Thomas Russell Crampton
Thomas Russell Crampton MIMechE | |
---|---|
Born | Broadstairs, Thanet, Kent | 6 August 1816
Died | 19 April 1888 | (aged 71)
Occupation | Railway Engineer |
Thomas Russell Crampton,
He is best known for designing the
Personal life
Born to John and Mary Crampton of Prospect Cottage (in what is now Dickens Walk), Broadstairs, on 6 August 1816, Crampton was the son of a plumber and architect.[1] He was educated privately. Crampton married Louisa Martha Hall, who was a singer and a friend of Jenny Lind, on 25 February 1841.[2] They had 8 children, six boys and two girls. The eldest girl, Ada Sarah, died aged 4 on 16 February 1857.[3] and Crampton gifted a stained glass window in St. Peter's church, Broadstairs in her memory. Their youngest daughter, Louisa, was to marry Sir Horace Rumbold, the Ambassador to the Netherlands.[1]
He died at his home, 19 Ashley Place, Westminster on 19 April 1888 and was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.[1]
Career
Crampton entered a career in engineering, initially with
Great Western Railway 1839-43
Crampton worked as assistant to Marc Brunel and on joining the GWR in 1839,
Development 1844-51
In 1843, Crampton took out a patent for a new design of locomotive. It is for the physical appearance of his locomotives that Crampton is remembered for today, with the driving wheel placed behind the firebox. But there were technical improvements that he made, which laid the foundations for future locomotive design. The three most important improvements were:- wide steam passages, large heating surfaces and generous bearing surfaces on the wheels.[4]
From 1844 to 1848, Crampton was working for John and George Rennie.
In 1845, Crampton received his first order for a locomotive built to his patent. The
One locomotive Crampton designed had an indirect drive arrangement, with a crankshaft between the driving wheels. This locomotive had a 2-2+2-2 wheel arrangement.[4] In 1847, Crampton became a founder member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and in 1848, Crampton set up in business as a Civil Engineer in London.[5] In 1850, a Crampton locomotive was exhibited at Birmingham which had balance weights on the driving wheels. This feature was commented upon by William Stroudley.[4] In 1851, Crampton started the Broadstairs Gasworks, overseeing the construction and financing much of the works.[1]
South Eastern Railway 1851-88
Peto, Betts and Crampton
Crampton entered a partnership with
Railway lines constructed
Crampton was, wholly or partly, responsible for the railway lines built between
Electric telegraph
Crampton was responsible for the laying of the first international submarine cable in the world. This was laid in the Strait of Dover in 1851.[4] The first messages were carried on 13 November 1851 and the cable was in use until 1859.[5]
The company behind the project was an Anglo-French undertaking, known as la Compagnie du télégraphe sous-marin in France and the
Channel Tunnel
Crampton designed an automatic hydraulic tunnel boring machine, which was intended to be used in the construction of the Channel Tunnel. Modern drilling techniques were made possible by this invention.[5]
Family
Crampton's first wife died on 16 March 1875[2] and he married Elizabeth Werge on 25 August 1881.[13] He left six sons and one daughter, who married Sir Horace Rumbold, ambassador at Vienna.[14]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "PRIVATE LIFE AND BROADSTAIRS". Archived from the original on 20 November 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ^ a b "Louisa Martha HALL". David Horton & Kerry Raymond. Retrieved 22 March 2008. [dead link]
- ^ "Ada Sarah CRAMPTON". David Horton & Kerry Raymond. Archived from the original on 16 July 2007. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Thomas Russell Crampton". Steam Index. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "LOCOMOTIVES". Crampton Tower Museum. Archived from the original on 4 February 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
- ^ "La locomotiva dell'impresa: la Crampton" (in Italian). webalice.it. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
- ^ "The South Eastern and Chatham Railway and the London, Chatham and Dover Railway Amalgamated 1899 LOCOMOTIVES: Their Description, History, distinctive features and interest". The Percy Whitlock Trust. Archived from the original on 7 August 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
- ^ "Thomas Russell Crampton, English engineer, c 1860s". The Science Museum. Retrieved 22 March 2008. (a photo of Crampton is here)
- ^ The Morning Post, 23 July 1868.
- ^ "History of the line". Andy Thompson. Archived from the original on 7 June 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
- ^ P. J. G. Ransom (1999), The Mont Cenis Fell Railway, pp 30-32, Truro: Twelveheads Press
- ^ "COMPETITORS AND ALLIES". Distant Writing. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
- ^ "Thomas Russell CRAMPTON". David Horton & Kerry Raymond. Archived from the original on 4 July 2005. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
- ^ Seccombe 1901.
- Attribution
Seccombe, Thomas (1901). Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography (1st supplement). London: Smith, Elder & Co.
. InFurther reading
- On the advantages of constructing, ventilating and working, long railway tunnels with three separate openings. T. R. Crampton, Clowes, 1883. 8 pp.
- The Crampton locomotive in England. P.C. Dewhurst.
- British locomotive design,1825-1960. Glover, G., London: Allen & Unwin, 1967
- Narrow gauge steam: its origins and world-wide development. Ransom, P.J.G., Sparkford: OPC
- Locomotives of the LNWR Southern Division: London & Birmingham Railway, London & North Western Railway and Wolverton Locomotive Works. Jack, Harry, 2001
- Four main lines. London: Allen & Unwin, Hamilton-Ellis, Cuthbert, 1950. 225pp.