Esling, Frederick Karl (1860 - 1955)

Summary

Frederick Esling, MVIE, Superintendent engineer, Victorian Railways Department, from c1900 - 1917, was responsible for building Flinders Street Station; widening the Swanston street bridge over the railway lines; widening the Flinders street railway viaduct; rebuilding Princes Bridge Station; and designing the complicated lay-out of the tracks and points at the stations and yards. The viaduct and track arrangements required new and inventive solutions.

Other associated major projects included the replacement of the bridge over the Maribyrnong River - built inside the old bridge without any interruption of the traffic, and the replacement of the Moorabool viaduct.

He resigned from the railways in 1917 during the First World War because he considered that he was not fairly treated. Although he was born in Victoria, he was educated in Germany. His parents were from Hostein, and left there before 1860 when the Kingdom of Prussia annexed the Danish Duchy of Holstein.

Frederick was presented with a silver trowel at the 'topping out' ceremony on the Flinders Street Station clock tower in 1909, and an Omega pocket watch when he resigned, both of which are in the collection of the National Museum of Australia. Also in the collection is a manuscript of his autobiography.

Esling was also a well-respected competitive chess player, the first Australian Chess Champion in 1886, and Victorian Chess Champion 1891-1894, 1896-97.

Details

Chronology

c. 1886 - c. 1900

Career position - Engineer, Victorian Railways Department

c. 1900 - 1917

Career position - Superintendent engineer, Flinders Street Station, Way and Works branch, Victorian Railways Department

1910

Career event - Member (MVIE), Victorian Institute of Engineers

1916

Career position - Representative of the Victorian Institute of Engineers, regarding proposed Victorian Building Regulations [with James Alexander Smith]

Published resources

Journal Articles

• Esling, F. K., 'Foundations', RVIA Journal of Proceedings (1913), 58-65, https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-400872073. Details
• Esling, F. K., 'The Flinders-street (Melbourne) Railway Viaduct - Part II', Commonwealth Engineer, 1 (5) (1913), 153-158. Details
• Esling, F. K., 'The Flinders-street (Melbourne) Railway Viaduct - Part I', Commonwealth Engineer, 1 (4) (1913), 117-120. Details
• Esling, F. K., 'Replacing a railway bridge - Renewal of Maribyrnong (Saltwater) River Bridge', Commonwealth Engineer, 1 (12) (1914), 396-401. Details
• Esling, F. K., 'The Flinders-street (Melbourne) Railway Viaduct - Part III', Commonwealth Engineer, 1 (6) (1914), 190-191. Details
• Esling, F. K., 'Flinders Street Railway Viaduct IV - Making good some defective bedding of the masonry', Commonwealth Engineer, 4 (4) (1916), 103-104. Details
• Esling, F. K., 'Traffic conditions at Flinders Street, Melbourne - some suggestions for improvement', Commonwealth Engineer, 3 (11) (1916), 328-329. Details
• Esling, F. K., 'Superheated steam in locomotives - its application to Victorian engines', Commonwealth Engineer, 5 (1) (1917), 24. Details
• Esling, F. K., 'Proposal for utilising old iron and steel bridges (Paper & Discussion)', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers vol. XVI (1917), 144-161, 276-277. http://hdl.handle.net/11343/24597. Details

Newspaper Articles

• 'The Railways. Mr. F. K. Esling's resignation', The Argus (1917), 4, https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1614893. Details
• Metre, 'Engineering. Notes and Comments.', The Argus (1916), 5, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1628263. Details
• Metre, 'Engineering. Notes and Comments.', The Argus (1916), 4, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2104416. Details

Resources

• 'A problem relating to railway bridge piers of masonry or brickwork', Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Civil Engineers, https://doi.org/10.1680/imotp.1906.16754. Details