John Waddell (engineer)

John Waddell (1828–1888) was a Scottish railway contractor based in Edinburgh.

He was born in the parish of New Monkland on 16 August 1828, the son of George Waddell and his wife Elizabeth Shanks, of the farm of Gain or Gane.

He ran the enterprising and respected firm John Waddell & Sons[1] and went on to complete many routes during the rise of the railways across England during the late 19th century, especially for the NER.

On 17 February 1883 an agreement was reached with John Waddell to construct a tunnel under the River Thames between Tilbury and Gravesend,[1] work which would have carried trains through to Dover for a potential Channel tunnel, although that proposal was eventually dropped.

He is buried on a prominent corner on the west side of Dean Cemetery opposite "Lords Row".