Sir Topham Hatt I

**Sir Topham Hatt I** (12th May 1880 - 4th July 1956) was the first controller of the North Western Railway from 1914 to 1954.

## Personal Details

### Spouse

Jane Brown (married from 1910 until Topham's death in 1956)

## Job Life

### Places Worked

Swindon Works, United Kingdom (1894 - 1901)A. W. Dry & Co., Sodor (1901 - 1914)

North Western Railway, Sodor (1914 - 1954)

### Occupation

Swindon Works Engineer (1894 - 1901)A. W. Dry & Co. Engineer (1901 - 1910)

Chief Engineer (1910 - 1914)

NWR Controller (1914 - 1954)

## Biography

### Early Life (1880 - 1900)

Topham was born on 12th May 1880 in Chichester, United Kingdom. He was apprenticed at the Great Western Railway's Swindon Works in 1894 at the age of fourteen. During his time there, he seems to have struck up a friendship with William A. Stanier (1876 - 1965), a fellow apprentice. Topham was able to help William escape the consequences of what might have been a serious scrape. Due to his training at Swindon, he always admired things Great Western.

### Working on Sodor (1901 - 1914)

He came to Sodor in 1901 and joined A. W. Dry & Co., a firm of drainage engineers, at Tidmouth. For A.W. Dry & Co., he built a series of four vertical boiler engines known as Coffee Pots between 1905 and 1908, which were used by the TK&ER. After an Autumn gale in 1908, he directed unemployed miners in cutting a tunnel through the ridge south of Tidmouth.

He married Lady Jane Brown (1881 - 1984), sister of Sir Handel Brown (1875 - 1950) in 1910 and they had two children, Barbara Jane (1911 - 2010), who married Henry Regaby (1908 - 1998) in 1938 and Charles Topham (1914 -- 1997).

On A. W. Dry & Co.'s recommendation, he became Chief Engineer to the Tidmouth, Knapford and Elsbridge Light Railway in 1910, the Tidmouth, Wellsworth & Suddery in 1912 and the North Western Railway upon its formation in 1914.

### Controller Period (1914 - 1954)

In 1914, he was appointed as "Director" of the North Western Railway by the Railway Board. The first engine bought for the railway was Thomas, an LBSCR E2 tank engine, who was built to help out with the line extensions. In 1916, Topham purchased Edward for delivering passengers around the island, and purchased Fredrick a year later. In 1920, he bought Ralph to pull the Express services.

The railway survived through World War I in the 1910s, but had to send some engines back to save money. Luckily, the Government backed Topham up. When the Railway was suffering from a locomotive crisis in the early 1920s, he was responsible for acquiring new engines. During this time, he made one of his rare bad bargains when he purchased Henry in 1922 instead of the Robinson Atlantic he wanted. He remembered the mistake with sorrow for the rest of his days and was so angry at having been “done” that he would never admit who it was who had swindled him. In the same year, he purchased 98462 and 87546 to help out with the railway, and in 1923, he purchased Gordon for Express services. He then downgraded Edward to the sheds, but let him out again. In 1924, Henry refused to come out of a tunnel, so he shut him in the tunnel, leading to critism. Topham then had to let Henry out to avoid more controversial. In 1925, he purchased James, who was a failed prototype. He was involved in an accident, which Thomas helped to clear it up. As a reward, Topham rewarded Thomas the Ffarquhar Branch Line all to himself.

No one was better pleased than Topham Hatt when the Killdane accident occurred in 1935. Using his connections with William Stanier, now CME of the LMS, he was able to have Henry completely rebuilt at Crewe Works. In 1938, the big engines went on strike, so Topham had to purchase Percy to do the shunting in the yard.

The railway managed to cope through the Great Depression in the 1930s and boomed through World War II. In 1940, a writer known as Wilbert Awdry (1911 - 1997) visited the railway to interview Topham. Topham told him about the stories of the railway up until then, and Awdry used the stories about Edward, Gordon and Henry to entertain his son, Christopher (1940 - ). The stories were then published into a book in 1945, making the railway very successful.

In 1951, Topham went on a holiday to England with his grandchildren, Stephen and Bridget, and met Toby on an old line, which was due to shut down. Topham quickly purchased Toby from the owners and sent Toby to work with Thomas on Ffarquhar Branch Line.

In 1953, when Queen Elizabeth II (1926 - ) visited Sodor in Coronation year he had the honour of welcoming her to Tidmouth, having been previously presented to Her Majesty by Viscount "Henry Regaby" Harwick, the Governor, who was also his son-in-law. In the same year, two people named Michael Smith (1899 - 1976) and Richard Davis (1902 - 1997), who were from a company known as *Buy 'n' Large Inc.*, approached him with a contract to be allowed to settle on Sodor and to sell all railway supplies needed, and to handle the repair shops. Topham refused and ripped up the contract, sending them out of his office.

### Retirement and Death (1954 - 1956)

He retired in 1954 in favour of his son Charles, whom the Board had no hesitation in electing as his successor. It is no exaggeration to say that the present prosperity of the Railway is almost entirely due to his initiative and resource. He was invited by Walt Disney in 1955 to oversee the production of *Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier*. He died at Wellsworth in 1956 at the age of 76. He was given a massive funeral at Tidmouth, and all the engines attended.

## Engines Acquired During Controller Period (1914 - 1954)

* Thomas (1914)
* Edward (1916)
* Fredrick (1917)
* Ralph (1920, sent away in 1924)
* Henry (1922)
* 98462 and 87546 (1922, sent away in 1923)
* Gordon (1923)
* James (1925)
* Percy (1938)
* Toby (1951)