Great Western Railway - Notable People

Notable People

  • Joseph Armstrong
Locomotive Superintendent to the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway and the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railways from 1853, he was responsible for the locomotive workshops at Wolverhampton. When they amalgamated with the GWR the following year he was given the title of Northern Division Locomotive Superintendent (1854–1864), he then moved to Swindon as the chief Locomotive Superintendent (1864–1877).
  • Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Chief Engineer to the GWR (1835–1859) and many of the broad-gauge lines with which it amalgamated, also the standard-gauge Taff Vale Railway. He was responsible for choosing the route of the railway and designing many of today's iconic structures including Box Tunnel, Maidenhead Railway Bridge, Paddington and Temple Meads stations.
  • George Jackson Churchward
Locomotive Superintendent (1902–1915) and Chief Mechanical Engineer (1915–1921) who instigated much standardisation of locomotive components.
  • Charles Collett
Chief Mechanical Engineer (1922–1941).
  • William Dean
Locomotive Superintendent (1877–1902).
  • Daniel Gooch
The GWR's first Locomotive Superintendent (1837–1864) and its Chairman (1865–1889). He was responsible for the railway's early locomotive successes, such as the Iron Duke Class, and for establishing Swindon railway works.
  • James Grierson
Goods Manager (1857–1863), he then became the General Manager (1863–1887) from which position he saw the railway through a period of expansion and the early gauge conversions.
  • Frederick Hawksworth
The last GWR Chief Mechanical Engineer (1941–1947).
  • Henry Lambert
The General Manager (1887–1896) responsible for managing the final gauge conversion in 1892.
  • James Milne
General Manager (1929–1947) who saw the GWR through World War II.
  • Sir Felix Pole
As General Manager (1921–1929) he oversaw the Grouping of the South Wales railways into the GWR following the Railways Act 1921, and promoted the use of 20 ton wagons to bring efficiencies to the railway's coal trade.
  • CE Spagnoletti
The GWR's Telegraph Superintendent (1855–1892) patented the Disc Block Telegraph Instrument that was used to safely control the dispatch of trains. First used on the Metropolitan Railway in 1863 and the Bristol and South Wales Union Railway in 1864, it was later used on many other lines operated by the company.

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