Sir

John Aspinall
Aspinall by George Hall Neale, c. 1920
Born25 August 1851
Liverpool, England
Died19 January 1937(1937-01-19) (aged 85)
OccupationEngineer
Engineering career
DisciplineCivil, Mechanical
InstitutionsInstitution of Civil Engineers (president), Institution of Mechanical Engineers (president)

Sir John Audley Frederick Aspinall (25 August 1851 – 19 January 1937) was an English mechanical engineer who served as Locomotive Superintendent of the Great Southern and Western Railway (GS&WR) of Ireland and Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) of England. He introduced vacuum brakes to his locomotives in Ireland, a trend which was followed in Britain, and designed several locomotives. He was also president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

Biography

Aspinall was born on 25 August 1851 in Liverpool to a Roman Catholic judge.[1][2] He attended the Roman Catholic boarding school of Beaumont College, Berkshire before being apprenticed to engineers John Ramsbottom and Francis Webb of the London and North Western Railway in 1868.[1][2] He was sent by Webb to the United States of America in 1872 where he was greatly impressed by the larger loading gauge in use there.[1]

In 1875, he moved to the Great Southern and Western Railway of Ireland and became their works manager at Inchicore, Dublin.[2] Aspinall was promoted to Locomotive Superintendent in 1883[3] and introduced a form of vacuum braking to his locomotives which was soon adopted by several other lines, including the London and North Western and Great Northern Railways.[1] He was succeeded at Inchicore by Henry Ivatt and was to keep links with both Inchicore and Ivatt.[1][4]

He became the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1886. Continuing the work of his predecessor, William Barton Wright, he modernised the locomotive stock and continued Barton Wright's philosophy of standardisation, bringing in several of his own design.[1][4] He was promoted to L&YR general manager in 1899,[2] a position he was to hold until 1919.[4] In this capacity he introduced electrification and greatly expanded the transport of coal.[1]

Aspinall served as president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers between 1909 and 1910 and was interned in Germany at the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.[1] Aspinall received a knighthood on 13 June 1917 for his contributions to the war effort and national transport system.[2][5] He served as president of the Institution of Civil Engineers between November 1918 and November 1919.[6] Aspinall also conducted the inquiry into the Sevenoaks railway accident.[7] He was the first recipient of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers' James Watt International Medal, receiving it in 1937.[8]

He died on 19 January 1937.[1] His son, John, was a barrister and first-class cricketer.[9]

He wrote seven academic papers and was the holder of fourteen patents.[1]

Locomotive designs

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Steam Index. "Biography of Sir John Aspinall". Retrieved 24 May 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d e Science and Society Picture Library. "Brief Biography of Sir John Aspinall". Retrieved 24 May 2008.
  3. ^ Murray, K. A.; McNeil, D.B. (1976). The Great Southern & Western Railway. Irish Record Railway Society. pp. 143–144, 148. ISBN 0904078051.
  4. ^ a b c Bulleid (1967). The Aspinall Era. Ian Allan. pp. 82, 89, 159, 236.
  5. ^ "No. 30138". The London Gazette. 19 June 1917. p. 6047.
  6. ^ Watson, Garth (1988). The Civils. London: Thomas Telford Ltd. p. 252. ISBN 0-7277-0392-7.
  7. ^ Wragg, David (2009). The Historical Dictionary of Railways in the British Isles. London: Wharncliffe Publishing. p. 137. ISBN 978-1844680474.
  8. ^ Institution of Mechanical Engineers. "James Watt International Medal Recipients" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 March 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2008.
  9. ^ The Solicitors' Journal. Vol. 76. Springer. 1932. p. 453.
Professional and academic associations Preceded byTom Hurry Riches President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers 1909–1910 Succeeded byEdward B. Ellington Preceded byHarry Edward Jones President of the Institution of Civil Engineers November 1918 – November 1919 Succeeded byJohn Griffith Business positions Preceded byAlexander McDonnell Locomotive Superintendent of the Great Southern and Western Railway 1883–1886 Succeeded byHenry Ivatt Preceded byLocomotive Superintendent of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway W. Barton Wright Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway 1886–1899 Succeeded byHenry Hoy Preceded byJ. H. Stafford General Manager of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway 1899–1919 Succeeded byArthur Watson
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