David Wilkinson Campbell

David Wilkinson Campbell

Railway Achievements

• 1858, East Indian Railway Disional Locomotive Superintendent for the South-West Provinces Division. The workshops at this time were in Howrah.
• c.1860-62, Decision to construct the EIR Locomotive Workshops at Jamalpur See 'Anecdotal References below'
• 1863-87, East Indian Railway Locomotive Superintendent on retirement of Charles Lingard Stokes .
• 1887-91, Agent for the East Indian Railway on retirement of Sir Bradford Leslie [

Anecdotal References

'Mr. David Campbell, the Locomotive Superintendent, had recently promoted about 87 native firemen to appointments, previously held by Europeans, as shunters and drivers of goods trains on branch lines, with most satisfactory results. The experiment carried out in the face of much opposition led to a considerable economy and naturally had the full support of the Board.' .

'It was not till the early sixties that the late Mr. D. W.Campbell decided to remove the workshops to Jamalpur, and this was owing to the drivers and fitters giving trouble......*One day Mr. Campbell, returning from the weekly Meeting in the Agent's Office, happened to call at Wilson's Coffee Room for tiffin, and here he found three of his principal workshop foremen and two engine drivers enjoying themselves in rather a boisterous manner. They asked him to join them in having a peg. What he said in reply has never been recorded, but the men very quickly retired, and after that Mr. Campbell never rested until he had the workshops and Locomotive Offices removed from Howrah to Jamalpur.' .