Another Kentish Man reporting in... at least I wil always think of myself as one, though I am now exiled to the far western reaches of the realm. All those years of looking down my nose at the G*R and now I'm living in the middle of it!

Hello boilersuit - interesting avatar ;)

Well you're not missing much today - it's chucking it down with rain here for the first time in what seems like weeks :(

You should enjoy yourself and keep reminding them that the withered arm was the most important bit of the western region, bringing the tourists in. And if Brunel was so clever, why did he go 'narrow-gauge' then?!;) :p

..........because those great big broad gauge trains kept getting stuck trying to go through the narrow gauge tunnels.:D

Because Parliament told him he had to ...... and you thought the nanny state was new!

Actually to be more accurate they stopped passing Railway Acts for new broad gauge lines which left him out on a limb.

Best wishes,

John H-T.

Brunel had the right idea with the wider gauge IMO, the only reason that I can recall that they switched from the 7ft something gauge that Brunel chose is simply because the good ol' 4ft 8 1/2 inches was far more widespread and he was backed into that corner.

Brunel was a genious with mathamatics who was certain in his conviction this his gauge was optimum for ride comfort, speed and room for passengers and goods. And that's good enough for me, he was seldom wrong with any other calculation.

I reckon that 3 odd inches might make today's railways a totally different picture, but I guess we'll never know.

Some justification of this was seen on the few occasions that Broad Gauge locos left the road. They were much more stable and usually remained upright.

Of course I am only leg-pulling and know that Brunel was right and everyone else was wrong, but the man had poor taste in hats:p

And to mis-quote above:

"I reckon that odd three inches might make a difference..."

Where have I heard that before!:eek: :D :D

I've personally heard it from the ex, many times. :D

I'm quite fond of the top hat but I suppose each to their own. :p