William Marriott (1857 – 17 November 1943) was the engineer,

locomotive superintendent Chief mechanical engineer and locomotive superintendent are titles applied by British, Australian, and New Zealand railway companies to the person ultimately responsible to the board of the company for the building and maintaining of the locomotive ...

and traffic manager of the

Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GNJR) was a railway network in England, in the area connecting southern Lincolnshire, the Isle of Ely and north Norfolk. It developed from several local independent concerns and was incorporated i ...

(M&GN) Marriott was born at

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

where his father was a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

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 ...

at the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universit ...

. He was orphaned in 1868 and was brought to live in

Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bideford is recorded as ''Bedeford'', ''By ...

, receiving an education in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and on

the continent Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

. He served an

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners ...

with

Ransomes & Rapier Ransomes & Rapier was a major British manufacturer of railway equipment and later cranes, from 1869 to 1987. Originally an offshoot of the major engineering company Ransome's it was based at Waterside Works in Ipswich, Suffolk. Ransome's split R ...

Ltd in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

from 1875 to 1879 and as a

draughtsman A draughtsman (British spelling) or draftsman (American spelling) may refer to: * An architectural drafter, who produced architectural drawings until the late 20th century * An artist who produces drawings that rival or surpass their other types ...

in 1880. He left Ransomes in 1881 to become an assistant engineer with Wilkinson & Jarvis Ltd completing a six-week unpaid trial period on the

Yarmouth & North Norfolk Railway The Eastern and Midlands Railway was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of several small railways in the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk, England, including the Yarmouth and North Norfolk Railway, the Lynn and Fakenham Railw ...

Yarmouth Yarmouth may refer to: Places Canada *Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia **Yarmouth, Nova Scotia **Municipality of the District of Yarmouth **Yarmouth (provincial electoral district) **Yarmouth (electoral district) * Yarmouth Township, Ontario *New ...

. He was offered a permanent post which he accepted, and in 1883 he became the

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

and in 1884 the locomotive superintendent of the

Eastern & Midlands Railway The Eastern and Midlands Railway was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of several small railways in the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk, England, including the Yarmouth and North Norfolk Railway, the Lynn and Fakenham Railw ...

. This company was the amalgamation of all the Wilkinson & Jarvis lines in Norfolk, including both the Yarmouth & North Norfolk Railway and the

Lynn & Fakenham Railway The Eastern and Midlands Railway was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of several small railways in the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk, England, including the Yarmouth and North Norfolk Railway, the Lynn and Fakenham Railw ...

. At the time he was possibly the youngest engineer of a public railway since the 1850s. When the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...

and the Great Northern Railway jointly purchased the Eastern & Midlands Railway in 1893, from which time it was known as the Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway, he was expecting to become Traffic Manager as well, but was passed over in favour of an outside appointment. After many years service improving the line and developing the use of

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...

, he was finally appointed as the railway's traffic manager in 1919, in which post he remained until his retirement on 31 December 1924. He died in

Sheringham Sheringham (; population 7,367) is an English seaside town within the county of Norfolk, United Kingdom.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 252 - Norfolk Coast East''. . The motto of the town, granted in 1953 to the Sheringham Urban Distr ...

on 17 November 1943.Biography
/ref>

North Norfolk Railway

A section of the M&GN railway formerly run by Marriott has been preserved by volunteers as the

North Norfolk Railway The North Norfolk Railway (NNR) – also known as the "Poppy Line" – is a heritage steam railway in Norfolk, England, running between the towns of Sheringham and Holt. The North Norfolk Railway is owned and operated as a public limite ...

, popularly known as the ''Poppy Line''. This organisation also runs the William Marriott Museum which is located at Holt station. The museum houses railway artifacts relating to Marriott and the M&GN railway.William Marriott museum
/ref>

Legacy

The

Marriott's Way The Marriott's Way is a long-distance footpath, cycle-path and bridleway in north Norfolk, England, between Norwich and Aylsham via Themelthorpe. It forms part of the National Cycle Network (NCN) (Route 1) and the red route of Norwich's Pedal ...

long distance footpath A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents exc ...

that follows the route of two former (M&GN) lines in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

takes its name from him.Marriott's Way
/ref>

Thorpe Marriott Thorpe Marriott is a residential area in Norfolk, England covering part of Taverham and Drayton parishes. Much of the housing was built in the latter part of the 20th century. It enjoys the amenities of both parishes which are easily accessible ...

a residential development at

Taverham Taverham is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Norfolk, in England. It is approximately 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Norwich. Taverham sits on the River Wensum. Taverham forms part the wider Norwich Built-up area. In ...

bears his name.

References

British civil engineers 1857 births 1943 deaths People from Sheringham People from Basel-Stadt People from Bideford Engineers from Devon {{civil-engineering-stub