Robert Sinclair (locomotive engineer)

Robert Sinclair (locomotive engineer)
Born	1 July 1817 London
Died	20 October 1898 Italy
Nationality	British
Education	Charterhouse School
Engineering career
Engineering discipline	Mechanical engineering

Robert Sinclair (1817–1898) was born in London but came from a Caithness family. He became Chief Mechanical Engineer of several British railways and also worked in France. He retired to Italy, where he died.^[1]

Career

Early years

He was apprenticed to a shipbuilder and later worked for Robert Stephenson, the Grand Junction Railway and the Paris and Rouen Railway.^[2]

Chief mechanical engineer

He was Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Caledonian Railway (CR) from 1847–1856, the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) from 1856–1862 and, following a merger of railways, of the Great Eastern Railway (GER) from 1862–1865.^[3]

Consulting engineer

Sinclair resigned in from the GER 1865, and became a consulting engineer. In this capacity, he designed a fast 2-4-2 locomotive for the Great Luxemburg Railway, and an outside cylinder 2-4-0 for the East Indian Railway. The Luxembourg 2-4-2 design was later adapted into a 2-4-2T for commuter services on the GER.^[4]

Locomotive designs

• Caledonian, see Locomotives of the Caledonian Railway
• ECR/GER, see Locomotives of the Great Eastern Railway

Innovations

Sinclair was an early user of:^[5]

• the Giffard injector
• the use of steel for railway axles and wheel tyres
• roller bearings for carriages

References

1. "Robert Sinclair". www.steamindex.com. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
2. steamindex.com
3. "LNER Encyclopedia: Robert Sinclair". www.lner.info. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
4. lner.info
5. steamindex.com