John van Riemsdijk
John van Riemsdijk was born on 13 November 1924 and died 31 August
31 2008 1924 (Guardian obituary Tony Hall-Patch). He was born in Muswell
Hill in a house commanding a view of a railway line which was to remain for
many years essentially Great Northern. His father was Dutch and his mother
English and, as a young man, he travelled widely by train with his father
around Europe. Thanks to his formidable memory, he acquired a comprehensive
knowledge of the continental railway network. He attended University College
school, Hampstead, and Birkbeck College, London, where he read English and
French, and was recruited into the Royal Navy soon after graduating. His
continental background, coupled with his fertile, academic but practical,
engineer's mind, and his knowledge of continental railways, led to him being
drafted into the Special Operations Executive (SOE). While serving, he conceived
such inventions as a clockwork-powered "moo horn" to help the French resistance
find parachuted supplies, and a steam-powered generator for field radios.
After the war he started a business that manufactured small-geared spring
mechanisms, but sold it when he joined the Science Museum in 1954. His first
post was as a lecturer, but he then progressed through the curatorial grades
to become keeper of civil and mechanical engineering. In 1981 he delivered
a paper entitled The Hero as Engineer to celebrate the 200th anniversary
of George Stephenson's birth, to much acclaim. The following year, he was
made a Companion of the Institution of Mechanical Engineeers. His last major
contribution to the Science Museum was to mastermind the reconstruction of
the displays in the main hall. He retired in 1984 and subsequently moved
to the south of France.
In retirement Van Riemsdijk was able to give full vent to his passion for
gauge one model railways. His collaboration with Count Antonio Giansanti
Coluzzi, a model train collector, resulted in the successful development
of Aster gauge one steam locomotives, which for 30 years have given enormous
pleasure to model railway enthusiasts. His success lay in a rare ability
to express himself on complex technical and scientific matters with a measure
of self-deprecation and wry humour that any layman could understand. A great
lover of music, painting and the arts in general, he crossed the barriers
between art, science and engineering. He wrote extensively on railways and
steam power. His book Compound Locomotives (1994) is regarded by many
as the best semi-technical book on railway locomotives. He was a member of
the Newcomen Society, Stephenson Locomotive Society, the Bevil's Club, and
a vice-president of the Gauge One Model Railway Association. He was a most
diligent correspondent who replied at length with humour and wit to a host
of admirers and enquirers across the world. He was survived by his wife,
Jocelyn.
Compound locomotives: an International
survey. Penryn: Atlantic Press, 1994. 140pp.
Book based mainly on three part paper presented to
Newcomen Society: Part 1 see Volume
43 page 1 et seq. Some developments, notably involvement of Delaware
& Hudson Railroad in compounding with high pressure boilers, receive
little attention. Chap. 8: British four cylinder compounds. Webb (fairly
critical appraisal); Hoy's successful 0-8-0s on the LYR; Walter Smith's highly
successful 4-4-2s on the NER; the unsuccessful Ivatt 4-4-2; Hughes' promising
4-6-0 on the LMS and Gresley's high-pressure locomotive No. 10000. Book
reviewed by Gerry Beaale in
The hero as engineer (George Stephenson Bientenary Lecture).
Proc. Instn Mech. Engrs.,
1981, 195, 261-9,
Began by examining the nature of "hero", noting the influence of Thomas
Carlyle and Samuel Smiles.
Jenkinson, David. Close encounter of a Gauge '1' kind.
Modellers
Backtrack, 1991, 1,
168-71.
Illustrated by a visit to John van Riemsdijk's garden layout which
included model steam locomotives with three and four cylinders, articulation,
and compounding.
The pre-grouping railways: their development, and
individual characters with Christine Heap. London: Science Museum.
3 volumes
Ottley 11698
2021-01-24