GWR ENGINEERING WORK 1928-1938

In 1929 there were over one million men out of work, and the government of the day took steps to create jobs in the construction industry by offering to pay the interest on loans raised for the development, reconstruction and re-equipment of public utilities. The railways were the main participants, and the Great Western Railway, which ran from London Paddington to Devon, Cornwall, and South Wales, implemented a development programme covering all sections of railway and dock operations, including the upgrading of station facilities at Paddington, Bristol, Taunton and Cardiff. Bristol and Cardiff were also relieved of congestion by the quadrupling of lines, and a diagram here showing the track layout at Bristol Temple Meads is a mind-bending tangle of criss-crossing lines. At Wolverhampton the repair shops were reconstructed to an up-to-date specification, while new engine sheds were supplied to rural Welsh communities such as Pantyffynnon and Treherbert. Coloured lights were introduced at selected junctions instead of semaphore signals. The 85 engineering projects listed here are accompanied by fascinating archive photos, including the 3-ton hydraulic cranes at Penarth Docks, movable coal hoists at Bute Docks in Cardiff, a new marshalling yard at the west end of the Severn Tunnel Junction, impressive 30s architecture such as the goods shed at Herbert Street, Wolverhampton, and the big electrically operated West Signal Box at Cardiff. Improvements to Paddington Station include the 1936 modernisation of the ticketing area and the aesthetic transformation of the dismal "Lawn" area. Bridge building yields particularly impressive photos, for instance Westbourne Terrace Bridge near Paddington, the steel flyover at Cogload in Bristol, the rebuilding of the land spans of the Royal Albert Bridge over the River Tamar going into Cornwall, and the Swansea North Dock Lock drawbridge. 225pp, archive photos, diagrams.