Fairburn served as an Experimental Officer in the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War. Afterwards, he joined English Electric as head of their railway electrification department. By 1931 he had risen to Chief Engineering Manager of the Traction Department of EE and had been involved in electrification schemes in forty-nine countries and helped the development of diesel locomotives.
Fairburn's only original design in his brief period as CME was this 2-6-4T, based on Stanier's version.
In 1934 Fairburn joined the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) as Chief Electrical Engineer. In 1938 he was appointed Deputy Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) under William Stanier. Fairburn was made Acting CME when Stanier was called away on war work in 1942 and was officially made CME on Stanier's retirement in 1944. During war_time, production of new locomotives was to the proven designs of Stanier, The only locomotive of his brief reign to emerge being that of the LMS Fairburn 2_6_4T, a modified version of the LMS Stanier 2-6-4T.
Charles was a successful Brewery owner who owned several homes and a fleet of chauffeur-driven cars.
One of the tales told is that in the middle of a dinner party, one of the young farm hands rushed to the Manor House in a panic to ask Mary’s advice on a cow who was experiencing a difficult delivery.
After Charles died, Mary carried on the farm with a succession of managers and farm hands until her death in 1948.
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