Gresley and Stanier by John Bellwood, David Jenkinson

Abstract

954 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE length, he does not deal with graduates and professors whose careers led them to teach at other institutions, but they too made critical contributions to engineering and science. Morrison does deal in pass­ ing, however, with experiments carried out at the academy with for­ tifications and the ability of improved weaponry to destroy them. Other experiments cited involved pontoon bridges, breech-loading rifles, and cavalry saddles. James Bradford’s biographical collection has several chapters that specifically investigate 19th-century changes in science and technology. The essays on Dahlgren, Maury, and Isherwood explain the relation­ ships of these individuals to advances, respectively, in naval artillery, hydrography, and the design ofsteam machinery for naval propulsion. The remaining ten essays deal with these and other areas of advancing technology where they influenced the officers who formed the back­ bone of a professional navy, a navy that established its own academy during the period covered. Some of the details involved in the creation of the Naval Academy are provided, as are details on the personal con­ flicts between the men covered by the essays. Not all of these conflicts related to developments in maritime technology, but the stresses cre­ ated by change are made fully evident. Bradford also points out where publications by the protagonists made critical contributions to naval sci­ ence and compiles them in a thorough bibliography. The titles of both books are somewhat misleading since the years covered extend beyond those indicated. This is in part a consequence of including some treatment of the early lives of many of the indi­ viduals, coverage that makes the works all the more valuable, of course. Together these volumes provide an excellent portrayal of the struggle for change in the military in the decades on either side of the mid­ century mark and how this struggle affected both individuals and institutions. Ed Cass Dr. Cass teaches American military history and public history at Northeastern University . He served as an officer in the U.S. Navy from 1961 to 1966 and as archivist of the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, in 1980—82 and 1985 — 86. He is currently working on a history of superconductive computer technology and continues to pursue studies in engineering history. Gresley and Stanier. By John Bellwood and David Jenkinson. 2d ed. London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1986. Pp. viii+118; il­ lustrations, bibliography. £7.95/$ 13.95 (paper). Available from Bernan-Unipub, 10033-F King Highway, Lanham, Maryland 20706. Gresley and Stanier is the story of two famous British steam locomotive engineers, both born in 1876, who reached the top by notably dif­ TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 955 ferent routes. This story is familiar to British railway students but less familiar worldwide. So it is disappointing to find little that is new here, either in text or illustration, notwithstanding access to British National Railway Museum archives. William Arthur Stanier was a Great Western Railway man until quite late in life. Realizing that he would never be top man in that company, he accepted the post of chief mechanical engineer of the great L.M.S. Railway in 1932. The locomotive department was in chaos, following three chiefs in nine years, and a complete range of new locomotive designs was essential. Stanier provided these in seven years. The de­ signs included the powerful and speedy “Coronation” 4-6-2s, the “go anywhere, do anything” Class 5 4-6-0s, and the Class 8 2-8-0s for freight, adopted by the War Department as its standard and serving in many theaters, including under appalling conditions in Iran. Stan­ ier transferred to war work in 1941, for which he received a knight­ hood, and lived well into his eighties. Herbert Nigel Gresley, an apprentice at the “Nor’-Western” Crewe works (later to be under Stanier’s command), was appointed chief mechanical engineer of the Great Northern Railway in 1911, at age 35. The G.N.R. was absorbed by the L.N.E.R. in 1923 and Gresley was again appointed chief mechanical engineer. Financing precluded a wholesale restocking of the locomotive fleet; in any event, Gresley had little interest in standardization and...