Michael Graham Satow OBE, or simply Mike Satow was an engineer who was a key person in railway heritage in India and the United Kingdom. Among other achievements he was pivotal in the establishment of the

National Rail Museum, New Delhi The National Rail Museum in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi, displays exhibits on the history of rail transport in India. The museum was inaugurated on 1 February 1977. The museum spans over an area of over 11 acres and the indoor gallery compris ...

, India and creation of a replica of

Locomotion No. 1 ''Locomotion'' No. 1 (originally named ''Active'') is an early steam locomotive that was built in 1825 by the pioneering railway engineers George and Robert Stephenson at their manufacturing firm, Robert Stephenson and Company. It became th ...

Life

Satow was born on 15 June 1916. Educated at Stowe School, he was to damage his hip in a rugby sports accident spending nine months in hospital when he learned shorthand and typing. Having become behind with his education compared to his peers he elected to take a position with a company manufacturing and erecting heavy equipment, thus following his father into engineering. Satow became an engineer and general manager for Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), and a member of the team who built the Wilton

Nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from pe ...

plant on

Teesside Teesside () is a built-up area around the River Tees in the north of England, split between County Durham and North Yorkshire. The name was initially used as a county borough in the North Riding of Yorkshire. Historically a hub for heavy manu ...

in 1947. Satow was assigned by ICI to India in 1956, his family joining him there later. Satow said "The first railway that I can ever recall turning me on was the Matheran Railway". He was to go on to develop a passion on the subject of

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 ...

constructed in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and exported to India. In 1963 he organised for Baguley locomotive works No. 2007 to be recovered from a water pumping station at Barrackpore, India and restored at an ICI subsidiary. He was later to recover that locomotive in 1971 as well as Baldwin Class 10-12-D No. 778 to the

Leighton Buzzard Light Railway The Leighton Buzzard Light Railway (LBLR) is a light railway in Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, England. It operates on narrow-gauge track and is just under long. The line was built after the First World War to serve sand quarries north o ...

heritage operation where he was the first president. He was appointed an honorary adviser to the

in 1970. Satow was awarded an

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

In the

1971 Birthday Honours The 1971 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments to orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms to reward and highlight citizens' good works, on the occasion of the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. They were announced in supplemen ...

''For services to British interests in India''. In 1975 Satow featured in '' The World About Us'' television series in the episode ''The Romance of Indian Railways''. Following retirement to England Satow was involved in the construction of a replica of

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 ...

's 1825 steam engineer ''

'' which was exhibited at the Beamish Museum. Satow died on 13 November 1993 aged 77.

Legacy

In addition to his contributions to preservation Satow amassed a collection of notebooks and papers relating to Indian Railways, the information is catalogued by The National Archives of the United Kingdom.

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* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Satow, Michael Graham 1916 births 1993 deaths British engineers People educated at Stowe School British people associated with Heritage Railways