Frederick Bland
Frederick Bland (1860-1934)
1934 Obituary [1]
FREDERICK BLAND was connected with tramway construction for over fifty years.
He was born in 1860, and received his technical education at the Technical School, Sheffield.
From 1874 to 1881 he served an apprenticeship with Messrs. Askham Brothers and Wilson, Ltd., and was then appointed manager of the steel department. Subsequently he took charge of the drawing office and foundry.
In 1882 the boom in tramways commenced, and steam-operated undertakings, which were later converted to electric traction, were inaugurated in a very large number of towns. Mr. Bland made a special study of tramway track and was placed in sole charge of this side of the firm's business. He visited nearly every tramway undertaking in Great Britain, in addition to a large number abroad, to supervise the laying down of the track manufactured by the firm. He was later appointed commercial manager.
In 1903 Messrs. Askham Brothers and Wilson were absorbed by Messrs. Edgar Allen and Company, Ltd., and Mr. Bland continued his work in dealing with contracts for providing tramway equipment until his retirement in 1933, when his services were retained as a consultant. He was the author of two pamphlets on tramways and track and contributed frequently to technical journals.
Mr. Bland was elected a Member of the Institution in 1901.
His death occurred on 12th July 1934.