JOHN HADDAN, BORN 1841
MONORAIL VISIONARY
John Haddan was a remarkable example of the adventurous Victorian engineer. A member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, he became Engineer in Chief of the Imperial Ottoman Service in 1868, working in Lebanon and Syria. He lived during a period of energetic railway construction in the UK, involving monumental earthworks, cuttings, viaducts, tunnels, signalling and substantial locomotives. He took the view that opening up the British Empire would require a simpler, cheaper form of railway that could navigate complex terrain. This led him to the design of his Pioneer monorail which, he argued, had the same mechanical logic as a man astride a horse. He promoted his concept vigorously around the world, but without success. He died a disappointed man at the early age of thirty nine.