William Marriott (engineer)

For the 1920s baseball player of the same name, see William Marriott (baseball)

William Marriott (1857 – 17 November 1943) was the Chief engineer and manager of the Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GN)

Marriott was born at Basel, Switzerland and his father was a professor of English at the University of Basel. He was orphaned in 1868 and was brought to live in Bideford, receiving an education in England and on the continent. He served an apprenticeship with Ransomes & Rapier Ltd in Ipswich from 1875-9 and as a draughtsman in 1880. He left in 1881 to be become an assistant engineer with Wilkinson & Jarvis Ltd completing a six week unpaid trial period on the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway at Yarmouth. He was offered the post which he accepted, in 1883 he became an actual engineer and in 1884 was made Locomotive Superintendent (chief engineer) of the entire railway. When he accepted the position of engineer in 1883 he was possibly the youngest engineer of a public railway since the 1850's. He was appointed as the railway's traffic manager in 1919 which he remained until his retirement on 31 December 1924. He died in Sheringham on 17 November 1943.

A section of the M&GN railway formerly run by Marriott has been preserved by volunteers as the North Norfolk Railway, popularly known as the Poppy Line. This organisation also runs the William Mariott Museum, a museum of railway artifacts relating to Mariott and the M&GN railway.

The Marriott's Way a long distance footpath follows the route of two former (M&GN) lines in Norfolk.

The Marriott name is remembered at Thorpe Marriott a residential development at Taverham.