John Fowler
John Fowler, later Sir John Fowler, 1st Baronet, was the Chief Engineer who oversaw the construction of the Severn Valley Railway between 1855 and 1862.
Fowler was born at Wadsley, Sheffield, in 1817. During his training he worked with John Rastrick[note 1] on various railway projects including the London and Brighton Railway. By 1844 he had established himself in London as a consulting engineer specialising in the laying out and construction of railways, and in his early career worked on many railway schemes including the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway, the East Lincolnshire Railway, and the Oxford Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway where he succeeded Isambard Kingdom Brunel as Engineer. He was also appointed Chief Engineer of London’s first underground railway, the Metropolitan Railway, in 1853. During the era of the railway mania, he regularly appeared before Parliamentary committees as an expert witness on Railway Bills.[1]
Following the early death of the Severn Valley Railway's first Chief Engineer, Robert Nicholson, Fowler was appointed Chief Engineer in 1855 when aged just 38. Fowler was already a shareholder in the original Severn Valley Railway Company, having invested £1,000 when the initial prospectus was issued in 1852.[2] However, after his appointment, unlike Morton Peto, he never took a large financial stake in the Company or attempted to have any direct influence over its management.[1]
Peto, Brassey and Betts consulted closely with Fowler while preparing their tender as Contractors for construction of the Railway.[1] Fowler oversaw the final development of the plans and was instrumental in the line being laid out to accommodate double track working (even though this was never implemented).[1] He is also credited with the design of Victoria Bridge built between 1859 and 1861, and its slightly younger upstream counterpart Albert Edward Bridge built between 1863 and 1864.
The tender for the Railway's construction was accepted in February 1858. On 21 April 1858 Fowler attended a Board meeting at which his proposal to accept £16,000 for all past and future services until completion of the Railway was agreed.[note 2][3] The Construction of the Severn Valley Railway was to be under the constant surveillance of either the Chief Engineer or his assistant, the Resident Engineer. Inevitably the multiplicity of jobs with which Fowler was associated, including being retained by the Great Western Railway following the death of Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1859, meant that the day-to-day construction was overseen by Resident Engineer Henry Orlando Bridgeman.[4] Fowler produced monthly certificates of the value of work carried out which formed the basis of the Contractors' payments, as well as regular reports for the six-monthly shareholders' meetings.[5]
While construction of the Severn Valley Railway was still under way, authorisation was granted by Act of Parliament on 3 July 1860 for construction of the Tenbury & Bewdley Railway. Fowler was appointed as its Chief Engineer, assisted by D Wylie, with Brassey and Field as contractors.[6]
After construction of the Severn Valley Railway was completed, Fowler was one of the guests on the inaugural train from Worcester to Shrewsbury on 31 January 1862 (the day before the public opening of the railway), which included a civic banquet at Bridgnorth during the return trip. A similar banquet was held at the 'rival town' of Bewdley on the following Tuesday, although Fowler was unable to attend, with Henry Orlando Bridgeman deputising.[7]
Many of his great achievements took place after that time.[1] Amongst many other engineering projects, Fowler is perhaps most notably credited with the design (in partnership with Benjamin Baker) of the steel cantilevered Forth Bridge; a design recommended after the tragic collapse of Sir Thomas Bouch's Tay Bridge in 1879.
Fowler was president of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1866–67, and was created a baronet in 1890. He died in 1898 at the age of eighty-one.
See also
Notes
- ↑ John Urpeth Rastrick was an early English steam locomotive builder who, in partnership with James Foster, formed Foster, Rastrick and Company which built the 'Stourbridge Lion' in 1829. Rastrick later became an independent civil engineer who worked on numerous railway projects.
- ↑ The Chief Engineer received £16,000 for his services. For context, the total costs ultimately paid to the contractors for construction of the Railway were approximately £325,000.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Nabarro (1971) p. 33.
- ↑ Nabarro (1971) p. 20.
- ↑ Marshall (1989) p. 36.
- ↑ Nabarro (1971) p. 34.
- ↑ Marshall (1989) pp. 38-39.
- ↑ Marshall (1989) p. 56.
- ↑ Nabarro (1971) pp. 45-46.
Links
- John Fowler on Grace's Guide to British Industrial History
- John Fowler on UndiscoveredScotland
- Sir John Fowler, 1st Baronet on Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Sir John Fowler, 1st Baronet on Wikipedia