Francis William Webb was an English railway engineer, responsible for the design and manufacture of locomotives for the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). As the LNWR's chief mechanical engineer, he also exercised great influence in political and public life in the Cheshire town of Crewe, once being described as the 'King of Crewe'.

The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world.