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102-603: The Dalkey Atmospheric Railway (unofficial opening 19 August 1843, official opening 29 March 1844 – 12 April 1854) was an extension of the Dublin and Kingstown Railway (D&KR) to Atmospheric Road in Dalkey , County Dublin , Ireland . It used part of the Dalkey Quarry industrial tramway, which was earlier used for the construction of Kingstown (Dún Laoghaire) Harbour . It was the first commercial atmospheric railway in
204-470: A 15-inch (380 mm) pipe was used for the ascent to Dalkey, speeds of up to 40 mph (64 km/h) being achieved, and the return journey was by means of gravity. The vacuum tube fell 560 yd (512 m) short of the Dalkey station, and the train relied on momentum for the last stretch of the journey. To commence the journey to Kingstown the train had to be pushed by hand until the piston engaged with
306-433: A candidate at the renowned engineering school École Polytechnique , but as a foreigner, he was deemed ineligible for entry. Brunel subsequently studied under the prominent master clockmaker and horologist Abraham-Louis Breguet , who praised Brunel's potential in letters to his father. In late 1822, having completed his apprenticeship, Brunel returned to England. Brunel worked for several years as an assistant engineer on
408-598: A fire aboard the ship as she was returning from fitting out in London. As the fire delayed the launch several days, the Great Western missed its opportunity to claim the title as the first ship to cross the Atlantic under steam power alone. Even with a four-day head start , the competing Sirius arrived only one day earlier, having virtually exhausted its coal supply. In contrast, the Great Western crossing of
510-642: A grade II listed monument in 2007) and at Starcross . A section of the pipe, without the leather covers, is preserved at the Didcot Railway Centre . In 2017, inventor Max Schlienger unveiled a working model of an updated atmospheric railroad at his vineyard in the Northern California town of Ukiah. Brunel had proposed extending its transport network by boat from Bristol across the Atlantic Ocean to New York City before
612-542: A happy childhood, despite the family's constant money worries, with his father acting as his teacher during his early years. His father taught him drawing and observational techniques from the age of four, and Brunel had learned Euclidean geometry by eight. During this time, he learned to speak French fluently and the basic principles of engineering. He was encouraged to draw interesting buildings and identify any faults in their structure, and like his father he demonstrated an aptitude for mathematics and mechanics. When Brunel
714-565: A horse pulling a single carriage carrying directors and friends on 31 July 1834; at that stage with only a single line laid throughout. The D&KR claimed that trials expected in September were delayed due to the risks to labourers still working on the line. The first recorded train with invited passengers on 4 October 1834 was hauled by the engine Vauxhall and ran as far as the Williamstown Martello Tower at what
816-411: A large six-bladed propeller into his design for the 322-foot (98 m) Great Britain , which was launched in 1843. Great Britain is considered the first modern ship, being built of metal rather than wood, powered by an engine rather than wind or oars, and driven by propeller rather than paddle wheel. She was the first iron-hulled, propeller-driven ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Her maiden voyage
918-585: A larger ship would take proportionately less fuel than a smaller ship. To test this theory, Brunel offered his services for free to the Great Western Steamship Company, which appointed him to its building committee and entrusted him with designing its first ship, the Great Western . When it was built, the Great Western was the longest ship in the world at 236 ft (72 m) with a 250-foot (76 m) keel . The ship
1020-610: A major means of transport for goods. This influenced Brunel's involvement in railway engineering, including railway bridge engineering. In 1833, before the Thames Tunnel was complete, Brunel was appointed chief engineer of the Great Western Railway , one of the wonders of Victorian Britain, running from London to Bristol and later Exeter . The company was founded at a public meeting in Bristol in 1833, and
1122-619: A plan by Alexander Nimmo which was supported by other businessmen and presented as a petition to the House of Commons on 28 February 1831 for a rail line from near Trinity College to the west pier at the Royal Harbour of Kingstown under a company to be known as the D&;KR. A bill was presented and was progressing but was scuppered by a prorogation of parliament and an election. A fresh bill received royal assent on 6 September 1831 as
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#17327826186761224-461: A presentation to the Institution of Civil Engineers of Ireland in 1887 that speed of construction was remarkably short and led to "many failures in masonry, bridges, etc.". The railway proved expensive to build, the final cost being under a little under £60,000 per mile in total, Murray in 1938 commenting that this rate per mile was one of the highest ever. One of the earliest tests was with
1326-399: A series of locomotives for the D&KR after Princess , the list includes such names as Belleisle , Shamrock , Erin , Albert , Burgoyne , Cyclops , Vulcan , Jupiter and possibly Juno . Some of these were either built or re-built to the 5 ft 3 in ( 1,600 mm ) gauge that was adopted around 1856. A small number of these engines were noted as still operating in
1428-618: A series of technical achievements— viaducts such as the one in Ivybridge , specially designed stations, and tunnels including the Box Tunnel , which was the longest railway tunnel in the world at that time. With the opening of the Box Tunnel, the line from London to Bristol was complete and ready for trains on 30 June 1841. The initial group of locomotives ordered by Brunel to his own specifications proved unsatisfactory, apart from
1530-442: A single first class carriage, two to four second class and three third class. Many carriages were converted to 5 ft 3 in ( 1,600 mm ) gauge in the mid-1850s. One item of Dublin and Kingstown stock has survived into preservation. Open-sided second No. 38, built in 1834 for 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm ) gauge and re-gauged for 5 ft 3 in ( 1,600 mm ) in 1857,
1632-400: A total of 24 passengers. The green second class open class carriages were only used in summer. They had open sides and a roof and seated 28 in seven rows. Blue third class carriages were understood to have had roofs despite the depictions of contemporary illustrations. Capacity per carriage was 35 in seven rows of five abreast on boarded seats with low backrests. Typical trains consists were
1734-479: A train ferry across the Hamoaze —the estuary of the tidal Tamar , Tavy and Lynher . The bridge (of bowstring girder or tied arch construction) consists of two main spans of 455 ft (139 m), 100 ft (30 m) above mean high spring tide , plus 17 much shorter approach spans. Opened by Prince Albert on 2 May 1859, it was completed in the year of Brunel's death. Several of Brunel's bridges over
1836-459: A year, from 1847 (experimental service began in September; operations from February 1848) to 10 September 1848. Deterioration of the valve due to the reaction of tannin and iron oxide has been cited as the last straw that sank the project, as the continuous valve began to tear from its rivets over most of its length, and the estimated replacement cost of £25,000 was considered prohibitive. The system never managed to prove itself. The accounts of
1938-529: Is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th-century engineering giants", and "one of the greatest figures of the Industrial Revolution , [who] changed the face of the English landscape with his groundbreaking designs and ingenious constructions". Brunel built dockyards, the Great Western Railway (GWR), a series of steamships including
2040-643: Is now Blackrock Park before returning. The engine Hibernia on 9 October 1834 hauled another train of invited passengers composed of eight carriages and in this case traversed the whole length of the line and back. Plans were made to introduce a service on 22 October 1834 but storms and flooding damaged the line including wrecking the bridge over the River Dodder and this led to delays for repairs. Newspaper advertisements of an hourly service and fares for one shilling , eight (old) pence and six pence for first, second and third class respectively indicated
2142-599: The Dublin and Kingstown Railway Act 1831 ( 1 & 2 Will. 4 . c. lxix). A meeting of D&KR subscribers on 25 November 1831 at the Dublin Chamber of Commerce included the submission of a long report which indicated that Westland Row was to be the Dublin terminus and that the enterprise was initially to focus on passenger traffic with a high train frequency. Thomas Pim was appointed chairman. A key appointment
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#17327826186762244-730: The East London Line now incorporated into the London Overground . Brunel is perhaps best remembered for designs for the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol , begun in 1831. The bridge was built to designs based on Brunel's, but with significant changes. Spanning over 702 ft (214 m), and nominally 249 ft (76 m) above the River Avon , it had the longest span of any bridge in
2346-576: The Marlborough Downs —an area with no significant towns, though it offered potential connections to Oxford and Gloucester —and then to follow the Thames Valley into London. His decision to use broad gauge for the line was controversial in that almost all British railways to date had used standard gauge . Brunel said that this was nothing more than a carry-over from the mine railways that George Stephenson had worked on prior to making
2448-546: The North Star locomotive , and 20-year-old Daniel Gooch (later Sir Daniel) was appointed as Superintendent of Locomotive Engines . Brunel and Gooch chose to locate their locomotive works at the village of Swindon , at the point where the gradual ascent from London turned into the steeper descent to the Avon valley at Bath . After Brunel's death, the decision was taken that standard gauge should be used for all railways in
2550-964: The Royal Albert Bridge spanning the River Tamar at Saltash near Plymouth , Somerset Bridge (an unusual laminated timber-framed bridge near Bridgwater ), the Windsor Railway Bridge , and the Maidenhead Railway Bridge over the Thames in Berkshire . This last was the flattest, widest brick arch bridge in the world and is still carrying main line trains to the west, even though today's trains are about ten times heavier than in Brunel's time. Throughout his railway building career, but particularly on
2652-588: The SS ; Great Western (1838), the SS Great Britain (1843), and the SS Great Eastern (1859). In 2002, Brunel was placed second in a BBC public poll to determine the " 100 Greatest Britons ". In 2006, the bicentenary of his birth, a major programme of events celebrated his life and work under the name Brunel 200 . Isambard Kingdom Brunel was born on 9 April 1806 in Britain Street, Portsea , Portsmouth , Hampshire , where his father
2754-591: The Samudas and Clegg demonstration atmospheric railway at Wormwood Scrubs . With both parties agreeing the mutual advantages of a commercial trial of an atmospheric system between Kingstown and Dalkey and funding assisted by the Board of Public Works, transportation trials began on 18 August 1843 with the full public opening on 29 March 1844. The atmospheric operated for about 10 years, and while having some advantages there were ultimately cost and other disadvantages and
2856-567: The South Devon and Cornwall Railways where economy was needed and there were many valleys to cross, Brunel made extensive use of wood for the construction of substantial viaducts; these have had to be replaced over the years as their primary material, Kyanised Baltic Pine, became uneconomical to obtain. Brunel designed the Royal Albert Bridge in 1855 for the Cornwall Railway, after Parliament rejected his original plan for
2958-459: The Teredo [Shipworm] suggested to Mr. Brunel his method of tunnelling the Thames." The composition of the riverbed at Rotherhithe was often little more than waterlogged sediment and loose gravel. An ingenious tunnelling shield designed by Marc Brunel helped protect workers from cave-ins, but two incidents of severe flooding halted work for long periods, killing several workers and badly injuring
3060-523: The Ulster Folk and Transport Museum to this day. Unfortunately, No. 38 was considered to be too badly damaged by weathering and rot to be overhauled, and was scrapped while No. 48 was restored. The Fry Collection contains a scale model replica of the first train in Ireland consisting of locomotive, tender and four carriages of different types. The Science Museum, London possesses 1:6 model of
3162-545: The first tunnel under a navigable river (the River Thames ) and the development of the SS Great Britain , the first propeller-driven, ocean-going iron ship, which, when launched in 1843, was the largest ship ever built. On the GWR, Brunel set standards for a well-built railway, using careful surveys to minimise gradients and curves. This necessitated expensive construction techniques, new bridges, new viaducts, and
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3264-479: The 1 January 1925 grouping, both the D&KR and D&SER were absorbed into the GSR. Westland Row became the Dublin station for the former Midland Great Western Railway main line services upon the closure of Broadstone in 1937. Ownership moved to CIÉ in 1945 and main line services to Wexford transferred from Harcourt Street prior to that lines closure in 1958. Introduction of the high frequency DART services in
3366-454: The 1851 built D&KR 2-2-2 T locomotive Alexandra built by T. H. Goodisson and dating from the 1850s or shortly thereafter. Isambard Kingdom Brunel#Brunel's ⁘atmospheric caper⁘ Isambard Kingdom Brunel ( / ˈ ɪ z ə m b ɑːr d ˈ k ɪ ŋ d ə m b r uː ˈ n ɛ l / IZZ -əm-bard KING -dəm broo- NELL ; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who
3468-433: The 1870s where they looked diminutive compared to their successor 2-2-2WT Neilson locomotives introduced from 1865. The D&KR initially introduced four types of four wheeled carriages. The fully enclosed purple first class carriage had 3 compartments, each with two rows of upholstered seats seating three abreast. The pale yellow covered carriages also had upholstered seats in three compartments but at four abreast for
3570-420: The 20th century. Like many of Brunel's ambitious projects, the ship soon ran over budget and behind schedule in the face of a series of technical problems. The ship has been portrayed as a white elephant , but it has been argued by David P. Billington that in this case, Brunel's failure was principally one of economics—his ships were simply years ahead of their time. His vision and engineering innovations made
3672-610: The 8½ a.m. by Holyhead; 5 and 10 p.m. by Liverpool. The D&KR initially ordered six locomotives, Hibernia , Britannia , and Manchester from Sharp Brothers together with Vauxhall , Dublin , and Kingstown from George Forrester and Company . The Sharps' engines employed vertical cylinders whilst the Forresters' were horizontal. Vauxhall and Hibernia were the first to arrive by ship for £21 each and participated in public trials in October 1834 with Hibernia hauling
3774-621: The Admiralty included, the experiments were judged by Brunel to be a failure on the grounds of fuel economy alone, and were discontinued after 1834. In 1865, the East London Railway Company purchased the Thames Tunnel for £200,000, and four years later the first trains passed through it. Subsequently, the tunnel became part of the London Underground system, and it remains in use today, originally as part of
3876-513: The Atlantic took 15 days and five hours, and the ship arrived at her destination with a third of its coal still remaining, demonstrating that Brunel's calculations were correct. The Great Western had proved the viability of commercial transatlantic steamship service, which led the Great Western Steamboat Company to use her in regular service between Bristol and New York from 1838 to 1846. She made 64 crossings, and
3978-467: The D&KR had a need, even as it was being built, to extend towards the East Pier and there were thoughts of extending to Dalkey and even to Bray. An 1833 bill to extend to Dalkey evoked strong opposition from many quarters including canal proponents and local property owners, with Thomas Gresham making the strongest impact. With the failure of the previous bill and following careful negotiations, Pim
4080-545: The D&KR's Grand Canal Street railway works build the 2-2-0T well tank Princess which was the first locomotive in the world built by a railway company's own workshop. Princess was also noted for being modified to fit the 8 feet 6 inches (2.59 m) profile of the Dalkey Atmospheric Railway and worked that line for the period 23 December 1848 to 5 February 1849 when the atmospheric system broke down. Grand Canal Street also produced
4182-547: The D&WR were favouring services on the Harcourt Street Line but this resolved over time. May 1897 saw a Wexford mail train service terminating at Westland Row rather than Harcourt street, this being the start of services south of Bray. The extension to Carlisle Pier was opened in 1859. The opening of the Dublin Loop Line in 1891 enabled commuter services to be extended to Amiens street. On
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4284-486: The Dalkey Kingstown section to 5 ft 3 in ( 1,600 mm ), removing the height restriction, and re-opening in October 1855. The D&KR lease to the D&WR came into operation on 1 July 1856, with the D&KR receiving compensation for all operational equipment. Some engines had already been converted to 5 ft 3 in ( 1,600 mm ), and the D&WR proceeded to convert
4386-456: The Dalkey end ran slightly to the north of the modern line and became derelict or built over. The bridge which carried Castle Park Road over the atmospheric railway is still in existence and everyday use. The pumping station was sited in the grounds of a house which still stands beside the path called 'The Metals' adjacent to Barnhill Road. Dublin and Kingstown Railway The Dublin and Kingstown Railway (D&KR), which opened in 1834,
4488-599: The Great Western Railway might be demolished because the line is to be electrified, and there is inadequate clearance for overhead wires. Buckinghamshire County Council is negotiating to have further options pursued, in order that all nine of the remaining historic bridges on the line can be saved. When the Cornwall Railway company constructed a railway line between Plymouth and Truro , opening in 1859, and extended it to Falmouth in 1863, on
4590-465: The Great Western Railway opened in 1835. The Great Western Steamship Company was formed by Thomas Guppy for that purpose. It was widely disputed whether it would be commercially viable for a ship powered purely by steam to make such long journeys. Technological developments in the early 1830s—including the invention of the surface condenser , which allowed boilers to run on salt water without stopping to be cleaned—made longer journeys more possible, but it
4692-406: The Great Western Railway. The Didcot Railway Centre has a reconstructed segment of 7 ft 1 ⁄ 4 in ( 2,140 mm ) track as designed by Brunel and working steam locomotives in the same gauge. Parts of society viewed the railways more negatively. Some landowners felt the railways were a threat to amenities or property values and others requested tunnels on their land so
4794-554: The Kingstown to Dalkey section. The handing over of the section to the Dublin and Wickow Railway (D&WR) was the first part of that process. Frank Elrington, son of Charles Richard Elrington , was in a single carriage that had been uncoupled from its train and unknowingly engaged to the pipe at Kingstown when the pumping engine started up. The journey to Dalkey was claimed to have been completed in 75 seconds at an average speed of 84 miles per hour (135 km/h). In August 1844
4896-581: The River Avon to survey the bank of the river for the route. Brunel even designed the Royal Hotel in Bath which opened in 1846 opposite the railway station. Brunel made two controversial decisions: to use a broad gauge of 7 ft 1 ⁄ 4 in ( 2,140 mm ) for the track, which he believed would offer superior running at high speeds; and to take a route that passed north of
4998-482: The SDR for 1848 suggest that atmospheric traction cost 3s 1d (three shillings and one penny) per mile compared to 1s 4d/mile for conventional steam power (because of the many operating issues associated with the atmospheric, few of which were solved during its working life, the actual cost efficiency proved impossible to calculate). Several South Devon Railway engine houses still stand, including that at Totnes (scheduled as
5100-418: The advice of Brunel, they constructed the river crossings in the form of wooden viaducts, 42 in total , consisting of timber deck spans supported by fans of timber bracing built on masonry piers. This unusual method of construction substantially reduced the first cost of construction compared to an all-masonry structure, but at the cost of more expensive maintenance. In 1934 the last of Brunel's timber viaducts
5202-414: The air from a pipe placed in the centre of the track. The section from Exeter to Newton (now Newton Abbot ) was completed on this principle, and trains ran at approximately 68 miles per hour (109 km/h). Pumping stations with distinctive square chimneys were sited at two-mile intervals. Fifteen-inch (381 mm) pipes were used on the level portions, and 22-inch (559 mm) pipes were intended for
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#17327826186765304-486: The applicability of the atmospheric system to a variety of purposes, from inclines to main line, and concluded that it only had economic advantage compared to rope incline or locomotive hauled on short lines (e.g. 3 to 5 miles length) having light trains with frequent departures, especially where the gradients precluded the use of locomotives. A section of the pathway forms part of the DART route. The last 200 metres, or so, at
5406-422: The atmospheric system and began preparations to extend the railway to Dalkey using that system. In an 1841 letter to Right Hon. Lord Viscount Morpeth , Pim indicated he expected the extension to cost £15,000, and should the system fail the loss was expected to be no more than £7,500. The standard gauge line was 9,200 feet (2,800 m) in length with an average uphill gradient of about 1 in 110. Vacuum power via
5508-438: The atmospheric system had been demonstrated elsewhere and it had been proved, despite the inclines, that a small locomotive such as Princess could work the line if necessary. The D&KR had agreements to become involved in a scheme to reach Wexford and legislation dictated that was to be at the standard ( Irish gauge ) of 1,600 mm ( 5 ft 3 in ) and logistics also indicated conventional locomotive haulage for
5610-461: The beginning of the construction of a new harbour at Dunleary village that soon began to attract traffic due to silting problems elsewhere around Dublin Bay . The name Kingstown was adopted after King George IV departed from the harbour in 1821. Proposals for canal or rail infrastructure links to Dublin were variously proposed through to the 1830s. James Pim took the initiative and commissioned
5712-471: The bridge finished, although his colleagues and admirers at the Institution of Civil Engineers felt it would be a fitting memorial, and started to raise new funds and to amend the design. Work recommenced in 1862, three years after Brunel's death, and was completed in 1864. In 2011, it was suggested, by historian and biographer Adrian Vaughan, that Brunel did not design the bridge, as eventually built, as
5814-446: The building of large-scale, propeller-driven, all-metal steamships a practical reality, but the prevailing economic and industrial conditions meant that it would be several decades before transoceanic steamship travel emerged as a viable industry. Great Eastern was built at John Scott Russell 's Napier Yard in London, and after two trial trips in 1859, set forth on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York on 17 June 1860. Though
5916-505: The country. At the original Welsh terminus of the Great Western railway at Neyland , sections of the broad gauge rails are used as handrails at the quayside, and information boards there depict various aspects of Brunel's life. There is also a larger-than-life bronze statue of him holding a steamship in one hand and a locomotive in the other. The statue has been replaced after an earlier theft. The present London Paddington station
6018-534: The extension in May 1836. The line extension to Dún Laoghaire station's current location was announced complete on 13 May 1837, and a directors' special train ran in 13 minutes from Westland Row on that date. With the substantial construction of most of the pier at Kingstown complete by 1836, the D&KR made an unsuccessful attempt in 1838 to apply to use one track of the Kingstown to Dalkey Quarry stone tramway for horse-drawn trams to Dalkey. In 1842 James Pim observed
6120-451: The first fee paying service on 17 December 1834. The design of Hibernia and her sisters proved problematic and they were withdrawn early, Hibernia having been noted to have exploded in 1842. The D&KR ordered a further locomotive Star from Forrester. This was followed by two 2-2-0T well tanks locomotives, Victoria and Comet , again from Forrester's. These were the first tank locomotives in public passenger service. 1841 saw
6222-410: The first purpose-built transatlantic steamship , and numerous important bridges and tunnels. His designs revolutionised public transport and modern engineering. Though Brunel's projects were not always successful, they often contained innovative solutions to long-standing engineering problems. During his career, Brunel achieved many engineering firsts, including assisting his father in the building of
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#17327826186766324-828: The late 1990s saw the move of mainline services from Pearse to Connolly . From Bradshaw's 1843 timetable: DUBLIN AND KINGSTOWN From both ends on weekdays, every half-hour from 6 a.m. until 11½ p.m., stopping at all stations, Viz: Booterstown, Black Rock and Salt Hill. An extra train from Kingstown at 9¼ a.m. stopping at Merrion in addition to the usual stations. An extra train every day, at 4¾ p.m., stopping at Merrion only. This train will convey passengers to Her Majesty's mail packet, starting from Kingstown at 5¼ p.m. The 11 p.m. Up and Down, also stop at Merrion every day. Sunday trains same hours as on weekdays, with extra trains every ¼ of an hour from 11¾ a.m. to 5¾ p.m. and from 7¾ to 10¼ p.m. FARES – First Class 1s, second class 8d, third class 6d. The mail bags are conveyed by
6426-423: The later changes to its design were substantial. His views reflected a sentiment stated fifty-two years earlier by Tom Rolt in his 1959 book Brunel. Re-engineering of suspension chains recovered from an earlier suspension bridge was one of many reasons given why Brunel's design could not be followed exactly. Hungerford Bridge , a suspension footbridge across the Thames near Charing Cross Station in London,
6528-485: The line was visited by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and other representatives of the Great Western Railway . They subsequently constructed the 20 mi (32 km) South Devon Railway which operated for a year with atmospheric propulsion. In November 1843 the French Government sent Mons. Mallet to conduct a detailed study of the railway (including measurements made with Joseph Samuda). The extensive report
6630-564: The operation of the service by the small Princess locomotive during a bad breakdown between 23 December 1848 and 5 February 1849 demonstrated the potential of working the line by conventional locomotives. The final atmospheric train ran on 12 April 1854 when the D&KR handed the line to the D&WR as part of an 1846 agreement for the D&KR to lease their line. The D&WR, who began running services from Bray to Dalkey and Dublin Harcourt Street on 10 July 1854 then rebuilt
6732-476: The plan was prepared for the original line, the D&KR expected that a new wharf was to be completed near their planned terminus at the West Pier at the old harbour. However, Liverpool and Holyhead packets had begun using a jetty at the East Pier, and the location of the new wharf was moved 0.5 mi (0.8 km) eastward to avail of the deeper water needed for steamships; Victoria Wharf opened in 1837. Thus
6834-482: The project to create a tunnel under London's River Thames between Rotherhithe and Wapping , with tunnellers driving a horizontal shaft from one side of the river to the other under the most difficult and dangerous conditions. The project was funded by the Thames Tunnel Company and Brunel's father, Marc, was the chief engineer. The American Naturalist said, "It is stated also that the operations of
6936-530: The railway could not be seen. Though unsuccessful, another of Brunel's uses of technical innovations was the atmospheric railway , the extension of the Great Western Railway (GWR) southward from Exeter towards Plymouth , technically the South Devon Railway (SDR), though supported by the GWR. Instead of using locomotives , the trains were moved by Clegg and Samuda's patented system of atmospheric ( vacuum ) traction, whereby stationary pumps sucked
7038-434: The service was to start on Wednesday 17 December 1834. At 9 o'clock on the appointed date the locomotive Hibernia departed with the first train of the day from Westland Row. Throughout the day a total of nine trains of between eight and nine carriages were run, all "full to overflowing", and with a total of almost 5,000 fare paying passengers conveyed. A timetabled regular service was introduced from January 1835. When
7140-545: The size of the trains can be obtained from the study carried out from the French Government in 1843 A train of 38 tons gross weight was described which comprised 7 carriages and carried 200 people, and in subsequent tests train weights of up to 70 tons are reported. The journey to Dalkey could be completed in just over 3 minutes with the speed being limited by the need to brake for curves on the line, and speeds of over 40 mph (64 km/h) could be reached. The last atmospheric train ran on 12 April 1854. By this time issues with
7242-409: The steeper gradients. The technology required the use of leather flaps to seal the vacuum pipes. The natural oils were drawn out of the leather by the vacuum, making the leather vulnerable to water, rotting it and breaking the fibres when it froze during the winter of 1847. It had to be kept supple with tallow , which is attractive to rats . The flaps were eaten, and vacuum operation lasted less than
7344-413: The tube. The success of the railway led to reports that plans were drawn up in 1843 to extend the line to Bray, however this did not come to fruition. William Dargan was the contractor and Charles Vignoles the engineer. The atmospheric equipment was supplied by Samuel Clegg and Jacob and Joseph Samuda . The vacuum was provided by a 100 hp (75 kW) single-cylinder steam engine at Dalkey. This
7446-485: The two-mile-long (3.2 km) Box Tunnel . One controversial feature was the " broad gauge " of 7 ft 1 ⁄ 4 in ( 2,140 mm ), instead of what was later to be known as " standard gauge " of 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm ). He astonished Britain by proposing to extend the GWR westward to North America by building steam-powered, iron-hulled ships. He designed and built three ships that revolutionised naval engineering:
7548-503: The whole line from 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm ) standard gauge to the 5 ft 3 in ( 1,600 mm ) compatible with the rest of the D&WR. Track gauge conversion was done in 1857 at a cost of £38,000. Conversion to 5 ft 3 in ( 1,600 mm ) enabled the D&KR to begin a Westland Row to Bray service which the former D&KR section became part of. The D&KR, who were now lessors only, initially believed
7650-518: The world at the time of construction. Brunel submitted four designs to a committee headed by Thomas Telford , but Telford rejected all entries, proposing his own design instead. Vociferous opposition from the public forced the organising committee to hold a new competition, which was won by Brunel. Afterwards, Brunel wrote to his brother-in-law, the politician Benjamin Hawes : "Of all the wonderful feats I have performed, since I have been in this part of
7752-408: The world's first passenger railway. Brunel proved through both calculation and a series of trials that his broader gauge was the optimum size for providing both higher speeds and a stable and comfortable ride to passengers. In addition the wider gauge allowed for larger goods wagons and thus greater freight capacity. Drawing on Brunel's experience with the Thames Tunnel, the Great Western contained
7854-555: The world, I think yesterday I performed the most wonderful. I produced unanimity among 15 men who were all quarrelling about that most ticklish subject—taste". Work on the Clifton bridge started in 1831, but was suspended due to the Queen Square riots caused by the arrival of Sir Charles Wetherell in Clifton. The riots drove away investors, leaving no money for the project, and construction ceased. Brunel did not live to see
7956-560: The world. Following a patent in 1839 Samuel Clegg and the Samuda brothers had set up a demonstration of an atmospheric railway at Wormwood Scrubs in England. The directors of the Dublin and Kingstown Railway were impressed by the system and determined it would be a suitable means to extend their existing line from Kingstown to Dalkey. James Pim (Junior) , the treasurer of the Dublin and Kingstown Railway, became an enthusiastic supporter of
8058-402: The younger Brunel. The latter incident, in 1828, killed the two most senior miners, and Brunel himself narrowly escaped death. He was seriously injured and spent six months recuperating, during which time he began a design for a bridge in Bristol, which would later be completed as the Clifton Suspension Bridge . The event stopped work on the tunnel for several years. Though the Thames Tunnel
8160-464: Was Ireland 's first passenger railway. It linked Westland Row in Dublin with Kingstown Harbour ( Dún Laoghaire ) in County Dublin . The D&KR was also notable for a number of other achievements besides being Ireland's first passenger railway: it operated an atmospheric railway for ten years; claimed the first use of a passenger tank engine; was the world's first commuter railway and
8262-416: Was James Pim (Junior) as secretary and Murray notes his "great natural ability, tact, energy, and a valuable business experience". James Pim was appointed Treasurer in May 1832 and effectively functioned as General Manager. The position of clerk/secretary was awarded to Thomas Fleming Bergin who with his engineering background effectively controlled the operation of the railway. The construction contract
8364-430: Was a condensing engine with steam supplied at 40 psi (280 kPa). The steam cylinder was 34.5 in (88 cm) in diameter and the air pump 67 inches diameter, both with 5.5 ft (1.7 m) stroke and capable of 22 strokes per minute. This engine was claimed to be suitable for a 6-mile stretch of railway, and was therefore lightly loaded. Trains ran every half-hour between 8:00am and 6:00pm. Some clue as to
8466-521: Was able to present and get passed a new act of Parliament, the Dublin and Kingstown Railway Act 1834 ( 4 & 5 Will. 4 . c. xxvii), in May 1834 for an extension to Kingstown only. This cut across and isolated a good section of the Old Harbour, ran also beside the existing Dalkey Quarry tramway and also required demolition of a Martello tower and battery in May 1835 before Dargan started work on
8568-443: Was awarded to William Dargan , with Charles Blacker Vignoles as engineer. The line began at Westland Row where the D&KR made its headquarters and initially ran elevated reaching street level around the River Dodder . From Merrion the line ran on an embankment built across the strand to Blackrock which later led to the formation of Booterstown marsh . While rights for compulsory purchase were generally granted, this
8670-471: Was constructed mainly from wood, but Brunel added bolts and iron diagonal reinforcements to maintain the keel's strength. In addition to its steam-powered paddle wheels , the ship carried four masts for sails. The Great Western embarked on her maiden voyage from Avonmouth , Bristol, to New York on 8 April 1838 with 600 long tons (610,000 kg) of coal, cargo and seven passengers on board. Brunel himself missed this initial crossing, having been injured during
8772-400: Was cutting-edge technology for her time: almost 700 ft (210 m) long, fitted out with the most luxurious appointments, and capable of carrying over 4,000 passengers. Great Eastern was designed to cruise non-stop from London to Sydney and back (since engineers of the time mistakenly believed that Australia had no coal reserves), and she remained the largest ship built until the start of
8874-425: Was designed by Brunel and opened in 1854. Examples of his designs for smaller stations on the Great Western and associated lines which survive in good condition include Mortimer , Charlbury and Bridgend (all Italianate ) and Culham ( Tudorbethan ). Surviving examples of wooden train sheds in his style are at Frome and Kingswear . The Swindon Steam Railway Museum has many artefacts from Brunel's time on
8976-497: Was dismantled and replaced by a masonry structure. Brunel's last major undertaking was the unique Three Bridges, London . Work began in 1856, and was completed in 1859. The three bridges in question are arranged to allow the routes of the Grand Junction Canal , Great Western and Brentford Railway , and Windmill Lane to cross each other. In the early part of Brunel's life, the use of railways began to take off as
9078-667: Was eight, he was sent to Dr Morrell's boarding school in Hove , where he learned classics . His father, a Frenchman by birth, was determined that Brunel should have access to the high-quality education he had enjoyed in his youth in France. Accordingly, at the age of 14, the younger Brunel was enrolled first at the University of Caen , then at Lycée Henri-IV in Paris. When Brunel was 15, his father, who had accumulated debts of over £5,000,
9180-456: Was eventually completed during Marc Brunel's lifetime, his son had no further involvement with the tunnel proper, only using the abandoned works at Rotherhithe to further his abortive Gaz experiments. This was based on an idea of his father's and was intended to develop into an engine that ran on power generated from alternately heating and cooling carbon dioxide made from ammonium carbonate and sulphuric acid. Despite interest from several parties,
9282-448: Was generally thought that a ship would not be able to carry enough fuel for the trip and have room for commercial cargo. Brunel applied the experimental evidence of Beaufoy and further developed the theory that the amount a ship could carry increased as the cube of its dimensions, whereas the amount of resistance a ship experienced from the water as it travelled increased by only a square of its dimensions. This would mean that moving
9384-573: Was incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1835. It was Brunel's vision that passengers would be able to purchase one ticket at London Paddington and travel from London to New York, changing from the Great Western Railway to the Great Western steamship at the terminus in Neyland , West Wales. He surveyed the entire length of the route between London and Bristol himself, with the help of many including his solicitor Jeremiah Osborne of Bristol Law Firm Osborne Clarke who on one occasion rowed Brunel down
9486-536: Was made in August and September 1845, from Liverpool to New York. In 1846, she was run aground at Dundrum, County Down . She was salvaged and employed in the Australian service . She is currently fully preserved and open to the public in Bristol, UK. In 1852 Brunel turned to a third ship, larger than her predecessors, intended for voyages to India and Australia. The Great Eastern (originally dubbed Leviathan )
9588-475: Was not the case for two landowners who insisted on large cash compensations and in the case of Lord Cloncurry the building of a private footbridge over the line to a bathing area complete with a Romanesque temple, a short tunnel and a cutting to maintain his privacy. The construction contract was signed on 7 May 1833 and was completed in about 18 months. Thomas Grierson, the DW&;WR chief engineer commented in
9690-478: Was opened in May 1845. Its central span was 676.5 feet (206.2 m), and its cost was £106,000. It was replaced by a new railway bridge in 1859, and the suspension chains were used to complete the Clifton Suspension Bridge. The Clifton Suspension Bridge still stands, and over 4 million vehicles traverse it every year. Brunel designed many bridges for his railway projects, including
9792-556: Was sent to a debtors' prison . After three months went by with no prospect of release, Marc Brunel let it be known that he was considering an offer from the Tsar of Russia . In August 1821, facing the prospect of losing a prominent engineer, the government relented and issued Marc £5,000 to clear his debts in exchange for his promise to remain in Britain. When Brunel completed his studies at Henri-IV in 1822, his father had him presented as
9894-691: Was stored by the DW&WR, later at Inchicore Works by the Great Southern Railways, along with third No. 48, built in 1838. They went to the 100th anniversary of the British Rainhill Trials in 1929 with Great Southern and Western Railway locomotive No. 36 before being returned to rot in Inchicore dump. No. 48 was restored and preserved by the Belfast Transport Museum in 1964, where it remains in
9996-471: Was sufficiently favourable to lead to the construction of the 5.3 mi (8.5 km) Saint-Germain atmospheric railway near Paris, which was built in 1847 and operated until 1860. Robert Stephenson also reported in 1844 to the Chester and Holyhead railway on an extensive series of tests he devised for the line, which were carried out on his behalf by Mr G Berkley, and Mr W.P. Marshal. Stephenson looked at
10098-604: Was the first railway company to build its own locomotives. On 30 June 1856 the Dublin and Wicklow Railway (D&WR) took over operation of the line from the D&KR with the D&KR continuing to lease out the line. The D&WR had formerly been known as the Waterford, Wicklow, Wexford and Dublin Railway (WWW&DR or 3WS). It changed its name to the Dublin Wicklow and Wexford Railway (DW&WR) in May 1860 and
10200-493: Was the first ship to hold the Blue Riband with a crossing time of 13 days westbound and 12 days 6 hours eastbound. The service was commercially successful enough for a sister ship to be required, which Brunel was asked to design. Brunel had become convinced of the superiority of propeller -driven ships over paddle wheels. After tests conducted aboard the propeller-driven steamship Archimedes , he incorporated
10302-623: Was ultimately renamed the Dublin and South Eastern Railway (D&SER) in 1907, a name which was retained until the amalgamation of the D&KR and D&SER with the Great Southern Railways on 1 January 1925. As of 1974, its independent existence of over 90 years by a railway company was only exceeded in the British Isles by the Great Western Railway and the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway . 1817 had seen
10404-501: Was working on block-making machinery . He was named Isambard after his father, the French civil engineer Sir Marc Isambard Brunel , and Kingdom after his English mother, Sophia Kingdom . His mother's sister, Elizabeth Kingdom, was married to Thomas Mudge Jr, son of Thomas Mudge the horologist . He had two elder sisters, Sophia, the eldest child, and Emma. The whole family moved to London in 1808 for his father's work. Brunel had
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