Edward Fletcher was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 engineer, and locomotive superintendent of the North Eastern Railway

North Eastern Railway (UK)

The North Eastern Railway , was an English railway company. It was incorporated in 1854, when four existing companies were combined, and was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923...

 (NER). He was born in Northumberland

Northumberland

Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

.

Career

He was apprenticed to George Stephenson

George Stephenson

George Stephenson was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who built the first public railway line in the world to use steam locomotives...

 and helped with the construction of Stephenson's Rocket

Stephenson's Rocket

Stephenson's Rocket was an early steam locomotive of 0-2-2 wheel arrangement, built in Newcastle Upon Tyne at the Forth Street Works of Robert Stephenson and Company in 1829.- Design innovations :...

 and the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway

Canterbury and Whitstable Railway

The Canterbury and Whitstable Railway, sometimes referred to colloquially as the Crab and Winkle Line, was an early British railway that opened in 1830 between Canterbury and Whitstable in the county of Kent, England.- Early history :...

. He helped with the construction of the York and North Midland Railway

York and North Midland Railway

The York and North Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom which opened in 1839, connecting York, with the Leeds and Selby Railway and in 1840 with the North Midland Railway at Normanton near Leeds.-Origins:...

, and then became locomotive superintendent of the Newcastle and Darlington Junction Railway in 1845. When the N&DJR became part of the North Eastern Railway in 1854, Fletcher became its locomotive superintendent until his retirement in 1882. He was succeeded by Alexander McDonnell

Alexander McDonnell (engineer)

Alexander McDonnell was an Irish locomotive engineer and civil engineer. He was born in Dublin on 18 December 1829 and died in Holyhead on 14 December 1904. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, where he graduated with an Honours degree in Mathematics...

.

Locomotive designs

Fletcher's locomotive designs for the North Eastern Railway included:

• NER Bogie Tank Passenger
  NER Bogie Tank Passenger
  The North Eastern Railway Bogie Tank Passenger locomotives were designed by Edward Fletcher in 1873. The locomotives were for hauling passenger services on branch lines. They had an 0-4-4 wheel layout and were later designated as G6. A total of 124 G6s were built.With the introduction of the NER...
  
  
• NER 901 Class
  NER 901 Class
  The NER 901 Class was a class of 2-4-0 steam locomotive of the North Eastern Railway. Between 1872-1882 55 of the class were built for the NER....
  
   2-4-0
• NER 1001 Class
  NER 1001 Class
  The North Eastern Railway 1001 Class was a class of "long-boiler" 0-6-0 steam locomotive designed in Britain.-Technical data:A NER 1001 class locomotive weighed about 35 tons, with a wheelbase of and diameter driven wheels. Its diameter boiler produced over 7 tons of tractive effort at 140...
  
   0-6-0

External links

• http://www.lner.info/eng/fletcher.shtml
• http://www.steamindex.com/people/fletcher.htm