Edward Thompson (engineer)
| Edward Thompson (engineer) | |
|---|---|
| Born | 25 June 1881 Marlborough, Wiltshire |
| Died | 15 July 1954 (aged 73) |
| Nationality | British |
| Education |
Marlborough College Pembroke College, Cambridge |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Mechanical engineering |
Edward Thompson (25 June 1881 – 15 July 1954) was Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London and North Eastern Railway between 1941 and 1946. Edward Thompson was born at Marlborough, Wiltshire on 25 June 1881. He was the son of an assistant master at Marlborough College. He was educated at Marlborough before taking the Mechanical Science Tripos at Pembroke College, Cambridge, earning a third class degree. Thompson's academic background contrasts with that of his predecessor Nigel Gresley, who had also attended Marlborough, but then gained practical experience as a pupil at Horwich Works.
After graduation Thompson worked in both industry and the railways for a while. By 1910 he was assistant divisional locomotive superintendent on the North Eastern Railway (NER), in which capacity he gave evidence at the inquiry into the fatal accident between two goods trains at Darlington on 15 November 1910. In 1912 he was appointed Carriage and Wagon Superintendent for the Great Northern Railway (GNR). He served with the Armed Forces during WW1, and was twice mentioned in dispatches. Upon demobilization, he returned to the railways, alternating between the wagon works at Darlington and Doncaster (and consequently between the North Eastern and Great Northern respectively). He became Workshop Manager at Stratford Works in 1930. Had Grouping not taken place in 1923, Thompson would have effectively become CME of the North Eastern in 1933 upon the retirement of A.C Stamer, who had been Assistant CME to Raven at the North Eastern.
Works Manager at Stratford was Thompson's final post before becoming Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) in 1941 after the death of Nigel Gresley. Thompson was to hold the CME post for 5 years. History shows that Gresley and Thompson disagreed on a number of matters. Thompson had a number of incidents with Gresley, and given the previous heated debate between Gresley and Thompson's father-in-law, Sir Vincent Raven, it is probable that there was a degree of petulance about Thompson's choice for his prototype A1/1 engine, namely No.4470 Great Northern, both for its name (that of NER rival company the GNR) and for it being Gresley's first Pacific, though opinion on this is heavily divided. Another incident is noted by O.S. Nock that Gresley reprimanded Thompson for interfering in the actions of a driver on an engine which had failed in service.
...
Wikipedia