Actually, he was a bit out, Smokey mate.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel's birthday was 9th April. The sun actually shone through on 5th June. The first train passed through Box Tunnel on 30 June, 1841.

Thought that was both interesting but in a way a little disappointing. Very surprised to see how they dropped the vertical shafts first, I had read in the past that they tunnelled from each end and met perfectly in the middle. Couldn't help feeling that the BBC, or Channel 4, or Discovery, would have made a better job of it than the light channel.

Vertical shafts were built to make tunnel digging quicker, from each end you have just two work faces, 1 vertical shaft doubles the work faces to four, a second vertical shaft brings in 6 work faces etc.
These shafts were then left as Ventilators.

Not all tunnels have Vertical shafts, tunnels under mountains don't have ventilators, the longest Single bore Railway tunnel in Britain (on Conway valley line) over 2miles long No Ventilator healthy in steam days.

For the first time in decades, Box Tunnel^s famous western portal can be seen displayed in its full splendour, owing to a major clean-up by Network Rail engineers.

The western portal of Box Tunnel is the grand entrance to the 2,964-metre long structure, and until today, the view of its decorated fa^ade from the public viewing platform on London Road (A4, Bath) had been blocked by overgrown plants along the railway embankment.

These invasive plants have now been carefully removed to make room for non-invasive plants to flourish and new trees to be planted without blocking the newly restored view of the Grade II* listed structure.

The viewing platform is the only vantage point of the western portal that is most accessible to the public and it is a popular destination for Brunel enthusiasts.

Network Rail^s initiative is welcomed and backed by the Railway Heritage Trust, Box and Colerne Parish Council and Wiltshire Council.  It also pays tribute to the engineer^s 204th birthday on 9 April and the upcoming 175th anniversary of Great Western Railway.

Jack Hitchcock, western maintenance director for Network Rail said: "Box Tunnel is one of Brunel^s masterpieces on Great Western and despite its age, still plays an important part in today^s modern railway.  While moving ahead with the 21st century, we also respect our heritage and today^s effort will help make this piece of history on Great Western accessible to the public.^

The Box Tunnel was the longest railway tunnel at the time of its completion in 1841 and was the final and largest engineering work on the Great Western.

It is said that Brunel had deliberately aligned the structure so that the rising sun is visible through it on his birthday every year.

Construction of the tunnel started in 1836 and the lives of about 100 'navvies' (railway construction workers) were lost during construction. Unlike the dramatic western portal, the eastern portal at Corsham has a plain brick face.

The western portal of Box Tunnel is designed in classical style, influenced by the architectural design of nearby Bath.

Forgive me being very naive, but that arrangement seems particulatly complicated. Surely, all that needs to be done is three routings with a small change to timings.......... Paddington to Bristol via Wootton Bassett; Paddington to Bristol via the Westbury east curve;and Paddington to Chippenham.

This would potentially leave Trans Wilts unchanged and maybe just slight alterations to the Bristol/South Coast service. The powers that be seem to cope with West of England diversions by altering SWT services, so why not London to Bristol?

For a period of six weeks from 18th July to 31st August, Box tunnel between Chippenham and Bath Spa will be closed, and the only way for westbound trains on the main line beyond Chippenham to carry on will be via the now-single track through Melksham to Trowbridge, which has very limited signaling (so trains cannot follow each other closely) and nowhere at all for them to pass each other all the way to the outskirts of Trowbridge.

So, even if just an intermediate signal in each direction, or even better a passing point, it was probably the best chance for an upgrade that the line through Melksham is likely to get for many years.

So, even if just an intermediate signal in each direction, or even better a passing point, it was probably the best chance for an upgrade that the line through Melksham is likely to get for many years.

Is there a closure date for Westbury PSB?

I notice that in the second of the periods Portsmouth to Cardiffs will run to Swindon and for passengers to connect into other services.   I wonder if FGW have given any thought as to whether these other services can accommodate the additional passengers..

Yes I would suspect that they have. 

For more than two centuries, railway enthusiasts, engineers and scientists have tried to solve the mystery of Box tunnel, near Bath.

They have combed the history books, done the maths and carried out practical experiments to try to work out whether its creator, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, really did design the two-mile tunnel so that the rising sun shone right through it on his birthday, 9 April.

But now a new theory has emerged from a retired engineer and physicist who has reassessed the science, had a fresh look at the Brunel family tree and concluded that in fact the great railway builder might have designed the tunnel so that the phenomenon occurred not on his birthday but on that of a little-known sister – 6 April.

Peter Maggs, who has been working on the puzzle for more than 30 years, said he had a “eureka moment” when he discovered that Brunel’s sister, Emma Joan, was born on 6 April.

Beware of the light at the end of the Tunnel It could be a train coming! [Image from here is not available to guests]

For more than two centuries, railway enthusiasts, engineers and scientists have tried to solve the mystery of Box tunnel, near Bath.

The portal leading into Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s historic Grade 11* listed Box rail tunnel may be placed on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register.
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It saddens me that such an important example of the railway history of this country, in particular when the country is celebrating 200 years of the Railway under Railway 200, is in such poor condition.

Sadly, my immediate thoughts are that it would be a very tall order to get substantive repairs to the Box Tunnel(s?) portal(s) completed in time for 11th September - just 8 months away.  Where, perhaps, you might have a better chance to provide a celebration of 185 years would be to ask / work with Network Rail to provide a display to help inform attenders about the good work planned for the autumn.

At the risk of explaining things you already know (but feel free to share this with others who don’t have the railway involvement of you and I ) …

Network Rail plans things many years ahead - frustratingly so - and that includes infrastructure repairs.  There are elements of heritage concern in there, but balanced against that at present is a requirement for them to cut 2000 out of 40,000 jobs and at the same time re-organise into Great British Railways that takes over train operation too.  If it’s safe and trains can still reliably run, it probably won’t be a priority to try and move up a potentially major and highly specialised operation for completion in advance of repairs.

Great Western Railway is currently a First Group company contracted to operate trains, with income going to HMG and then money being payed to the company to run the trains as - err - cheaply as they can.   Come this Autumn, it is probable (almost certain) that GWR will be nationalised - the GWR name will remain, but the objective will not be to reach company goals, but to reach Department for Transport subsidiary goals.   Current GWR and First Group direction has no financial interest in developing public conception or future traffic - though the vast majority of the team ARE very interested in what they’ll be doing this time next year.

Box is in the Melksham and Devizes constituency - perhaps that’s a reason you ask me?  The London to Bristol (Great Western) main line passes through Box tunnel. 
* It enters the tunnel to the east in the Chippenham Constituency of Sarah Gibson, who a has strongly picked up the baton of the campaign for a new or re-opened station in Corsham,  and it might happen - some blockers have been removed.  Of anyone, [redacted], you know how long and hard fought this has been, and you know the nature of these things that for many years frustrations will occur but then it might - just might happen. 
* It leaves Box Tunnel through the western portal now in the Melksham Constituency of Brian Mathew. It passed under the A4, above Box Village past the site of Box Mill Lane Halt, and the passes through the second shorter tunnel at Box Middle Hill.  The site of Box Station follows (really in Ashley rather than Box) and then the railway runs along the valley past  Shockerwick
* It passses into the Bath constituency between Bathford and Batheaston before crossing the valley of the River Avon to Bathampton - no longer in Wiltshire and looked after by Wera Hobhouse.   Also a whole new larger authority / local transport authority, WE(M)CA rather than Wiltshire.

You would need to be quick (closes 2nd February) but the final CCIF (Customer and Community Infrastructure Fund) tranche from GWR could be woth an application.   It would be a very long shot - sadly, you don’t in Box have many rails customers.  There’s no station and the likely places for re-openings would be in Sarah’s or Wera’s constituencies;  I have seen the question of a station at Box (Ashley) raised but it quickly raised so many issues that in the current environment it’s a resounding “that won’t happen”.

I would - suggest - working with the Network Rail contacts the team already has planning the autumn repairs for a set of display boards to celebrate the tunnel and to look ahead to the works that would / will help preserve the heritage.   As I recall, the view to the tunnel mouth of the main tunnel is from the main road and there may be a safety issue there with a substantial number of visitors, and there ia park / picnic area (?) off to one side which is an element of an interpretation centre. Something to build on?  Vegetation clearance to get a better view - but is it nesting season?    I do recall walking over the top of Middle Hill tunnel - in fact I found a picture of it just the other day - and there is a nice and distant view form there and perhaps a somewhat safer alternative.