c1890 Severn Tunnel Railway: From 4 Miles 60 Chains to 7 Miles 50 Chains

Description

Colour Plates, Illustrated, Leather Binding, Original Binding, Very Scarce

A vanishingly scarce lithograph map of the Severn Tunnel, a tunnel linking South Gloucestershire to Monmouthshire, built under the estuary of the River Severn and reaching a length of 4 miles 628 yards, or 7,012 m.

Large portions of the map have been partially hand coloured, with extensive annotations in both pencil and ink.

With several stamps reading both 'Great Western Railway Chief Engineers Office, Paddington' and 'To Be Returned to Chief Engineer's Plan Office, G. W. R. Paddington', to both the recto and verso of the map.

During the period of the tunnel railway's construction, Chief Engineers of GWR included Joseph Armstrong, William Dean, and George Armstrong.

The map is divided into fourteen plates mounted on linen and folding concertina style, bound in morocco boards. 

The front board reads 'Severn Tunnel Railway: From 54 Miles 60 Chains to 7 Miles 50 Chains'.

The majority of the pencil annotations detail the owner's and acreage of the pieces of land the railway runs through, with the local Parishes of different sections of the railway also detailed. Further annotations include measurements and depths, reference numbers for deeds, and details of freeholds.

A fascinating and very scarce map with a clear association to GWR, the company responsible for constructing the tunnel, offering insight into the land surrounding the tunnel.