Samuel Waite Johnson was Chief Mechanical Engineer

Chief Mechanical Engineer

Chief Mechanical Engineer and Locomotive Superintendent are titles applied by British, Australian, and New Zealand railway companies to the person ultimately responsible to the board of the company for the building and maintaining of the locomotives and rolling stock...

 (CME) of the Midland Railway

Midland Railway

The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....

 from 1873 to 1903. He was born in Bramley, Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

 and educated at Leeds Grammar School

Leeds Grammar School

Leeds Grammar School was an independent school in Leeds established in 1552. In August 2005 it merged with Leeds Girls' High School to form The Grammar School at Leeds. The two schools physically united in September 2008....

.

Career

Johnson learned to become an engineer at the locomotive builders E.B.Wilson and Company.

In 1859 Johnson became Acting Locomotive Superintendent at the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway

Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway

The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway was formed by amalgamation in 1847. The MS&LR changed its name to the Great Central Railway in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension.-Origin:...

. In 1864 he was appointed Locomotive Superintendent of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway

Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway

The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway was a railway built to link Glasgow and Edinburgh. The Act of Parliament for building the railway received its Royal Assent in 1838 which was open on 28 July 1863. Services started between Glasgow Queen Street and Haymarket on 21 February 1842. The line was...

. In 1866, after only two years in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 he replaced Robert Sinclair

Robert Sinclair (locomotive engineer)

Robert Sinclair was Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Caledonian Railway from 1847–1856, the Eastern Counties Railway from 1856–1865 and of the Great Eastern Railway from 1862–1866.-External links:*...

 of the Great Eastern Railway

Great Eastern Railway

The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...

 (GER) 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...

. There he stayed for seven years until moving to the Midland Railway

Midland Railway

The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....

 (MR) at Derby

Derby Works

The Midland Railway Locomotive Works, known locally as "the loco" comprised a number of British manufacturing facilities in Derby building locomotives and, initially, rolling stock in Derby, UK.-Early days:...

, where he would stay until his retirement in 1904.

Midland Railway

See: Locomotives of the Midland Railway

Locomotives of the Midland Railway

The Midland Railway's locomotives , followed its small engine policy. The policy was later adopted by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, and contrasted with the London and North Western Railway's policy...

• 115 Class
  Midland Railway 115 Class
  The Midland Railway 115 Class is a class of 4-2-2 steam locomotive. They were known as "Spinners", possibly because of the wheelslip that the single large driving wheel caused. They were designed by Samuel W...
  
   4-2-2 ("Spinners")
• Class 4 Compound
  Midland Railway 1000 Class
  Midland Railway 1000 Class is a class of 4-4-0 steam locomotive designed for passenger work.-Overview:These were developed from a series of five locomotives introduced in 1902 by Samuel W...
  
   4-4-0
• 179 Class
• 483 Class
  Midland Railway 483 Class
  The Midland Railway 483 Class 4-4-0 was a class of steam locomotive designed for passenger work. This design formed the basis for the later LMS Class 2P 4-4-0...
  
  
• 1116A Class
  Midland Railway 1116A Class
  The Midland Railway 1116A Class was a class of 0-4-0ST for shunting. Ten were built at Derby in the 1890s, five in 1893 and five in 1897. They were closely related to the 1322 and 1134A classes....
  
   0-4-0ST
• 1377 Class
  Midland Railway 1377 Class
  The Midland Railway 1377 Class is a class of steam locomotive. They were introduced in 1878 by Samuel W. Johnson based on an earlier 1874 design. Up to 1891, 185 were built: 165 by Derby Works and the last 20 by the Vulcan Foundry....
  
   0-6-0T
• 1738 Class
• 2228 Class
  Midland Railway 2228 Class
  The Midland Railway 2228 Class was a class of 0-4-4T side tank steam locomotive designed by Samuel Johnson. They were given the power classification 1P....
  
   0-4-4T
• 2441 Class
  Midland Railway 2441 Class
  thumb|right|The view from 47231's cab, showing tank top detail, Belpaire firebox, large dome and chimney.The Midland Railway 2441 Class was a class of steam locomotive. Introduced by Samuel Johnson in 1899, originally with round-topped fireboxes. Henry Fowler later rebuilt them with Belpaire...
  
   0-6-0T
• Class 2 & 3 Goods engines
  Midland Railway Johnson 0-6-0
  The Midland Railway Johnson 0-6-0 were a class of locomotives serving Britain's Midland Railway system in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Between 1875 and 1908 the Midland Railway, under the control of locomotive superintendents Samuel W...
  
   0-6-0
• 2501 Class
  Midland Railway 2501 Class
  The Midland Railway 2501 Class was a class of 2-6-0 steam locomotives.There was an inability of the Midland's own Derby Works or British locomotive companies to provide motive power at the time. Thus they were built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in the United States as a kit of parts, shipped,...
  
   – 30 2-6-0 locomotives built at the Baldwin Locomotive Works
  Baldwin Locomotive Works
  The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...
  
  , USA
• 2511 Class
  Midland Railway 2511 Class
  The Midland Railway 2511 Class was a class of 2-6-0 steam locomotives.There was an inability of the Midland's own Derby Works or British locomotive companies to provide motive power at the time. Thus they were built by the Schenectady Locomotive Works in the United States as a kit of parts,...
  
   – 10 2-6-0 locomotives built at the Schenectady Locomotive Works
  Schenectady Locomotive Works
  The Schenectady Locomotive Works built railroad locomotives from its founding in 1848 through its merger into American Locomotive Company in 1901.After the 1901 merger, ALCO made the Schenectady plant its headquarters in Schenectady, New York....
  
  , USA

External links

• Midland Railway locomotive engineers – Samuel Waite Johnson at www.steamindex.com
• Samuel Waite Johnson – Publications at www.steamindex.com