Reconstruction of I K Brunel's atmospheric railway, using a segment of the original piping, at Didcot Railway Centre.
RMID:Image ID:C3CW8K
Image details
Contributor:
Washington Imaging / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
C3CW8KFile size:
49.6 MB (3.3 MB Compressed download)Releases:
Model - no | Property - noDo I need a release?Dimensions:
5100 x 3399 px | 43.2 x 28.8 cm | 17 x 11.3 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
17 April 2011Location:
Didcot Railway Centre, DIDCOT, Oxfordshire, England, OX11 7NJ, UKMore information:
The atmospheric railway was the technology employed by Brunel on the section of the Great Western Railway between Exeter and Newton Abbot that was called the South Devon Railway . Stationary engines created a partial vacuum within the pipe which drew trains along at speed. Unfortunately practical difficulties with the seal at the top of the pipe meant that the scheme had to be abandoned within a year of opening (1848) and conventional locomotive haulage applied.