River Severn, Belvidere railway bridge - geograph

William Baker (19 May 1817 – 20 December 1878) was a railway engineer. Between 1834 and 1839 Baker was articled to

George W. Buck George Watson Buck (1789–1854) was the engineer of the Montgomeryshire Canal in the early 19th century, and was responsible for the unique lock paddle design. He was later resident engineer during the building of the London and Birmingham Rai ...

and then worked on the

London and Birmingham Railway The London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom, in operation from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR). The railway line which the company opened in 1838, betw ...

between London and

Tring Tring is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Dacorum, Hertfordshire, England. It is situated in a gap passing through the Chiltern Hills, classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, from Central London. Tring is linked to ...

. From 1837 he worked with Buck on the

Manchester and Birmingham Railway The Manchester and Birmingham Railway was built between Manchester and Crewe and opened in stages from 1840. Between Crewe and Birmingham, trains were worked by the Grand Junction Railway. The M&BR was merged into the London and North Western ...

. He later became engineer of the

Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway The Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway (MSJ&AR) was a suburban railway which operated an route between Altrincham in Cheshire and Manchester London Road railway station (now Piccadilly) in Manchester. The MSJ&AR line operat ...

while also working on the Shrewsbury and Birmingham and Shropshire Union Railways. He became engineer of the

Stour Valley Railway The Stour Valley Railway is a partially closed railway line that ran between , near Cambridge and in Essex, England. The line opened in sections between 1849 and 1865. The route from Shelford to Sudbury closed on 6 March 1967 leaving only th ...

and was then appointed as engineer of the Southern Division of the London and North Western Railway. He was a consulting engineer in the construction of the

1862 International Exhibition The International Exhibition of 1862, or Great London Exposition, was a world's fair. It was held from 1 May to 1 November 1862, beside the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society, South Kensington, London, England, on a site that now houses ...

building. Following the death of

Robert Stephenson Robert Stephenson FRS HFRSE FRSA DCL (16 October 1803 – 12 October 1859) was an English civil engineer and designer of locomotives. The only son of George Stephenson, the "Father of Railways", he built on the achievements of his father ...

he was appointed chief engineer of the London and North Western Railway Company. He wholly constructed, or remodelled and extended, the stations of the company in London, Liverpool and Manchester, as well as the stations in Birmingham, Preston, Bolton, Crewe, Warrington and Stafford. He constructed a new harbour at Holyhead and was responsible for designing and overseeing the building of the

Runcorn Railway Bridge The Runcorn Railway Bridge, Ethelfleda Bridge or Britannia Bridge crosses the River Mersey at Runcorn Gap between Runcorn and Widnes in Cheshire, England. It is alongside the Silver Jubilee Bridge. The bridge is recorded in the National Herita ...

. Baker was designer and engineer of the Battersea Railway Bridge. He also acted as consulting engineer to the West London Extension Railway and the

North London Railway The North London Railway (NLR) company had lines connecting the northern suburbs of London with the East and West India Docks further east. The main east to west route is now part of London Overground's North London Line. Other NLR lines fe ...

, and in Ireland he built the

Dundalk, Newry and Greenore Railway The Dundalk, Newry and Greenore Railway (DNGR, DN&GR) was an Irish gauge () railway in Ireland. It was conceived in the 1860s to provide a link between the towns in its title and the London and North Western Railway port at Greenore, from ...

and the North Wall Extension Railways. He was elected MICE in 1848.

Works

*Oxley Viaduct, Gorsebrook Road, Wolverhampton 1847-49 (with Robert Stephenson) * Belvidere Bridge, Uffington, Shropshire 1848 (now bridge number 438) *Bridges on the Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway Viaduct 1849 (bridge over the Rochdale canal survives, bridge over Egerton Street replaced in 1976) *Viaduct, Stafford Road, Wolverhampton 1849-51 (with Robert Stephenson) *North Wall extension railway, Dublin 1861 *Wigan, Tyldesley and Eccles Railway 1861-64 * Cremorne Bridge, Battersea 1863 *

Manchester Piccadilly railway station Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. Opened as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchester Piccadilly in 1960. Located to the south-east of Manchester city ...

1862-66 *

Stafford railway station Stafford railway station is a major interchange railway station in Stafford, Staffordshire, England, and is the second busiest railway station in Staffordshire, after Stoke-on-Trent. The station serves the county town, as well as surrounding vi ...

1862 *Goods shed south east of

ca. 1862 *Buxton Road Railway Bridge, Whaley Bridge ca. 1863 *City extension on the Kingsland Viaduct from

Dalston Junction Dalston Junction (pronounced ) is an inter-modal rail and bus transport interchange in Dalston, London. It is located at the crossroads of Dalston Lane, Kingsland Road and Balls Pond Road. The station served by London Overground East London li ...

to Broad Street of the North London Railway 1864-65 (with William Lawford (resident engineer)) *

Crewe railway station Crewe railway station is a railway station in Crewe, Cheshire, England. It opened in 1837 and is one of the most historically significant railway stations in the world.Liverpool Lime Street railway station Liverpool Lime Street is a terminus railway station and the main station serving the city centre of Liverpool. Opened in August 1836, it is the oldest still-operating grand terminus mainline station in the world. A branch of the West Coast M ...

1867 (with Francis Stevenson) *

Warrington Bank Quay railway station Warrington Bank Quay railway station is one of three railway stations serving the town centre of Warrington in Cheshire, England. Warrington Bank Quay is a north–south oriented mainline station on one side of the main shopping area, with the w ...

1867-68 *

1868 *Earlestown wagon factory 1868 (extensions) *Standedge Railway Tunnel (second bore) 1868-71 * Euston railway station 1870 (enlargement) *

1873

References

1817 births 1878 deaths British railway civil engineers London and North Western Railway people {{England-engineer-stub