Documentary backdrop image for HST Great West (1993)

Documentary backdrop image for HST Great West (1993)

199395 minPGdocumentary

HST Great West

199395 minPGdocumentary

Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Great Western Railway connects London to Bristol, featuring important engineering landmarks and historical significance.

Genres

Synopsis

Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Great Western Railway connects London to Bristol, featuring important engineering landmarks and historical significance.

Synopsis

The magnificent engineering of Isambard Kingdom Brunel's original Great Western Railway is best appreciated from the driver's cab, in this case an InterCity 125 High Speed Train. Filmed in 1993, we proceed through the outskirts of London at an exhilarating 125mph, over the Wharncliffe viaduct at Brent (where construction of the GWR actually began in 1835) across the Thames at Maidenhead (the bridge that was expected to fall down) through the expansive Sonning Cutting to arrive at the "hub" station of Reading. Next stop is Swindon, followed by a non-stop run to Bath through the famous Box Tunnel (the last section to be opened, well behind schedule) before arriving at Bristol Temple Meads. Here we see inside Brunel's original terminus, with its wooden overall roof, an amazing survivor through sheer quirk of fate.

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

How Do You Get An Entire Train Into A Sealed Tunnel? (2020)

How Do You Get An Entire Train Into A Sealed Tunnel?

In London, a team transports £20 million worth of new Tube trains 200 miles to the Waterloo & City Line while wreck chasers Pat Madden and Annette Spaulding recover a lost aircraft in Manitoba.

How Do You Get An Entire Train Into A Sealed Tunnel?

Exclusive Look Inside the Engineering Marvel of Paddington Station (2025)

Exclusive Look Inside the Engineering Marvel of Paddington Station

Paddington Station's 130-metre glass canopy and extensive underground platforms highlight Isambard Kingdom Brunel's legacy while a Derby father-son duo races to complete 66 new trains.

Exclusive Look Inside the Engineering Marvel of Paddington Station

1970: Dawn of the Super Trains (2025)

1970: Dawn of the Super Trains

High-speed trains in the 1970s promise to revolutionize travel and urban design, connecting cities like London and Manchester within commuting distance.

1970: Dawn of the Super Trains

Reviving Train Tracks For Better Travel (2019)

Reviving Train Tracks For Better Travel

Simon Calder explores the impact of the Beeching railway cuts in the 1960s and advocates for reopening branch lines across southern England.

Reviving Train Tracks For Better Travel

Transportation Nightmare Of 100 Tone 15F Steam Train Across Two Continents (2021)

Transportation Nightmare Of 100 Tone 15F Steam Train Across Two Continents

A 15-meter steam locomotive weighing over 100 tons is transported 10,000 kilometers from South Africa to Glasgow, facing numerous logistical challenges.

Transportation Nightmare Of 100 Tone 15F Steam Train Across Two Continents

1960: WEST Highland Railway - A Day in the Life (2025)

1960: WEST Highland Railway - A Day in the Life

West Highland Railway showcases the breathtaking landscapes and sounds of Scotland's iconic railway, enhanced by stunning black and white cinematography and an inventive score.

1960: WEST Highland Railway - A Day in the Life

The World's Longest Model Railway Track (2023)

The World's Longest Model Railway Track

James May attempts to build a ten-mile model railway track in Devon, connecting Barnstaple and Bideford.

The World's Longest Model Railway Track

Brunel - The Great Engineer (2025)

Brunel - The Great Engineer

On January 31, 1858, Isambard Kingdom Brunel launched a 19,000-tonne ship, the largest ever built at the time, into the Thames River.

Brunel - The Great Engineer

$Rise and Fall of Ilfracombe Station (2025)$

Rise and Fall of Ilfracombe Station

A telegram on March 24, 1870, announced the approval for a new railway line in Ilfracombe, transforming the town's access to the rugged North Devon coastline.

Rise and Fall of Ilfracombe Station

Bristol's Dark Georgian Past - Britain's Most Historic Towns (2024)

Bristol's Dark Georgian Past - Britain's Most Historic Towns

Bristol became one of the main hubs of the world's slave trade in the 18th century, with 438 slaves transported on one ship alone.

Bristol's Dark Georgian Past - Britain's Most Historic Towns

Explore HST Great West

Browse more like this

How Do You Get An Entire Train Into A Sealed Tunnel? (2020)

How Do You Get An Entire Train Into A Sealed Tunnel?

In London, a team transports £20 million worth of new Tube trains 200 miles to the Waterloo & City Line while wreck chasers Pat Madden and Annette Spaulding recover a lost aircraft in Manitoba.

How Do You Get An Entire Train Into A Sealed Tunnel?

No digital watch option in your country

Exclusive Look Inside the Engineering Marvel of Paddington Station (2025)

Exclusive Look Inside the Engineering Marvel of Paddington Station

Paddington Station's 130-metre glass canopy and extensive underground platforms highlight Isambard Kingdom Brunel's legacy while a Derby father-son duo races to complete 66 new trains.

Exclusive Look Inside the Engineering Marvel of Paddington Station

No digital watch option in your country

Transportation Nightmare Of 100 Tone 15F Steam Train Across Two Continents (2021)

Transportation Nightmare Of 100 Tone 15F Steam Train Across Two Continents

A 15-meter steam locomotive weighing over 100 tons is transported 10,000 kilometers from South Africa to Glasgow, facing numerous logistical challenges.

Transportation Nightmare Of 100 Tone 15F Steam Train Across Two Continents

No digital watch option in your country

The World's Longest Model Railway Track (2023)

The World's Longest Model Railway Track

James May attempts to build a ten-mile model railway track in Devon, connecting Barnstaple and Bideford.

The World's Longest Model Railway Track

No digital watch option in your country

$Rise and Fall of Ilfracombe Station (2025)$

Rise and Fall of Ilfracombe Station

A telegram on March 24, 1870, announced the approval for a new railway line in Ilfracombe, transforming the town's access to the rugged North Devon coastline.

Rise and Fall of Ilfracombe Station

No digital watch option in your country

Bristol's Dark Georgian Past - Britain's Most Historic Towns (2024)

Bristol's Dark Georgian Past - Britain's Most Historic Towns

Bristol became one of the main hubs of the world's slave trade in the 18th century, with 438 slaves transported on one ship alone.

Bristol's Dark Georgian Past - Britain's Most Historic Towns

No digital watch option in your country

Brunel: Building a Great Britain (2020)

Brunel: Building a Great Britain

Over 150 years after his death, Isambard Kingdom Brunel's designs include the world's fastest railway, longest suspension bridge, and largest ship.

Brunel: Building a Great Britain

The Railway: First Great Western (2013)

The Railway: First Great Western

2013•43m•★8.0TMDB

One of the largest train operating companies in Britain connects London to the southwest of England through a dedicated team of drivers, managers, and technicians.

The Railway: First Great Western

1066 DC (1988)

1066 DC

1988•1h30m•★10.0TMDB

A second layer of bricks was added to the Hastings line tunnels to reduce the risk of collapse after they were originally built with a single row.

Great (1975)

Great

1975•27m•★5.6TMDB

Explore Isambard Kingdom Brunel's genius through vibrant animation.

HST West - Driver's Eye View (1986)

HST West - Driver's Eye View

The route from Exeter St David's to Plymouth showcases Isambard Kingdom Brunel's railway, featuring scenic views and historic semaphore signals before their removal.

HST West - Driver's Eye View

Wessex - Weymouth to Waterloo (1994)

Wessex - Weymouth to Waterloo

A class 442 Wessex electric train travels non-stop at speeds of up to 100 mph from Southampton to Waterloo along the former LSWR main line.

Wessex - Weymouth to Waterloo

Piccadilly Driver's Eye View (2003)

Piccadilly Driver's Eye View

Four closed stations are visible from the driver's cab as a 1973 stock train travels from Acton Town to Heathrow Airport's terminals.

Piccadilly Driver's Eye View

The Down Fishguard (2002)

The Down Fishguard

One service a day in 2002 connected Fishguard to the South Wales main line, which was engineered by I.K. Brunel and built to the 7ft broad gauge.

The Down Fishguard

Railway Roundabout 1961 (2006)

Railway Roundabout 1961

Four train journeys are featured, including the last train from Bala to Ffestiniog and a trip from Bath to Evercreech Junction.

Railway Roundabout 1961

The Swanage Railway Experience (2008)

The Swanage Railway Experience

5½ miles of track run from Norden to Swanage, passing through Corfe Castle station and Harman’s Cross, as holidaymakers ride classic steam trains.

The Swanage Railway Experience

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →