Herbert William Garratt

Who was Herbert William Garratt?

Herbert William Garratt was an English mechanical engineer and the inventor of the Garratt system of articulated locomotives.

Garratt began his engineering career by serving an apprenticeship under John Carter Park, then locomotive superintendent of the North London Railway, from 1879-1882 at the North London Railway Bow works. Further experience found him serving at Doxford's marine engineering works in Sunderland, and later as an inspector for Sir Charles Fox and Sir Alexander Rendel. Garratt transferred to the Argentine Central Railway in 1889, where he became Locomotive Superintendent in 1892, and between 1900 and 1906 he worked for railways in Cuba, Lagos, and Lima. In 1902, Garratt was elected to membership of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. He returned to England in 1906 and worked as an inspecting engineer for the New South Wales Government Railways.