Serial number 1415 built 1923 Patricroft England does anyone know what this plate came off ? unusual triangle shape plate

Odd, that's in a serial # and date range between orders of narrow-gauge 2-8-2's for India and broad-gauge 4-4-2T's for Northern Ireland...
They also built heavy machine tools, this might not be for a locomotive.

I believe that the UK National Railway Museum in York and the Salford City archives both have complete works lists. As P51 says Nasmyth's built a lot of heavy machinery, particularly steam hammers, but I suspect that locomotives were numbered in a separate series. NW built just 2 locos in their last full year of operation (1939) and were numbered only in the low 15xx (maybe 1538/9?). I would think that there would be more than 120 items in 26 years if it included other machinery. Maybe the Wackipedia list is incomplete. Ray.

NW 1415 was Gold Coast Railways, No. 208; a 3'6" gauge 2-8-2 (with 20.5"x24" cylinders and 3'9" driving wheels.

Interesting, I have a book on their production and it doesn't list that # range...

The information on NW 1415 is taken from the Works List given in "Nasmyth, Wilson & Co., Patricroft Locomotive Builders" by John Cantrell, published by Tempus Publishing in 2005.
This list states that 1652 locomotives were built between 1839 and 1938, and had works numbers 1 to 1652.
I assume that the steam hammers and other machine tools that Nasmyth Wilson also made were numbered seperately.

After some searching of my extensive collection of railway books and magazines, I have found the attached photo of one of these Nasmyth Wilson locomotives.
This is AW 1377 of 1922, later Gold Coast Goverment Railway No.201.
There were twelve of this locomotives in all, the first six were used onHarbour Works, before being taken into railway stock.