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James Henry Greathead

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James Henry Greathead
Statue of Greathead in London which was only erected in 1994
Born6 August 1844
Grahamstown, South Africa
Died21 October1896
Streatham, London
OccupationEngineer
Engineering career
ProjectsTower Subway
Blackwall Tunnel
Waterloo & City Line
AwardsElected to the Council of the Institution of Civil Engineers, 1884

James Henry Greathead (6 August 1844 - 21 October1896) was an engineer renowned for his work on the London Underground railway.

Early life

Greathead was born in Grahamstown, South Africa; of English descent, Greathead's grandfather had emigrated to South Africa in 1820. He was educated at Saint Andrew's College, Grahamstown, and the Diocesan College private school in Cape Town, and completed his education in England between 1859 and 1863 at the Westbourne Collegiate School, Westbourne Grove. He returned briefly to South Africa before finally moving to London in 1864 to serve a 3 year pupillage under the civil engineer Peter W. Barlow. He spent some time (around 1867) as assistant engineer on the Midland Railway between Bedford and London (working with Barlow's brother, William Henry Barlow).

Tunnelling

Soon after, in 1869, he rejoined Barlow and they began work on designs for the Tower Subway, only the second tunnel to be driven under the river Thames in central London. Barlow was the engineer for the tunnel and Greathead was in charge of the actual drive. The tunneling shield for driving the Tower Subway, while designed by Greathead, was inspired by Barlow's ideas for a circular tunneling shield which he had patented in 1864 and 1868. The shield was named the Barlow-Greathead shield and consisted of an iron cylinder 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 m) in diameter fitted with screw jacks which enabled it to be jacked forward. In use, the shield was inched forward as the working face was excavated, while behind it a permanent tunnel lining of cast iron segments was fitted into place, itself an important innovation.[1] Greathead patented many of his improvements including the use of compressed air and forward propulsion by hydraulic jacks, both of which are now standard features of tunnel construction.

Greathead was Chief Engineer on the City & South London Railway (now part of the Northern Line, opened in 1890), and, shortly before his death, began work on the Central Line (opened 1900) with Sir Benjamin Baker. He was also a consultant in relation to the construction of the Blackwall Tunnel and the Waterloo & City Line, both completed after his death.

Honours

  • An English Heritage blue plaque marks his home in Barnes, south-west London, 3 St Mary's Grove, where he lived between 1885 and 1889.
  • In January 1994 the statue shown on this page was erected outside the Bank Underground Station next to the Royal Exchange in the City of London. It was unveiled by the Lord Mayor of London and is positioned on a plinth which hides a ventilation shaft for the Underground. While Bank Station was being refurbished a section of the Barlow-Greathead shield was discovered in a passageway between the Underground and the Waterloo and City Railway. The section has been painted red and a brass plate erected as a further memorial to his achievements.

References

  1. ^ West, Graham (2005). Innovation and the Rise of the Tunnelling Industry. Cambridge University Press. pp. pp. 116-118. ISBN 0521335124. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

Further reading

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