William Barton Wright
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William Barton Wright (13 November 1828 – 7 May 1915) was an English mechanical engineer, also tea plantation owner and mine owner. He was Locomotive Superintendent of the
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways. It was the third-largest railway system based in northern ...
(LYR) from 1875. During his ten-year career in that post he helped to make the LYR one of the most efficient railways in the United Kingdom, by designing a range of good locomotives to haul the LYR's traffic.


Biography

Barton Wright was born on 13 November 1828 at Murton House, near
North Shields North Shields () is a town in the Borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth. Since 1974, it has been in the North Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wea ...
, Northumberland. His father was William Clark Wright, from an established family of merchants and shipowners in
Tynemouth Tynemouth () is a coastal town in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, North East England. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the River Tyne, hence its name. It is 8 mi (13 km) east-northeast of Newcastle upon T ...
and
Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This fo ...
, Northumberland. His mother, Charlotte Sarah Parr, was of a family of Liverpool traders, merchants, mayors and (later) founders of
Parr's Bank Parr's Bank Limited was a bank that existed from 1782 to 1918. It was founded as Parr & Co. in Warrington, then in the county of Lancashire in the United Kingdom. In 1918 it was acquired by London County and Westminster Bank, and it was thus one ...
; and his maternal grandmother was Althea Barton, a member of the Manchester family of textile merchants. The Barton Wright family lived in
Bayswater Bayswater is an area within the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district with a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre, and is located between Kensington Gardens to the south, Paddington to the north-east, and ...
, London from 1839; Barton Wright's father died there in 1844, having dissipated the family fortune.


Early career and India

Barton Wright became an apprentice at the
Swindon Works Swindon railway works was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1843 in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It served as the principal west England maintenance centre until closed in 1986. History In 1835 Parliament approved the construction of the ...
of the
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
(GWR) at the age of 17, under
Daniel Gooch Sir Daniel Gooch, 1st Baronet (24 August 1816 – 15 October 1889) was an English railway locomotive and transatlantic cable engineer. He was the first Superintendent of Locomotive Engines on the Great Western Railway from 1837 to 1864 and ...
, who was related through his mother. There he served in the erecting shop, and then the drawing office, before becoming assistant to Archibald Sturrock, the works manager. Having completed his apprenticeship in 1851, he was given the charge of the GWR's locomotive depot at Paddington. In October 1854, he was appointed the first locomotive, carriage and wagon superintendent of the
Madras Railway The Madras Railway (full name Madras Railway Company) played a pioneering role in developing railways in southern India and was merged in 1908 with Southern Mahratta Railway to form Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway. The Madras Railway was ...
, taking up his post at the
Perambur Loco Works Perambur Loco Works is a suburban railway station in the Perambur area of the city of Chennai, in Tamil Nadu, in India. It serves the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) that is one of the largest railroad carriage and locomotive manufacturers in the ...
in March 1855. Locomotives supplied to the Madras Railway during this period were to the specification of
John Hawkshaw Sir John Hawkshaw FRS FRSE FRSA MICE (9 April 1811 – 2 June 1891), was an English civil engineer. He served as President of the Institution of Civil Engineers 1862-63. His most noteworthy work is the Severn Tunnel. Early life He was born ...
; mostly 2-4-0 for passenger trains,
0-4-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement with no leading wheels, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. While the first locomotiv ...
for mixed traffic, and
0-6-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. This was the most common wheel arrangemen ...
for goods. Barton Wright became a
Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, whi ...
on 7 December 1869, and a
Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 120,000 member ...
in June 1878.


Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway

The
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways. It was the third-largest railway system based in northern ...
(LYR) was formed by amalgamation of several railways, some of which had their own locomotive repairing facilities. Following amalgamation, it took some time for these establishments to be consolidated, and the number of departmental heads reduced. For example, the
Manchester and Bolton Railway The Manchester and Bolton Railway was a railway in the historic county of Lancashire, England, connecting Salford to Bolton. It was built by the proprietors of the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal Navigation and Railway Company who had in 183 ...
had amalgamated in 1846 but its locomotives remained separate until Salford works was closed in 1849, when the work was transferred to the former
Manchester and Leeds Railway The Manchester and Leeds Railway was a British railway company that built a line from Manchester to Normanton where it made a junction with the North Midland Railway, over which it relied on running powers to access Leeds. The line followed the ...
workshops at Miles Platting. In 1875, the facilities at Miles Platting were under the charge of William Hurst and William Yates, who were appointed outdoor superintendent and indoor superintendent respectively on 22 January 1868, both being in succession to William Jenkins. The locomotives of the former
East Lancashire Railway East Lancashire Railway is a heritage railway line in North West England which runs between Heywood, Greater Manchester and Rawtenstall in Lancashire. There are intermediate stations at Bury Bolton Street railway station, Bury Bolton Street, ...
were repaired at Bury, and were also the responsibility of two men: John Jacques, who was appointed outdoor superintendent on 24 April 1865, and George Roberts, who had been appointed indoor superintendent following the death of R. Mason on 15 October 1873. Hurst was due to retire in 1875, and the LYR board decided to replace all four men by a single locomotive superintendent, and the post was advertised in August 1875. A short-list of six names was chosen, and interviewed on 27 October 1875. This reduced the six names to two: Alexander McDonnell, of the
Great Southern and Western Railway The Great Southern and Western Railway (GS&WR) was an Irish gauge () railway company in Ireland from 1844 until 1924. The GS&WR grew by building lines and making a series of takeovers, until in the late 19th and early 20th centuries it was the ...
in Ireland, and William Barton Wright, who had been working for the Madras Railway in India. Barton Wright was appointed chief locomotive superintendent from 1 November 1875, and the following day, Yates, Hurst, Jacques and Roberts were brought in and told that they would now report to Barton Wright. Hurst retired, whilst Yates and Roberts became works managers, at Miles Platting and Bury respectively. Jacques was given the opportunity to resign with six months salary. Whilst Barton Wright was at Miles Platting, he designed five new classes of locomotive: an
0-6-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. This was the most common wheel arrangemen ...
for goods work, very similar to some being built for the
Taff Vale Railway The Taff Vale Railway (TVR) was a standard gauge railway in South Wales, built by the Taff Vale Railway Company to serve the iron and coal industries around Merthyr Tydfil and to connect them with docks in Cardiff. It was opened in stag ...
(the Taff Vale Railway L class), was introduced in 1876; an
0-4-4T Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-4 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and four trailing wheels on two axles. This type was only used ...
for local passenger services in 1877; a
4-4-0 4-4-0 is a locomotive type with a classification that uses the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement and represents the arrangement: four leading wheels on two axles (usually in a leading bogie), four po ...
for express passenger trains in 1880; and two types of 0-6-2T – one in 1880 with coupled wheels for goods and the second in 1881 with coupled wheels for local passenger services. Two of these, the 4-4-0 and the 0-6-0, were perpetuated by his successor, John Aspinall, with small modifications. The demands of the locomotive maintenance schedule together with the restricted capacity at both Miles Platting and Bury meant that most of the new locomotives had to be bought from outside firms, and these included some that were not of Barton Wright's own design. In 1876, Sharp, Stewart & Co. were building a batch of thirty
0-4-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement with no leading wheels, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. While the first locomotiv ...
locomotives for the Great Northern Railway (GNR), to the design of Patrick Stirling, the GNR locomotive superintendent; but after twelve had been delivered to the GNR, the next eight were sold (with the permission of the GNR) directly to the LYR instead, where they became the 605 class; and Sharp, Stewart subsequently supplied the GNR with the last ten of their original order, plus a further eight to make up the shortfall. On the GNR, they were intended for mixed-traffic duties (and later formed Class F2), but the LYR mainly used them on express passenger trains. There were also several small 0-4-0ST for shunting, of various types, bought between 1882 and 1885. Barton Wright also rebuilt some of the locomotives of his predecessors, giving them a longer life. The situation at Miles Platting was eased once the new carriage works at Newton Heath was opened in 1877, which allowed the locomotive department to take over the space at Miles Platting formerly occupied by the carriage and wagon department, which itself had largely been destroyed by fire on 27 April 1873 and rebuilt later that year. Following this expansion, it was possible to build additional locomotives at Miles Platting, and forty of the 528 class were built during 1878–81, but these were the last new locomotives built there. Space was still tight, and there was no room to expand the works any further, since the surrounding area was fully occupied with other buildings, including houses. In 1883, John Ramsbottom, the former locomotive superintendent of the
London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...
(LNWR), was engaged by the LYR as "Consulting Engineer in matters relating to the Locomotive Department" and toured the whole LYR system with Barton Wright, looking at all the repair facilities. Ramsbottom gave his advice to the LYR Board on 19 March 1884, and it was decided to build a new locomotive works in open country, where expansion would be easier.


Horwich works

Various potential sites were examined by Ramsbottom and Barton Wright, and at a meeting on 21 May, they were informed by Elias Dorning, the LYR land agent, of an estate of at
Horwich Horwich ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. Prior to 1974 in the historic county of Lancashire. It is southeast of Chorley, northwest of Bolton and northwest of Manchester. It l ...
. Ramsbottom, Dorning and Barton Wright went to examine the land, and having reported back to the Board, Dorning was authorised to purchase it for not more than £65,000. At an auction on 27 May 1884 he bought the land for £36,000. Together with Ramsbottom, Barton Wright began planning the new locomotive works, and construction began the following year. But before
Horwich Works Horwich Works was a railway works built in 1886 by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (LYR) in Horwich, near Bolton, in North West England when the company moved from its original works at Miles Platting, Manchester. Buildings Horwich Works ...
was ready to begin construction and repair of locomotives, Barton Wright tendered his resignation on 23 June 1886. Aspinall was appointed to succeed Barton Wright on 14 July 1886, with the new title of
Chief Mechanical Engineer 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 ...
(a title which had previously been held by only one other person,
Francis William Webb Francis William Webb (21 May 1836 – 4 June 1906) was an English railway engineer, responsible for the design and manufacture of locomotives for the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). Webb was born in Tixall Rectory, near Stafford, ...
, Ramsbottom's successor on the LNWR). Locomotive repair at Horwich began on 15 November 1886; new construction commenced in January 1888, and the first new locomotive was delivered on 20 February 1889.


Other business interests

After retirement from Lancashire and Yorkshire railway, Barton Wright entered private practice as an engineer in London, and became a director of the Assam Railways and Trading Co. He had acquired tea plantations including the Balmadies and Bitherookardu estates in the
Nilgiri Hills The Nilgiri Mountains form part of the Western Ghats in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Southern Karnataka, and eastern Kerala in India. They are located at the trijunction of three states and connect the Western Ghats with the Eastern Ghats. At le ...
in Southern India in the 1880s, later managed by his sons. He also invested with his son Edward William in mineral concessions at
Odemira Odemira ( or ) is a town and a municipality in Beja District in the Portuguese region of Alentejo. The population in 2011 was 26,066, in an area of 1720.60 km2, making it the largest municipality of Portugal by area. It is famous for its wi ...
, in the Alentejo region of Portugal, without success, from 1885. In India, he had served as a major in the Madras Volunteer Guards (retiring in 1876). Following the death of his wife in 1892, he retired to
Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
, moving to
St Leonards-on-Sea St Leonards-on-Sea (commonly known as St Leonards) is a town and seaside resort in the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. It has been part of the borough since the late 19th century and lies to the west of central Hastings. The origina ...
, Sussex in 1907, where he died on 7 May 1915 at the age of 86. Barton Wright Road in
Ayanavaram Ayanpuram, or Ayanavaram, is a neighbourhood in Chennai, India. Konnur High Road, one of the important connecting roads in Chennai runs through Ayanavaram. Etymology The neighbourhood was originally known as Ayanpuram, with Ayan meaning Brahma ...
, Madras, is named after him.'Some Madras Street Names and their history', ''Madras Musings'', July 1-15 2010, p. 6


Family

Barton Wright married Janet Forlonge in 1858, whilst on leave in England. She was the daughter of
William Forlonge William Jack Forlonge (15 May 1813 – 15 September 1890) was a pastoralist and politician in colonial Victoria and New South Wales, a member of the Victorian Legislative Council, the Victorian Legislative Assembly and the New South Wales Legisla ...
, a pastoralist and politician in colonial
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
and
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
, and grand-daughter of the Australian pioneer breeder of
Merino The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the bree ...
sheep,
Eliza Forlonge Eliza Forlong (1784–1859) was an Australian pioneer who played a large part in introducing Merino sheep to south-east Australia. She was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on 21 October 1784, the daughter of Alexander Jack, teacher, and his wife Jean ...
. They had six sons and three daughters. His third son
Edward William Barton-Wright Edward William Barton-Wright CE, FRSA, MJS (member of the Japan Society) (8 November 186013 September 1951) was an English entrepreneur specialising in both self defence training and physical therapy. He is remembered today as one of the fir ...
was a pioneering promoter of Asian
martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...
in the Western world: see '' Bartitsu''. His sister, Lydia, married Sir Molyneux Nepean, 2nd Baronet, of Mapperton House, of Loder’s Court, of Bothenhampton, Dorset, and of Lee Hall, Northumberland.


Locomotive designs

The forty 0-6-0s of the 528 class built in 1878–81 were the last locomotives to be built at the LYR's locomotive works at Miles Platting. No. 553 of the 528 class, built in June 1877, was the last LYR locomotive to be withdrawn from service, in September 1964 – a life of 87 years. Like most of the others in its class, it had been rebuilt as an 0-6-0ST – this occurred in April 1891. It had also been renumbered to LMS no. 11305. It spent the latter part of its life as one of the works shunters at Horwich, and like other locomotives used there, was transferred to service stock and never given a BR number.


See also

*
Locomotives of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Locomotives of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway locomotive works were originally at Miles Platting, Manchester. From 1889 they were at Horwich Works, Horwich. Constituent companies The L&YR came into be ...


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barton Wright, William 1828 births 1915 deaths Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway English mechanical engineers Locomotive builders and designers People from North Shields Engineers from Tyne and Wear people from Northumberland English railway mechanical engineers British railway pioneers