Taking the GWR Act to Parliament* - Part 2 In 1839, John Williams, Library of Science and Art, 106, Great Russell Street, London published a book written by S C Brees, C.E &c entitled:
APPENDIX TO
RAILWAY PRACTICE,
CONTAINING A COPIOUS ABSTRACT OF THE WHOLE OF THE
EVIDENCE
GIVEN UPON THE LONDON AND BIRMINGHAM, AND GREAT WESTERN
RAILWAY BILLS,
WHEN BEFORE PARLIAMENT, PROPERLY DIGESTED AND ARRANGED WITH MARGINAL NOTES.
AMONG THE SEVERAL WITNESSES EXAMINED WILL BE FOUND THE FOLLOWING EMINENT CIVIL
ENGINEERS: GEORGE STEPHENSON ESQ, CHARLES VIGNOLES, ESQ, ROBERT STEPHENSON ESQ, HENRY R PALMER ESQ, I K BRUNEL, ESQ, GEORGE W BUCK ESQ, J U RASTRICK ESQ, HENRY H PRICE ESQ, JOSEPH LOCKE, ESQ, DR DIONYSIUS LARDNER, &C &C
GEORGE LEATHER ESQ, WILLIAM C MYLNE ESQ, FRANCIS GILES ESQ, COL G HENDERSON, THOMAS CABREY ESQ,
________________________ TO WHICH IS ADDED
A GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS,
USED IN CIVIL ENGINEERING, EXPLAINING AND ILLUSTRATING EVERY WORD IN ORDINARY USE, AND THE DETAILS OF HAWTHORNE’S CELEBRATED LOCOMOTIVE ENGINE FOR THE PARIS AND VERSAILLES RAILWAY.
GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY
Abstract of Evidence given before a Committee of the House of Lords, June 1835 Please note, the spelling, capitalisation, punctuation are those of the original publisher - Ed)
Examined Isambard Kingdom Brunel Esq. C.E
(Continued from pp46-52 of the January 2021 issue of Great Western Star)
We have made all the requisite Borings to ascertain the nature of the Soil, which I should say upon the whole is rather favorable. The only London clay we have is for a short distance after leaving the Birmingham line ; it is in Cutting and the greatest depth is but 22 feet, which is not sufficient to cause any difficulty. From London to Reading it consists almost entirely of excellent Gravel, at Reading there is some Chalk; in the first hill through Reading there is a small quantity of Clay with the Gravel, upon leaving Reading it is I was fortunate to acquire a copy of this book which in 1952 had been in the possession of Harry Withers, Leading Porter, Tewkesbury, ex L.M.R - ed. 86
GREAT WESTERN STAR MAGAZINE
Spring 2021
very hard Chalk, which in the neighbouring Quarry stands upright. The Line thence through the north of Berkshire, being upon the surface, the quality of the soil is of no comparative consequence. The Oxford clay, which is as bad as the London Clay, ranges in tat Basin until beyond Swindon, where it is almost entirely Clay, and continues as far as the Avon at Chippenham; upon crossing the Avon it is a Stratafied Stone, rising in beds ;it lies above Oolite of Bath. We wall the sides of our Clay banks, as we shall have Stone at hand. Passing Chippenham the cuts are still in Stratafied Stone; which is very easily worked; they form dry walls of it, in place of hedges, in the neighbourhood. It continues the same until we arrive at Box Hill, wich is in Bath Stone; the entrance of the Tunnel is in Cornbrash, which is Stratafied Stone. We then pass through the bed of Bath Stone, and enter the Clay which lies below it; the first hill after that is in the same Stone, and the next in Clay. The Cuttings are not of any extent until we come to Bath and Bristol; it is principally
