Robert Stephenson: The Eminent Engineer (review)

In Robert Stephenson: The Eminent Engineer, Michael Bailey and colleagues have assembled the definitive biography of the nineteenth-century British engineer best known for his contributions to railway construction. For those with a specific interest in Stephenson, the book is an essential resource. But certain themes conveyed vividly through the life and work of Stephenson position this as an important text for all scholars of engineering history as well.

Biographers have paid far more attention to George Stephenson than to his son, Robert. Certainly the interest in George is not misplaced. But the lack of a biography of Robert has been puzzling, given his remarkable and diverse achievements. He was lead engineer for the London and Birmingham, the world's first trunk-line railway, and by 1850 he had been engaged with one-third of all British railway mileage. He made important contributions to water engineering as well. He served as a Member of Parliament. And he displayed a unique ability to balance engineering and business management skills.

The chapters in Robert Stephenson each consider a particular slice of his life and work, and are divided into two broad sections: "Influence and Achievement" and "Innovation and Technique." The seven contributors are expert in railroad and engineering history and provide thorough treatments of their respective topics. Indeed, the amount of material collected and the contributing sources are staggering, combed from several archives. At times, the level of detail is nearly overwhelming, giving rise to the book's dilemma: to provide thorough details on Stephenson's many faces while not getting so mired in those very details that larger issues are obscured.

Recurring themes highlight those larger issues and underscore the book's broad appeal to scholars of technology and society. Robert Stephenson provides a tour of engineering practice and content in the nineteenth century. It describes the many innovations required to deal with challenges posed by the railway, but goes beyond a simple account of engineering developments to highlight the myriad social influences on Stephenson's engineering practices. A related thread is the high degree of uncertainty surrounding civil engineering, including Stephenson's many cuttings, embankments, tunnels, and retaining walls. The study of soil mechanics was in its infancy. Details such as rail type and track gauge were open questions. In short, the nineteenth century was an era of experimentation and Stephenson was at the center of it. The authors are careful to present him not as an infallible engineering titan but as someone who made numerous mistakes while continually engaged in a learning process.

Among the book's important themes is that the practice of engineering is tied intimately to the management of engineering. Indeed, Stephenson is notable not only for his direct contributions to civil engineering but also for his ability to deal with strategic considerations. He had to weigh his involvement in multiple projects against appearances of impropriety and conflicts of interest. He had to balance his strong desire for the orderly development of a national rail network against his loyalty to employers whose projects might violate this ideal. And he had to consider how best to delegate tasks to others, particularly as he took on work overseas. It is through the complexity of these decisions that we begin to appreciate the interrelationship between Stephenson's life and work on one hand and his social context on the other.

Without a doubt this is an exceptional biography. It goes beyond a narrow focus on its subject to provide important insights into nineteenth-century engineering practice and management in general. While the book's intention is not to develop general theory regarding social influences on engineering practice, it may help to do just that.