John Wykeham Jacomb-Hood (12 January 1859 â 6 March 1914) was a British railway engineer most notable for his role as the Chief Engineer of the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) between 1901 and his death in 1914. During this time he undertook the rebuilding of Clapham Junction railway station and London Waterloo railway station.
Jacomb-Hood was born on 12 January 1859, the second son of Robert Jacomb-Hood, himself a prominent railway engineer and the Resident Engineer and later a director of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. He was educated at Tonbridge School in 1872âÂÂ1875 alongside his elder brother George Percy Jacomb-Hood and then at the Crystal Palace Engineering School. In 1895 he was recorded, alongside his brother, as a member of the Old Tonbridgians Society.
His career began in 1877 when he was sent to work for William Jacomb, the Chief Engineer to the London and South Western Railway (LSWR); Jacomb-Hood would work for the LSWR his entire life. William Jacomb had been a pupil of Jacomb-Hood's father, and then formed a partnership with him under the name 'Jacomb and Hood', which was dissolved by mutual consent when Jacomb took up his role as Chief Engineer in 1869. In his time between joining the LSWR and becoming its Chief Engineer, he worked on projects such as the Budleigh Salterton Railway, the rebuilding of the Redbridge Viaduct, and various line widenings between London Waterloo and Basingstoke.
On 2 December 1883 Jacomb-Hood was elected an associate member to the Institution of Civil Engineers. In 1888 he was promoted to the Engineer-in-Charge of the London portion of the LSWR, followed by a further promotion to Engineer-in-Charge of the Western portion in 1897. On 27 January 1891 he was elected a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers (MICE). In 1891 his address was recorded as 39 Longbrook Street in Exeter.
In 1901, he became the Chief Engineer of the company, succeeding Edmund Andrews, who himself had succeeded William Jacomb in 1887. In his tenure as Chief Engineer, Jacomb-Hood was responsible for the rebuilding of Clapham Junction railway station. Jacomb-Hood was also responsible for the rebuilding of both the Richmond Railway Bridge and Kingston Railway Bridge over the River Thames, which were completed in 1907 and 1908 respectively.
The LSWR had originally gained permission in 1899âÂÂ1900 to rebuild and expand their terminus at London Waterloo railway station. After Jacomb-Hood became Chief Engineer, he became responsible for the works, and was sent to the United States to look at their terminus stations for inspiration. He designed the station roof and platforms, and construction was partially complete by 1909, with the booking hall opening on 11 June 1911 and road access on 18 December. Following his death, work was taken over by Alfred Weeks Szlumper, who had succeeded Jacomb-Hood as Chief Engineer of the LSWR.
Other roles Jacomb-Hood held in his career were membership of the American Society of Civil Engineers, presidency of the Permanent Way Institution, and as a Major in the Engineer and Railway Staff Corps. Jacomb-Hood died while hunting on 6 March 1914, aged 55; his death was attributed to likely heart failure.