Murdoch Paterson (September 1826 – 9 August 1898) was an engineer and architect based in

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histo ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, who was chief engineer of the

Highland Railway The Highland Railway (HR) was one of the smaller British railways before the Railways Act 1921, operating north of Perth railway station in Scotland and serving the farthest north of Britain. Based in Inverness, the company was formed by mer ...

Background

He was born in September 1826, one of five sons of Donald Paterson (1778-1851), farmer, at Dell of Inshes, Inverness, and Elizabeth Munro(1789–1847). He was educated at

Inverness Royal Academy Inverness Royal Academy is a comprehensive secondary school in the city of Inverness in the Highland area of Scotland. A former grammar school with a history dating back to the 13th century, the Academy became a comprehensive in the mid-1970s. ...

, and initially worked as a wine merchant in Inverness. His elder brother, William Paterson, was also an engineer.

Career

In 1846, he became articled to

Joseph Mitchell Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

, the Inspector of Highland Roads and Bridges, and surveyor of railways in the Highlands. In 1851 he worked on expanding the Port of Inverness, and from 1854 worked with Joseph Mitchell on the construction of new lines for the Highland Railway, including Inverness to Keith. In 1862, Joseph Mitchell set up a partnership with William and Murdoch Paterson, as ''Joseph Mitchell and Company''. Mitchell retired in 1867, and Murdoch became chief engineer of the Highland Railway on 6 November 1874. As well as engineering the construction of new lines for the Highland Railway, he also prepared the designs of many new stations. He died on 9 August 1898 whilst still in post, just three months before the opening of the new line from Inverness to Aviemore. His estate was valued at £10,611 ().

Wives and children

He married Jane MacCallum (1826 - 1868) in January 1852. They had two children: *Elizabeth Paterson (1853 - 1933) *Donald Paterson (1854 - 1885). He married Frances Wiles (1837 - 1906) in London in 1870 and they also had two children: *Violet Mary J Paterson (b. 1875) *Murdoch William Paterson (1877 - 1880).

Main works

Gallery

Tain railway station in 1991.jpg, Tain railway station Dunkeld & Birnam station geograph-3870417-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg, Dunkeld & Birnam station Blair Atholl Station 1828415 9ca9a92c.jpg, Blair Atholl Station Nairn railway station, August 2013.JPG, Nairn railway station The Old Station Strathpeffer.jpg, Strathpeffer station Dingwall station - geograph.org.uk - 869066.jpg, Dingwall station Redcastle Old Railway Station - geograph.org.uk - 363097.jpg, Redcastle Railway Station Burghead railway station 1939712 15041401.jpg, Burghead railway station Viaduct at Clava - geograph.org.uk - 13951.jpg, Culloden Viaduct View of Tomatin railway viaduct - geograph.org.uk - 1546308.jpg, Tomatin railway viaduct Aultnaslanach Railway Viaduct Moy Inverness Scotland (4592476065).jpg, Aultnaslanach Railway Viaduct Plockton Station - geograph.org.uk - 1020459.jpg, Plockton Station Slochd Viaduct - geograph.org.uk - 663720.jpg, Slochd Mhuic Railway Viaduct

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paterson, Murdoch 19th-century Scottish architects Scottish civil engineers Highland Railway People educated at Inverness Royal Academy 1826 births 1898 deaths British railway architects