William Barton Wright

William Barton Wright (13 November 1828 – 7 May 1915) was a British mechanical engineer and Locomotive Superintendent of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (LYR) from 1875. During his ten-year career in that post he helped to make the LYR one of the most efficient railways in the United Kingdom, by designing a range of good locomotives to haul the LYR's traffic.

Barton Wright was born on 13 November 1828 at Murton House, near North Shields, Northumberland. His father was William Clark Wright, and his maternal grandmother was Althea Barton, a member of the Manchester merchant family. The Barton Wright family lived in Bayswater, London from 1839; Barton Wright's father died there in 1844.

Barton Wright became an apprentice at the Swindon Works of the Great Western Railway (GWR) at the age of 17, under Daniel Gooch. There he served in the erecting shop, and then the drawing office, before becoming assistant to Archibald Sturrock, the works manager. Having completed his apprenticeship in 1851, he was given the charge of the GWR's locomotive depot at Paddington.

In October 1854, he was appointed the first locomotive, carriage and wagon superintendent of the Madras Railway, taking up his post in March 1855. Locomotives supplied to the Madras Railway during this period were to the specification of John Hawkshaw; mostly 2-4-0 for passenger trains, 0-4-2 for mixed traffic, and 0-6-0 for goods. Barton Wright married Janet Forlonge in 1858, whilst on leave in England. They had three sons and two daughters. Barton Wright became a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers on 7 December 1869, and a Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in June 1878.

The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (LYR) was formed by amalgamation of several railways, some of which had their own locomotive repairing facilities. Following amalgamation, it took some time for these establishments to be consolidated, and the number of departmental heads reduced. For example, the Manchester and Bolton Railway had amalgamated in 1846 but its locomotives remained separate until Salford works was closed in 1849, when the work was transferred to the former Manchester and Leeds Railway workshops at Miles Platting. In 1875, the facilities at Miles Platting were under the charge of William Hurst and William Yates, who were appointed outdoor superintendent and indoor superintendent respectively on 22 January 1868, both being in succession to William Jenkins. The locomotives of the former East Lancashire Railway were repaired at Bury, and were also the responsibility of two men: John Jacques, who was appointed outdoor superintendent on 24 April 1865, and George Roberts, who had been appointed indoor superintendent following the death of R. Mason on 15 October 1873. Hurst was due to retire in 1875, and the LYR board decided to replace all four men by a single locomotive superintendent, and the post was advertised in August 1875. A short-list of six names was chosen, and interviewed on 27 October 1875. This reduced the six names to two: Alexander McDonnell, of the Great Southern and Western Railway in Ireland, and William Barton Wright, who had been working for the Madras Railway in India. Barton Wright was appointed chief locomotive superintendent from 1 November 1875, and the following day, Yates, Hurst, Jacques and Roberts were brought in and told that they would now report to Barton Wright. Hurst retired, whilst Yates and Roberts became works managers, at Miles Platting and Bury respectively. Jacques was given the opportunity to resign with six months salary.

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