Frank Ayton (10 January 1873,

Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden, Northumberland, Warden nearby, and ...

– 24 January 1956) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

. He was a pioneer of

electric vehicles An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes cha ...

. He was a founder of the Electrical Vehicle Committee of Great Britain, later the

Electric Vehicle Association of Great Britain The Electric Vehicle Association of Great Britain (EVA) was an organisation of the manufacturers of electric vehicles and associated equipment, batteries etc. founded in 1938. References Trade associations based in the United Kingdom Electric ...

. He edited the journal ''Electric Vehicle''. Frank was born in

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

, and attended the

Imperial Service College The Imperial Service College (ISC) was an English independent school based in Windsor, originally known as St. Mark's School when it was founded in 1845. In 1906, St Mark’s School absorbed boys from the former United Services College, which had ...

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

. He then studied at

Finsbury Technical College The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded on 11 November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies – to develop a national system of technical education, the institute has b ...

before working for

Siemens Brothers Siemens Brothers and Company Limited was an electrical engineering design and manufacturing business in London, England. It was first established as a branchThe company started with a small factory at 12 Millbank Row, Westminster SW1, London, ne ...

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

. He worked on the

Waterloo and City Line The Waterloo & City line, colloquially known as The Drain, is a London Underground shuttle line that runs between Waterloo and Bank with no intermediate stops. Its primary traffic consists of commuters from south-west London, Surrey and Hampsh ...

before being taken on by

Alexander Kennedy Sir Alexander Blackie William Kennedy FRS, FRGS (17 March 1847 – 1 November 1928), better known simply as Alexander Kennedy, was a leading British civil and electrical engineer and academic. A member of many institutions and the recipient ...

to work on various

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many p ...

and

electric traction A railway electrification system supplies electric power to railway trains and trams without an on-board prime mover or local fuel supply. Electric railways use either electric locomotives (hauling passengers or freight in separate cars), ele ...

projects. Ayton was a member of the

Institute of Transport The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) is a professional body representing the transport and logistics industries worldwide. It is a membership-based organisation with over 30,000 members in over 30 countries. This i ...

. Ayton was a managing director of

Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies Limited was a major British agricultural machinery maker also producing a wide range of general engineering products in Ipswich, Suffolk including traction engines, trolleybuses, ploughs, lawn mowers, combine harvest ...

Works

*
Electric Vehicles for Brewery Service
, '' Journal of the Institute of Brewing'', Vol. 26 No. 3 March 1920 pp 113–133 *
Applications of Engineering to Agriculture
, ''Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers'', Volume: 111 issue: 1, June 1926, page(s): 683-720
"The Electric Trolley Bus"
''

The Commercial Motor ''Commercial Motor'' is a weekly magazine serving the road transport industry in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1905 by Edmund Dangerfield, it is notable for having been "the first journal to be devoted exclusively to the commercial vehicle eng ...

'', 30 October 1928 pp.45-6

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayton, Frank English electrical engineers 1873 births 1956 deaths