The first locomotive-driven passenger railway, which opened in 1825, was the Stockton-Darlington railway. By 1833, railway lines had proliferated, and Liverpool was fast becoming the port of choice for trade, because it was being connected via railway line to the capital. Partly in order to protect and advance Bristol's status as a port, the Great Western Railway was established. This allowed passengers to travel between London and the south-west and west, including parts of Wales. It was granted the consent of Parliament in 1835, and its chief engineer appointed, the young Isombard Kingdom Brunel. His decisions about the specifics of the line - particularly his choice of route, north of the Marlborough Downs, and his choice to lay wide-…
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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Great Western Railway is begun". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 August 2013 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=4720, accessed 23 November 2024.]