James Cholmeley Russell (26 June 1841 – 29 August 1912) was a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

financier An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital the investor usually purchases some species of property. Types of in ...

property developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw Real Estate, land and the sale of developed land or parce ...

, and railway entrepreneur. He was a key

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of corporate stock refers to an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the ...

, and eventually receiver, of the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways Company from which the

Welsh Highland Railway The Welsh Highland Railway (WHR; ) is a restored Narrow-gauge railway, narrow-gauge heritage railway in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. It runs from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, and passes through a number of popular tourist destinations includi ...

ultimately emerged. He was a business associate of the engineer, Sir James Weeks Szlumper. Russell was involved at one time or another with various other railway schemes including the

Manchester and Milford Railway The Manchester and Milford Railway was a Welsh railway company, intended to connect Manchester and the industrial areas of North West England with a deep-water port on Milford Haven, giving an alternative to the Port of Liverpool. Despite the ...

and the Vale of Rheidol. He was an alumnus of

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

(1855–1859) and a graduate (1864) of

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

External links

Blogspot biography of James Cholmeley Russell
1841 births 1912 deaths People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford British financiers British railway entrepreneurs 19th-century British businesspeople {{UK-business-bio-1840s-stub