Bust of Sir Frederick Joseph Bramwell (1818-1903), English civil enginer. Bramwell was born in London and at the age of 16 was apprenticed to a mechanical engineer. At the end of this he took over management of the works and supervised the construction of a locomotive for the Stockton and Darlington Railway. In his professional life Bramwell was the first consultant engineer, working on projets for different companies rather than being employed by just one. He was an early advocate of internal combustion engines, predicting that by 1930 the steam engine would be essentially a thing of the past. His general knowledge of engineerin and analytical mind led to large amounts of expert testimony in court cases, including patent disputes. In 1881 he was knighted for his services to engineering and in 1885 became Honorary secretary of the Royal Institution.