Began work as Clerk at Somerset House, moving on to be Assistant at the House of Commons. In 1849 he joined the Great Northern Railway as Clerk in the Secretary’s Office. He progressed through the positions of Assistant Secretary, Accountant and Secretary, until he became General Manager in 1870. In 1873 he also became the Honorary Secretary of the Railway Companies’ Association. In 1891 he was knighted. He left GNR in 1898 to retire, but went on to become Chairman of the Central London Railway.