Norman Charles Harris was a decorated World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 army engineer and Chairman of Commissioners of the Victorian Railways

Victorian Railways

The Victorian Railways operated railways in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companies failed or defaulted, the Victorian Railways was established to take over their operations...

 from 1940 – 1950.

Norman Charles Harris attended Scotch College, Melbourne

Scotch College, Melbourne

Scotch College, Melbourne is an independent, Presbyterian, day and boarding school for boys, located in Hawthorn, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....

 and studied Engineering at McGill University

McGill University

Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

 in Montreal. He worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway

Canadian Pacific Railway

The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...

 followed by the Hydro-Electric Power Co. in Tasmania

Hydro Tasmania

Hydro Tasmania, known for most of its history as The HEC, is the government owned enterprise which is the predominant electricity generator in the state of Tasmania, Australia...

 and in 1913 became a draftsman for the Victoria Railways and then joining his father in the rolling stock division.

During World War I he served on the Western Front with the 2nd Divisional Engineers. He organised trench improvements and the construction of four bridges over the River Ancre near Albert, Somme

Albert, Somme

Albert is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.It is located about halfway between Amiens and Bapaume.-History:Albert was founded as a Roman outpost called Encre, in about 54 BC...

. He was awarded the Military Cross

Military Cross

The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....

 and a Distinguished Service Order

Distinguished Service Order

The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...

. After the war, he spent some time in England, studying their railway system.

Returning to Melbourne in 1919, he became Assistant Chief Mechanical Engineer in 1922, Chief Mechanical Engineer in 1928, a Commissioner in 1933, and Chairman of Commissioners in 1940.

The blue Melbourne Suburban Electric Harris trains

Harris (train)

The Harris trains were the first steel-bodied Electric Multiple Unit train to operate on the suburban railway network of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. They were introduced in 1956 by the Victorian Railways, and last operated in 1988, although a number of the carriages were converted for other...

were named after him in 1956.