Editing Great Western Railway (section)

==Geography==
[[File:GWR map.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A map showing Wales and south west England. The words "Great Western Railway" are at top left, the sea is pale blue and railway lines red, many of which seem to radiate from London on the right|Map of the system {{Circa|1930}}]]
The original [[Great Western Main Line]] linked [[London Paddington station]] with Temple Meads station in Bristol by way of {{Stnlnk|Reading}}, [[Didcot Parkway railway station|Didcot]], {{Stnlnk|Swindon}}, {{Stnlnk|Chippenham}} and [[Bath Spa railway station|Bath]]. This line was extended westwards through [[Exeter St Davids railway station|Exeter]]{{sfn|MacDermot|1931|at=Chapter 5}} and [[Plymouth Millbay railway station|Plymouth]]{{sfn|MacDermot|1931|at=Chapter 6}} to reach {{Stnlnk|Truro}}{{sfn|MacDermot|1931|at=Chapter 7}} and {{Stnlnk|Penzance}},{{sfn|MacDermot|1931|at=Chapter 8}} the most westerly railway station in England. Brunel and Gooch placed the GWR's main [[Swindon railway works|locomotive workshops]] close to the village of Swindon and the locomotives of many trains were changed here in the early years. Up to this point the route had climbed very gradually westwards from London, but from here it changed into one with steeper gradients which, with the primitive locomotives available to Brunel, was better operated by types with smaller wheels better able to climb the hills. These gradients faced both directions, first dropping down through [[Wootton Bassett Junction railway station|Wootton Bassett Junction]] to cross the [[River Avon, Bristol|River Avon]], then climbing back up through Chippenham to the Box Tunnel before descending once more to regain the River Avon's valley which it followed to Bath and Bristol.{{sfn|MacDermot|1927|at=Chapter 4}}

Swindon was also the junction for a line that ran north-westwards to {{Stnlnk|Gloucester}} then south-westwards on the far side of the [[River Severn]] to reach [[Cardiff Central railway station|Cardiff]], {{Stnlnk|Swansea}} and west Wales. This route was later shortened by the opening of a more direct east–west route through the [[Severn Tunnel]]. Another route ran northwards from Didcot to {{Stnlnk|Oxford}} from where two different routes continued to [[Wolverhampton Low Level railway station|Wolverhampton]], one through [[Birmingham Snow Hill railway station|Birmingham]] and the other through [[Worcester Shrub Hill railway station|Worcester]]. Beyond Wolverhampton the line continued via {{Stnlnk|Shrewsbury}} to {{Stnlnk|Chester}} and (via a joint line with the [[London and North Western Railway|LNWR]]) onwards to [[Birkenhead Woodside railway station|Birkenhead]] and [[Warrington Bank Quay railway station|Warrington]]; another route via {{stnlnk|Market Drayton}} enabled the GWR to reach {{stnlnk|Crewe}}. Operating agreements with other companies also allowed GWR trains to run to [[Manchester Piccadilly railway station|Manchester]]. South of the London to Bristol main line were routes from Didcot to [[Southampton Terminus railway station|Southampton]] via {{Stnlnk|Newbury}}, and from Chippenham to {{Stnlnk|Weymouth}} via {{Stnlnk|Westbury}}.<ref name="GWRTT">{{cite book| title = Time Tables| publisher = Great Western Railway| year = 1939| location = London}}</ref>

A network of cross-country routes linked these main lines, and there were also many and varied [[branch line]]s. Some were short, such as the {{Convert|3+1/2|mi|km|adj=on}} [[Clevedon branch line]];<ref>{{cite book |last= Maggs |first= Colin G. |title= The Clevedon Branch |year= 1987 |publisher= Wild Swan Publications |location= Didcot |isbn= 0-906867-52-5 }}</ref> others were much longer such as the {{Convert|23|mi|km|adj=on}} [[West Somerset Railway|Minehead Branch]].<ref>{{cite book |last= Coleby |first= Ian |title= The Minehead Branch 1848–1971 |year= 2006 |publisher= Lightmoor Press |location= Witney |isbn= 1-899889-20-5 }}</ref> A few were promoted and built by the GWR to counter competition from other companies, such as the [[Reading to Basingstoke Line]] to keep the [[London and South Western Railway]] away from {{Stnlnk|Newbury}}.{{sfn|MacDermot|1927|at=Chapter 6}} However, many were built by local companies that then sold their railway to their larger neighbour; examples include the [[South Devon and Tavistock Railway|Launceston]]<ref>{{cite book| last = Anthony| first = GH|author2=Jenkins, SC| title = The Launceston Branch| publisher = Oakwood Press| year = 1997| location = Headington| isbn = 0-85361-491-1}}</ref> and {{Stnlnk|Brixham}}<ref>{{cite book |last= Potts |first= C.R. |title= The Brixham Branch |edition= 2nd |orig-year= 1987 |year= 2000 |publisher= Oakwood Press |location= Usk |isbn= 0-85361-556-X }}</ref> branches. Further variety came from the traffic carried: holidaymakers ([[St Ives Bay Line|St Ives]]);.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Jenkins | first = Stanley C | title = the St Ives Branch | journal = Great Western Railway Journal | issue = Cornish Special Issue | pages = 2–34 | publisher = Wild Swan Publications Ltd| year = 1992}}</ref> royalty ([[Windsor Branch Line|Windsor]]);<ref>{{cite book |last= Potts |first= C.R. |title= Windsor to Slough : a Royal branch line |year= 1993 |publisher= Oakwood Press |location= Oxford | isbn= 0-85361-442-3 }}</ref> or just goods traffic ([[Cornwall Minerals Railway#New construction|Carbis Wharf]]).<ref>{{cite book| last = Vaughan| first = John| title = The Newquay Branch and its Branches| publisher= Haynes/Oxford Publishing Company| year = 1991| location = Sparkford| isbn= 0-86093-470-5 | pages=108–116}}</ref>

Brunel envisaged the GWR continuing across the Atlantic Ocean and built the {{ship|SS|Great Western}} to carry the railway's passengers from Bristol to [[New York City|New York]].<ref>{{cite book| last = Brindle| first = Steven| title = Brunel: the man who built the world| publisher = Weidenfeld & Nicolson| year = 2006| location = London| isbn = 0-297-84408-3 | page=268}}</ref> Most traffic for North America soon switched to the larger port of [[Liverpool]] (in other railways' territories) but some transatlantic passengers were landed at [[Plymouth Millbay railway station|Plymouth]] and conveyed to London by special train. Great Western ships linked Great Britain with Ireland, the [[Channel Islands]] and France.<ref name=Duckworth>{{cite book| last = Duckworth| first = Christian Leslie Dyce|author2=Langmuir, Graham Easton| title = Railway and Other Steamers| publisher = T Stephenson & Sons| year = 1968| location = Prescot| pages=184–206 }}</ref>

===Key locations===
The railway's headquarters were established at Paddington station. Its locomotives and rolling stock were built and maintained at [[Swindon Works]]{{sfn|MacDermot|1927|at=Chapter 5}} but other workshops were acquired as it [[Consolidation (business)|amalgamated]] with other railways, including the Shrewsbury companies' [[Wolverhampton railway works|Stafford Road works]] at Wolverhampton,<ref name=Intro/> and the South Devon's workshops at [[Newton Abbot engine shed|Newton Abbot]].<ref>{{cite book| last = Sheppard| first = Geof| title = Broad Gauge Locomotives| publisher = Noodle Books| year = 2008| location = Southampton| isbn = 978-1-906419-09-7 | page=63}}</ref> [[Worcester Carriage Works]] was created by flattening land north of [[Worcester Shrub Hill railway station|Worcester Shrub Hill Station]],<ref>This subsequently closed after a major fire in 1864</ref> [[Reading Signal Works]] was established in buildings to the north of [[Reading railway station]],{{sfn|MacDermot|1931|at=Chapter 13}} and in later years a concrete manufacturing depot was established at {{Stnlnk|Taunton}} where items ranging from track components to bridges were cast.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Andrews | first = Julian | title = BR's Concrete Works at Taunton | journal = Modelling Railways Illustrated | volume = 4 | issue = 10 | pages = 462–464 | publisher = Model Media Publications | date = August 1997 | issn = 0969-7349 }}</ref>

===Engineering features===
[[File:Brunel's Railway Bridge at Maidenhead - geograph.org.uk - 94793.jpg|thumb|right|alt=A wide tree-lined river on the left has a green bank in the right-foreground and is crossed by a low two brick-arched bridge. A tree in the middle of the river obscures part of the bridge.|[[Maidenhead Railway Bridge]]]]
More than 150 years after its creation, the original main line has been described by historian Steven Brindle as "one of the masterpieces of railway design".{{sfn|Brindle |2006|page=269}} Working westwards from Paddington, the line crosses the valley of the [[River Brent]] on [[Wharncliffe Viaduct]] and the [[River Thames]] on [[Maidenhead Railway Bridge]], which at the time of construction was the largest span achieved by a brick arch bridge.<ref>{{cite book |last= Owen |first= Professor J.B.B. |editor= Puglsey, Sir Alfred |title= The Works of Isambard Kingdom Brunel |year= 1976 |publisher= [[Institution of Civil Engineers]] |location= London |isbn= 0-7277-0030-8 |chapter= Arch Bridges | pages=89–106 }}</ref> The line then continues through [[Sonning Cutting]] before reaching Reading<ref name=Track>{{cite book |last= Chapman |first= W.G. |title= Track Topics |year=1935  |publisher= Great Western Railway |location= London | pages=51–52 |oclc=3226302 }}</ref> after which it crosses the Thames twice more, on [[Gatehampton Railway Bridge|Gatehampton]] and [[Moulsford Railway Bridge|Moulsford]] bridges.<ref>{{cite book |last= Clifford |first= David |title= Isambard Kingdom Brunel: The Construction of the Great Western Railway |year= 2006 |publisher= Finial Publishing |location= Reading |isbn= 1-900467-28-3 | pages=129–171 }}</ref> Between Chippenham and Bath is [[Box Tunnel]], the longest railway tunnel driven by that time.<ref>{{cite book |last= Swift |first= Andrew|title= The Ringing Grooves of Change |year= 2006 |publisher= Akeman Press |isbn= 0-9546138-5-6 | pages=215–249 }}</ref> Several years later, the railway opened the even longer Severn Tunnel to carry a new line between England and Wales beneath the [[River Severn]].<ref name=Walker/>

Some other notable structures were added when smaller companies were amalgamated into the GWR. These include the [[South Devon Railway sea wall]],<ref>{{cite book| last = Kay| first = Peter| title = Exeter&nbsp;– Newton Abbot: A Railway History| publisher = Platform 5 Publishing| year = 1991| location = Sheffield| isbn = 1-872524-42-7 | pages=93–108 }}</ref> the [[Cornwall Railway]]'s [[Royal Albert Bridge]],<ref>{{cite book| last = Binding| first = John| title = Brunel's Royal Albert Bridge| publisher = [[Twelveheads Press]]| year = 1997| location = Truro| isbn = 0-906294-39-8}}</ref> and [[Barmouth Bridge]] on the [[Cambrian Railways]].{{sfn|Chapman|1935|pages=225–228}}