ALLPORT, SIR JAMES JOSEPH (1811-1892)

This article appears in Volume V01, Page 709 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: AJA-ALL

ALLPORT, SIR JAMES JOSEPH (1811-1892) , English railway manager, born on the 27th of February 1811, was a son of William

Allport

, of

Birmingham

BIRMINGHAM

, and was associated with railways from an early period of his life. In 1843 he became general manager of the

Birmingham

BIRMINGHAM

and Derby railway, and in the following year succeeded to the same position on the Newcastle and Darlington line. Six years later he assumed the charge of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire (now the

Great

GREAT

Central) railway, and finally, in 1853, was appointed to the general managership of the Midland railwayan office which he held continuously, with the exception of a few years between 1859 and 186o, when he was managing director to Palmer's Shipbuilding Company at

Jarrow

JARROW

, until his retirement in 188o, when he became a director. During these twenty-seven years the Midland grew to be one of the most important railway systems in England, partly by the absorption of smaller lines and partly by the construction of two main extensionson the

south

SOUTH
SOUTH, ROBERT (1634–1716)

to London and on the north to

Carlisle

CARLISLE
CARLISLE, EARLS OF

whereby it obtained an independent through-route between the metropolis and the north. In the railway world Sir James

Allport

was known as a keen tactician and a vigorous fighter, and he should be remembered as the

pioneer

PIONEER

of cheap and comfortable railway travelling. He was the first to appreciate the importance of the third-class passenger as a source of revenue, and accordingly, in 1872, he inaugurated the policysubsequently adopted more or less completely by all the railways of

Great

GREAT

Britainof carrying third-class passengers in well-fitted carriages at the uniform rate of one

penny

a mile on all trains. The diminution in the receipts from second-class passengers, which was one of the results, was regarded by some authorities as a sign of the unwisdom of his action, but to. him it appeared a sufficient reason for the abolition of second-class carriages, which there-fore disappeared from the Midland

system

SYSTEM

in 1875, the first-class fares being at the same time substantially reduced.
Industrial applications.
He was also the first to introduce the Pullman car on British railways. Allport received the honour of

knighthood

KNIGHTHOOD

in 1884. He died in London on the 25th of April 1892.

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