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Acts of Parliament relating to the formation and expansion of the London and Birmingham Railway Company, the Midland Counties Railway Company, the Great Western Railway Company and the Bristol and Exeter Railway Company, with two Acts relating to the formation of railways in general.

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A circular sent by a shareholder to the other shareholders of the Great Western Railway on the need to change gauge while Government aid is available.

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Correspondence between members of the Railway Gauge Commission and the general public concerning the commission. The papers include statistics of the railways, plans and measures of the engines, manuscript and printed recommendations of the Commission, and extracts from newspaper articles.

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Correspondence between the Railway Gauge Commission and the railway companies, including manuscripts to supplement the interviews and miscellaneous papers on experiments between broad and narrow gauges and other subjects.

Scope and Contents Correspondence on the need for the Abinger Magnetic Observatory and on the establishment of the observatory, including the following material:Correspondence with Admiralty departments and officials, 1923-1937, including the Scientific Research Department, the Civil Engineer-in-Chief, the Hydrographic Department, the Director of Electrical Engineering, Sir Vincent Baddeley, Col. R.G. Hayes, the Director of Naval Construction and the Secretary of the Admiralty concerning the move,...

Scope and Contents Correspondence with the local committee for promoting railway communication between Greenwich and Woolwich concerning the possible interference of trains with the instruments of the Royal Observatory, 1887-1888.Correspondence concerning the proposed extension of the London Chatham and Dover Railway Co. Ltd, 1881-1888, including a printed copy of the Railway Extensions Act and notes by W. Ellis.Correspondence concerning the Bexley Heath Railway extension, 1883-1888, including:...

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Correspondence with J. Washington, J.C. Clark and C.V. Walker and others regarding the time ball at Deal. There is also a plan of the magnets of the Deal Time Ball and two maps of the South Eastern Railway and connecting railways in Europe.

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A booklet titled 'Dialogues of the Gauges', containing four imaginary conversations between two railway tracks, one broad and one narrow. The author is unknown.

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A book by R. Stephenson on 'Double Gauge Railways', with several diagrams.

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A promotional booklet for the Great Western Railway titled 'Experimental trip of the Great Western New Locomotive Passenger Engine, made on the 13th June 1846. Extracted from the 'Morning Herald' of June 15'.

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A volume concerning the gauge question titled 'Gauge Evidence. The History and Prospects of the Railway System, illustrated by the evidence given before the Gauge Commission. By Samuel Sidney'.

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An undated map showing the effect of laying the narrow gauge in addition to the broad gauge between Oxford, Basingstoke and London.

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'Report of the Directors of the Great Western Railway Company to the Proprietors' - a report to shareholders stating the position of the Great Western Railway in comparison with rival railways.

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Minutes of interviews held by the Railway Gauge Commission, 6 August - 4 September 1845. The interviewees are R. Stephenson, J. Locke, J.E. McConnell, Col. G. Landmann, H. Pringle, M. Bruyeres, A. Martin, W. Cubitt, Captain J. Milligan Laws, T.J. Buckton and J. Gray.

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Minutes of interviews held by the Railway Gauge Commission, 17-30 October 1845. The interviewees are D. Gooch, S. Clarke, C.A. Saunders, I.K. Brunel, W. Fernihough, W. Harding and B.W. Horne.

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Minutes of interviews held by the Railway Gauge Commission 1 November - 18 December 1845. The interviewees are T. Whitaker, J. Sanders, I.K. Brunel, W. Bass, E. Wood, N. Wood, R. Down, G. Hudson, T. Jackson and Major General C.W. Pasley.

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Printed minutes of the Railway Gauge Commission interviews corrected by the interviewees who appear in RGO 6/285-287. Other interviewees are C.B. Vignoles, J.U. Rastrick, E. Bury, J. Braithwaite, Captain W. O'Brien, T.C. Mills, G. Rodmer, Captain M. Huish, E. Jones, R. Creed, P. Clarke, J. Brown, R. Roberts, W.J. Chaplin, J. Hawkshaw, J. Ellis, J. Hayward, J.P. Budd, General Sir J.W. Gordon and Major Sir J.F. Burgoyne.

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Proof sheets of the minutes of interviews held by the Railway Gauge Commission, including some duplicates. The latter portion has been revised by Sir F. Smith and others appear to have been corrected by the interviewees.

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Printed minutes of interviews held by the Railway Gauge Commission, with an appendix.

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A circular titled 'Junction of the Broad and Narrow Gauges', advertising a method of changing gauges without stoppage or inconvenience.

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A booklet containing a letter from Joseph Locke to the Right Hon. Lord John Russell, M.P., on the best way of avoiding the evils of mixed gauge railways and the break of gauge.

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Letters received by the Secretary of the Railway Gauge Commission relating to the formation of the Commission, the return of completed circulars, and the date and time of appointments for interviews. There are letters from G. Stephenson, J. Saunders, I.K. Brunel, J. Nasmyth, W. Cubitt, R. Stephenson and others. There is also an extract from Bradshaw's 'Railway Gazette' and other newspapers.

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Minutes of the Railway Gauge Commission, 18 July - 2 December 1845. At the back of the volume are copies of letters sent out by the Commissioners for the collection of materials and interviewees for its report.

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A booklet titled 'Narrow Gauge speedier than Broad Gauge Railways, as well as cheaper. By H S Melville', regarding the advantages of the narrow gauge.

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An official paper titled 'Supplemental Observations on the published evidence and appendix of the Gauge Commission'.