Dugald Drummond had a long career in locomotive and railway engineering, staring in Scotland, Drummond worked and also held high office on the Highland, London Brighton & South Coast Railway, North British and Caledonian Railways, before arriving on the London & South Western Railway in the mid 1890s.

He was quite unlike William Adams his predecessor, who was a mild mannered gentleman, well liked by the staff of the L & S W R, Drummond was a martinet and rough by comparison, who was at times hard to reason with.

As a result of his stubborn nature, he died early after an accident that scalded his feet, having refused to have proper treatment.

His locomotives were a mixed proposition of good bad and indifferent, his 4-4-0 tender and 0-4-4 tank classes being very good, however his 4-6-0 tender locomotives were another proposition, proving to be a disappointment except the T14 class which lasted in service until 1951.

Many of his 4-4-0 tender and 0-4-4 tank locomotives, the T9 and M7 classes, lasted until the early 1960s on British Railways and examples are preserved in the National Collection and on the Swanage Railway.