John Birkinshaw

John Birkinshaw was a 19th Century railway engineer from Bedlington, Northumberland noted for his invention of wrought iron rails in 1820. Up till this point, rail systems had used either wooden rails, which were totally incapable of supporting steam engines, or cast iron rails typically only 3 feet in length. These cast iron rails, developed by William Jessop and others, only allowed very low speeds and broke easily and although steam locomotives had been tested as early as 1804 by Richard Trevithick, these experiments had not been economically successful.

"John Birkinshaw's 1820 patent for rolling wrought-iron rails in 15ft lengths was a vital breakthrough for the infant railway system. Wrought iron was able to withstand the moving load of a locomotive and train unlike cast iron, used for rails up till now, which was brittle and fractured all too easily." [Specification of John Birkinshaw's Patent, for an Improvement in the Construction of Malleable Iron Rails, to be used in Rail roads; with Remarks on the comparative Merits of Cast Metal and Malleable Iron Rail-ways. Michael Longridge, Newcastle: E. Walker, 1821.]

Birkinshaw's wrought iron rails were taken up by George Stephenson in 1821 for the proposed Stockton and Darlington Railway, despite the fact that Stephenson already held the rights to the best cast iron product [ [http://www.pitwork.net/terrymcbedl.htm The Bedlington Rail] ] and it was this railway that effectively launched the rail era.

Career

*In 1821, whilst an engineer at Bedlington Ironworks, Birkinshaw developed a new method of rolling wrought iron rails in fifteen feet lengths. [ [http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RAstephensonG.htm George Stephenson] ]
*Assistant engineer with Robert Stephenson on the London & Birmingham Railway (L&BR). [cite book |author=Warwick Burton |title=Malton & Driffield Junction Railway |publisher=Martin Bairstow |location= |year= |isbn=1-871944-16-3 |oclc= |doi=]
*Assistant engineer with Robert Stephenson on the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway. [Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway ]
*Consulting Engineer for the Malton & Driffield Railway (MDR). [cite book |author=Warwick Burton |title=Malton & Driffield Junction Railway |publisher=Martin Bairstow |location= |year= |isbn=1-871944-16-3 |oclc= |doi=]

References

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