# Matthew Kirtley > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Matthew_Kirtley > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Matthew_Kirtley.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Kirtley > Source revision: 1356026609 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Matthew Kirtley Born (1813-02-06)6 February 1813 Tanfield, County Durham, England Died 24 May 1873(1873-05-24) (aged 60) Derby Resting place Uttoxeter road cemetery Derby Known for Locomotive Engineer Relatives Thomas Kirtley (brother) William Kirtley (nephew) **Matthew Kirtley** (6 February 1813 – 24 May 1873) was born at [Tanfield, Durham](/source/Tanfield%2C_Durham). He was an important early locomotive engineer. ## Career ### Early years At the age of thirteen he began work on the [Stockton and Darlington Railway](/source/Stockton_and_Darlington_Railway); he was fireman on the [Liverpool and Manchester Railway](/source/Liverpool_and_Manchester_Railway), and was present at its opening. Eventually he became a driver on the [London and Birmingham Railway](/source/London_and_Birmingham_Railway) (L&BR). He is believed[*[by whom?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Words_to_watch#Unsupported_attributions)*] to have driven the first L&BR train (and the first main line train) to enter London. ### Midland Railway A railway carriage built (it is said in 1876) by Matthew Kirtley for the Metropolitan Railway In 1839 he was appointed first a locomotive foreman, and then in 1841 [Locomotive Superintendent](/source/Locomotive_Superintendent) of the [Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway](/source/Birmingham_and_Derby_Junction_Railway). When that railway became one of the constituents of the [Midland Railway](/source/Midland_Railway), he became the Midland's Locomotive Superintendent. He was there Chief Mechanical Engineer from 1844 until he died in 1873.[1] Hundreds of locomotives to his design existed, many of which were to last into the days of the [London, Midland and Scottish Railway](/source/London%2C_Midland_and_Scottish_Railway), some fifty years later. ## Locomotive designs - [MR 179 class](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Midland_Railway_179_Class&action=edit&redlink=1) [0-6-0](/source/0-6-0) (1845) - [MR 137 class](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Midland_Railway_137_Class&action=edit&redlink=1) [2-4-0](/source/2-4-0) (1846) - [MR 240 class](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Midland_Railway_240_Class&action=edit&redlink=1) [0-6-0](/source/0-6-0) (1850) - [MR 130 class](/source/Midland_Railway_130_Class) [2-2-2](/source/2-2-2) (1852) - [MR 270 class](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Midland_Railway_270_Class&action=edit&redlink=1) [0-6-0](/source/0-6-0) (1852) - [MR 280 class](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Midland_Railway_280_Class&action=edit&redlink=1) [0-6-0](/source/0-6-0) (1853) - [MR 222 class](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Midland_Railway_222_Class&action=edit&redlink=1) [0-6-0WT](/source/0-6-0WT) (1860) - [MR 1063 class](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Midland_Railway_1063_Class&action=edit&redlink=1) [0-6-0WT](/source/0-6-0WT) (1860) - [MR 30 class](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Midland_Railway_30_Class&action=edit&redlink=1) [0-6-0ST](/source/0-6-0ST) (1862) - [MR 50 class](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Midland_Railway_50_Class&action=edit&redlink=1) [2-4-0](/source/2-4-0) (1862) - [MR 70 class](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Midland_Railway_70_Class&action=edit&redlink=1) [2-4-0](/source/2-4-0) (1862) - [MR 80 class](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Midland_Railway_80_Class&action=edit&redlink=1) [2-4-0](/source/2-4-0) (1862) - [MR 221 class](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Midland_Railway_221_Class&action=edit&redlink=1) [0-6-0ST](/source/0-6-0ST) (1863) - [MR 480 class](/source/Midland_Railway_480_Class) [0-6-0](/source/0-6-0) (1863) - [MR 101 class](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Midland_Railway_101_Class&action=edit&redlink=1) [2-4-0](/source/2-4-0) (1866) - [MR 156 class](/source/Midland_Railway_156_Class) [2-4-0](/source/2-4-0) (1866) - [MR 170 class](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Midland_Railway_170_Class&action=edit&redlink=1) [2-4-0](/source/2-4-0) (1867) - [MR 204 class](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Midland_Railway_204_Class&action=edit&redlink=1) [4-4-0T](/source/4-4-0T) (1868) - [MR 230 class](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Midland_Railway_230_Class&action=edit&redlink=1) [2-4-0T](/source/2-4-0T) (1868) - [MR 690 class](/source/Midland_Railway_690_Class) [0-4-4T](/source/0-4-4T) (1869) - [MR 700 class](/source/Midland_Railway_700_Class) [0-6-0](/source/0-6-0) (1869) - [MR 780 class](/source/Midland_Railway_780_Class) [0-4-4T](/source/0-4-4T) (1870) - [MR 800 class](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Midland_Railway_800_Class&action=edit&redlink=1) [2-4-0](/source/2-4-0) (1870) - [MR 880 class](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Midland_Railway_880_Class&action=edit&redlink=1) [0-6-0T](/source/0-6-0T) (1871) - [MR 890 class](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Midland_Railway_890_Class&action=edit&redlink=1) [2-4-0](/source/2-4-0) (1871) - [MR 2066 class](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Midland_Railway_2066_Class&action=edit&redlink=1) [0-6-0WT](/source/0-6-0WT) (1873) ## Family Matthew Kirtley's brother [Thomas Kirtley](/source/Thomas_Kirtley) was also a locomotive engineer (on the [London, Brighton and South Coast Railway](/source/London%2C_Brighton_and_South_Coast_Railway) (1847)) as was his nephew, [William Kirtley](/source/William_Kirtley_(railway_engineer)), who served as locomotive superintendent on the [London, Chatham and Dover Railway](/source/London%2C_Chatham_and_Dover_Railway), 1874-1898. ## Legacy The Midland Railway Trust’s collection of locomotives, carriages and wagon is housed in what is now named the Matthew Kirtley Building.[1] ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-matt_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-matt_1-1) [Matthew Kirtley Building](http://www.midlandrailway-butterley.co.uk/swanwick-junction/matthew-kirtley-building/), midlandrailway-butterley, Retrieved 13 February 2017 ## External links - [Matthew Kirtley](https://steamindex.com/people/kirtley.htm#matthew) at steamindex Business positions New title Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Midland Railway 1844–1873 Succeeded by Samuel Waite Johnson --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Matthew Kirtley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Kirtley) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Kirtley?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.