Edgar Craven Bredin facts for kids

Edgar Craven Bredin (born 16 April 1886, died 5 August 1950) was an important Irish engineer. He designed and built railway engines (locomotives) and later managed railway companies.

Edgar was born in Canterbury, England. He went to school at Mountjoy School in Dublin, Ireland. In 1905, he started learning his trade as an engineer at a company called Fielding & Platt in Gloucester. This was like an apprenticeship, where he learned practical skills.

Working with Railways

Starting at Inchicore Works

In 1907, Edgar Bredin joined the Great Southern and Western Railway. He worked at their main engineering base, known as Inchicore Works. This is where trains were built and repaired.

He quickly moved up the ranks. By 1916, he became the Assistant Works Manager. This meant he helped run the busy Inchicore Works. In 1925, he was promoted to Works Manager, taking charge of the entire operation.

Leading Railway Companies

In 1925, the Great Southern and Western Railway joined with other companies. They formed a new, bigger company called the Great Southern Railways (GSR). Edgar Bredin continued his important work there.

From 1937 to 1942, he was the Chief Mechanical Engineer for the GSR. This meant he was in charge of designing, building, and maintaining all the railway's engines and rolling stock. After this, he became the General Manager of the GSR. This was the top job, overseeing everything the railway did.

On 1 January 1945, the GSR became part of a new national transport company called Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). Edgar Bredin became the General Manager of CIÉ in the same year. He retired at the end of 1946. He passed away in Dublin on 5 August 1950.

Designing Locomotives

Edgar Bredin is famous for bringing the biggest steam locomotives ever seen on Irish railways. These were the GSR Class 800 engines. They were special because they had three cylinders and a wheel arrangement known as 4-6-0. This means they had four small wheels at the front, six large driving wheels in the middle, and no wheels at the back.

These powerful engines were designed by Bredin's team, especially his Chief Draughtsman, H J A Beaumont. Each of these locomotives weighed more than 130 tonnes! To give you an idea, that's about 20 tonnes heavier than the 201 Class, which is currently the largest diesel engine running on the Iarnród Éireann network today.