Quick Facts
Biography
Robert Sinclair (1817–1898) was born in London but came from a Caithness family. He became Chief Mechanical Engineer of several British railways and also worked in France. He retired to Italy, where he died.
Career
Early years
He was apprenticed to a shipbuilder and later worked for Robert Stephenson, the Grand Junction Railway and the Paris and Rouen Railway.
Chief mechanical engineer
He was Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Caledonian Railway (CR) from 1847–1856, the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) from 1856–1862 and, following a merger of railways, of the Great Eastern Railway (GER) from 1862–1865.
Consulting engineer
Sinclair resigned in from the GER 1865, and became a consulting engineer. In this capacity, he designed a fast 2-4-2 locomotive for the Great Luxemburg Railway, and an outside cylinder 2-4-0 for the East Indian Railway. The Luxembourg 2-4-2 design was later adapted into a 2-4-2T for commuter services on the GER.
Locomotive designs
- Caledonian, see Locomotives of the Caledonian Railway
- ECR/GER, see Locomotives of the Great Eastern Railway
Innovations
Sinclair was an early user of:
- the Giffard injector
- the use of steel for railway axles and wheel tyres
- roller bearings for carriages