David Joseph Macpherson (January 12, 1854 – October 16, 1927) was a Canadian-born civil engineer, mainly known for his work on railroads in North America.

Early career

Macpherson was born in

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

, and graduated from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

. His first work was as a city planner for

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, but he is more recognized for his work on railroads, specifically the one from Ciudad Juárez to

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

, and the

Santa Fe Railroad The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and ...

. He was the sole survivor of six children who died from

consumption Consumption may refer to: *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically * Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...

or other diseases. This prompted his move to Pasadena, California, in 1885. Pasadena was known for its climate conducive to good health. There he moved into a Dutch Colonial home in the unincorporated area of the Pasadena Highlands.

Mount Lowe Railway

Though he spent time in developments in Pasadena, and was even once the Chairman of the Pasadena Board of Education, he wandered extensively about the foothills conjuring ideas about the development of a scenic mountain railroad to the crest of the San Gabriel Mountains. This idea had been brought up many times by the locals of Pasadena and Sierra Madre alike. It was not until he was introduced to the millionaire Professor Thaddeus S. C. Lowe by Perry M. Green, president of the Pasadena First National Bank, that any idea of funding such a venture came to the fore. Lowe retired to Pasadena from Norristown, Pa., and moved into a . mansion on Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena in 1890. Together the men formed the Pasadena & Mt. Wilson Railroad and made plans for a steam cogwheel train to the summit of Mt. Wilson, the likes of which would rival the ones at Mt. Washington, Vermont, and

Pikes Peak Pikes Peak is the highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in North America. The ultra-prominent fourteener is located in Pike National Forest, west of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. The town of Manitou S ...

. Unable to obtain rights of way, the men turned their plans in the direction of Oak Mountain, to become Mount Lowe. The plan for the

Mount Lowe Railway The Mount Lowe Railway was the third in a series of scenic mountain railroads in the United States created as a tourist attraction on Echo Mountain and Mount Lowe, north of Los Angeles, California. The railway, originally incorporated by Thadd ...

was also changed to incorporate an electric streetcar or trolley and a cable car

funicular A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite e ...

. Macpherson's designs of trestles and bridges went beyond the engineering standards of the day, particularly the Macpherson Trestle, which was designed to negotiate a deep granite chasm along of track on a 62% grade.

Altadena

Macpherson acquired the narrow strip of land on which his house was settled, which ran not more than a block wide and a mile in length through the Pasadena Highlands and into

Altadena Altadena () ("Alta", Spanish for "Upper", and "dena" from Pasadena) is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in the Verdugo Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, approximately 14 miles (23 km) from the downtown ...

. He laid out the streets and named them after his favorite American railroads, south to north: Washington Street; Rio Grande St.; Denver become Howard St.; Santa Fe become Elizabeth St.; Topeka St.; Atchison St.; Erie become Woodbury Rd. east of Lake; New York Dr.; Albany become closed (portions renamed Sonoma Dr); Maine become closed; and Boston St. In 1920 he built a new home on the corner of Atchison and Mar Vista which, after Pasadena annexation was stopped, remains in

. He died in Pasadena, aged 73.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macpherson, David 1854 births 1927 deaths American railway civil engineers Cornell University College of Engineering alumni Canadian people in rail transport American railroad pioneers Canadian railway pioneers Altadena, California