James Laurie
| James Laurie | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
May 9, 1811 Bellsquarry, Scotland |
| Died | March 16, 1875 (aged 63) Hartford, Connecticut, United States |
| Years active | 1832–1875 |
| Organization | Boston Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Civil Engineers |
James Laurie (May 9, 1811 – March 16, 1875) was a prominent American engineer and one of the founders of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). He performed surveying, bridge design, and route design for a number of railroads in New England.
Laurie was born in Bellsquarry, Scotland in 1811; from the 1820s until 1832, he was apprenticed to an instrument maker in the town. In 1832, he and James P. Kirkwood moved to Boston; Laurie then worked as an associate engineer under Kirkwood on the construction of the Norwich and Worcester Railroad (N&W). Laurie became chief engineer in 1835. In 1837, the Taft Tunnel at Lisbon, Connecticut (the oldest tunnel still in railroad use in its original form) was constructed during his tenure.
After leaving the N&W, Laurie performed surveys for railroads, canals, bridges, tunnels, and wharves. From 1845–47, he performed surveys for the Providence and Plainfield Railroad. In 1848, he opened his own office in Boston. From 1849 to 1851 he was an engineer for the New Jersey Central Railroad, which included planning the railroad's extension from Whitehouse, New Jersey to Easton, Pennsylvania. In 1852, he opened a second office in New York City.
From 1853 until the early 1860s he was chief engineer of the Nova Scotia Railway. Under contract to the state of Massachusetts, he produced reports and surveys on the Troy & Greenfield Railroad and the unfinished Hoosac Tunnel in 1862. From 1861 to 1866, he was chief engineer of the Hartford and New Haven Railroad. During this time he oversaw the design and construction of the Warehouse Point railroad bridge – one of the first iron bridges in the country. In 1870, he examined two under-construction bridges: the Lyman Viaduct for the state of Connecticut, and the Eads Bridge for its bond holders.
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