; two 'B4's, one 'O2', one 'T3' and one radial tank. Locomotives North London see: Locomotives of the North London Railway Great Eastern 61 class 0-4-4T 265 class 4-4-0 K9 class 0-4-2T 230 class 0-4-0T 527 class 2-6-0 LT&SR 1 class 4-4-2T LSWR 380 class 4-4-0 135 class 4-4-0 395 class 0-6-0 46 class 4-4-0T (later rebuilt as 4-4-2T) 415 class 4-4-2T "Radial tanks" (noted for their long service on the Lyme Regis branch line). 445 class 4-4-0 460 class 4-4-0 A12 class 0-4-2 "Jubilees" T1 class 0-4-4T O2 class 0-4-4T X2 class 4-4-0 T3 class 4-4-0 B4 class 0-4-0T G6 class 0-6-0T T6 class 4-4-0 X6 class 4-4-0 References Bradley, D.L.(1985). LSWR Locomotives The Adams Classes. Didcot, England: Wild Swan Publications. Carpenter, George W (2004). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: William Adams. Oxford University Press. Simmons, Jack and Biddle, Gordon (1997).The Oxford Companion to British Railway History, Oxford University Press. 1823 births 1904 deaths English engineers English railway mechanical engineers Locomotive builders and designers Locomotive superintendents London and South