Abraham 'Abram' Fitzgibbon (23 January 1823 – 4 April 1887) was an Irish-born railroad engineer and a pioneer for
narrow-gauge railway
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter cur ...
s.
Career
In the early 1860s, Fitzgibbon was working at
Dun Mountain Railway in
Nelson, New Zealand
Nelson () is a List of cities in New Zealand, city and Districts of New Zealand, unitary authority on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay at the top of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the oldest city in the South Island and the second-old ...
, a horse-drawn line upon which he worked from 1860 ( gauge)
Fitzgibbon arrived in the colony of
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
in June 1863. He was appointed first chief engineer of
Queensland Railways after a rise through the ranks in the early stages of the railway department development. The first operations of the Queensland Railways opened in 1865.
There was debate regarding the choice of gauge, versus . It is claimed that Fitzgibbon said that the narrow gauge would be sufficient to last 25 or 30 years and was cheaper. Despite opposition from contemporaries, he successfully advocated for the use of
narrow gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...
or track in Australia. By 1867, the controversies included the termination of Fitzgibbon's contract.
Death and legacy
Fitzgibbon died on 4 April 1887 at Moorside,
Bushey Heath,
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...
, England.
The
Fitzgibbon suburb of
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
is named after Abraham Fitzgibbon.
Queensland railways continue to be gauge to the present day.
See also
*
Three foot six inch gauge railways
Other narrow gauge pioneers in order of influence:
*
Carl Abraham Pihl (1825–1897) known for the
Norwegian Railways opened 1863;
*
Robert Fairlie (1831-1885) known for the
Fairlie locomotive on
Festiniog Railway introduced about 1865. gauge.
*
Thomas Hall (1823-1889) known for the
Namaqualand Railway built 1868; gauge
*
Paul Decauville (1846–1922) known for the
Decauville system introduced 1875
*
Everard Calthrop (1857–1927) known for the
Barsi Light Railway opened 1897; gauge.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgibbon, Abraham
1823 births
1887 deaths
Australian railway mechanical engineers
Australian people in rail transport
Rail transport in Queensland
Railway commissioners of Queensland