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Kevin Jones' Steam Index

Caledonian Railway Locomotive Engineers

See also Drummond
See also McIntosh
See also Pickersgill

Barr, John George
Born 22 January 1875, son of Thomas M. Barr, Civil Engineer to the Northern Section of the Caledonian Railway. Commenced his railway career at Perth in 1891 as a Pupil Civil Engineer and Apprentice Mechanical Engineer. He finished his apprenticeship in the Drawing Office at St Rollox Works. Following this he move to Polmadie locomotive depot and following periods at Hamilton, Dawsholm, Dundee and Aberdeen depots he became Chief Inspector under McIntosh in 1908. Following the formation of the LMS he became Superintendent of Motive Power for the Nortthern Division until retirement in 1939. During WW2 he was an assessor on the Ministry of Labour Wage Tribunal. He was an Elder of the Church of Scotland and a strict, but very human disciplinarian.  Locomotive Running Superintendent on the Caledonian Railway during Pickersgill's tenure as Locomotive Superintendent, and according to Nock (Caledonian Railway) "the power behind the throne". He died on 30 March 1964. Obituary J. Instn Loco. Engrs, 1963/4, 53, 837-8..

Brittain, George
Not listed in Marshall. He became Locomotive Superintendent of the CR following the death of Conner on 27 February 1876, but he did not enjoy good health and had to cease working in April 1882 whereafter Dugald Drummond was to replace him. He was partly responsible (with Conner) (see Highet who notes that the Neilson's order book records the death of Conner) for the CR's first unsatisfactory 4-4-0 which had been ordered as a 2-4-0 and was under-boilered: it had been intended for mainline service but was dubed the Dundee bogies. Brittain was directly responsible for the more successful Oban bogies for the Callender & Oban Railway, having initially attempted to run the line with 2-4-2Ts similar to those employed by the LNWR. He was succeeded by D. Drummond. Middlemass (Scottish 4-4-0)

Conner, Benjamin
Conner was born in Glasgow in 1813 and died there on 3 February 1876. He was apprenticed to James Gray of Glasgow and introduced to locomotive engineering at Murdoch, Aitken & Co also of Glasgow. For a time he worked in Liverpool and Manchester and then returned to Scotland to work with W.M. Neilson and at Robert Napier's works where he became involved in marine engineering (Marshall). He was appointed locomotive superintendent of the Caledonian Railway in 1856 and was superintendent for two decades (1856-76). Although only Benjamin Conner's final design was a 4-4-0 his activities are described at some legth by Middlemass (Scottish 4-4-0) who notes that his final years with CR ware plagued by ill-health. Conner left a longstanding impression on the locomotive style of that Company. His 2-2-2 with 8ft 2in. driving wheels of 1859 onwards, generally following the Allan or 'Crewe' tradition, had relatively long-travel valves and was consequently exceptionally free-running. Some units of this type were exported to Egypt by Neilson & Co. On the CR he was succeeded by George Brittain.

See: C. Highet, Scottish Locomotive History 1831-1923 (1970).

Kempt, Irvine
Assistant Locomotive Superintendent:  attended Inaugural Meeting of I. Loco. E. Scottish Centre and was chairman-elect of Scottish Centre ILocoE in 1923 and carriage & wagon superintendednt of the LMS in Scotland (Locomotive Mag., 1923, 29, 239). Some points in connection with lubrication and lubricators. J. Instn Loco. Engrs. 1921, 11. 255-97. Paper 97)  Discussion on Reid Paper 104

Keyden, J.
 District Locomotive Superintendent. Polmadie to be Assistant to Divisional Superintendent Motive Power, Operating Manager's Office, Glasgow (Locomotive Mag., 1935, 41, 17): attended Inaugural Meeting of I. Loco. E. Scottish Centre

Kerr, George
Atkins, P. West coast 4-6-0s at work. 1981 notes that Kerr was responsible for designing the conjugated valve gear used on the CR 956 class. Unlike most of the St Rollox employees who arrived on foot or by tram, Kerr Esq arrived by motor car.

Linn, Sandy
Signed the drawings for he derived valve gear used on the 956 Class. See Philip Atkins BackTrack, 2009, 23,  104.

Miller, Graeme
Premium apprentice under J.F. McIntosh. Chief Locomotive Draughtsman, British Railways, Scottish Rgion. Retired 1959. Atkins, Philip. Hawthorn, Leslie and the Highland Railway. Backtrack, 1998, 12, 141-4. .

Moodie, W.H.
Chief draughtsman from 1921: attended Inaugural Meeting of I. Loco. E. Scottish Centre. See Philip Atkins BackTrack, 2009, 23,  104...

Weir, Tom
Chief Locomotive Draughtsman on Caledonian Railway at time of Drummond through to McIntosh and presumably significant contributor to design of Dunalastair 4-4-0s, etc.