Andrew Frederick Rock
Andrew Frederick Rock (c1860-1930)
1919 Electrical Dept., North Staffordshire Railway.[1]
1930 Obituary [2]
ANDREW FREDERICK ROCK died at Rhos-on-Sea on the 29th March, 1930, at the age of 70.
In 1872 he became a telegraph clerk in the employ of the North Staffordshire Railway Co. at Stoke-on-Trent, and after four years' service he was appointed an inspector in charge of the construction and maintenance of telegraph systems. He obtained a knowledge of the theoretical side of electrical engineering by attending technical classes in his spare time at Hanley and Stoke.
In 1886 he took up the position of chief assistant to the late Mr. John Neale, whom he succeeded as electrical engineer and telegraph superintendent of the company in 1902.
From that year until his retirement in 1924 he was in charge of the whole of the electrical equipment of the North Staffordshire Railway. During his period of service the personnel of his department increased from 40 to about 300, and the line also became the North Staffordshire Section, London, Midland and Scottish Railway.
He was for eight years honorary secretary to the Railway Electrical and Telegraph Engineers Conference, and was also a member of the Council of the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers.
He joined the Institution of Electrical Engineers as an Associate Member in 1902, and became a Member in 1908.