Henry George Clopper Ketchum Virtual Exhibit-Engineering Counterparts

                  
Baker, Sir Benjamin (1840-1907)
               
Benjamin Baker was born in Somerset, England, and trained under renowned civil engineer Sir John Fowler, eventually becoming his assistant.


Achievements include the construction of:

• Forth Rail Bridge for which he was knighted
• several parts of the London Underground
•  first of the Aswan Dams in Egypt
•  first Hudson River Tunnel, USA

Brunlees, Sir James  (1816-1892)   

James Brunlees was born in Kelso, Scotland. 

Achievements include the design/construction of :

• Bolton & Preston Railway, England
• Mersey Railway that included building a tunnel under the River Mersey
• São Paulo Railway, Brazil
• A rack railway over the Mont Cenis Pass in the Alps
• Avonmouth and Whitehaven Docks, England

Brunlees was Consulting Engineer with the original Channel Tunnel Company which planned to link Britain and Europe.  Also, together with E.B. Webb, he proposed a ship railway across the Suez Isthmus in preference to a canal.
   
Henry George Clopper Ketchum worked under Sir James Brunlees on the São Paulo Railway in Brazil 1860-1865. 

Clark, Edwin (1814-1894)      

Edwin Clark was born in Buckinghamshire, England.

Achievements include design/construction of :

• Hydraulic Lift Docks and Canal Lifts including the first hydraulic balance lock built at Anderton, on the River Weaver, in Cheshire, England
• two tubular bridges - Britannia (across the Menai Straits in Wales), and Conway Castle (UK)
• Floating Docks, Dock Gates and Lifts

   
Edwin Clark and Henry G.C. Ketchum were contractors on the Eastern Extension of the New Brunswick Railway.  Edwin Clark was also the inventor of the lifting docks to be used on the Chignecto Railway, a Board Member and a Provisional Director of the Chignecto Marine Railway Company.

Eads, James Buchanan (1820-1887)

Captain James Eads was born in Indiana, U.S.A. 

Achievements include :

• production of steam-powered, ironclad warships used in the American Civil War
• construction of the Eads Bridge - a triple arch bridge across the Mississippi, connecting Illinois and Missouri

Eads put forward a proposal for the building of a ship railway across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico as a viable alternative  to a canal; the proposal was not accepted and the Panama Canal was built in its place.   
   
Captain Eads was a supporter of the Chignecto Marine Railway and confirmed the validity of Ketchum’s claims in writing to Sir Charles Tupper (then Minister of Railways and Canals in the Canadian Government).

Fitzmaurice, Sir Maurice (1861-1924)   

Maurice Fitzmaurice was born in England. 

Achievements include:

• the construction of the Rotherhithe tunnel under the River Thames, London
• the construction of an irrigation dam on the River Nile 
• Chief Engineer to the London County Council

 
Sir Maurice Fitzmaurice was one of the key engineers employed on the Chignecto Ship Railway.

Fowler, Sir John  (1817-1898)

John Fowler was born in Sheffield, England.  He was both an architect and engineer and was knighted in 1890.  

Achievements include design/construction of :

• Forth Rail Bridge, England
• St. Enoch's Station in Glasgow, Scotland
• Pimlico Bridge over the River Thames 
• Victoria Station, London, England
• London Underground railway system

Fowler was also consulting engineer on the Great Western Railway, England.

Sir John Fowler, Sir Benjamin Baker and Henry George Clopper Ketchum, were the three senior engineers employed on the Chignecto Ship Railway.

Keefer, Thomas Coltrin (1821-1915)   

Thomas Keefer was born in Ontario, Canada.

Achievements include design/construction of:

• Ottawa Water Works
• Hamilton Water Works
• Victoria Bridge (Quebec) foundations which span the St. Lawrence River

Keefer was the Chief Engineer of the Montreal Water Board, and was well known for his writings which include The Philosophy of Railroads and The Philosophy of Canals.  Keefer was also co-founder and first President of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers.

Keefer was a Provisional Director of the Chignecto Marine Railway Company and also wrote several articles with Ketchum for the Ottawa Free Press and the Montreal Gazette relating to the Chignecto Marine Railway.

Schreiber, Sir Collingwood  (1831-1918)

Collingwood Schreiber was born in Essex, England, and emigrated to Canada in 1852.

Achievements include:

• Succeeded Sir Sandford Fleming as Chief Engineer of the Canadian Pacific Railway 
• Chief Engineer of Railways to the Canadian Government

  
Ketchum’s proposals for the Chignecto Ship Railway were referred by the Canadian Government to Collingwood Schreiber (Chief Engineer of the Department) who supported the idea from a practical and economical viewpoint.