Frank Ayton (10 January 1873,

Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden nearby, and close to Hadrian's Wall. Hexham was the administra ...

– 24 January 1956) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

. He was a pioneer of

electric vehicles An electric vehicle (EV) is a motor vehicle whose propulsion is powered fully or mostly by electricity. EVs encompass a wide range of transportation modes, including road vehicle, road and rail vehicles, electric boats and Submersible, submer ...

. He was a founder of the Electrical Vehicle Committee of Great Britain, later the

Electric Vehicle Association of Great Britain The Electric Vehicle Association of Great Britain (EVA) was an organisation of the manufacturers of electric vehicles An electric vehicle (EV) is a motor vehicle whose propulsion is powered fully or mostly by electricity. EVs encompass a wid ...

. He edited the journal ''Electric Vehicle''. Frank was born in

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

, and attended the

Imperial Service College The Imperial Service College (ISC) was an English independent school based in Windsor, originally known as St. Mark's School when it was founded in 1845. In 1906, St Mark’s School absorbed boys from the former United Services College, which ...

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...

. He then studied at

Finsbury Technical College The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded on 11 November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies to develop a national system of technical education, the institute has bee ...

before working for

Siemens Brothers Siemens Brothers and Company Limited was an electrical engineering design and manufacturing business in London, England. It was first established as a branchThe company started with a small factory at 12 Millbank Row, Westminster SW1, London, ne ...

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

. He worked on the Waterloo and City Line before being taken on by

Alexander Kennedy Sir Alexander Blackie William Kennedy Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS, FRGS (17 March 1847 – 1 November 1928), better known simply as Alexander Kennedy, was a leading British civil engineer, civil and electrical engineer and academic. A mem ...

to work on various

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

and

electric traction Railway electrification is the use of electric power for the propulsion of rail transport. Electric railways use either electric locomotives (hauling passengers or freight in separate cars), electric multiple units (passenger cars with their own ...

projects. Ayton was a member of the

Institute of Transport The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) is a professional body representing the transport and logistics industries worldwide. It is a membership-based organisation with over 30,000 members in over 40 countries. This i ...

. Ayton was a managing director of

Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies Limited was a major United Kingdom, British agricultural machinery maker also producing a wide range of general engineering products in Ipswich, Suffolk including traction engines, trolleybuses, ploughs, lawn mowers, ...

Works

*
Electric Vehicles for Brewery Service
, '' Journal of the Institute of Brewing'', Vol. 26 No. 3 March 1920 pp 113–133 *
Applications of Engineering to Agriculture
, ''Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers'', Volume: 111 issue: 1, June 1926, page(s): 683-720
"The Electric Trolley Bus"
''

The Commercial Motor ''Commercial Motor'' is a weekly magazine serving the road transport industry in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1905 by Edmund Dangerfield, it is notable for having been "the first journal to be devoted exclusively to the commercial vehicle eng ...

'', 30 October 1928 pp.45-6

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayton, Frank English electrical engineers 1873 births 1956 deaths