John Vipond Davies

John Vipond Davies (October 13, 1862 – October 4, 1939) was a Welsh civil engineer and an expert in the design and construction of tunnels. He is primarily known for his work on projects in the United States, where he lived from 1889 until his death. Davies originally came to America to work on projects for Charles M. Jacobs and the two engineers formed the consulting engineering partnership of Jacobs & Davies in 1896. Davies was associated with the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad for a period of 37 years; he designed and constructed several components of its rapid transit system, including its tunnels under the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey and its extensions in Manhattan and New Jersey. Later in his career, Davies served as a consulting engineer in an advisory role on the planning of major infrastructure projects across the United States.

Early life John Vipond Davies was born in Swansea, Wales, on October 13, 1862, to Andrew and Emily Vipond Davies . His father was a surgeon and a justice of the peace and his mother was the niece of John Vipond, a prominent owner of coal mines in Varteg, Wales. His parents had a total of ten children—four sons and six daughters. John Vipond Davies was their oldest son and he was named after his great-uncle. From 1880 to 1884, he worked as an apprentice at the firm of Parfitt & Jenkins in Cardiff, where he gained experience in the manufacture of engines, railway equipment and fire brick, as well the construction of dry docks and the mining of coal, iron ore, and limestone. He then worked at the Blaenavon Coal and Iron Company, eventually being promoted to the level of chief assistant engineer in 1888.

Davies came to the United States in 1889, where he constructed an experimental plant for the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company (P&R C&I) near Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania that manufactured coal briquette from anthracite culm. He performed the work for the English civil engineer Charles M. Jacobs, who in turn was working for Austin Corbin. Davies later managed Corbin's mining plants in the Anthracite Coal Region of Pennsylvania. The two engineers would form a partnership in 1896; their firm was named Jacobs & Davies. (The firm's first project involved the construction of a pumping plant for the Montauk Water Company that could produce of water per day from artesian wells for the LIRR.) The firm of Jacobs & Davies was also involved with preliminary studies for the Pennsylvania Railroad's system of tunnels under the East and Hudson rivers.

Davis pictured along Jacobs, William McAdoo and others in the first party to go through the Uptown Hudson Tubes. The firm was then selected to complete the partially-built Uptown Hudson Tubes, which were holed through in 1904 and were the first tunnels completed under the Hudson River. which provided a connection between three railroad terminals in New Jersey and Manhattan. (The three railroad terminals included the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad terminal in Hoboken, the Erie Railroad terminal in Jersey City, and the Pennsylvania Railroad terminal in Jersey City.) He was also the engineer-in-charge of the contractors working on the excavation for Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan for the New York Central Railroad. a board of advisors that investigated the feasibility of constructing a crossing of the Mississippi River at New Orleans, In 1921, Davies traveled to California along with Ralph Modjeski to investigate the engineering challenges associated with constructing a crossing of San Francisco Bay and suggest a feasible solution; Davies and Modjeski were invited for their expertise in tunnels and bridges, respectively. The two engineers recommended a combination of a tunnel and a bridge between San Francisco and Oakland.

Professional societies and awards Davies was elected as a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) on June 6, 1894; Davies was the recipient of three awards from ASCE, including the Norman Medal in 1913 for his paper on "Air Resistances to Trains in Tube Tunnels", the Thomas Fitch Rowland Prize in 1917 for his paper on "The Astoria Tunnel under the East River for Gas Distribution in New York City",

He was elected as member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1910, from which he was awarded the Telford Medal in 1914 for his paper on "Extensions of the Hudson River Tunnels of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Company". (Davies had previously lived in Pottsville while he was constructing the plant for the P&R C&I.) In 1907, while on his way to work, Davies risked his life to save a group of school children in Flushing from a team of runaway horses; he was confined to his bed for several weeks after the accident, which broke his hip and resulted in internal injuries.

He served as president of the St. George's Society of New York from 1922 to 1923 and served on the board of governors for the Railroad Club of New York for several years. Davies was also a member of the Engineers' Club of New York and the Pilgrims of the United States.

Davies died of a heart attack at his home in Flushing on October 4, 1939. He is buried at Presbyterian Cemetery in Pottsville.

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