[1] He went to the parish school in Dollar and later was sent by his elder brother James to an academy where he learned marine navigation.
In 1800 he submitted designs for a cast iron twin leaf swing bridge[2] as part of the Docks scheme.
During this period, he worked with his nephew James Walker who stayed with him in Blackwall, London in the summer of 1880 and, after impressing with his abilities during discussions of the project, was articled to his uncle.
[3] In October 1802, however, Ralph Walker had a professional disagreement with Jessop and resigned his post on the West India Docks.
[1] In 1807 the Surrey Commercial Docks Company was formed with Ralph Walker as engineer (until 1810) and James superintending the new lock and keeping the accounts.