[1] Articled as an apprentice to John J. Myres of Preston when he was aged 15, he gained experience in surveying and levelling, and in the valuation of damage caused to various properties by the construction of railways.
[1] In 1844 he joined the civil engineering business of Charles Cawley, and was directly responsible for setting out the first few miles of the Manchester, Bury and Rossendale Railway (MB&RR).
[1] With this in mind he took a period of leave with relatives in Brighton, East Sussex in the Spring of 1846, during which he happened to obtain an appointment with Robert Jacomb-Hood, then Chief Engineer of the LB&SCR.
After Samuel Laing retired as chairman of the LB&SCR at the end of 1855 to pursue a political career, Deputy-Chairman Leo Schuster replaced him, instituting a policy of rapidly expanding new routes throughout South London, Sussex, and East Surrey.
The report made clear that the railway had over-extended itself with large capital projects sustained by profits from its passenger traffic, which suddenly declined as a result of the crisis.
[6] During his 35 years in residence as Chief Engineer, Banister was responsible for identifying and then the design, surveying and construction of all the extensions and important works to be undertaken by the LB&SCR.
[6] It was not until 1870 that Laing gave Banister the approval to undertake the improvements to the docks at Newhaven, including:[1][6] The resultant works allowed access for the LB&SCR's new larger passenger steamships, and created through reclamation several new acres of land which were subsequently developed and then sub-leased to various industrial companies.
[1][6] After completing the widening of the Brighton Main Line from East Croydon to Coulsdon in January 1896, Banister retired from the LB&SCR again, replaced by Charles Langbridge Morgan.