175 years after the Act of Parliament authorising Isambard Kingdom Brunel to start construction of his broad-gauge Great Western Railway, much of Brunel's extraordinary engineering achievement remains.

From the airy and spacious Paddington station, the GWR set standards of excellence that really have stood the test of time. From London the railway irons out the contours with soaring embankments and deep cuttings such as the legendary Sonning cutting.  It flies over graceful bridges such as the stunningly beautiful flat-arch bridge over the Thames at Maidenhead that many said wouldn't stand the weight of a horse, never mind a train.  Over viaducts such as the classic Wharnecliffe viaduct or the extraordinary Saltash bridge over the River Tamar; through superbly engineered tunnels with grand, castellated entrances such as Box tunnel and of course, the incredible, 4½ mile tunnel beneath the River Severn. Its works, the original green field site complete with homes, medical facilities, church, school - indeed everything its vast staff and their families needed (although closed over 20 years ago, its original buildings remain and partly house STEAM, The Museum of the Great Western Railway).  Travellers today barely give these things a second glance as they are whisked along Brunel's 'billiard table' aboard the now-venerable, refurbished HSTs.

G W R: few initials carry such glory; such meaning.  To millions of travellers they have meant speed, comfort, romance.  To staff, they meant a whole way of life, not just a job. They stood for engineering that was didn't simply push the technological boundaries but was functional, efficient - and beautiful. 

The GWR became the envy of the world - within a couple of decades its trains, hauled by the magnificent locomotives designed by Daniel Gooch, were the fastest in the world. Even in 1840, Gooch's Fire Fly class was achieving average speeds in excess of 40mph between Paddington and Exeter, including stops for water.  In 1848, Gooch's 4-2-2 Great Britain took a train from Paddington to Didcot in less than 48 minutes, start to stop, entailing continuous running in excess of 70mph: a truly breathtaking speed.

The railway's staff  were amongst the most loyal and dedicated of people you could find anywhere: working for the Great Western was a matter of considerable pride and everything humanly possible was done to ensure its trains ran to time. While the Government might have controlled everything either side of the railway, the railway was firmly governed by Paddington; a completely different world run the Great Western way.

That pioneering spirit continued throughout the railway's history until nationalisation in 1948.  It even continued to cut its own groove under British Railways' ownership, developing diesel hydraulic traction when others were pursuing diesel-electric.  Fittingly, its works at Swindon constructed the last steam locomotive for British Railways, in 1960 - and it was turned out with traditional embellishments such as fully lined-out green livery, a copper cap to the chimney and even a brass number plate on the smokebox door.  And with the advent of the High-Speed Train, it was the route of the Great Western Railway where world speed records were once again smashed.

The GWR clocked up countless 'firsts' that set the institution apart from the rest.  From Brunel's unique broad gauge of 7ft 0¼in, forced to be converted to the 'standard' gauge - or 'cart gauge' as Brunel dubbed it - leaving a legacy of spaciousness. It was the first railway to carry a British monarch; Queen Victoria. It ran the fastest services in the world.  Developed automatic train control, the principles of which are still used today.  Built pioneering locomotive designs that introduced the principles of standardisation and were amongst the most efficient in the UK.  It built the UK's first 'pacific' (The Great Bear); and the UK's first 2-8-0 freight locomotives.  Slip coaches that could be dropped off without the train stopping. High speed diesel railcars. The list is endless.

Everything the GWR did, it did it the GWR way - from its own typefaces; pioneering publicity; its own telegraph, even the way it made its sandwiches and ran its dining cars.

The GWR even influenced time itself: when the railway was completed, there was a time difference of up to 20 minutes between Paddington and the west country - which caused considerable difficulty in timing trains and publishing timetables - so 'Paddington Time' - or Greenwich Mean Time - was adopted.

The route of the Honeybourne Line between Stratford and Cheltenham, was also Great Western of course and was the last main line it built; one of the last in the country.  Opening in 1906 it was completed more than 70 years after the Great Western was founded and long after the railway was forced to convert to standard gauge in 1892.  But it is truly Great Western: superbly engineered, standard bridges and stations; gentle gradients and curves.  In its heyday the finest locomotives to come from the railway's magnificent works at Swindon plied the route, carrying passengers and freight between the West Midlands and the South West and South Wales. 

So what better place to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the Great Western Railway? Join us for a celebration that will be truly fitting for this exceptional occasion.