The Sun.
London, England, 1862-08-15 00:00:00

THE BRUNELS AND THE GREAT

WESTERN.

The directors seem early to have had misgivings
is to the expediency of the changes introduced by
their engineer, and in 1838, while the line was still
under construction, they invited several engineers
of eminence to advise with them on the subject.
Robert Stephenson and James Walker declined to
do so, but Nicholas Wood and John Hawkshaw
consented. Both sent in reports, which concurred
in recommending the adoption of the narrow or
established gauge in place of the broad or excep-
tional one, Mr. Hawkshaw clearly pointed out that
the existing gauge had originated in experience,
and that the men whose practical knowledge of
railways had been the greatest saw the least occa-
sion for its alteration; that three-fourths of England
was being traversed by the narrow gauge, and it
would be a great evil if the Great Western district
were to be isolated from all the great lines in its
neighbourhood; that nothing was to be gained by
increasing the width of the gauge, while much
might be lost by unnecessary expenditure of capital
in the first place, and by driving traffic in other
directions in the next ; and under these circum-
stances he strongly urged that, as only 22 miles of
the railway had been laid down at the date of his
report, that portion should be forthwith converted
into narrow gauge, and the remainder executed of
the same width. Mr. Hawkshaw's recommenda-
tions were of no avail. Mr. Brunel, Mr. Babbage,
and Mr. Russell Gurney opposed their adoption by
the company ; genius, science, and eloquence car-
ried the day ; Mr. Brunel assured the shareholders
that the broad gauge was the best gauge, and that
the Great Western "could have no connexion with
any other of the main lines of railway." On a divi-
sion, the shareholders endorsed the recommendations
of their engineer, and the controversy was for a time
put an end to by the completion of the Great Wes-
tern as a broad-gauge railway. Years passed, and
railways of a different gauge met Mr. Brunel's line
at many points. Mr 13runel himself was the engi-
neer of various lines of narrow gauge, thereby ad-
mitting its practical sufficiency for railway traffic.
The break of gauge eventually came to be viewed
in the light of a public calamity. The intervention
of Parliament was even called for, and a Royal
commission was appointed to take evidence, and re-
port on the subject, which they did in 1846. But it
was too late to remedy the evil. 'While an actual
saving of capital would have been effected by the
adoption of Mr. Hawkshaw'4 recommendation eight
years before, it was no:;v tound that the alteration of
the Great West-ern lines from the broad to the nar-
row gauge, would cost upwards of a million sterling.
How was this amount to be raised i By the share-
holti:ers or by the public ? The question was, in-
;teed, felt to be surrounded with difficulty ; and all
that the commission did was to recommend the
future restriction of the broad-gauge lines to their
own district. Since that time something has been
done to remedy the original evil. The mixed
gauge—that is the narrow gauge
Within the broad
—has been adopted, and le gradually extending.
The most recent arrplication of this plan has been
between ions ,on and Reading ; and the proprietors
of the Great Western Railway Will
probably have
to make up their minds before long to extend the
oe:crow gauge to Bristol, if not throughout their
entire system. Notwithstanding nlr. Brunel's great
engineering skill, it is to be doubted whether he
possessed much of the genius of au original inven-
tor. He took up a principle already established,
and pushed it further, exhibitieg in a striking
light the development of which the ideas of others
were capable. His ruling idea Was magnitude ; he
had an ambition to make everything bigger than
he had found it. Thus, he found
the railway gauge
4ft. 81in., and be increased it to 7ft., thereby in-
volving wider tunnels, more expensive works, and
stock.
a heavier equipment in working So, in the
atmospheric railway, he found the tuba in use
on the Dalkey railway 15in, in
diameter, and on
the South Devon line he doubled it. Then, in steam
ships, his Great Western was nearly double the
power and tonnage of any previous steamer ; the
Great Britain which followed, was double the ton-
nage of the Great Western; and the Great

Eastern exceeded in size all that the most imagi-
native shipbuilder had conceived to be pos-
sible. It was a race of bigness run against
himself as well as others. But in the case of the
Great Eastern steamship, as of the Great Western
Railway, it is not probable that Mr. Brunel's exam-
ple will be followed ; for it is now pretty well under-
stood that ships, like railways, may be made too big
—at least, for those who own them. Notwithstand-
ing the want of success which attended Mr. Brunel's
principal undertaking, ho was well supported
throughout by the moneyed interest. The share-
holders in the Great Western Railway not only
readily found the capital which he required to carry
out his splendid ideas with reference to that line,
but they presented him with a handsome testimonial
in acknowledgment of his genius. Though the Great
Western steam-ship proved a commercial failure, he
had no difficulty in finding capitalists to enable him
to build the Great Britain at a still greater sacrifice ;
and, still again,
to project and bring to completion
his magnificent idea of the Great Eastern steam-
ship.—Quarterly Retnew.