William Kelly Wallace
William Kelly Wallace CBE | |
---|---|
Born | 1883 |
Died | 1969 |
Nationality | Irish |
Occupation | Engineer |
Engineering career | |
Discipline | Civil |
Institutions | Institution of Civil Engineers (president), |
William Kelly Wallace
Biography
William Kelly Wallace was born in 1883 and educated privately. He joined the Midland Railway Northern Counties Committee (NCC) railway in Ireland in 1906, after three years of practical training. He gained knowledge as a railway engineering, particularly in bridges inspecting all 228 bridges from Belfast to Londonderry in 1910. In 1919 he an assistant engineer to Bowman Malcolm.[2]
Although primarily a civil engineer, he was appointed to the joint positions of Locomotive Engineer and Civil Engineer on the NCC in 1922 when Bowman Malcolm retired. In 1924 he became chief engineer, a position he held till 1930.[2]
In collaboration with the Manager, James Pepper, he initiated a renewal programme in which, not only were new locomotives built, but suitable classes of older locomotives would be "heavily rebuilt", in the main following the style of the
As Civil Engineer, Wallace took over the task of completing the new bridge across the River Bann at Coleraine, County Londonderry from Bowman Malcolm. This opened for traffic in March 1924. He oversaw the installation of colour light signalling at York Road station, Belfast which was commissioned in 1926. This was the first of its kind in Ireland and among the earliest large installations in the United Kingdom.
Wallace devised an innovative method of constructing reinforced concrete bridges using T-section pre-cast concrete beams carried on reinforced concrete piers. Four beams created the bridge deck on to which ballasted track could be directly laid.
In September 1930 he left the NCC to become Chief Stores Superintendent (Euston) on the
Wallace was known for having a dry sense of humour and was popular with his colleagues.[6]
He was appointed President of the
William Kelly Wallace died in Surrey in May 1969.[2]
References
- ^ 37407 (PDF). The London Gazette. 28 December 1945. p. 50.
- ^ .
- ^ "The L.M.S. Railway". Belfast News-Letter. Northern Ireland. 16 May 1933. Retrieved 20 February 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ISBN 978-0-7277-2518-9.
- ^ William Kelly Wallace: Chief Civil Engineer, London, Midland and Scottish Railway - National Archives
- ^ a b John Boscawen Burland (January 2008). "The founders of Géotechnique". Retrieved 27 January 2019.
- ^
Watson, Garth (1988), The Civils, London: Thomas Telford Ltd, p. 253, ISBN 0-7277-0392-7
- ^ Craig, Bill (23 November 1998). "Bill Craig, current British Geotechnical Society chairman, looks at the development of the society as it celebrates its 50th anniversary". New Civil Engineer. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
Further reading
- Currie, J.R.L. (1974) The Northern Counties Railway, Volume 2: 1903–1972, David & Charles, Newton Abbot, ISBN 0-7153-6530-4
- Ellis, Hamilton (1970) London Midland & Scottish, A Railway in Retrospect, Ian Allan Ltd., Shepperton, ISBN 0-7110-0048-4