G.J. Churchward
| George Jackson Churchward | |
|---|---|
| Born |
31 January 1857 Stoke Gabriel, Devon, United Kingdom |
| Died | 19 December 1933 (aged 76) Swindon, Wiltshire, United Kingdom |
| Occupation | Mechanical engineer |
| Awards | CBE |
George Jackson Churchward CBE (31 January 1857 – 19 December 1933) was Chief mechanical engineer of the Great Western Railway (GWR) in the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1922.
Churchward was born in Stoke Gabriel, Devon, where his ancestors had been squires since 1457. He was educated at the King Edward VI Grammar School, contained within the "The Mansion House" on Fore Street, Totnes, Devon.
Apprenticed in the Newton Abbot works of the South Devon Railway, he completed his apprenticeship under Joseph Armstrong in the GWR's Swindon Works. There he rose from draughtsman through several positions, including Carriage Works Manager, and in 1897 was appointed Chief Assistant to William Dean.
After 5 years as Chief Assistant, during most of which time Dean was ill and delgating much of his design work to Churchward, in 1903 he formally succeeded Dean as Locomotive Superintendent. In 1900 he became the first mayor of Swindon.
In the 19th and early 20th century, railway companies were fiercely competitive. Speed meant revenue and speed was dependent on engineering. Churchward delivered to the GWR from Swindon a series of class-leading and innovative locomotives. Arguably, from the early 1900s to the 1920s the Great Western's 2-cylinder and 4-cylinder 4-6-0 designs were substantially superior to any class of locomotive of the other British railway companies. On one occasion, the GWR's directors confronted Churchward, and demanded to know why the London and North Western Railway were able to build three 4-6-0 locomotives for the price of two of Churchward's "Stars". Churchward allegedly gave a terse response: "Because one of mine could pull two of their bloody things backwards!"
The biggest engineering challenge of the GWR's operations was travelling over the South Devon Banks, a series of steep inclines linking Exeter and Plymouth in Devon, on the GWR's most important route. Although speed was a key competitive driver across the whole GWR route, the South Devon Banks rewarded sure-foooted locomotive designs with good adhesion. The largest opportunity to any GWR CME was the resulting large loading gauge legacy of the GWR's conversion from Brunel's broad gauge track to standard gauge, allowing for wider and higher designs than any of the other later Big Four railway companies.
...
Wikipedia