Great Western Railway

Connections

Connections Author name Excerpt
Family and Intimate relationships E. A. Dillwyn
EAD 's father, Lewis Llewelyn Dillwyn , owned a spelter works, Dillwyn and Co. , in Llansamlet, a little to the north of Swansea. He later entered into a business partnership with William Siemens
Family and Intimate relationships Beatrice Webb
BW 's father, Richard Potter , was a business entrepreneur. His financial interests were many and wide-ranging; his directorships included the Great Western Railway , the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada , and the Hudson Bay Company
Travel Charlotte Guest
Her Mamma had entreated I should not go by this conveyance, lest some accident should befall.
Guest, Charlotte. Extracts from her Journal, 1833–1852. Bessborough, Vere Brabazon PonsonbyEditor , John Murray, 1950.
19
CG later travelled on the inaugural journey of the Great Western Railway
Guest, Charlotte. Extracts from her Journal, 1833–1852. Bessborough, Vere Brabazon PonsonbyEditor , John Murray, 1950.
243
and on a train...

Timeline

1836
Isambard Kingdom Brunel began work on Box Tunnel on the Great Western Railway .
4 June 1838
The first section of the Great Western Railway , from London to Bristol, opened.
1839
The electric telegraph was used for the first time on a railroad by the Great Western Railway .
1840
The Great Western Railway first used disc-and-crossbar signals to indicate approaching trains.
17 June 1850
The South Wales Railway opened between Chepstow and Swansea. Lady Charlotte Guest , one of the travellers on it, reported wonderful speed by the first train on her journey, which covered the distance between...
1 February 1855
The Great Western Railway operated the first special postal train between London and Bristol.
1877
The Severn Tunnel of the Great Western Railway , the first long underwater tunnel and the longest railway tunnel in England, was begun.