Great Western Railway main line (London-Bristol)
Taking an unconventional approach to a unique project, Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s vision encompassed much more than just the railway
Nomination: HS2, TGV, the Japanese Shinkansen - all owe their origins to the Great Western Railway. The GWR’s directors wanted a railway that linked London and Bristol. But engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel felt that was a limited view - he saw an opportunity to get people from London to New York as quickly as possible.
The GWR main line is what genius looks like: a ruling grade of 1-in-1,320, innovative engineering solutions and a track gauge purpose-built for speed. What makes it a true wonder is that Brunel was able to take this futuristic taste of rail travel and blend it seamlessly into the landscape.
Revolutionary ships; railway villages for workers; the production line arrangement of Swindon Works; quality refreshments; the Great Western main line is much more than just a railway, and yet the first part opened just 13 years after the Stockton & Darlington. Its influence can still be felt today.
The Channel Tunnel Rail Link, France’s TGV, Japan’s Shinkansen - all these high-speed railway lines owe their origins to the Great Western Railway.
The GWR’s directors wanted a railway that linked Bristol with London. What they got was the world’s first purpose-built high-speed railway, thanks to the extraordinary vision of Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
Brunel didn’t just see a railway between Britain’s capital and what was regarded then as its second city. He saw it as an opportunity to get people from London to New York as quickly as possible. But how did you create a highspeed route in the 1830s?
First there was the route. Brunel ignored previous surveys and went for the Thames Valley, where the broad, flat plains were ideal for the construction of a railway. The trade-off was then having to cross the rather more hilly landscape between Swindon and Bath.
Plans to tunnel under Box Hill on a 1-in-100 gradient were met with howls of derision from some scientific quarters. Dr Dionysius Lardner emerged as one of Brunel’s biggest critics, claiming that a runaway train would accelerate to 120mph, killing everyone on board.
Building through the Thames Valley required incredible feats of engineering. Many believed that the ‘sounding arch’ bridge at Maidenhead would never be able to stand up, let alone carry the weight of a train. But Brunel had calculated that he could cross the River Thames with just two arches, thus keeping it open for navigable traffic and without interrupting his 1-in-1,320 ruling grade. It worked so well that the GWR literally copied Brunel’s original design when the line was quadrupled.
A hill near Sonning, on the approach to Reading, presented another headache. Brunel’s solution was to dig through it with an enormous cutting.
The Great Western Railway Company’s Bill finally received Royal Assent on August 31 1835. It had taken three years since a group of Bristol dignitaries had got together with a view to building a railway to London.
But the legal wranglings weren’t over yet. There was one clause missing from the Bill and it was a deliberate omission. High speed wasn’t just restricted to a level route. Increasing the track gauge to 7ft ¼ in brought a stability not possible on the 4ft 8 ½ in gauge that had been adopted by the Stockton & Darlington, the Liverpool & Manchester and the companies that would build the West Coast Main Line. It had become the de facto standard gauge.
But Brunel knew that making the track gauge wider would enable greater stability at higher speed. There was another by-product - you could get more people and goods into a wider train.
Brunel had had the idea of a wider gauge
in the back of his mind ever since he first surveyed the route, but he didn’t tell the company directors. He’d successfully persuaded Lord Shaftesbury, Chairman of Committees in the House of Lords, to allow the clause about gauges to be removed. But he didn’t fully explain himself to the GWR’s directors until September 15 1835!
Luckily for Brunel, the directors had decided not to share Euston station with the London & Birmingham Railway, and that the railway would build its own terminus.
They gave Brunel their backing for broad gauge on October 29. It was a decision that they’d regret, as Brunel’s own design of track - the bridge rail he penned mounted on longitudinal timbers - created an appalling ride.
By 1838, it looked as though the brilliant engineer might be out of a job. The London group of directors locked horns with their colleagues in Bristol over Brunel’s future. But the ever eloquent engineer saved himself - and his high-speed railway.
It was a good job, too, for the Great Western Steamship Co.’s flagship undertook its maiden voyage to New York in April 1838. The SS
Great Western proved the genius of its creator by beating its nearest rival across the Atlantic.
The line from London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads finally opened throughout on June 30 1841. The result is a testament not only to Brunel’s engineering brilliance, but to his artistic flair.
But what makes the GWR main line a true wonder is that this futuristic taste of rail travel blends seamlessly into the landscape. Brunel strove to use local stone to match new railway structures with existing buildings. The railway through Bath’s Sydney Gardens looks like it was just meant to be there.
The Great Western Railway offers a glimpse into the mind of Brunel. He thought of everything, from the production-line arrangement of Swindon Works to designing houses for the workers to live in. He even cared about the quality of the refreshments on offer. The Great Western Main Line is much more than just a railway - it’s what genius looks like.
What’s more mind-boggling is that the first part opened just 13 years after the Stockton & Darlington - and its influence can still be felt today.
Great Western Railway operates the line today as part of the full Great Western Main Line, managing 197 stations and calling at more than 270. In October 2017, the first Class 800 Intercity Express Trains built by Hitachi began to enter service on the line, followed by the Class 802s in August 2018. GWR has gone to great lengths with its rebrand since 2015, to bring back the grandeur and class that the name Great Western Railway still kindles in peoples’ hearts.