Everard Calthrop
Everard Richard Calthrop was a British railway engineer and inventor. Calthrop was a notable promoter and builder of narrow-gauge railways, especially of narrow gauge, and was especially prominent in India. His most notable achievement was the Barsi Light Railway, but he is best known in his home country for the Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway. Calthrop has been described as a "railway genius". Later in life he took an interest in aviation, patenting some early designs for parachutes.
Early life and career
Calthrop was born on 3 March 1857, the eldest son of farmer Everard Calthrop. He had six brothers, one of whom was Sir Guy Calthrop, general manager of the London and North Western Railway. The family lived at Deeping Fen, Lincolnshire, where Calthrop was born, and later at Sutton in the Isle of Ely. Calthrop was educated at Uppingham School.Calthrop started work with Robert Stephenson and Company and then was apprenticed to the London & North Western Railway at Crewe in 1874. In 1879 he joined the Great Western Railway, where he rose to assistant manager of the Carriage and Wagon Works. In 1882 he went to India to join the Great Indian Peninsula Railway as a locomotive inspector.
Once in India, Calthrop came to see narrow-gauge railways as a way to help develop the country. This led him to chairing a Government committee to investigate light railways throughout India. He then published a pamphlet entitled A System of Standard Details as applied to the Construction of Rolling Stock in India. As a result of this pamphlet, the Indian Government adopted systems of uniformity of gauge and equipment throughout the country, and eventually adopted gauge as the standard narrow gauge throughout the country.
Calthrop requested leave in 1886 to investigate proposals for independent branch lines. He identified two schemes of particular interest, a tramway connecting the Hindu religious centre of Nasik with the railway, and a branch line to the town of Barsi. The Great Indian Peninsula Railway approved both schemes, and Calthrop surveyed both lines. In 1887, he registered the Indian Railways Feeder Lines Company in London to promote the construction of feeders to the railway. The Great Indian Peninsula Railway suggested that he either return to his duties as a locomotive inspector or, with their support, resign to further promote branch lines. His health was failing, and so in 1889 Calthrop resigned from the Great Indian Peninsula Railway. Working as a consultant he then supervised the construction of the gauge horse-powered Nasik Tramway, using his previous survey.
Move to Liverpool
Returning to the United Kingdom in 1892, Calthrop established a railway engineering consulting practice in Liverpool, where three of his brothers had started a stockfeed company. Soon Calthrop had entered into a partnership with them and spent much of the next two years designing equipment for feed production. He took out a number of patents relating to the equipment and to refrigerated transport.While Calthrop was resident in Liverpool, the Chamber of Commerce was concerned future expansion was being limited by the railway companies that linked that city with Manchester, and invited proposals for alternative methods for moving goods. Calthrop proposed a system of narrow-gauge railways linking the two cities, running along streets directly serving factories. His proposal was highly commended, but the proposed street running precluded its adoption.
Calthrop was also interested in road transport. He was a member of the Self-Propelled Traffic Association and in May 1898 was a judge at their trials for "motor vehicles for heavy traffic", held in Liverpool. The winner was a Thornycroft 4-ton steam wagon. Later he was a foundation member of the Royal Automobile Club.
Development of narrow-gauge concepts and the Barsi Light Railway
During his time in India Calthrop developed his ideas on the construction of narrow-gauge railways. He surmised that the axle load on the axles of all rolling stock, including locomotives, could be equal, allowing a maximum loading of goods wagons. He settled on a loading of per axle, which was light enough to allow railway lines to be built with rail. It also allowed the loading of one capacity 4-wheel standard-gauge wagon to be carried on a single bogie narrow-gauge wagon. Further, he argued that using a track gauge of gave the greatest capacity as a percentage of capital cost. He estimated a gauge railway could be built to four times the length of a standard-gauge railway for the same capital cost.Calthrop had been engaged in negotiations with the Indian government for concessions to build a railway from Barsi Road to Barsi since 1887. In 1895, negotiations reached a satisfactory conclusion, and Calthrop formed a new company to build the Barsi Light Railway, and employed himself as consulting engineer. The railway became a showcase for his ideas. Five 0-8-4T locomotives, with even distribution of axle load, were constructed to Calthrop's specification by Kitson & Co. The goods rolling stock was constructed on common pressed steel underframes, reducing tare weight and maximising potential wagon loads.
Calthrop recognised the importance of railways in warfare, and designed the rolling stock to facilitate the movement of troops and equipment. Rolling stock rode on pressed-steel Fox bogies, using the Timmis system of double coiled springs. The line was constructed with rail inclination, then a new idea, which involves tilting the rail a few degrees to make its surface more nearly parallel with that of the tyre. Inclination is now applied universally to railways. The rolling stock could accept radius curves.
Prior to shipment of the rolling stock to India, Calthrop and the manufacturer conducted tests on a specially-built test track located at Newlay, near Leeds. The line was opened for inspection by railway officials and journalists, and a number of reports were published in the technical railway press.
The Barsi Light Railway opened in 1897, and was extended on a number of occasions until it reached a total length of in 1927. The line is seen as having revolutionised the narrow-gauge railway system on Indian subcontinent, and the railway was immensely successful, establishing Calthrop as one of the leading figures in the field. Calthrop remained consulting engineer until he retired due to poor health two years before his death. The Barsi Light Railway continued to be operated as a privately owned railway until 1954 when it was purchased by the Indian government, and continued to operate as a narrow-gauge railway until conversion to broad gauge began in the late 1990s as part of Indian Railways conversion program for all metre- and narrow-gauge lines.
Involvement in other railways
With the success of the Barsi Light Railway, Calthrop was in demand as a consultant for other narrow-gauge railway projects.Barbados Railway
The Barbados Railway opened in 1883 as a gauge railway from Bridgetown to St Andrew, Barbados. By 1897, the railway and its rolling stock was in very poor condition. Further, much of the railway had been constructed with rail too light for the locomotives. A new company was established in 1898 to rebuild and operate the railway, and Calthrop was engaged as consulting engineer. Calthrop arranged for the railway to be rebuilt in gauge, and had Baldwin Locomotive Works build four new locomotives, two 2-8-2T's, a 2-6-0T and an 0-6-0T.Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway
Calthrop appeared at the Light Railway Inquiry for the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway on 3–4 August 1897, and spoke particularly on the proposed open level crossings and the use of transporter wagons. Calthrop claimed it only took three minutes to transfer wagons, based on his experience on the Barsi Light Railway. However, the order was not made until 8 September 1899, and in early 1900, the proprietors reached agreement with the Cambrian Railways to build the line. Their engineer, Alfred J. Collins, took charge of the engineering requirements, with consequent conservative 4-wheel wagons and other provisions.Victorian Railways narrow-gauge lines
In 1898 Calthrop corresponded with the government of the colony of Victoria, Australia, regarding proposals for the construction of narrow-gauge lines in that colony. Subsequently, on his advice, the gauge of the railways as built was changed from to.Fayoum Light Railway
Calthrop was appointed to advise on engineering matters for this gauge Egyptian light railway, construction of which began in 1898. The railway comprised seven, mostly roadside, branch lines with a total length of. The Fayoum Light Railway served an irrigation district south of Cairo, centred on the provincial capital of Medinet-el-Fayum. Calthrop used pictures of rolling stock from the railway to illustrate a chapter he wrote for the book Pioneer Irrigation and Light Railways.Serbian narrow-gauge railways
Calthrop was one of several foreign concessionaires involved with the initial development of gauge railways in Serbia after 1898.Cleobury Mortimer and Ditton Priors Light Railway
The Cleobury Mortimer and Ditton Priors Light Railway was a long standard-gauge branch line linking the Great Western Railway at Cleobury Mortimer in Shropshire with mineral deposits in the Clee Hills. Calthrop was appointed Consulting Engineer in 1900, responsible for surveying the route and preparing the construction plans.Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway
In the United Kingdom Calthrop is most associated with the Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway. The line had been promoted under the Light Railways Act, and the initial plan was to build a railway of gauge to be powered by electricity. Under the influence of one of the Light Railway Commissioners the company directors commissioned a report on the proposed line from Calthrop in mid-1900. In early December the railway's engineer died, and on 19 December 1900 the Directors sat down to consider both a replacement and Calthrop's report. Calthrop proposed specifications for the line which would result in substantial savings in construction costs, and so he was offered the position of engineer, which he promptly accepted.Calthrop constructed the line for £35,944, £11,000 less than the original estimate. He had Kitson & Co construct two 2-6-4T locomotives, similar in outline but smaller than the Barsi Light Railway locomotives. Goods rolling stock included four coaches, two bogie open wagons and one bogie van, once again similar to Barsi stock. He also introduced four transporter wagons, designed to transport standard-gauge wagons. Each station on route had a short section of standard-gauge track where the wagons could be placed. The use of transporter wagons eliminated transshipment, and removed the need for large numbers of goods wagons.