Harry Wainwright
| Harry Smith Wainwright | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 November 1864 Worcester |
| Died | 19 September 1925 (aged 60) |
| Nationality | British |
| Children | none |
| Parent(s) | William Wainwright |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Locomotive engineer |
| Employer(s) |
South Eastern Railway South Eastern and Chatham Railway |
Harry Smith Wainwright (16 November 1864 – 19 September 1925) was the Locomotive, Carriage and Wagon Superintendent of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway from 1899 to 1913. He is best known for a series of simple but competent locomotives produced under his direction at the company's Ashford railway works in the early years of the twentieth century. Many of these survived in service until the end of steam traction in Britain in 1968, and are regarded as some of the most elegant designs of the period.
Wainwright was born at Worcester on 16 November 1864, the third son of William Wainwright.
In 1896, he was appointed Carriage & Wagon Superintendent of the South Eastern Railway (SER), in succession to his father.
On 1 January 1899, the SER entered into a working union with the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR); their respective Locomotive Superintendents, James Stirling and William Kirtley, both retired, and the newly formed South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR) decided to combine the locomotive, carriage and wagon departments of the two railways, and appoint Wainwright as the Locomotive, Carriage and Wagon Superintendent. Robert Surtees, the former LCDR Chief Draughtsman, became Chief Draughtsman of the SECR.
Wainwright retired on 30 November 1913.
Wainwright died on 19 September 1925.
The first locomotives to be placed in service by the SECR under Wainwright's supervision were not of his design. Until new standard designs could be prepared, which would be acceptable on both the SER and LCDR sections of the SECR, it was necessary to fulfil immediate locomotive requirements in other ways. Existing locomotive orders were allowed to stand; further orders were placed for existing designs (in some cases design modifications were made); and locomotives built to the designs of an entirely different company were purchased from a manufacturer's unsold stock.
Five 4-4-0 express passenger engines of Kirtley's M3 class, which had been introduced on the LCDR in 1891, were built at Longhedge between May 1899 and May 1901. Two of these were the balance of an outstanding LCDR order; the remainder formed part of an order for ten placed by the SECR, of which seven were later cancelled.
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