William Weaver Tomlinson (1858-1916) was a historian known for his histories of the north east of England, in particular for his Comprehensive guide to the county of Northumberland.
[1] Tomlinson's father was employed by the Hull and Selby Railway and in 1873 William Weaver joined the North Eastern Railway (NER) as an accountant.
[2] He spent many years living at Monkseaton in the north east of England.
[3] The book 'The North Eastern Railway; its rise and development' was published in 1915, having been written between 1900 and 1914 with the backing of the NER.
It gives a detailed account of the history of the NER to 1880, and of its predecessor companies; the history from 1880 to 1904 is more briefly covered, partly due to ill health of the author; the key events in period 1904 to 1915 were covered in an appendix.