Great Britain: Great Western Railway Co., Fifth share of £20...

Hammer

£50

Great Britain: Great Western Railway Co., Fifth share of £20, 18[40], #68718, blue with orange underprint and green seal. A broad gauge line 245 miles in length, engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The line originally ran from London to Bristol and opened in 1841. Over the next two decades the company came to own or lease many other major railways such as the South Devon and the Cornwall and the South Wales, linking the Great Western to Devon and Cornwall, the Midlands, and Wales. The lines became mixed gauge following such connections, and tracks were converted to standard gauge in the 1890’s. It was the only company to retain its identity at grouping, many others joining it. EF.