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3 unusual facts about William Yolland


Rudgwick railway station

Rudgwick station opened in November 1865, one month after the rest of the stations on the line, due to objections made by the Board of Trade's Colonel Yolland following the obligatory inspection of the line on 2 May in that year.

William Yolland

At a time when Britain’s railway mileage was expanding at a great rate, his duties included the inspection of new lines and he took full opportunity to insist that the latest safety features, such as signal interlocking and block working, should be deployed.

The interest in Yolland’s work in Ireland survives to this day: as a young man he appears as a leading character in Translations, a modern play set in nineteenth century Co Donegal.


Henry Cadogan Rothery

He was assisted by the Chief inspector of Railways, William Yolland and William Henry Barlow, President of the Institution of Civil Engineers.


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