Edgar Claxton

MBE, FICE, FIEE, FIMechE
Head and shoulders of young man in suit and tie
Edgar Claxton, 1930s
Born7 July 1910
Marylebone, England
Died13 August 2000(2000-08-13) (aged 90)
Oxford, England
Resting placeSt Laurence churchyard, Shotteswell, Warwickshire
NationalityBritish
EducationMerchant Taylors' School, Northwood
University College London
Engineering career
InstitutionsInstitution of Civil Engineers
Institution of Electrical Engineers
Institution of Mechanical Engineers
Employer(s)British Railways Board
ProjectsElectrification of the British railway system
AwardsM.B.E.

Edgar Claxton MBE, FICE, FIEE, FIMechE (7 July 1910 – 13 August 2000) was a British rail engineer. He worked for the British Railways Board and was part of the team which electrified parts of the United Kingdom's mainline railway network in the 1960s. He was responsible for "design and procurement of all the equipment, and for the electrification side of the projects." He was made an MBE in 1969 for his work.

Background and private life

Edgar Claxton's parents were Edgar "Ted" Claxton (Marylebone 10 June 1883 – Hillingdon 5 February 1971),[1][2][3] and Nellie Mildred "Helen" Petty (Hackney 20 August 1883 – Uxbridge 21 February 1945).[4][5] They married on 1 August 1908, in Hammersmith.[6] Ted was a poor law settlement officer, working around the country from the offices of St Marylebone Workhouse.[nb 1] At the same time he was registrar for births and deaths for Marylebone parish, working from an office in his home, as did his father Jesse.[7] Helen was a music teacher, and the honorary piano accompanist for the Northwood Choral Society.[8] A year after Helen's death, Ted Claxton married Mary Browning Eustance (1887–1966) in Edmonton on 24 April 1946.[9][10][11]

Edgar Claxton was born in Marylebone on 7 July 1910, and died in Oxford on 13 August 2000.[12][13] He first appeared in the newspapers at the age of two years, having attended a family wedding.[14] He attended Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood, and in 1939 he gained First Class Honours in engineering at University College London.[15] On 11 July 1928, soon after Claxton's 18th birthday, a motor car driven by Edgar Claxton of Roy Road, Northwood,[nb 2] who had "driven for a year, and previously driven a motor cycle",[16] was involved in a collision with a motor cycle in Northwood. The pillion rider of the motorcycle, 19-year-old Beatrice Davis, died.[17] At the inquest of 20 July 1928 it was found that the car had stopped before the impact, the motor cyclist had been driving too fast, and that Edgar Claxton was "exonerated from all blame." The verdict was "accidental death."[16]

Between 1952 and 1975 Claxton was living at 47 Grange Gardens, Pinner.[15] He married Elizabeth "Betty" Welsh (1910–1986).[18] They had several children.[19] In 1996 he was the sponsor and main benefactor to St Laurence Church, Shotteswell, Warwickshire, when the six bells of the church were matched, re-tuned and re-hung, following long disuse.[20] He is buried in Shotteswell churchyard.[21]

Career

Early career

Claxton's first employment was with the engineering firm Kennedy & Donkin. This involved him with projects "mostly for generating and sub-stations, overhead lines and cables," including work in Northern Ireland and "construction of the National Grid in Scotland."[19] In 1937 Claxton became a technical assistant, appointed by Sir Nigel Gresley to the London North Eastern Railway (LNER). This appointment involved "dealing with power supply and 33kV distribution systems and associated equipment for the impending Manchester–Sheffield and Liverpool Street–Sheffield electrical systems,[nb 3] and other works."[19] In 1939 he was living in lodgings with other LNER staff at 11 North Road, Glossop, describing himself as a civil and electrical engineer, LNER traction staff.[22]

World War II

As an essential railway worker he did not do military service in World War II. Instead, he worked for the Admiralty Dockyard Department. Here, he "looked after planning, specifications and contracts for electrical distribution systems for dock works both at home and abroad."[19]

Later career

After the war, Claxton was again employed by LNER as senior technical assistant in the Electric Traction Section, "handling contracts for electric locomotives and rolling stock," developing diesel and electric shunting locomotives. He was involved in running trials in Zeist, Utrecht, for some years,[23] with respect to Gresley's prototype electrical locomotive Tommy, LNER no.6701.[19]

By the end of 1951, Claxton was the assistant electrification engineer for the MSW electrification scheme, based at Dukinfield, "supervising all branches of the MSW electrification project from end to end," including Scotland. He was working with Metropolitan Vickers & Co., "installing electrical equipment into the newly formed fleet of locomotives for the re-started 1936 programme," i.e. the project plans in which he had been involved before the war.[19] From 1952, Claxton was the assistant electrical engineer (development), for the chief electrical engineer's department, British Railways central staff, British Transport Commission (BTC).[24][25] Following pioneer electrification of the Aix-les-Bains to La Roche-sur-Foron line, and the Valenciennes to Thionville line in 1954, the BTC asked Edgar Claxton to chair a "committee to review electrification strategy for main lines."[26]

He read a paper at the British Railways Electrification Conference in 1960.[25][27] He "was part of the team setting up the first overhead wires for electrification of the mainline railway and was involved in the project commemorated" in the British Railways booklet, Change at Crewe (1960). This brochure details "the completion of Stage One, Manchester-Crewe of the Manchester-Liverpool-Euston Electrification Scheme."[28][29]

By 1969, Claxton was the fixed equipment projects engineer for the British Railways Board. He was "involved in all British Railway electrification projects throughout the country, and [was] responsible for the design and procurement of all the equipment, and for the electrification side of the projects."[15] E.M. Johnson (2018) says:[19]

By the time of his retirement in 1975, Claxton had attained a post with the British Railways Board of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (Electrification). Working with BR(LMR) he was therefore at the forefront of the biggest electrification schemes, both main line and suburban, of the 1950s and 1960s – notably the Manchester–Crewe and West Coast–Crewe to Euston and Crewe to Glasgow projects as well as such precursors as the Lancaster–Morecambe–Heysham ac experiments and those on the Colchester–Clacton–Walton and the Styal lines.[19]

Retirement work

Following his 1975 retirement, Claxton became a Transmark consultant. He was "heavily involved" in the electrification aspect of the design of the Channel Tunnel (with which he had had links since the 1950s) and in the railway electrification systems of Brazil, Romania and Finland.[19]

Awards and institutions

In 1946 when Claxton was living in Bath, he was elected an Associate of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and later became a FIMechE.[30] He was a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers (FICE),[nb 4] and a Fellow of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (FIEE).[25] For his work he was made MBE in the 1969 Birthday Honours of Elizabeth II.[19][31]

Claxton's team's overhead lines in 1960

According to Claxton's Overhead Line Equipment paper of 1960, the lines included in the electrification plan were: Manchester–Crewe; Liverpool–Crewe; Crewe-Euston; Colchester–Clacton–Walton; Liverpool Street–Chelmsford–Southend; Liverpool Street–Enfield–Chingford–Hertford–Bishop's Stortford; London–Tilbury–Southend; Glasgow Suburban Stage I; Chelmsford–Colchester.[25]

Claxton and his team faced and resolved a number of challenges to the installation of the overhead electrification system. Overhead lines were considered less dangerous and more convenient than an electrified third rail which could not be used on level crossings and in the rail yards. However, there was dense traffic at speeds of up to 100 mph (160 km/h) on the above routes and the trains would have to leave the main tracks when not in use. There was often little room between the train roofs and the bridges, bridges could not always be raised, and lowering the track level below bridges was not always feasible. The damp British atmosphere threatened to facilitate corrosion in electrical installations, while maintenance costs had to be limited.[25]

Where tunnels could not be adapted for space, lower-voltage equipment was fitted in. "Welded-and-braced portal structures and extensive trials with tubular structures" formed part of the solution for carrying the equipment. They spent a lot on compound structures, non-ferrous fittings and special insulators to protect equipment from weathering and air pollution, making it safe for fast trains. Where there had to be neutral sections and gaps in electrification, special equipment was designed for the transition between differing power supplies. Regarding this challenge, Claxton said in 1960, "Section insulators of high performance have been provided and advanced high-speed bi-directional designs have now been developed." At that stage in 1960, the team was investigating "less expensive galvanised live-side fittings, simple high-speed sectioning devices and the use of glass-fibre and toughened glass." They were aiming to save construction and maintenance costs, and simplify the design, while making sure that the equipment would work properly and last well.[25][32]

In October 1960, Ernest Marples said, "It will be the technical advances that will decide the attraction of rail travel in the future. There is the news of the Manchester-Crewe electrification. There is the news of the Kent electrification, which has brought about a 36 per cent. increase in passengers over the previous steam traction."[33]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Settlement" in this context refers to a requirement that a parish supports its registered poor. The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 repealed previous settlement laws, and replaced them with the idea of workhouses.
  2. ↑ Incorrectly written as Edward Claxton, but with the correct address in the Uxbridge and West Drayton Gazette
  3. ↑ These two projects were postponed until after World War II
  4. ↑ He became an associate (now Member level) of ICE on 9 March 1937, and a member (now Fellow grade) in 1959: information from Institution of Civil Engineers library.

References

  1. ↑ Births Sep 1883 Claxton Edgar Marylebone 1a 522. Certificate says: born 19 June 1883 at 50 Charlotte Street, Marylebone. Father Jesse Claxton registrar of births and deaths, mother Mary Elizabeth nee Scales. Signed by Jesse Claxton (registrar). See File:HallamStreet 2.jpg for Charlotte Street today (since renamed Hallam Street).
  2. ↑ Deaths Mar 1971 Claxton Edgar 10 June 1883 Hillingdon 5c 848. Certificate says: 5 February 1971, Hillingdon Hospital, Hillingdon, born 10 June 1883, committee clerk retired.
  3. ↑ "Search probate records for documents and wills (England and Wales)". probatesearch.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  4. ↑ Births Dec 1883 Petty Nellie Mildred Hackney 1b 477. Certificate says: born 20 August 1883 at 1 Church Road, West Hackney, father George Masters Petty tithe agent, mother Emily Sophia Petty nee Hayter.
  5. ↑ Deaths Mar 1945 Claxton Nellie M. 61 Uxbridge 3a 148. Certificate says: 21 February 1945 at Fosse Way The Drive Northwood, Nellie Mildred Claxton age 61, wife of Edgar Claxton a committee clerk (LCC), her husband was present at the death.
  6. ↑ Marriages Sep 1908 Claxton Edgar, and Petty Nellie Mildred Fulham 1a 686. Certificate says: 1 April 1908, Edgar Claxton 25 bachelor assistant settlement officer St Marylebone, address 13 Hallam Street St Marylebone, father Jesse Claxton registrar of births and deaths. Nellie Mildred Petty was 24, spinster, address 61 Godolphin Road, father George Masters Petty, surveyor. Married at Church of St Thomas (Anglican), Hammersmith. Witnesses George Masters Petty, Jesse Claxton, E.S. Petty, M.E. Claxton.
  7. ↑ 1911 England Census, Schedule 134, p.227
  8. ↑ "Northwood and District news: Choral Society". Uxbridge & W. Drayton Gazette. British Newspaper Archive. 15 July 1927. p. 6 col.2. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  9. ↑ Births Mar 1887 Eustance Mary Browning Altrincham 8a 186
  10. ↑ Marriages Jun 1946 Eustance, Mary B. and Claxton, Edgar Edmonton 3a 2261. Marriage certificate says: "April 24th 1946", Edgar Claxton age 62 widower local government official retired of Fosse Way, The Drive, Northwood, Edgar's father was Jesse Claxton local government officer deceased. Mary Browning Eustance was 59, spinster, secretary, of 5 Birchwood (Lane?) Muswell Hill, father Edward Eustance jeweller retired. Married at St James Muswell Hill by a prebendiary of St Paul's Cathedral.
  11. ↑ Deaths Mar 1966 Claxton Mary B. 79 Hammersmith 5B 799
  12. ↑ Births Dec 1910 Claxton Edgar Marylebone 1a 413. The certificate says: born 7 July 1910 at 93 Hallam Street, Marylebone, father Edgar Claxton, mother Nellie Mildred Claxton nee Petty, father was settlement officer for Marylebone. Signed by Edgar Claxton senior (registrar).
  13. ↑ Deaths Sep 2000 Claxton Edgar 7 Ju 1910 age 90 Oxford 7021A 270. Certificate says: 31 August 2000 at Oxford, Edgar Claxton born 7 July 1910 St Marylebone railway electrification engineer retired.
  14. ↑ "Wedding at Shepherd's Bush". West London Observer. British Newspaper Archive. 16 August 1912. p. 7 col.3. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  15. 1 2 3 "Honours for local people in the Queen's Birthday List: Rail work". Harrow Observer. British Newspaper Archive. 17 June 1969. p. 11 col.8. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  16. 1 2 "Thrown 30 feet, pillion rider's sad fate". Uxbridge & W. Drayton Gazette. British Newspaper Archive. 20 July 1928. p. 9 col.4. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  17. ↑ "Pillion rider killed in a Northwood collision". Uxbridge & W. Drayton Gazette. British Newspaper Archive. 13 July 1928. p. 9 col.3. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  18. ↑ Deaths 1986 Claxton Elizabeth Welsh 14 No 1910 Banbury 02.86 20 2672
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Johnson, E.M. (2018). Woodhead – The Electric Railway (Scenes From The Past 29, Part 3). Foxline Publishing. p. 152. ISBN 9781909625822. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  20. ↑ "Shotteswell's big moment". Ringing World. 5 June 1996. Retrieved 29 November 2020. Mr Edgar Claxton, the chief benefactor, invited the bishop to dedicate [the bells] ... Thanks to Edgar Claxton for his gift made in memory of his wife Betty.
  21. ↑ "Fuel crisis: Long delay before burial". Oxford Mail. 14 September 2000. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  22. ↑ "1939 England and Wales register". 1939. Retrieved 8 November 2020 – via Ancestry.
  23. ↑ This area was always referred to as being "in Holland" in sources relating to Claxton's work there, although it is not in the modern provinces North Holland and South Holland; see Johnson (2018)
  24. ↑ Sadler, Ralph Ernest (February 1959). "Paper 6320: Development in overhead electrification of railways as it affects the civil engineer". Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. ICE Publishing. 12: 637, 638. doi:10.1680/iicep.1959.12049. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Claxton, Edgar Bsc(Eng), MICE, MIEE. (1960). "Paper 6 (621-332-3): The overhead line equipment" (PDF). barrowmoremrg.co.uk. British Railways Electrification Conference. Retrieved 31 October 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  26. ↑ Duffy, Michael C. (2003). Electric Railways 1880–1990 (Volume 31 of IEE History of technology series: Institution of Electrical Engineers ed.). IET. p. 274. ISBN 9780852968055. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  27. ↑ "British Railways Electrification Conference 1960". barrowmoremrg.co.uk. British Railways. 1960. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  28. ↑ Claxton, Edgar (1960). Change at Crewe. London: British Railways. Retrieved 2 November 2020. Now in the archives of the Science and Industry Museum
  29. ↑ "Change at Crewe". collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/. Science Museum Group. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  30. ↑ "Local men honoured". Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette. British Newspaper Archive. 29 June 1946. p. 11 col.6. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  31. ↑ "M.B.E. To be Ordinary Members of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order". Suppklement to the London Gazette. London Gazette. 14 June 1969. p. 5974. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  32. ↑ "British Railways Electrification Conference London 1960: Railway Electrification at Industrial Frequency – Proceedings". railwaysarchive.co.uk. Railways Archive. 1960. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  33. ↑ Marples, Ernest (26 October 1960). "Hansard: British Railways". api.parliament.uk. British Government. Retrieved 5 November 2020.

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