Paddington & its transport systems – 3 The Great Western Railway This was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and it is interesting that his railway opened in the same year his canal bridge was built. It was in 1838 that these events occured. The railway itself was broad gauge of…
Paddington & its transport systems – 2 The canal – Brunel’s bridge: This was an early Brunel structure, predating the major works at Paddington Station by several years. The castings were made in Deptford and put together on site in 1838 and the structure officially opened in 1839. It was…
Paddington and its transport systems – 1 The building of the Grand Junction Canal between Braunston and Brentford brought the canal network to the River Thames, which in turn ran through the heart of London, giving direct access to the city’s wharves and industry. While this was intially an acceptable…
Edgware Road Edgware Road is the oldest main throroughfare in London, At least 2,300 years ago it was a trackway through the Middlesex Forest. When the Romans invaded Britain, they created one of their major routes from this trackway – Watling Street. This began at Cannon Street and its route…
Crocker’s Folly Some might think that Crockers Folly is a strange inclusion into this category for it doesn’t, at first glance, seem to be on any canal. That is not so – it is above the Regents Canal! Crockers Folly is where the Maida Hill Tunnel passes through its ground…