Sir John Fowler, 1st Baronet: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
|||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
'''Sir John Fowler''' ([[July 15]], [[1817]]–[[November 10]], [[1898]]) was born in [[Wadsley]], [[South Yorkshire]], [[England]]. He was a [[railway]] [[engineer]] in [[Victorian era|Victorian]] [[Britain]]. He helped build the first underground railway in London, the Metropolitan line in the 1860's, a shallow line built by the "cut-and-cover" method. With Sir [[Benjamin Baker]], he designed the [[Forth Bridge (railway)|Forth Bridge]], a [[cantilever]] [[bridge]], and [[Millwall Dock]] in east [[London]]. He was called in after the Norwood accident when a cast iron bridge on the London-Brighton railway line fractured as a train passed over (1891). The girder failed from a large internal hole which had not been detected at installation. Since he had designed and built most of the bridges on the line, he advised that many should be strengthened or replaced, given the heavier locomotives then in use compared with those when the bridges were first built. |
'''Sir John Fowler''' ([[July 15]], [[1817]]–[[November 10]], [[1898]]) was born in [[Wadsley]], [[South Yorkshire]], [[England]]. He was a [[railway]] [[engineer]] in [[Victorian era|Victorian]] [[Britain]]. He helped build the first underground railway in London, the Metropolitan line in the 1860's, a shallow line built by the "cut-and-cover" method. With Sir [[Benjamin Baker]], he designed the [[Forth Bridge (railway)|Forth Bridge]], a [[cantilever]] [[bridge]], and [[Millwall Dock]] in east [[London]]. He was called in after the Norwood accident when a cast iron bridge on the London-Brighton railway line fractured as a train passed over (1891). The girder failed from a large internal hole which had not been detected at installation. Since he had designed and built most of the bridges on the line, he advised that many should be strengthened or replaced, given the heavier locomotives then in use compared with those when the bridges were first built. He is credited with the building of the near identical Albert Edward Bridge at Coalbrookdale, Shropshire in 1864 and Victoria Bridge at Upper Arley, Worcestershire in 1861. |
||
Following the death of [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]] in [[1859]], Fowler was retained by the [[Great Western Railway]] Company as a consulting engineer, and a [[GWR Sir Watkin Class|ex-Great Western Railway Sir Watkin class locomotive]] was named ''Fowler'' in his homour. |
Following the death of [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]] in [[1859]], Fowler was retained by the [[Great Western Railway]] Company as a consulting engineer, and a [[GWR Sir Watkin Class|ex-Great Western Railway Sir Watkin class locomotive]] was named ''Fowler'' in his homour. |
||
Revision as of 15:44, 26 September 2006
Sir John Fowler (July 15, 1817–November 10, 1898) was born in Wadsley, South Yorkshire, England. He was a railway engineer in Victorian Britain. He helped build the first underground railway in London, the Metropolitan line in the 1860's, a shallow line built by the "cut-and-cover" method. With Sir Benjamin Baker, he designed the Forth Bridge, a cantilever bridge, and Millwall Dock in east London. He was called in after the Norwood accident when a cast iron bridge on the London-Brighton railway line fractured as a train passed over (1891). The girder failed from a large internal hole which had not been detected at installation. Since he had designed and built most of the bridges on the line, he advised that many should be strengthened or replaced, given the heavier locomotives then in use compared with those when the bridges were first built. He is credited with the building of the near identical Albert Edward Bridge at Coalbrookdale, Shropshire in 1864 and Victoria Bridge at Upper Arley, Worcestershire in 1861.
Following the death of Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1859, Fowler was retained by the Great Western Railway Company as a consulting engineer, and a ex-Great Western Railway Sir Watkin class locomotive was named Fowler in his homour.
He died in Bournemouth, Dorset, England at the age of 81.
 | This article about an engineer, inventor or industrial designer from the United Kingdom or its predecessor states is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |