Abram Fitzgibbon
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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 The Dun Mountain Railway was a privately owned and operated Narrow gauge railway, narrow gauge, long List of horse-drawn railways, horse-drawn Tramway (mineral), tramway from chromite mines in the vicinity of Duppa Lode on the eastern slopes ...
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 Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Queensland Rail is owned by the Queensland Government, and operates both suburban and interurban rail services in South East Queensland, as well as long-distance passenger t ...
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 Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It had a population of 25,328 in the 2011 census, rising to 28,416 in the 2021 census, an increase of 12.19%. This makes Bushey the second most populated town ...
,
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 Railways with a track gauge of were first constructed as horse-drawn wagonways. The first intercity passenger railway to use 3 ft 6 in was constructed in Norway by Carl Abraham Pihl. From the mid-nineteenth century, the gauge beca ...
Other narrow gauge pioneers in order of influence: *
Carl Abraham Pihl Carl Abraham Pihl (16 January 1825 – 14 September 1897) was a Norwegian civil engineer and director of the Norwegian State Railways (NSB) from 1865 until his death. Pihl was one of the main architects of the use of narrow-gauge railways in Nor ...
(1825–1897) known for the
Norwegian Railways The Norwegian railway system comprises 4,109 km of (standard gauge) track of which 2,644 km is electrified and 274 km double track. There are 697 tunnels and 2,760 bridges. The Norwegian Railway Directorate manages the railw ...
opened 1863; * Robert Fairlie (1831-1885) known for the
Fairlie locomotive A Fairlie locomotive is a type of articulated locomotive, articulated steam locomotive that has the driving wheels on bogies. It was invented by Robert Francis Fairlie. The locomotive may be double-ended (a double Fairlie) or single ended (a s ...
on
Festiniog Railway The Ffestiniog Railway () is a heritage railway based on Narrow-gauge railway, narrow-gauge, located in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a major tourist attraction located mainly within the Snowdonia#Snowdonia National Park, Snowdonia National Park. The ...
introduced about 1865. gauge. * Thomas Hall (1823-1889) known for the
Namaqualand Railway The Namaqualand Railway was a narrow gauge railway operating between Port Nolloth and O'okiep in the Namaqualand region of the former Cape Colony in South Africa. It was originally a mule-drawn railway built to provide an outlet for the copper m ...
built 1868; gauge *
Paul Decauville Paul Decauville (; 7 June 1846–1922) was a French engineer and businessman. He was also mayor of Evry-Petit Bourg and senator from Seine-et-Oise. He is the founder of a manufacturing company that bears his name ( Decauville, established in 187 ...
(1846–1922) known for the
Decauville Decauville () was a manufacturing company which was founded by Paul Decauville (1846–1922), a French pioneer in industrial railways. Decauville's major innovation was the use of ready-made sections of light, narrow-gauge track fastened to st ...
system introduced 1875 *
Everard Calthrop Everard Richard Calthrop (3 March 1857 – 30 March 1927) was a British railway engineer and inventor. Calthrop was a notable promoter and builder of narrow-gauge railways, especially of narrow gauge, and was especially prominent in India. His ...
(1857–1927) known for the
Barsi Light Railway Barsi Light Railway (BLR) was a long, narrow-gauge railway between Miraj and Latur in the state of Maharashtra in India. It was designed by British engineer Everard Calthrop, and regarded as having revolutionised narrow-gauge railway con ...
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