William & Paterson Murdoch — Engineers of Highland Railways

The Patersons hail from Kilmuir and the talk will open with an outline of the family history. It will cover the training by the Inspector of Roads and Bridges Joseph Mitchell of William Paterson in both railway and road building, then detail Murdoch’s early life and involvement in the construction of nearly all the lines radiating from Inverness. The planning and building of the Kyle of Lochalsh line and the Aviemore to Inverness line were undertaken at this time, as was the Culloden Moor, or Clava Viaduct of 1898.

From a family of civil engineers, Anne‐Mary Paterson lives near Beauly and is a great grandniece of William and Murdoch Paterson. She has written three books on the subject of The Highland Railway:

• Pioneers of the Highland Tracks
• Spanning the Gaps
• Lairds‐in‐Waiting

and is currently researching for a biography of Sir Alexander Matheson who was the chairman of The Highland Railway for twenty‐two years, having previously been a partner in Jardine Matheson, smugglers of opium into China.

 

Cromarty History Society meets in the West Church Hall, Cromarty at 7.30pm on the the third Thursday of each month, September - April