When the GWR was opened no trains in the United Kingdom were fitted with vacuum brakes, instead handbrakes were fitted to individual wagons and trains also conveyed brake vans where a guard had control of a screw-operated brake. The first goods wagons to be fitted with vacuum brakes were those that ran in passenger trains carrying perishable goods such as fish. Some ballast hoppers were given vacuum brakes in December 1903, and general goods wagons were constructed with them from 1904 onwards, although unfitted wagons (those without vacuum brakes) still formed the majority of the fleet in 1948 when the railway was nationalised to become a part of British Railways. [94] As we continue to invest in our railway, we

Number 47500". The 47's. 2009. Archived from the original on 26 October 2007 . Retrieved 11 March 2009. During this time, customers are advised to use the overflow car park off Great Western Road instead, or alternative car parking nearby. This accident prompted Parliament to pass the Railway Regulation Act in 1844, requiring railway companies to provide better carriages for passengers. The next section, from Reading to Steventon crossed the Thames twice and opened for traffic on 1 June 1840. A 7 + 1⁄ 4-mile (12km) extension took the line to Faringdon Road on 20 July 1840. Meanwhile, work had started at the Bristol end of the line, where the 11 + 1⁄ 2-mile (19km) section to Bath opened on 31 August 1840. [11] Route of the Great Western Railway on Cheffin's Map, 1850. The sweep to the north from Reading is clearly seen. Steele, A.K. (1972). Great Western Broad Gauge Album. Headington: Oxford Publishing Company. p.4. ISBN 0-902888-11-0. Kay, Peter (1991). Exeter– Newton Abbot: A Railway History. Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing. pp.93–108. ISBN 1-872524-42-7.Our new trains are already providing over 6,000 seats everyday between South Wales and London Paddington, or the equivalent of 75 extra carriages, and with the completion of electrification planned for later this year, and a new timetable, we will also be able to reduce journey times.” Stert and Westbury linking the Berks and Hants line with Westbury to create a shorter route to Weymouth for the Channel Islands traffic. Extends to/from Reading after 20:00 on weekdays and all day on Sundays (buses do not stop at Reading West) Travelling from Kintbury? a b Walker, Thomas A (2004). The Severn Tunnel: Its Construction and Difficulties (1872–1887). Stroud: Nonsuch Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-84588-000-5.

Keeping the programme moving in the meantime, we are now planning the next phase of night time grit-blasting, with a focus on the triangle; the section of roof between platform 1 and the main train shed.The BGS Millennium Project". Broad Gauge Society. 2004. Archived from the original on 12 October 2006 . Retrieved 18 August 2008. Because of the procedures and timetables that have to be put in place ahead of strikes, any 11th-hour agreement can still cause travel chaos, and it's been suggested by travel experts that the latest deadline for a deal to avoid disruption is the end of today.

Henry Lambert - The general manager (1887–1896) responsible for managing the final gauge conversion in 1892. [62] We’re a little way off having programmes in place for these projects but the aim is to have it all completed by the end of March 2024. New entrances for Bristol Temple Meads Owen, Professor J.B.B. (1976). "Arch Bridges". In Puglsey, Sir Alfred (ed.). The Works of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. London: Institution of Civil Engineers. pp.89–106. ISBN 0-7277-0030-8. Due to a national shortage of replacement bus drivers, some buses over the weekend of 11/12 November will be cancelled.

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The Bristol and Exeter Railway amalgamated with the GWR on 1 January 1876. It had already made a start on mixing the gauge on its line, a task completed through to Exeter on 1 March 1876 by the GWR. The station here had been shared with the LSWR since 1862. This rival company had continued to push westwards over its Exeter and Crediton line and arrived in Plymouth later in 1876, which spurred the South Devon Railway to also amalgamate with the Great Western. The Cornwall Railway remained a nominally independent line until 1889, although the GWR held a large number of shares in the company. No trains run between Reading and Westbury (via Newbury). Trains between London and the south west will be diverted via Swindon. After 1892, with the burden of operating trains on two gauges removed, the company turned its attention to constructing new lines and upgrading old ones to shorten the company's previously circuitous routes. The principal new lines opened were: [28] Whishaw, Francis (1842). The Railways of Great Britain and Ireland Practically Described and Illustrated (2nded.). London: John Weale. pp.141–162. OCLC 833076248. Oakley, Mike (2007). Devon Railway Stations. Wimbourne: The Dovecote Press. pp.143–144. ISBN 978-1-904349-55-6.