Charles Bowen Cooke

Who was Charles Bowen Cooke?

Charles John Bowen Cooke was born in Orton Longueville and was Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London and North Western Railway. He was the first to add superheating to the locomotives of the railway. He wrote a book called British locomotives: their history, construction; and modern development which was published in 1893, with a second edition in 1894. A second book, Developments in Locomotive Practice followed in 1902.

Whilst CME of the LNWR he was responsible for the introduction of several new locomotive designs, including the George the Fifth and Claughton classes.

He died on 18 October 1920 and is buried in the churchyard at St Just in Roseland, Cornwall.