Francis J. Cole (1856-1923)
Locomotive designer in the USA
The son of an English Episcopal clergyman who emigrated to the USA when Francis was a young boy, settling on a farm in Virginia. On turning 18, Francis became an apprentice in the Mt. Royal shops of the Northern Central RR in Baltimore. He then became a draughtsman under William H. Harrison on the Baltimore and Ohio RR at Newark, Ohio. Keen to advance, he soon left to become a draughtsman on the West Shore at Frankfort, NY, under R. H. Soule. His immediate superior was John Player. He went on to become an eminent locomotive engineer and consultant. He died on 11 January 1923 at is winter residence in Pasadena.