Robert Sinclair

Robert Sinclair (1 July 1817 – 20 October 1898) was born in London but came from a Caithness family. He became Chief Mechanical Engineer of several British railways and also worked in France. He retired to Italy, where he died.

Career Early years He was apprenticed to a shipbuilder and later worked for Robert Stephenson, the Grand Junction Railway and the Paris and Rouen Railway.

Consulting engineer Sinclair resigned from the GER 1865, and became a consulting engineer. In this capacity, he designed a fast 2-4-2 locomotive for the Great Luxemburg Railway, and an outside cylinder 2-4-0 for the East Indian Railway. The Luxembourg 2-4-2 design was later adapted into a 2-4-2T for commuter services on the GER.

Locomotive designs Caledonian, see Locomotives of the Caledonian Railway ECR/GER, see Locomotives of the Great Eastern Railway

Innovations Sinclair was an early user of: the Giffard injector the use of steel for railway axles and wheel tyres roller bearings for carriages