1870 Proposal for the Construction of A Tunnel Under the River Severn

Description

First Edition, Publishers' Original Binding, Very Scarce

Very scarce.

A proposal for "Improved and Unbroken Railway Communication Between South Wales and The West and South of England, also with the Metropolis and the South of Ireland, via Bristol, by means of a Tunnel under the River Severn".

This document contains the thoughts of Great Western Railway chief consulting engineer, John Hawkshaw, regarding the construction of this railway tunnel. Hawkshaw outlines the time and journey saving benefits of this tunnel, as well as the trade and traffic reduction possibilities, and a proposed cost of £750,000. 

This proposal was written up by the secretary Leonard Bruton in 1870, with the construction of the tunnel commencing three years later.

This important tunnel did precisely what Hawkshaw suggested, and dramatically shortened the journey times of trains containing passengers and goods. It is often regarded as Hawkshaw's crowning accomplishment.