[3] and in 1898 entered the public service as a junior draftsman, in the Chief Engineer's Department.
On 5 April 1923, he was appointed Divisional Superintendent at Adelaide, and in June 1924 Commissioner Webb sent him and B. H. Gillman to Britain and America to study the latest trends in railway management,[4] and on his return was appointed Special Engineer under R. H. Chapman Chief Engineer for Railways.
[5] He was promoted to Acting Chief Engineer for Railways during Chapman's absence in 1926, and that same year was admitted to the Institute of Civil Engineers, London, on the strength of his work for the South Australian Railways.
Management of the railways during his term as commissioner was generally successful, particularly so during the war, when efficient transport was vital.
[12] A locally built locomotive, completed in December 1946, was named "C. B. Anderson" in his honor.