Background
He was born in Sydenham Kent, and educated at King"s School, Canterbury.
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David C. Curwen
Edit ProfileCareer
From 1935 to 1945 he worked for Short Brothers in Rochester as an aircraft engineer In 1946, he established his own engineering firm, Baydon. In 1951 he became Chief Mechanical Engineer (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) of the Talyllyn Railway in Wales for its first year of preservation.
He published his autobiography entitled Rule of Thumb in 2006, and a review of his work was published as The Miniature of David Curwen in 2008 by Dave Holdroyd.
Built by David Curwen include the following:
Waverley, a 10 1⁄4 in (260 mm) gauge 4-4-2 built in 1948. lieutenant was originally named Black Prince and used on a railway in Weymouth, Dorset.
lieutenant was later in use at the Isle of Mull Railway, and is now based at Rudyard Lake Steam Railway, in Staffordshire. John H Gretton, another 10 1⁄4 in (260 mm) gauge 4-4-2 built in 1948, based at the Stapleford Miniature Railway in Leicestershire, rebuilt in 1969.
Number. 5, nicknamed The Lawnmower, a 2 ft 3 in (686 mm) gauge lightweight locomotive built in 1952 for the Talyllyn Railway using a Model T Ford engine and transmission from the narrowboat of L.T.C. Rolt and the wheels from a slate wagon.
lieutenant worked the Fridays-only winter passenger service until 1953, when it was taken out of use with a failed gearbox. lieutenant was dismantled in 1954, and converted to into a flat wagon. lieutenant is proposed to rebuild it as a memorial to David Curwen, using a replacement engine and bodywork.
