Charles Liddell (1813 – 10 August 1894), was an English

railway engineer Railway engineering is a multi-faceted engineering discipline dealing with the design, construction and operation of all types of rail transport systems. It encompasses a wide range of engineering disciplines, including civil engineering, compu ...

. Born in County Durham, he was the son of

Henry George Liddell Henry George Liddell (; 6 February 1811– 18 January 1898) was dean (1855–1891) of Christ Church, Oxford, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University (1870–1874), headmaster (1846–1855) of Westminster School (where a house is now named after ...

, who was later Rector of Easington. His older brother was Henry Liddell. A student and educated by

George Stephenson George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victorians In the history of the United Kingdom and the ...

, he became involved in a number of Stephenson's projects, including the

Grand Junction Railway The Grand Junction Railway (GJR) was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846 when it was amalgamated with other railways to form the London and North Western Railway. The line built by the company w ...

and

London and Birmingham Railway The London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom, in operation from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR). The railway line which the company opened in 1838, betw ...

. He subsequently went into partnership with L.D.B. Gordon, becoming Chief Engineer of the Newport, Abergavenny & Hereford Railway, where he drew the specifications for both the wrought iron

Crumlin Viaduct The Crumlin Viaduct was a railway bridge, railway viaduct located above the village of Crumlin, Caerphilly, Crumlin in South Wales, originally built to carry the Taff Vale Extension of the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway, Newport, Ab ...

and the stone

Hengoed Viaduct Hengoed Viaduct is a disused railway viaduct located above the village of Maesycwmmer, in Caerphilly county borough, South Wales. Listed building, Grade II* listed, it was originally built to carry the Taff Vale Extension of the Newport, Aberga ...

. After surveying the route for the

Bedford and Cambridge Railway The Varsity Line (or the Oxford to Cambridge railway line) was the main railway route that once linked the English university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, operated by the London and North Western Railway. During World War II the line was ...

, he was Chief Engineer for the London extensions for both the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It ama ...

, and Great Central Main Line. In 1838, whilst studying at the Freiburg School of Mines, Germany, L.D.B. Gordon visited the mines at

Clausthal Clausthal-Zellerfeld is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located in the southwestern part of the Harz mountains. Its population is approximately 15,000. The City is the location of the Clausthal University of Technology. The health resort ...

, and met Wilhelm Albert. Impressed by what he saw, he wrote to his friend

Robert Stirling Newall Robert Stirling Newall FRS FRAS (27 May 1812 – 21 April 1889) was a Scottish engineer and astronomer. Life and work Born at Dundee on 27 May 1812, Newall began work in a local mercantile office before leaving for London, where, in the emplo ...

, urging him to "Invent a machine for making

wire rope Steel wire rope (right hand lang lay) Wire rope is several strands of metal wire twisted into a helix forming a composite ''rope'', in a pattern known as ''laid rope''. Larger diameter wire rope consists of multiple strands of such laid rope in a ...

s." On receipt of Gordon's letter, Newall designed a wire rope machine. On Gordon's return to the UK in 1839, he formed a partnership with Newall and Liddell, registering ''R.S. Newall and Company'' in

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

. On 17 August 1840, Newall took out a patent for "certain improvements in wire rope and the machinery for making such rope," and ''R.S. Newall and Company'' commenced making wire ropes for "Mining, Railway, Ships' Rigging, and other purposes". Liddell died in London on 10 August 1894.

References

1813 births 1894 deaths 19th-century British businesspeople 19th-century British engineers 19th-century English people People from County Durham English civil engineers British railway pioneers Liddell family British railway civil engineers {{UK-engineer-stub