P006958 revised AU-VU:EOAS Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation

All key entry types: Awards; Concepts; Corporate Bodies (Organisations); Cultural Artefacts; People; etc

These key entries are listed separately below with other indexes and lists.

 English AACR2 Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules Person created 2022-05-17 human Helen Cohn updated 2022-05-19 human https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P006958b.htm person Sheilds Francis Webb AACR2 Wentworth-Shields, Francis Webb 8 October 1820 18 January 1906 Place of Birth Ireland Place of Death Southampton, United Kingdom Engineer Francis Sheilds was an engineer with experience of building railways in Britain before he came to Australia. Between 1843 and 1849 he was Engineer to the Sydney City Council, working largely on water projects. He then became Engineer for the Sydney Railway Company before the railway was opened to the public. The first line constructed, that between Sydney and Parramatta, was built on the alignment he selected. Sheilds was a strong advocate for the 5ft 3 inch gauge. His recommendation was adopted by the Company (and in the other Australian colonies) but rescinded after his resignation in favour of the 4ft 8 inch gauge proposed by his successor, James Wallace. New South Wales railways thus did not connect with those in other colonies. On returning to the United Kingdom in 1851, Sheilds resumed working for his former employer, Charles Vignoles. Sheilds was involved with a number of projects, including the Crystal Palace, in which he sought solutions to the design of iron beams and framed girders. His book is The strains on structures of iron work was published in 1861. 1843 1849 Career position - City Surveyor, Sydney City Council 1849 1850 Career position - Engineer, Sydney Railway Company February 1851 February 1851 Life event - Returned to the United Kingdom 'Sheilds, Francis Webb', in Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology Sheilds, Francis Webb Swinburne University of Technology, Centre for Transformative Innovation Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Book: The building of the Sydney Railway: the known story of the work of six men - a naval surveyor, four engineers, and the contractor who, with many others built the first railway from Sydney to Parramatta, 1848 - 1857 Hagarty, Donald The building of the Sydney Railway: the known story of the work of six men - a naval surveyor, four engineers, and the contractor who, with many others built the first railway from Sydney to Parramatta, 1848 - 1857 Redfern, N.S.W. Australian Railway Historical Society, New South Wales Division 2005 Journal Article: A book by Francis Sheilds: an amazing addition to ARHSnsw Archive Phippen, Bill A book by Francis Sheilds: an amazing addition to ARHSnsw Archive 2021 Engineering heritage Australia magazine 3 7 20-2