Sir James Farquharson

Born: 1 November, 1903, in Angus. Died: 17 February, 2005, in Angus, aged 101.

JAMES Farquharson was a distinguished engineer whose technical skills greatly benefited the emerging nations. In the very best traditions of Scottish engineers, Farquharson devoted his career to masterminding and building railway lines and bridges in Kenya, Tanganyika, Uganda and the Sudan. His quiet authority did much not only to improve the economies of those countries but to soothe many a political rumpus. He often had to balance conflicting industrial interests but his determined authority and sound judgment brought him wide respect.

James Robbie Farquharson was born in Glen Moy to a hill farming family. He attended the local school at Kirriemuir, then studied at the Royal Technical College of Glasgow and gained a BSc from Glasgow University. He joined the Caledonian Railway and was trained by them until, in 1924, he answered an advertisement for a post with the Uganda Railway.

His first commissions were to upgrade the deep-water berths at Mombassa and then to modernise the stations in Nairobi to accommodate larger freight trains. By 1928 he was the engineer in charge of the extension of the line to Kampala. Other postings involved the building of a large bridge across the Nile at Jinga.

In 1937 Farquharson was seconded to the Kenya and Uganda Railways and remained there throughout the war as district engineer and then chief engineer. Throughout these troubled years Farquharson expanded the system so that it helped the people and the industries of East Africa. Vast expanses of land were surveyed and lines restored and created: the extension to Tanzania alone was more than 130 miles. He was the engineer in charge of the line that was built to facilitate the movements of material for an ill-considered groundnut scheme initiated by the UK government in 1947.

His relationships with the East African Railways had often been tense and in 1952 he accepted a five-year contract from the Sudan Railways. His immediate task was to modernise a woefully dilapidated system and construct new tracks along the Blue Nile. When Sudan became independent in 1955, Farquharson was one of the few British residents asked to stay on.

Farquharson had built up an enviable reputation in all his posts as a fair and reasoned leader. His management style was always efficient but kindly and the workforces in all his postings greatly respected him. His ability to listen to and understand the increasing importance of the trade unions proved vital. Many of the auxiliary industries were heavily unionised and their co-operation proved vital. However there was some labour unrest, and strikes were frequent.

In 1957 he rejoined the East African Railways and improved the rail connections throughout Tanzania. He retired in 1961 having been awarded a KBE the year before. Farquharson returned to the UK and joined the Crown Agents as engineer-in-chief for overseas governments in London. Four years later he retired to his farm at Kinclune by Kirriemuir. In a happy and lengthy retirement Farquharson wrote of his times in Africa (Tanganyika Transport) and acted as a Fellow of the Scottish Council for Development and Industry. He also furthered a lifelong interest in cricket.

Farquharson had married Nan Graham, who he had known at school in Kirriemuir, in 1933. She died in 1992 and he is survived by their two sons.