- Henry Ivatt
Henry Alfred Ivatt (
16 September 1851 —25 October 1923 ) was theChief Mechanical Engineer of the Great Northern Railway from 1896 to 1911.Biography
Aged 17, Ivatt was apprenticed to John Ramsbottom at the
Crewe Works of theLondon and North Western Railway (LNWR). He worked as a fireman for six months and held various positions there. He was made head of the Holyhead Locomotive Depot in 1874, before being promoted to the head of theChester District.In 1877 Ivatt moved to
Ireland , and theGreat Southern and Western Railway atInchicore . In 1882 he was appointed to the post of locomotive engineer there, where hepatent ed a design for a sprung flap for vertically-opening carriage windows that became ubiquitous.In 1895 Ivatt returned to
England and was appointed Locomotive Superintendent of the Great Northern Railway (GNR), with references fromSamuel W. Johnson , John Aspinall,Francis William Webb , andWilliam Dean . The man he succeeded wasPatrick Stirling .At the GNR, he became associated with 4-4-2 (Atlantic) type, which he introduced to Britain. Ivatt was also the first to introduce
Walschaerts valve gear to Britain. Ivatt retired on2 December 1911 . he was succeeded as CME of the GNR byNigel Gresley .He had six children, the first of which, Campbell, died in infancy. His son
George Ivatt was also a locomotive engineer and post-war CME of theLondon Midland and Scottish Railway .Ivatt died in 1923 in
Haywards Heath ,Sussex .External links
* [http://www.steamindex.com/people/ivatt.htm Henry Alfred Ivatt and his son Henry George ] at www.steamindex.com
* [http://www.winwaed.com/rail/LNER/eng/ivatt.shtml Biography of Henry A. Ivatt ] at www.winwaed.com
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