Benjamin Outram

[1] Born at Alfreton in Derbyshire, he began his career assisting his father Joseph Outram, who described himself as an "agriculturalist", but was also a land agent, an enclosure commissioner arbitrating in the many disputes which arose from the inclosure acts, an advisor on land management, a surveyor for new mines and served as a turnpike trustee.

[4] After his death, his wife Margaret (1778–1863), daughter of James Anderson, wrote that Outram "was hasty in his temper, feeling his own superiority over others.

In spite of his prowess, Outram's wife and family were for a while reduced to near poverty after his death until his liabilities could be settled through the courts.

Joseph Outram was a promoter of the Cromford Canal,[6] and when William Jessop was approached to design and build it he found an able assistant in 24-year-old Benjamin.

Starting with a nominal capital of £6000, Outram was the only partner active in the management of the company, assisted by his younger brother, Joseph.

[7] Outram became a leading advocate in the construction of tramways using L-section rails, which along with the wagons were manufactured at his Butterley Ironworks.

His first tramway was a line slightly over 1 mile (1.6 km) in length, built to carry limestone from quarries at Crich to Bullbridge Wharf on the Cromford Canal, for use by his works.

[9] In 1798, he was retained to complete the final section of the Ashton Canal which included the Store Street Aqueduct, among the first to solve the problem of skew arches.

In 1799 he wrote, while building the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal railway at four-foot two-inch gauge, "it appears that many hogsheads and packages require carriages .