Editing Great Western Railway (section)

===Formation===
[[File:Bristol Temple Meads railway station train-shed engraving.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Two trains and two empty rail tracks below an ornate roof which recedes into the distance|The interior of Brunel's train-shed at Temple Meads, the first Bristol terminus of the GWR, from an engraving by [[John Cooke Bourne|J.&nbsp;C.&nbsp;Bourne]].]]
The Great Western Railway originated from the desire of [[Bristol]] merchants to maintain their city as the second port of the country and the chief one for American trade.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Channon |first=Geoffrey |url=https://archive.org/details/bha062 |title=Bristol and the Promotion of the Great Western Railway, 1835 |isbn=0-901388-45-9 |publisher=Bristol Historical Association |year=1985 |location=Bristol |publication-date=1985 |language=English}}</ref> The increase in the size of ships and the gradual silting of the [[River Avon, Bristol|River Avon]] had made [[Liverpool]] an increasingly attractive port, and with a Liverpool to London rail line under construction in the 1830s Bristol's status was threatened. The answer for Bristol was, with the co-operation of London interests, to build a line of their own; a railway built to unprecedented standards of excellence to out-perform the lines being constructed to the [[North West England|North West of England]].{{sfn|MacDermot|1927|at=Chapter 1}}

{{anchor|Great Western Railway Act 1835}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Great Western Railway Act 1835
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act for making a Railway from Bristol to join the London and Birmingham Railway near London, to be called "The Great Western Railway," with Branches therefrom to the Towns of Bradford and Trowbridge in the County of Wilts.
| year                  = 1835
| citation              = [[5 & 6 Will. 4]]. c. cvii
| introduced_commons    = 
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| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 31 August 1835
| commencement          = 
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The company was founded at a meeting in Bristol on 21 January 1833. [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]], then aged 27, was appointed engineer on 7 March 1833. The name Great Western Railway was adopted on 19 August 1833, and the company was incorporated by the Great Western Railway Act 1835 ([[5 & 6 Will. 4]]. c. cvii) on 31 August 1835.{{sfn|MacDermot|1927|pp=4–5, 9, 25–26}}