on to the Stockton & Darlington Railway where he inspected a suspension bridge carrying the railway over the River Tees which he described as a ‘wretched thing’ and then on again to Hartlepool, Beverley and Hull. From Hull he crossed the Pennines to Manchester to undertake a journey on the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, which at that time had only been operation for just over a year. There are no previous mentions of railway travel in Brunel’s diaries, so it is likely that this was his first trip on a train. It seems however Brunel was not too impressed by the rough ride he took on a 2 hour 15 minute journey to Liverpool on 5th December 1831, writing in his notebook ‘I record this specimen of the shaking on the Manchester Railway - the time is not too far off when we shall be able to take our coffee and write while going, noiseless and smoothly
at 45 miles per hour – let me try’. He had also tried to draw circles to judge how smooth the ride was and, in the page shown here, he tried to write his signature twice at both top and bottom, along with the words ‘Shaky Shaky’! Within a few short years however, Brunel would be grappling with his own issues of rough track as teething troubles with his new broad gauge baulk road led to a battle with shareholders and critics, but for now, this intriguing souvenir of his first railway journey shows that his ambition to design a truly high-speed railway was already at the forefront of his fertile mind. For more information about the Brunel Institute and its collections please visit: https://www.ssgreatbritain.org/collections-andresearch/
Work Continues to Link the Metro Control Centre to the Rail Network Work to link the South Wales Metro Control Centre to the rail network begins next month ready for the arrival of the new £150m fleet of Metro tramtrains. The scheme includes raising the road bridge and creating a new tunnel to join the £100m control centre, maintenance facility and depot in Taff’s Well, Cardiff, to the rail network. Phase 1 will involve work to prepare the site for the new tunnel between 23 August and 10 December 2021. Pending planning approval, Phase 2 will involve the build of the new bridge between 10 December 2021 and Autumn 2022. This work will require the closure of Ffordd Bleddyn throughout the length of the work, between the junction off Cardiff Road and the entrance to Taff’s Well railway station car park. The pedestrian and cycle path (Taff Trail) along this section of Ffordd Bleddyn will also be closed from the 25th of October. Diversions will be in place for all routes. Karl Gilmore, TfW’s Rail Infrastructure Director, said: “We have a significant amount of work to carry out to create the South Wales Metro and this is a crucial phase of the development. “We understand this is a lengthy road closure, however this is unavoidable due to the complexity of the tunnel construction. We’re working closely with the local authorities to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum. “We will do everything we can to work responsibly by ensuring our sites are well managed and our people are considerate to our neighbours.” Taff’s Well railway station will remain open to the
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The new control centre area
Ffordd Bleddyn tunnel
public throughout the work and will be accessible via an entrance from Moy Road/Ffordd Bleddyn from the north. There will also be work to install deep drainage to the area whilst the modification of Taff’s Well station car park is taking place. Members of the public with any questions should visit tfwrail.wales/contact-us or call 0333 3211 202.
Great Western Star Summer 2021
