F. A. Fitzbayne
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Frederick Andrew Fitzpayne AMIEE (1878–1935) was a British electrical and transport engineer responsible for building Scotland's first electric tram system and running the Edinburgh Corporation Tramway system.


Life

He was born in southern England on 23 September 1878. He was educated at All Saints School in Bloxham in
Devonshire Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the wes ...
. He then studied electrical engineering at
Faraday House Faraday House Electrical Engineering College was created to train engineers in power engineering, power generation and distribution. It was set up at a time before engineering was widely taught at universities, founded as an adjunct to a commerc ...
in London receiving his diploma in 1897. He served an apprenticeship at Browett Lindley & Co in Manchester before moving to
Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...
to be involved in his first tramway project for the South London Electric Supply Corporation. In 1900 he moved to
Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...
working on the installation of electricity under a private company. In 1902 he entered municipal life, when the town council took over the role of installing electric street lights and a tramway. He was Chief Assistant overseeing these projects in both Great Yarmouth and Gorleston. In 1906 he transferred to
Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...
Corporation in Scotland to oversee the installation there of Scotland's first electric tram, creating 6 miles of track. In 1909 he was promoted to General Manager of the Leith Tramways. In 1920 Leith and Edinburgh were amalgamated. In 1921 he became Deputy Transport Manager and in 1929 he became full Transport Manager for all Edinburgh. He was also General Manager of the Edinburgh Tramway Corporation. During this period Edinburgh's trams were converted from cable-drawn to electricity, and the rolling stock was changed from timber and iron to fully steel construction. Profit of the transport system increased by 50% in this period. He lived at 5 Smiths Place, off
Leith Walk Leith Walk is one of the longest streets in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is the main road connecting the east end of the city centre to Leith. Forming most of the A900 road, it slopes downwards from Picardy Place at the south-western end of the str ...
. In 1932 he chaired a national conference on motor transport held at the Atholl Palace Hotel in
Pitlochry Pitlochry (; or ) is a town in the Perth and Kinross council area of Scotland, lying on the River Tummel. It is historically in the county of Perthshire, and has a population of 2,776, according to the 2011 census.Scotland's 2011 census. (n.p. ...
. He died on 3 March 1935 and is buried in
Rosebank Cemetery Rosebank Cemetery is a 19th-century List of graveyards and cemeteries in Edinburgh, cemetery in Edinburgh, Scotland, at the junction of Pilrig Street and Broughton Road in the Pilrig area, close to the historical boundary of Leith. The cemeter ...
in northern Edinburgh. His toppled stone lies to the south of the
Christian Salvesen Christian Salvesen was a Scottish whaling, transport and logistics company with a long and varied history, employing 13,000 staff and operating in seven countries in western Europe. In December 2007, it was acquired by France, French listed tr ...
monument. Following his death, his house at Smiths Place was demolished to make way for a faux-Georgian infill by
Ebenezer James MacRae Ebenezer James MacRae (18 January 1881 – 15 January 1951) was a Scottish people, Scottish architect serving as City Architect for Edinburgh for most of his active life. Life He was the son of Rev Alexander MacRae of the Free Church of Scotl ...
operating as offices and social club for the teamworks (which were located to the rear).


Family

He was married to Emily Daisy Hall (d.1967). His son, Eric Fitzpayne, was General Manager of Glasgow Corporation Transport.Scotsman (newspaper) obituary of Alan Fitspayne, 21 March 2006 In 1962 his grandson, Alan Fitzpayne, aged only 13, was given the honour of running the last tram through the streets of
Clydebank Clydebank () is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Milton beyond) to the w ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzpayne, Frederick Andrew 1878 births 1935 deaths British electrical engineers Transport engineers Edinburgh Trams