John Chester Craven was the locomotive, carriage and wagon superintendent of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway

London, Brighton and South Coast Railway

The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its apex, practically the whole coastline of Sussex as its base, and a large part of Surrey...

 from 1847 until his resignation in 1870.

He was born in Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

 in 1813 and began an apprenticeship with Robert Stephenson and Company

Robert Stephenson and Company

Robert Stephenson and Company was a locomotive manufacturing company founded in 1823. It was the first company set up specifically to build railway engines.- Foundation and early success :...

 of Newcastle

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

, later transferring to Fenton, Murray and Jackson

Fenton, Murray and Jackson

Fenton, Murray and Jackson was an engineering company at the Round Foundry off Water Lane in Holbeck, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.-Fenton, Murray and Wood:...

 of Leeds. After various engineering jobs, he became locomotive engineer for the Eastern Counties Railway

Eastern Counties Railway

The Eastern Counties Railway was an early English railway company incorporated in 1836. It was intended to link London with Ipswich via Colchester, and then on to Norwich and Yarmouth. Construction began in late March 1837 on the first nine miles, at the London end of the line.Construction was...

 at Stratford Works

Stratford Works

Stratford Works was the locomotive-building works of the Great Eastern Railway situated at Stratford, London, England. It was opened in 1847-1848 by the GER's predecessor, the Eastern Counties Railway...

 in 1845. In December 1847 he took up his principal post at Brighton

Brighton

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

 where he re-organised and enlarged the railway works

Brighton railway works

Brighton railway works was one of the earliest railway-owned locomotive repair works, founded in 1840 by the London and Brighton Railway in Brighton, England, and thus pre-dating the more famous railway works at Crewe, Doncaster and Swindon...

.

From 1852 Craven began to design locomotives for the company, producing a large number of specialised locomotives designed for specific duties rather than introducing standardised classes. This policy eventually created a chaotic situation on the railway and when the directors pressed him to reduce the number of new classes in 1869, Craven offered his resignation. He was superseded by William Stroudley

William Stroudley

William Stroudley was one of Britain's most famous steam locomotive engineers of the nineteenth century, working principally for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway...

. Craven died in 1887.

See List of Craven locomotives.

Sources

• Marshall, John (1978) A biographical dictionary of railway engineers, David & Charles.