engineering

Thomas William Worsdell

Thomas William Worsdell is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Thomas William Worsdell rather than just read about it. In short: Thomas William Worsdell (14 January 1838 – 28 June 1916) was an English locomotive engineer. He was born in Liverpool into a Quaker family.

Key takeaways

Thomas William Worsdell belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Thomas William Worsdell to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Thomas William Worsdell from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Thomas William Worsdell (14 January 1838 – 28 June 1916) was an English locomotive engineer. He was born in Liverpool into a Quaker family.

Family T. W. Worsdell – normally known as William – was the eldest son of Nathaniel Worsdell (1809–1886), and grandson of the coachbuilder Thomas Clarke Worsdell (1788–1862). His younger brother, Wilson Worsdell (1850–1920), was also a locomotive engineer. T. C. Worsdell had become a Quaker at some point between 1812 and 1816, and his descendants, including Nathaniel, William and Wilson, were brought up in the Quaker faith. William was born at his parents' house in Liverpool on 14 January 1838. He began school at the age of two, and in 1847 was sent as a boarder to Ackworth, a Quaker school in Yorkshire, where he remained until 1852.

Career He worked at the Crewe Works of the LNWR under John Ramsbottom but in 1865 moved to the United States to the Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1871 he was invited by Francis William Webb to return to Crewe. In 1881 he was appointed locomotive superintendent of the Great Eastern Railway, but in 1885 moved to the North Eastern Railway, being replaced at the GER by James Holden. He retired from the NER on 1 October 1890 due to ill health and was replaced by his younger brother Wilson Worsdell. He died in Arnside on 28 June 1916.

Locomotive designs GER Class G14 2-4-0 GER Class G16 4-4-0 GER Class Y14 (LNER Class J15 0-6-0) GER Class G15 (LNER Class Y6 0-4-0Tram) GER Class M15 (LNER Class F4 2-4-2T)

Patents Worsdell obtained a number of patents including several (in association with August von Borries, a Prussian locomotive engineer) relating to compound locomotives. T. W. Worsdell used the von Borries two-cylinder compound system in several of his designs for the North Eastern Railway.

Worsdell-von Borries patents GB190006487, published 16 February 1901, An improvement in starting valves for compound steam engines GB190022906, published 2 November 1901, Improvements in valves for use in compound locomotives and other compound engines US803981 (with Herbert Richard Lapage), published 7 November 1905, Compound locomotive The Worsdell-von Borries two-cylinder compound system was also used by Bowman Malcolm, locomotive superintendent of the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway (BNCR). More than thirty such compounds were built for the BNCR between 1890 and 1901: those for the Irish Broad Gauge comprised seven 2-4-0 for passenger work (BNCR Class C), two 0-6-0 for goods (BNCR Class E) and twenty 4-4-0 for passenger (BNCR Classes D, B and A); there were also six 2-4-2T (BNCR Class S) for the narrow gauge lines of the BNCR: the Ballymena and Larne Railway and the Ballymena, Cushendall and Redbay Railway.

References

External links T.W.Worsdell at www.lner.info Thomas William Worsdell at Find a Grave

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Thomas William Worsdell

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Thomas William Worsdell claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Thomas William Worsdell before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Thomas William Worsdell ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Thomas William Worsdell

In research: Thomas William Worsdell appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Thomas William Worsdell in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Thomas William Worsdell is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1838 births, 1916 deaths, Engineers from Liverpool, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Thomas William Worsdell outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Thomas William Worsdell in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Thomas William Worsdell means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Thomas William Worsdell out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Thomas William Worsdell in simple terms?

Thomas William Worsdell (14 January 1838 – 28 June 1916) was an English locomotive engineer. He was born in Liverpool into a Quaker family.

Why does Thomas William Worsdell matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Thomas William Worsdell?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Thomas William Worsdell.