Career
Esling was engineer-in-charge in the Way and Works branch of the Victorian Railways department, located at Flinders street. Among the many important works that Mr. Esling carried out were the building of the Flinders Street Viaduct, the replacement of the spans on the railway bridge over the Maribyrnong River, refurbishment of the Moorabool Viaduct, and the complicated lay-out of the tracks at the Flinders street station and yards.
The new Maribyrnong Bridge which was built inside the old bridge without any interruption of the traffic was a fine piece of work that excited much interest in engineering circles.
Esling resigned from his railway position in 1917 because he did not consider that in the matter of promotion he had been fairly treated. Esling presided over the topping out ceremony on the Flinders Street Station clock tower in 1909 when he laid the last brick and was presented with the ceremonial trowel.
He published a number of technical papers, including one based on his work on the Flinders Street viaduct which identified a puzzling problem related to the horizontal forces due to braking, in combination with side forces from wind-pressure. Esling finished second in the Second Australian Championship, a tournament held at Adelaide 1887, with 7 out of 9 points, behind Henry Charlick (75) but ahead of Gossip (65).
lieutenant was played in Melbourne between 8 June and 11 July, and aroused great interest.