Robert Jacomb-Hood

Robert Jacomb-Hood MICE (25 January 1822 – 10 May 1900) was a British railway engineer who rose to prominence as the Resident Engineer of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR). His work includes London Victoria station, London Bridge station, and Crystal Palace railway station. Outside of the railway industry, he also made significant contributions to The Crystal Palace and the National Gallery. He was elected as a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1847.

Born to a farmer who had inherited an estate from his cousin, Jacomb-Hood was originally headed for a career in law before he dropped out of university to instead become a railway engineer in 1841. After working in smaller railway projects for five years, he was appointed the Resident Engineer of the newly-formed LB&SCR in 1846. During his fourteen-year tenure as Resident Engineer, he was responsible for many stations and branch lines across the route.

After he transitioned to practising privately in 1860, Jacomb-Hood also found success in non-railway projects, and also became involved in railways across the world, including in the United States, India, Malta, and Argentina. He returned to the LB&SCR in 1883 as a board member, where he continued to work until his death in 1900. His work was recognised with various accolades including a Telford Medal. His son, George Percy Jacomb-Hood, was a famous painter and illustrator.