Richard Butler
Richard Butler (1822-1899)
Died 1899 aged 77.[1]
1899 Obituary [2]
RICHARD BUTLER, born in 1822, was the third son of the late Mr. Thomas Butler, of Ballycarron, in the county of Tipperary.
About the year 1838 he was articled to Charles Blacker Vignoles, Past-President, under whom he was engaged on the Midland Counties and the North Union Railways.
In 1843 or 1844, he joined the staff of Joseph Locke, Past-President, and J. E. Errington, with whom he was more or less connected, until the death of Mr. Errington in 1862, During that period he was engaged as an assistant engineer on the construction of the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway, and subsequently was employed on many of the parliamentary surveys of Messrs. Locke and Errington in different parts of the country, notably for the western extensions of the London and South Western Railway and for the Welsh lines of the London and North Western Railway.
In 1856-57 he had charge, during the temporary absence of Mr. W. R. Galbraith in Ireland, of the works of the Yeovil and Exeter line. He was also employed about this period on railway surveys in Portugal.
After the death of Mr. Errington in 1862, Mr. Butler was engaged by Mr. Galbraith, and subsequently by that gentleman's partner, Mr. R. F. Church, on survey work in the West of England.
About the year 1883 or 1884 he virtually retired from practice. Mr. Butler was known as a rapid and accurate leveller, and, what is more rare in the engineering profession, he was an excellent surveyor. His working plans were models of their kind, both in accuracy and in excellent draughtsmanship. He was a true gentleman and was universally respected.
Mr. Butler died at his old home in Ireland - Ballycarron - after a long illness, on the 26th Narch, 1899.
He was elected a Member of the Institution on the 7th March, 1854.