Person

Calcutt, Francis Macnamara (1870 - 1950)

Born
10 July 1870
Williamstown, Victoria, Australia
Died
2 October 1950
Croydon, Victoria, Australia
Occupation
Civil engineer and Railway engineer

Summary

Francis Calcutt, MInstCE, was a civil engineer with the Victorian Railways. He was employed in location and surveying the many new lines during the expansion of country Victorian Railways from 1889-1904, and later he was largely responsible for the introduction of automatic electric signalling during the electrification of Melbourne's suburban railways (installed from 1915-1930). He finished his career in the role of Chief Engineer of Signals & Telegraphs (1922-1930), during which time he was at one stage responsible for the supervision of 1,200 employees and half a dozen railway workshops.

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Details

Chronology

1877 - 1883
Education - State School and Private Tuition
1883 - 1889
Education - Indentured, Victorian Railways [under Robert Watson MInstCE]
1889 - 1891
Career position - Field Assistant, construction and Survey, Victorian Railways [under Robert Watson MInstCE]
1891 - 1892
Career position - Field Assistant, construction and Survey, Victorian Railways [under George C Darbyshire MInstCE]
7 Oct 1891
Career event - Qualified as Licenced Surveyor, under the Transfer of Land Statute Victoria
1892 - 1895
Career position - Field Assistant, construction and Survey, Victorian Railways [under F Rennick]
1895 - 1904
Career position - Assistant Engineer, location survey and construction, Victorian Railways [under F Rennick and Maurice Kernot MInstCE]
c. 1900
Career event - Granted Certificate of Qualification as Engineer and Surveyor (CE), Local Government Act 1890 Victoria
1904 - 1905
Career position - Assistant Signal Engineer, Victorian Railways [under Charles Ernest Norman MInstCE]
1905 - c. 1922
Career position - Engineer of Signals, Victorian Railways [under Charles Ernest Norman MInstCE, and J H Fraser]
14 Jan 1913
Career event - Member (MInstCE), Institution of Civil Engineers, London
1922 - 1930
Career position - Chief Engineer of Signals and Telegraphs, Victorian Railways
1926 -
Career position - Hon Secretary, Victorian Advisory Committee of Council, Institution of Civil Engineers, London
1930
Life event - Retired

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Resources

See also

  • Stephenson, C. T. ed., The Electrification of the Metropolitan Railway System of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (Melbourne: Industrial Australian and Mining Standard, 1919). http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-52838575. Author of chapter "Automatic and Power Signalling on the Melbourne Suburban Railways". Details

Ken McInnes

Created: 14 February 2019, Last modified: 4 June 2024

EOAS ID: biogs/P006268b.htm

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