John Viret Gooch
John Viret Gooch | |
---|---|
Born | locomotive superintendent of LSWR | 29 June 1812
John Viret Gooch
Career
Grand Junction Railway
He became the pupil of Joseph Locke during the construction of the Grand Junction Railway and he became the resident engineer after that line opened.
Manchester and Leeds Railway
In 1840 he joined his older brother Thomas Longridge Gooch on the Manchester and Leeds Railway.
London and South Western Railway
Gooch was recommended to the LSWR by Locke and appointed locomotive superintendent on 1 January 1841. Officially Locke remained in charge of the department.
- LSWR locomotives
Initially locomotives were purchased from a wide range of private manufacturers such as
Eastern Counties Railway
After leaving the LSWR in 1850, Gooch was appointed to the post of Locomotive Superintendent to the
Betts was succeeded as chairman by
On 12 August 178 drivers, firemen and fitters handed in their notices, sick of the injustices and financial penalties being inflicted on them and in the hope that Gooch would be forced to resign. The board backed Gooch and the 178 men were blacklisted from future railway employment with replacement staff being recruited from other railway companies.[2][3]
Gooch stayed at the ECR until 1856 when the shareholders finally worked out what was going on and both he and Waddington did not have their contracts renewed.[4] At this point, he would only have been aged 44 and according to his obituary printed in the journal of the Institution of Civil Engineers "he did little practical work during the past forty years, enjoying country life in his Berkshire home".[5]
ECR locomotives
Under Viret's tenure at the ECR six classes of locomotive were introduced including the first locomotive actually built at Stratford Works in 1851. The classes were as follows:[6][7]
Builder | Wheel Arrangement | Number in service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
E B Wilson (rebuilt by Gooch) | 0-6-0 | 6 | Known as "floating batteries" these were originally Crampton type 2-2-2-0 locomotives. |
Brassey, Sharp, Stewart & Co., and Kitson & Cos | 2-4-0 | 18 | Build split between three contractors introduced 1855. Known as "Butterflies".[Note 1] |
Brassey | 2-2-2 | 6 | Known as the C class & introduced 1855/56 – 6 more introduced by Gooch's successor. |
Stratford Works/R B Longbridge (Bedlington) | 2-2-2WT | 6/3 | Known as the A class introduced 1851. Steam Index states 4 built by Longbridge. |
Stratford Works | 2-2-2WT | 16 | Known as the B class – the last ten of these worked the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway on opening |
Shipping Interests
Gooch had interest in six ships (all colliers) and he was guilty of using ECR facilities at Lowestoft to repair his own ships.
The six ships were:[8]
- Lady Berriedale - built John Scott Russell London in 1853, sunk 1868.
- The Eagle - built John Scott Russell in 1853, sunk 1870
- The Falcon (1)- built John Scott Russell in 1853 - wrecked off Lesbos in 1856 on its return from the Crimean War
- The Hawk - built John Scott Russell in 1854 - lost in a gale off Southwold in 1862
- The Vulcan - built James Laing, Sunderland in 1856. Sold August 1886 to Captain Edward Jenkins of Cardiff and sunk in Carbis Bay in 1894
- The Falcon (2) - built M Samuelson and Sons, Hull in 1862, but lost at sea in 1868 off Spain.
He was also a director for The Australian Auxiliary Steam Clipper Company, Ltd.[9]
Mining interests
He was a director for several mining companies including:
- Copper Queen United, Ltd.[10]
- La Trinidad, Ltd.[11]
- Mounts Bay Consols, Ltd.[12]
- Tresavean Mines, Ltd.[13]
Family
J. V. Gooch was married twice. First, in June 1840, to Hannah Frances Handcock, daughter of Captain Elias Robinson Handcock. Secondly, on 16 March 1876, to Emily Mary Stonhouse, daughter of Reverend Charles Stonhouse. J. V. Gooch lived at Cooper's Hill, Bracknell, Berkshire.[1]
His eldest child from his second marriage, Mabel Barbara, who was born in 1877. His son was Edward Sinclair Gooch (1879-1915) who was a major in the Berkshire Yeomanry and killed in World War 1. He also had a second daughter named Ethel Mary who was born in 1882.[5][14]
Notes
- ^ Note not mentioned in Swieszkowski article
References
- ^ a b "Person Page - 42305". Peerage.com.
- ISBN 0-7195-5150-1.
- ^ Swieszkowski, Jerry. "Coal, Coke and Scandal on the ECR in the 1850s". Great Eastern Journal. Vol. 130. Great Eastern Railway Society. pp. 103–115.
- ^ "Sir Daniel Gooch". Steamindex.com. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
- ^ a b Tweedie, Andrew. "John Viret Gooch". Grace's Guide. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
- ^ "Great Eastern locomotive type". Steam Index. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
- ^ Swieszkowski (2005), p. 38.
- ^ Swieszkowski (2005), p. 37.
- ^ "The Australian Auxiliary Steam Clipper Company". The Age. 10 January 1857. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Copper Queen United (Limited)". Birmingham Daily Post. 16 February 1885. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "La Trinidad (Limited), Sonora, Mexico". The Standard. London. 2 December 1884. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mounts Bay Consols, Limited". Birmingham Daily Post. 11 May 1881. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Tresavean Mines, Limited". The Huddersfield Chronicle and West Yorkshire Advertiser. 28 May 1881. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Gooch, Edward Sinclair". Winchester College at war. Winchester College. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
- Swieszkowski, Jerzy (July 2005). "John Viret Gooch". Great Eastern Journal. Vol. 123. Great Eastern Railway Society. pp. 37–38.