Plaque at Wylam Train Station

A plaque at Wylam railway station, Northumberland

The plaque reads:

BENJAMIN THOMPSON
1779-1867
ENGINEER AND IRONMASTER
Born near Sheffield, Thompson
became prominent in the North of
England as an engineer, ironmaster
and colliery owner. In 1825 he
became a director of the Newcastle
and Carlisle Railway and surveyed
the route for this line, supervising
the later stages of its construction
between 1833 and 1835.
In 1835 also established Wylam
Ironworks where locomotives were
built for several years and a year
later he was responsible for the
erection of Wylam Bridge to link
the village to the new railway
BICENTENARY 1779 – 1979