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cities, for all of which he was thoroughly fitted, by virtue of his energy, industry, and versatile talent. Whether working as a blacksmith, a fitter, or a boilermaker, his work was well done, and was always characterised by the touch of originality which distinguishes the man born to command from one made only to obey. To do everything he undertook well, to forsake the grooves prescribed by established handicraft, for new and bolder ways, and never to avoid a menial task that might accompany the undertaking in hand, was characteristic of Mr. Arrol. Speaking recently to some of his friends who presented him with a mark of their esteem, he said: "Whatever I went to I put my whole mind to. Sometimes I was sent to clean flues instead of repairing the boilers, but I never shirked the duty." It is in this that lies one of the chief causes of his success, "that he never shirked his duty." It was inevitable that Mr. Arrol should rise and rise quickly; before long he changed from the man-of-all-work to the foreman of the bridge and boiler departments, in the works of Messrs. Laidlaw and Sons, of Glasgow and Edinburgh. Here he remained for some years, gaining the experience which was necessary for his coming advancement. Twenty years ago the time arrived when he considered himself justified in making his first and independent venture, and he boldly launched himself as a contractor and repairing engineer, with the munificent capital of 85l—the savings of his life. Success was certain, though Mr. Arrol did not know it, because he had the good fortune to possess the elements that, when combined, command success. It is interesting to know that twenty years ago he purchased his first engine for 18l., his first boiler for 25l., and the few tools he could afford, and which we may be sure he knew how to select to the best advantage, and how to turn to the best account. How many times during the last few years must Mr. Arrol have recalled this, his first poor but all-important venture, as he walked through the enormous shops and works he laid down to carry out the Forth Bridge contract. For two years after he started in business for himself, Mr. Arrol's life was that which has been led by thousands of other men under similar circumstances, a period of hope and disappointment, of waiting made tolerable only by patience and determination to succeed. In his case, however, success came early, and within three years he had advanced so far in means and reputation, that he was intrusted with the contract for iron bridges on the Glasgow, Hamilton, and Bothwell Railway, one of them being a very large structure spanning the Clyde. Then followed the erection of another important bridge over the Clyde adjoining the Glasgow Central Station of the Caledonian Railway, and it was for this work that Mr. Arrol devised a number of special machines for drilling and rivetting up work, which, with necessary modifications, were so largely used on the Forth Bridge. The Forth Bridge Company in 1873 entered into a contract with Messrs. W. Arrol and Co. for carrying out Sir Thomas Bouch's design, and when the scheme was abandoned, after the failure of the Tay Bridge, the reconstruction of this work came into Mr. Arrol's hands, and was carried out by him between the years 1882 and 1887. In the mean time Sir John Fowler and Mr. Baker had decided that they could safely place the most important part of the work of the Forth Bridge contract in Mr. Arrol's hands, and it is needless to say that Mr. Arrol has justified the confidence which the engineers placed in him.
From a photograph by John Feryut, Largs.
MR. WILLIAM ARROL.
Mr. Travers Falkiner.
Mr. Travers H. Falkiner is a member of a well-known family long since settled in Ireland, of which his brother Richard Falkiner, of Mount Falcon, County Tipperary, is the head; he has been a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers since 1863. Like Sir Thomas Tailored, he was a pupil of the the late George Willoughby Hemans, and until the death of that well-known engineer, was closely associated with him in professional work, as assistant, representative, and finally as partner, together with Sir Thomas Tancred, in conjunction with whom he acted as consulting engineer to the New Zealand Government. In 1876 this connection was extended by Mr. Falkiner and Sir Thomas Tancred becoming contractors on a large scale, and together they executed many important works, including railways, harbours, piers, water works, sewage works, and arterial drainage. Previous to his taking up a part of the Forth Bridge contract, he had carried out for Sir John Fowler and Mr. Baker, the Limerick and Kerry Railway, the Tralee and Ferrit Railway and harbour, and the Didcot, Newbury, and Southampton Railway, works amounting to 1,500,000l. Amongst other undertakings completed by him in Ireland, are the Dungarvon and Lismore Railway; the Killorglin Railway and water works for Waterford, Wexford; and the Rathmines and Rathgon townships, Dublin. Although in important practice as a contractor, Mr. Falkiner has never abandoned his connection as a civil engineer, and has been associated in that capacity with several works of considerable importance.
Mr. Joseph Phillips.
The fourth member of the firm of contractors for the Forth Bridge, Mr. Joseph Phillips, commenced his professional career in 1844, as a pupil to Messrs. Grissell, of London, and after serving his time he entered the service of Messrs. Fox, Henderson and Co., who were then building the Exhibition of 1851. When the firm erected the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, Mr. Phillips acted as one of their outdoor superintendents, and he afterwards was in charge of the construction and erection of Newark Dyke Bridge, on the Great Northern Railway, the largest ever constructed on the Warren truss principle. His next work was the Birmingham Railway Station roof, which is of 212-ft. span, and at that time was by far the largest roof in existence. Since then Mr. Phillips has frequently been consulted by engineers on the subject of large-span roofs, and has carried many into execution. While still in the employment of Messrs. Fox and Henderson he paid much attention to the system of sinking caissons by compressed air, invented by Mr. Hughes, and first adopted in constructing the foundations of the Rochester Bridge by Messrs. Fox, Henderson, and Co.
Mr. Phillips joined the firm of Messrs. Cochrane and Co., of Dudley, in 1856, as their manager, and he subsequently undertook for them the erection of such well-known structures as Westminster Bridge, and the Charing Cross and Cannon-street railway bridges over the Thames. He was also associated with the same firm in the construction of the bridge across the Mersey at Runcorn. Further recognition of his ability came with the adoption of his patent for wrought-iron caisson cofferdams, put down by open sinking or by compressed air, for the most difficult parts of the Thames Embankment, and, by the Government, at the Spithead forts. Later on he was associated with the late Mr. T. Parry in the contract for the Central Railway Station and line at Liverpool, and the Whitehaven Docks. He afterwards carried out by himself the contracts for the Campos Bridge over the River Para, for the Brazilian Government; the extension of the Derby Water Works (under Mr. Hawkesley), and the Great Western Dock at Plymouth, for the Great Western Railway Company. The foregoing are only some of the works upon which Mr. Phillips has been engaged, but, of course, he has besides undertaken many others, for which much skill and ability were necessary.
Mr. Phillips' career has been all the more remarkable because he was removed from active life for a long while by a very serious illness, at a time when he was busily engaged upon important matters, and which, after his recovery, left him in a much less advantageous position for progress than he had formerly occupied. Since the starting
