The grave of James Stirling, Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh

James Stirling (3 March 1799, Methven – 10 January 1876,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

) was a Scottish engineer, and brother of

Robert Stirling Robert Stirling (25 October 1790 – 6 June 1878) was a Scottish clergyman and engineer. He invented the Stirling engine and was inducted into the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame in 2014. Early life Robert Stirling was born at Fatal Fiel ...

. He originally specialised railway engines and later in dock gates and weirs

Life

He was born at Cloag Farm near Methven in

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

, the son of Patrick and Janet Stirling. He originally studied divinity, intending to be a minister in the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

. However, inspired by his brother Robert, he instead decided to be an engineer, and was apprenticed to

Claude Girdwood Claude may refer to: __NOTOC__ People and fictional characters * Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Claude (surname), a list of people * Claude Lorrain (c. 1600–1682), French landscape painter, draughtsman and etcher ...

& Co in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

as a mechanical engineer. The company specialised in making cotton gins. He then became manager of the Dundee Foundry, which built several locomotives for the

Dundee and Newtyle Railway The Dundee and Newtyle Railway opened in 1831 and was the first railway in the north of Scotland. It was built to carry goods between Dundee and the fertile area known as Strathmore; this involved crossing the Sidlaw Hills, and was accomplish ...

. In 1827 he patented, together with his brother

Air engine A pneumatic motor (air motor), or compressed air engine, is a type of motor which does mechanical work by expanding compressed air. Pneumatic motors generally convert the compressed air energy to mechanical work through either linear or rotary m ...

. In 1842 he built the Dundee

hot air engine A hot air engine (historically called an air engine or caloric engine) is any heat engine that uses the expansion and contraction of air under the influence of a temperature change to convert thermal energy into mechanical work. These engines m ...

. The first engine of this kind which, after various modifications, was efficiently constructed and heated, had a cylinder of 12 inches (approx. 30 cm) in diameter, with a length of stroke of 2 feet (approx. 61 cm), and made 40 strokes or revolutions in a minute (40 rpm). This engine moved all the machinery at the Dundee Foundry Company's works for eight or ten months, and was previously found capable of raising 700,000 lbs one foot in a minute (approx. 21 HP). James Stirling and Co was located at East Foundry/Victoria Foundry, Dundee. It is unclear whether it was a separate business from the Dundee Foundry. In 1846 James Stirling left

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 ...

and set up an engineering practice in

. He lived at 11 Hill Street in Edinburgh's First New Town. He died in Edinburgh on 10 January 1876. He is buried in the south-west spur of

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and on ...

in western Edinburgh.

Locomotives by Stirling

Steam locomotives A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

built by the Dundee Foundry/James Stirling & Co included: * ''Trotter'', built 1834 for the

* ''Princess'', ''Victoria'' and ''Britannia'', (all

2-2-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-2-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, two powered driving wheels on one axle, and two trailing wheels on one axle. The wheel arrangement both ...

s) built 1838/9 for the

Arbroath and Forfar Railway The Arbroath and Forfar Railway was a railway that connected Forfar with the port town of Arbroath, in Scotland. It opened in 1838–1839 and it was successful in making an operating profit, but it was always desperately short of capital. It u ...

- * Two further locomotives for the Arbroath and Forfar Railway * At least one locomotive for the

Newtyle and Coupar Angus Railway The Scottish Midland Junction Railway was authorised in 1845 to build a line from Perth to Forfar. Other companies obtained authorisation in the same year, and together they formed a route from central Scotland to Aberdeen. The SMJR opened its ...

Family

In 1837 he was married to Susan Hunter (1800-1877), daughter of Prof James Hunter of

St Andrews University (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. Susan Stirling (as she was afterwards known) was a successful author, including works such as "Fanny Hervey or the Mother's Choice" (1849).

References

1800 births 1876 deaths Scottish mechanical engineers People from Perth and Kinross {{Scotland-engineer-stub