Brunel achievement up for UN prize
Brunel’s Great Western Railway, currently celebrating its 175th anniversary, could become a World Heritage site. It received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835.
On 28 June 2010, a celebration steam train travelled the length of the line to mark the anniversary of GWR. The carriages were pulled by two 80-year-old steam engines.
The 300-mile railway line between London Paddington and Penzance in Cornwall has been called God’s Wonderful Railway because it opened up the South West to visitors from far off cities, north and south.
Thirty-eight places in the UK are up for United Nations, UNESCO World Heritage Site status.
The chief engineer of GWR was the legendary Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It was regarded as one of the wonders of Victorian Britain. The line along the south Devon coast is one of the most scenic railway routes in the United Kingdom.
Its fate is now uncertain because of the sea’s incursions on this vital route during bad weather.
