George Nugent Tyrrell (13 April 1816[1] - 12 July 1893) was a key figure in the development of the Great Western Railway in England and Wales.
[3] After a drought and commercial depression, he returned to England and started his railway career[1] as the stationmaster for the Great Western Railway in Keynsham in 1842, and by 1848 was a Superintendent based in Cirencester, Gloucester, Paddington, and then finally the Northern Division at Shrewsbury, and Chester.
In January 1864, the Chairman of the GWR, Richard Potter, defined a new role in the company, "Superintendent of the Line", whose duties were to "conduct the passenger business of the Railway".
[4] Early in the role, Tyrrell looked to improve reliability, and this involved increasing scheduled journey times for some fast servies.
[4] Despite being initially a passenger-focused role, Tyrrell became involved in all aspects of train operation, including deployment of Telegraph Block Signalling[3], and gathering information on all accidents.