One Single Ticket
A continuous journey by rail and sea from London to New York
Travelling via Bristol, utilising the iron road of the Great Western Railway and the ground-breaking, iron-hulled and screw-propelled S.S. Great Britain
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The Background Story of One Single Ticket
One Single Ticket, revolves around an original concept – a continuous journey by rail and sea from London to New York, travelling via Bristol, utilising the iron road of the Great Western Railway and the ground-breaking, iron-hulled and screw-propelled S.S. Great Britain. Nothing as bold as this had been proposed before.
Because of local politics, and the tidal problems associated with the River Avon, Brunel decided that a solution to the journey lay in a deep-water pier at Portbury, with a railway spur from Temple Meads.
Although the idea of having a port outside the city boundaries had been suggested before, no engineer had come up with a proposal which was practical.
Brunel's bold concept
Brunel’s bold concept led, in 1846, to the establishment of the Portbury Pier and Railway Company, which, with a capital of £200,000 – a fortune then – would have enabled Bristol to take a serious stake in the lucrative transatlantic steam trade. After an Act of Parliament had been passed, the scheme was all set to go ahead.
Had it come to fruition it would have provided a route not only for the growing numbers emigrating to North America but also for the sought-after Post Office contract and valuable cargoes such as tobacco.
So why was it abandoned in 1852, seemingly without explanation?
By the time Avonmouth docks were finally opened in 1877, many vital years of trade had been lost to the canny merchants of Liverpool and their American counterparts, great rivals to the commercial interests of Bristol.
To try to discover a possible explanation I consulted Latimer’s Annals of Bristol for 1837. The historian wrote:
“On April 8 the Great Western left King Road (Portbury) for America.
“Before her departure however, an adroit scheme was devised in other quarters to deprive the city of the credit which was undoubtedly due to its undertaking.
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“A large steamer called the Sirius, usually plying between London and Cork, was dispatched, under Liverpool orders, from the Thames to New York. She left on April 4, having a head start over the Great Western of four days and over 250 miles.
“Not withstanding those advantages, the race was very close.
“The Sirius arrived at Sandyhook at midnight on April 22 but she did not reach New York until midday on April 23.
“The Great Western arrived two hours later, with 80 tons of coal on board.
“The result of the experiment had been awaited with intense interest in America; and both were greeted with enthusiasm by the New Yorkers.
“The superiority of the Bristol ship was manifest, and it was again attested by the return voyage.
“The Sirius left on May 1 and reached England on May 18. The Great Western, with 66 passengers and 20,000 letters, started on May 7 and she arrived in Bristol on May 22.”
The first was the “Portbury Pier and Railway Company, Plan and Section 1845. Engineer – IK Brunel”.
Surely these original documents could not have survived intact for 168 years. How on earth would we find one? Nobody even seemed to know about them, let alone where they were located.
My old friend Stuart Amesbury began the hunt, searching websites, old auction catalogues and museum databases. His tenacity finally paid off when he found one, via Bristol antiquarian bookseller Steve Liddle. This document shows Brunel’s projected branch line leaving the Bristol and Exeter Railway at Bedminster, going through Southville, passing Clift House and the Rownham ferry and going on to Portishead and the planned pier.
And a Joseph Walters’ lithograph shows Brunel’s proposed floating pier, landing place and steam-packet harbour at Portbury. Portishead’s Royal Hotel, opened in 1830, can be seen clearly to the left-hand side, in the distance. The second document, equally elusive but just as important, was one detailing the abandonment of the scheme in 1852.
The first was the “Portbury Pier and Railway Company, Plan and Section 1845. Engineer – IK Brunel”.
Surely these original documents could not have survived intact for 168 years. How on earth would we find one? Nobody even seemed to know about them, let alone where they were located.
My old friend Stuart Amesbury began the hunt, searching websites, old auction catalogues and museum databases. His tenacity finally paid off when he found one, via Bristol antiquarian bookseller Steve Liddle. This document shows Brunel’s projected branch line leaving the Bristol and Exeter Railway at Bedminster, going through Southville, passing Clift House and the Rownham ferry and going on to Portishead and the planned pier.
And a Joseph Walters’ lithograph shows Brunel’s proposed floating pier, landing place and steam-packet harbour at Portbury. Portishead’s Royal Hotel, opened in 1830, can be seen clearly to the left-hand side, in the distance. The second document, equally elusive but just as important, was one detailing the abandonment of the scheme in 1852.
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