Edward John Cotton (1 June 1829 – 14 June 1899) was an English accountant who became manager of the

Waterford and Kilkenny Railway Waterford and Kilkenny Railway incorporated 21 July 1845. The aim was to create a series of railways which would connect Waterford, Cork, Dublin and Galway. The creation of such links was considered a good investment for the stock market but al ...

and, subsequently, the

Belfast and Northern Counties Railway The Northern Counties Committee (NCC) was a railway that served the north-east of Ireland. It was built to Irish gauge () but later acquired a number of narrow gauge lines. It had its origins in the Belfast and Ballymena Railway that opened to ...

where he was influential in developing tourism in the north of Ireland.

Biography

Edward John Cotton was born on 1 June 1829, at Rochester, Kent. The son of Edward and Hannah Cotton, he was christened on 24 June 1829, at the church of St Margaret, Rochester. He entered railway service with the traffic department of the Great Western Railway at

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...

, London in October 1845. Two years later he became a clerk at the embryonic

Railway Clearing House The Railway Clearing House (RCH) was an organisation set up to manage the allocation of revenue collected by pre-grouping railway companies for the conveyance of passengers and goods over the lines (or using the rolling stock) of other compani ...

at a time when fewer than 20 railway companies were associated with it. There he gained a thorough knowledge of inter-company traffic and working arrangements. In 1851, he joined the North Eastern Railway where he was given the task of training the staff in Clearing House business. In 1853, Cotton moved to Kilkenny in Ireland to become manager to the Waterford and Kilkenny Railway. He was 24 years old and one of the youngest railway managers in the British Isles. He was appointed traffic manager of the Belfast and Ballymena Railway (B&BR) in 1857. The B&BR was aware of the importance of third-class traffic and, in 1859, Cotton gave instructions that third class tickets were to be issued from all stations, making the B&BR one of the first railways in the British Isles to do so. The B&BR was renamed the

(BNCR) in 1860 and during his tenure Cotton saw the BNCR greatly expand as it acquired other railways. Under his management, the BNCR became Ireland's most prosperous railway company. He was made a tempting offer to accept a position in India but the directors of the BNCR recognised Cotton's ability and his value to the company and raised his salary in order to retain him. Eventually Cotton would become the highest paid railway official in Ireland. Cotton played a leading role in establishing the

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic territory) is a town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, with a population of 18,755 at the 2011 Census. It is a major passenger and freight roll-on roll-off port. Larne is administered by Mid ...

- Stranraer steamer service in 1862 but it was not a success and closed after 14 months. However, Cotton did not relinquish the idea and was instrumental in the steamer's successful resurgence under private ownership in July 1872. He became the manager of the newly created Larne & Stranraer Steamship Joint Committee in 1893. In addition to his service with the BNCR, he was concurrently manager of the

Ballymena, Cushendall and Red Bay Railway The Ballymena, Cushendall and Red Bay Railway was a narrow gauge railway between Ballymena and Retreat, both in County Antrim, in what is now Northern Ireland. It operated from 1875 to 1940. History The railway line was incorporated in 187 ...

from 1875 until 1884 when that line was acquired by the BNCR. He was instrumental in developing tourism in the north of Ireland. He promoted the running of cheap excursion trains and was the driving force behind developing the tourist potential of

Portrush Portrush () is a small seaside resort town on the north coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It neighbours the resort of Portstewart. The main part of the old town, including the railway station as well as most hotels, restaurants and bars, ...

where the BNCR acquired its first hotel,

Glenariff Glenariff or Glenariffe ( or ) is a valley in County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lou ...

, and Whitehead. On 29 October 1895, Cotton celebrated the 50th year of his railway service, in honour of which he was presented with a portrait from the officers and staff of the BNCR and a valuable presentation from the directors. Cotton married Rosina Harriott Lowe on 23 October 1852, at St Bride's Church in Fleet Street, London and their first child, John Lowe Cotton, was born on 20 September 1853. He was chairman of the Managers' Conference at the Irish Railway Clearing House in Dublin from 1864; none of the other managers ever dreamed of assuming the position when he was present. This practice continued until 1890, when the principle of formal election to the chairmanship was established, a change Cotton accepted with equanimity. He was closely associated with the Railway Benevolent Institution. The government appointed Cotton as a general investigator under the Congested Districts Board for

Connaught Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

and it was largely due to him that the light railways or so-called "Balfour lines" in these areas were constructed. He was well known in literary circles throughout the north of Ireland as an interpreter of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

and was himself featured in one of

Amanda McKittrick Ros Anna Margaret Ross (née McKittrick; 8 December 1860 – 2 February 1939), known by her pen-name Amanda McKittrick Ros, was an Irish writer. She published her first novel ''Irene Iddesleigh'' at her own expense in 1897. She wrote poetry and ...

' remarkable novels, ''Delina Delaney'', as "The Father of Steamy Enterprise". Cotton died after a short illness on 14 June 1899. His death was a severe blow to the BNCR where he had been a more than able manager and had brought prosperity to the railway.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cotton, Edward John People from Rochester, Kent British people in rail transport 1829 births 1899 deaths