George Nugent Tyrrell
George Nugent Tyrrell (13 April 1816[1] - 12 July 1893) was a key figure in the development of the Great Western Railway in England and Wales.
Early life[edit]
George Nugent Tyrrell was born to John Tyrrell, private secretary to Sir George Nugent[2], and his wife Clarissa (née Merle) in London.
The family moved to Sidmouth in 1823, and Tyrrell attended Mount Radford School in Exeter. At the age of 16, he suffered a long illness and, in order to aid recovery, at the age of 21 he travelled to New South Wales for an "outdoor life".[3]
After a drought and commercial depression, he returned to England and started his railway career[1] as the stationmaster for the Great Western Railway in Keynsham in 1842, and by 1848 was a Superintendent based in Cirencester, Gloucester, Paddington, and then finally the Northern Division at Shrewsbury, and Chester.
Superintendent of the Line[edit]
In January 1864, the Chairman of the GWR, Richard Potter, defined a new role in the company, "Superintendent of the Line", whose duties were to "conduct the passenger business of the Railway". He proposed George Nugent Tyrrell for this role.[4]
Early in the role, Tyrrell looked to improve reliability, and this involved increasing scheduled journey times for some fast servies. Journey times between London and Birmingham increasing between 5-10 minutes. Tyrrell planned the new services through the Severn Tunnel which opened in 1886.[4]
Despite being initially a passenger-focused role, Tyrrell became involved in all aspects of train operation, including deployment of Telegraph Block Signalling[3], and gathering information on all accidents.[5]
Tyrrell held the position for 24 years, retiring in June 1888.[1]
The position of "Superintendent of the Line" continued in the GWR until nationalisation.
References[edit]
- ^ a b c The National Archives of the UK; Kew, Surrey, England; Collection: Great Western Railway Company: Staff Records; Class: RAIL264; Piece: 6
- ^ Nugent, Lady Maria; Wright, Philip (1966), Lady Nugent's Journal of her residence in Jamaica from 1801 to 1805, Institute of Jamaica, p. 281
- ^ a b "The Retirement of G N Tyrrell", Railway News, 7 July 1888
- ^ a b MacDermot, E. T.; Clinker, C. R. (1989), History of the Great Western Railway, Volume 2, Ian Allan Ltd, pp. 2, 193, 245, 250, ISBN 0711004129
- ^ Accidents Did Happen!, Didcot Railway Centre, 25 January 2022