The end of broad gauge, 1892. Work in progress

The end of broad gauge, 1892. Work in progress at Plymouth station, Devonshire, to change from broad gauge to standard gauge railway track. Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859) favoured broad gauge 7ft 1/4inch (2. 2m) and designed the Great Western Railway accordingly. However, in the Gauge Act of 1846 Parliament declared that all future railway track should be of the standard 4ft 8 1/2inch (1. 44m) gauge introduced by George Stephenson (1781-1848) on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. It was not until 1892 that the last broad gauge track was lifted. From The Romance of Engineering by Henry Frith. (London, 1892)

1781-1848 1806-1859 1846 Accordingly Brunel Declared Devonshire Favoured Frith Gauge However Introduced Isambard Lifted Plymouth Stephenson

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