The Life, Work and Influence of Brunel - Essay Example

The Life, Work and Influence of Isambard Kingdom Brunel Introduction Isambard Kingdom Brunel was an English engineer. His best works are rememberedin the creations that we know as the Great Western Railway, a series of well known steamships and several other significant bridges. The most basic ingredient of his creations was the fact that they contained pieces of innovation within them, though they were not exactly the most successful ones in the long run. These innovations had a due role in the long term engineering hurdles which haunts even the best of engineers and architects to date. Thus it comes as no surprise that he has the distinction of having a number of “firsts” when it comes to engineering marvels. These firsts comprised of building a tunnel under a navigable river as well as the formation of the initial propeller driven iron ship which was an ocean going vessel. This ship at the time of its inception was the largest ship to have ever been built. Thus the historical context of his work is immense since he developed something right from scratch which is no mean feat. It is also a matter of fact that Brunel developed all these marvels due to sheer hard work and a sense of intellect and determination. His bad health and add to that kidney problems forced him into a stroke at the age of 53. His addictions included cigars, where some suggested that he smoked up to 40 cigars a day. Plus he was always cutting back on his sleep with just 4 hours of remaining in his dreams at night. The life and work of Brunel Brunel was born in Hampshire in the year 1806. He was sent to France so that his earlier education could be completed in a good manner. At the age of 20, he was given the post of chief assistant engineer at the Thames Tunnel, which was proclaimed as his father’s greatest achievements. This Thames Tunnel runs between Wapping and Rotherhithe on a river. Brunel worked for a couple of years nearly to create a tunnel under the London’s River Thames, which had tunnellers driving along a shaft which ran in a horizontal fashion from one side of Thames River to another and this was made difficult by extremely demanding conditions which were met all through this way. His father was the chief engineer of this piece of architecture which was later to become a hallmark of courage and state of the art engineering. The composition of the river bed was such that it was filled with water logged sediments and gravels at the Rotherhithe edge plus the difficult conditions added up towards the tunneling machine’s problems since the work required a great deal of courage and determination was hazard was written large on the face of it, right from the beginning. Because of these very reasons, the tunnel was often expected to fall down on its own instable trunks but it was to the management’s considerable thinking that they allowed spectators to view it from a lower angle. The workers really had a very incomprehensible time at the time of building up this piece of engineering since in those times Thames was a little better than an open sewer as it contained foul smell with contaminated water running all over it. As far as Brunel’s contribution towards the construction of bridges was concerned, we find out that he took part in a number of solo engineering projects as well as the ones which were supervised by him on some units. His solo engineering projects included the Royal Albert Bridge which runs across the River Tamar in close proximity of Plymouth as well as a timber framed bridge, unconventional looking and close to Bridgwater. Also it includes the Maidenhead Railway Bridge which to this day is renowned for it being the flattest and widest brick arch bridge. It contains main line trains towards its western edges. The Royal Albert Bridge was constructed for the Cornwall Railway Company and its name has been kept after Prince Albert. Its completion took place in the year Brunel died – 1859. One of the more well known bridges that come under his construction wing includes the Clifton Suspension Bridge which is situated in Bristol. This bridge is constructed over the River Avon and it took a long time coming. Brunel presented four different designs to a committee which had to give recommendation on the Clifton Suspension Bridge. This committee, headed by Thomas Telford gave the go ahead signal to Brunel and thus he commenced on it as soon as he could. Brunel did not survive until the Clifton Suspension Bridge got built but his colleagues always felt that this bridge would have been the ideal memorial for Brunel. When Brunel was young, the railway system started to shape up as an important locomotive for passengers and goods alike. This meant that Brunel needed to do something in this field as well since he was an architect at par with none. He did exactly the same. He entered into the field of railway networks construction whereby his initial project was the Great Western Railway. The demand for railway networks expansion meant that Brunel was involved in a similar capacity across the lengths and breadths of United Kingdom. At this time, a number of bridges that were being constructed were more or less the railway bridges which spoke highly of this industry. Brunel was appointed chief engineer of the Great Western Railway even when he was mid way through the construction of the Thames Tunnel. This railway network ran from London to Bristol and later on extended its way towards Exeter. Brunel took controversial yet bold steps when he decided to use a broad gauge of 7 feet that was to be embedded in the railway track. This was quite unacceptable for the other professionals since they did not buy his theory. The point brought forward by Brunel was that this thickness would eventually increase the swift running of the trains and also ensure safety. The usage of standard gauge till that time was rampant and no one dared to change the system already in place. Brunel used a series of mathematical equations in order to come up with his personal viewpoint on the thickness agenda. The series of trials in relation with the thick and broad gauge as being the correct railway size was backed up by his theory that suggested the same offered stability as well as comfort to the passengers. Add to that, it also ensured that the freight capacity increased as a result and the carriages were bigger in size and bulk too. For this Brunel himself surveyed the entire distance that ran between Bristol and London. The disappointing fact is that the first known group of locomotives which were ordered by Brunel had unsatisfactory specifications in them so there was a shift in jobs as far as this department was concerned and Daniel Gooch was brought in as the Superintendent of Locomotives. There were a series of tremendous achievements when we speak of the Great Western. It resembled the Thames Tunnel in being a laurel for the citizens of the country. There were distinct stations which were designed exclusively for the Great Western Railway and tunnels were enormous in size. One such was known as the Box Tunnel which was pretty well known and at the time, was indeed the longest tunnel to have ever been built. What Brunel did was to open up the minds of the traditionalists who were at the helm of affairs as far as construction and engineering works were concerned, within United Kingdom so as to speak. He broke the clutter that was made filled up by people having the same thought processes and ideologies. His ideas were fresh and vibrant. More than anything else, they provided food for thought and in all fairness played their part at changing the destinies of the people living within the country. The traditionalists were more focused on the technical aspects but Brunel told them technically everything becomes sound if the flaws are outlined in the mind beforehand. It also meant that Brunel provided them a very easy approach towards the building up of huge railway systems and bridges, one thing which was quite unknown before he started his work. His creative genius thus provided fresh lease of life to the architecture of United Kingdom and the structures which were built in his time had some sort of foundation behind them to be remarked as the work of United Kingdom and not just a common country. It was due to his perseverance and sheer commitment levels that made him a name to feel attached to, as far as the construction and engineering industry is concerned. People started to look up to him when the talk went out loud of sound mechanics and creative ideas in the ranks of construction and architecture. In a short span of time, he became one of the most famous personalities within the whole of United Kingdom. His interest provided him the basis for making people realize that how great he was. There is an interesting saying that even the Box Tunnel is located in a manner that makes it shine due to sunlight on his birthday. When Brunel died, it was decided in unison to agree in principle with using the standard gauge which was proposed by Stephenson as the proof for its effectiveness had been made by that time. It was in the year 1882 that the broad gauge was done away with since there were found a few problems with it and since then the Great Western Railway had dual gauge re-laid within it. This dual gauge is a composition of both standard and broad gauges. The transition did not demand so much work since it was pretty easy to move on towards the new adopted and accepted gauge – dual gauge, at the time. The Great Western Railway has been immortalized at the Swindon Steam Railway Museum since then. One of the unsuccessful technical innovations presented by Brunel was in the form of the atmospheric railway. His theory was that locomotives shall not be used rather the trains needed to be pulled through the Clegg and Samuda’s system related with atmospheric traction, filled with vacuum. This involved the mechanism of sucking air from the tunnel courtesy the stationary pumps. The phenomenon of atmospheric railway was built between Exeter and Newton. It included a number of pumping stations with differential chimneys along the way, being about two miles apart from each other and the trains accelerated at the rate of 20 miles per hour. Fifteen inch pipes were made use of in the level portions while another 22 inch pipes were employed for the gradients which were quite steeper in reality. Leather flaps were made use of in this technology so that the same could seal off the vacuum pipes. This leather required to be kept supple with the usage of tallow and it is a known fact that tallow gets attracted to rats easily. This resulted in the tallow’s eating up by rats. The vacuum operation lasted for just over a year and then it came to a sudden halt after that. A reminder of this kind of atmospheric railway is commemorated in the name of a nearby village pub. Furthermore a section of this kind of pipe is potted at the Didcot Railway Center which is basically without the leather covers over it. Transatlantic shipping came in Brunel’s way even before the Great Western Railway was finished and opened to the public. He moved on towards another project, i.e., transatlantic shipping. His reputation made his way through forcing his way as far as his employers were concerned with respect to the Great Western which was at the time the largest in the world when we speak of stream ships. The first sail of the Great Western was successful in the year 1837. This ship was 236 feet in length and made up of complete wood. It made its way through the power that was provided to it by the sail and the paddle wheels. After this, Great Britain followed in the year 1843. It was 322 feet in length and was among the pioneers as far as iron-hulled, propeller driven ships were concerned running across the Atlantic Ocean channel. Brunel’s work in the field of shipping did not stop rather he moved on towards the construction of a third ship. In the year 1852, he moved on towards an even bigger ship, which was bigger than both the Great Western and Great Britain. This was known as the Great Eastern and its journeys included going to India and Australia. The Great Eastern had another name. It was also called the Leviathan. This ship had the finest technology of her time. It was nearly 700 feet in length and it could carry around 4000 passengers at a single time. More than that, it had the capacity to accommodate the most comforting of appointments within it. Great Eastern powered its way on its own starting right from London and down towards Sydney, Australia. This ship remained the largest one to be built in the similar category due to its extreme size and length until the end of the century. There were a number of technical problems soon after and it was taken off the deck since its expenses ran over budget. The ship was immediately made known as a white elephant but one cannot really question Brunel’s creative genius since he had produced something that was technically ahead of its time. The issue of economics had hit hard right on the face of this ship which was distressing to state the least. It was his vision and engineering creativity which was able to pull off the most sought after metal stream ships and the practical form of these ships is something that can always be said highly on the part of Brunel. Only the economic and industrial conditions of the time came in its way as well as other creative innovations which could have been made by Brunel but this had to wait for a long time till transoceanic stream ship travel became a norm. With that, the building up of big ships started to shape up as a viable and practical industry nonetheless. Crimean war started in the year 1854. Britain entered into this war and due to casualty rates soaring up, an antique form of Turkish Barrack building was changed into a Bristih Army Hospital situated in Uskudar, in the suburbs of Istanbul, Turkey. There were a number of soldiers who were suffering badly due to diseases that included cholera, typhoid, malaria and the like and thus there was a plea on the part of the relevant authorities towards the government in order to propose a solution for the same. Brunel started out on the task as soon as he could. He designed and built the War Office which was basically a prefabricated form of hospital that needed to be shipped out towards Crimea and thus erected. He designed, built and handed over the same to the authorities in a short span of 5 months. His designs focused on the aspects of hygiene, sanitation, ventilation, drainage and other measures related with temperature controls. The art of using prefabricated modules in order to construct hospitals is still held upon fast in the present day age. One such hospital built in this manner is the Bristol Royal Infirmary. Conclusion Brunel suffered from a stroke in the year 1859 and died just before the Great Eastern was about to be make her first journey towards New York. He left behind three children and his wife, Mary. His eldest son enjoyed great success as a civil engineer as well, following in the footsteps of his great father. Brunel’s life is all about hard work and making use of the best of his skills and abilities. It also painted the true picture of a person who wanted to portray his true talents. More than that, he influenced the lives of so many people in his age and even to this day. Just looking at his monuments and engineering marvels that he built, one can easily get inspired by him, his work and the creative juices that he had within him. As far as the society of the time is concerned, he gave them solid food for thought as he tried his best to change people’s age old ideas related with doing things in a way that has been going on for ages. He proved them wrong and showed them how construction and indeed the whole of the engineering industry could benefit from his geniuses. He has left a lot behind in the name of his legacy. This is something that can always inspire one and all and thus he leaves no stone unturned when he suggests that his work was way ahead of his time. It was the work that was for the people of our times and of our generation. A number of different statues situated in London are left behind by him. He provides people from all generations something to think about. Thus it would be very unfair and equally improper to bracket such a great person as an engineer or an architect alone. He was a thinker as he changed the thinking mindsets of the people around him and not only that, but also gave some things to think through for the coming generations. All said and done, we owe a lot to Isambard Kingdom Brunel as he is the ultimate architect of our historical times. APPENDIX Chronological List of Key Dates in Brunel’s Life 9 April 1806 - 15 September 1859 – Life span of Brunel 9 April 1806 - Isambard Kingdom Brunel was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire 1820 – Brunel went to France 1822 – Brunel started working with his father 1826 – Brunel was made in charge of the Thames Tunnel 1831 – Construction work got started on Clifton Suspension Bridge 1833 – Brunel was appointed chief engineer of the Great Western Railway 1836 – Brunel married Mary Horsley 1837 – First sail of the Great Western of the Transatlantic Shipping 1838 – Maidenhead Railway Bridge was constructed 1841 – London to Bristol passage opened up 1843 – First sail of the Great Britain of the Transatlantic Shipping 1843 – Thames Tunnel opened 1843 – Had a close shave with life after inhaling a half-sovereign coin accidentally that stuck in his windpipe February 1848 – “Atmospheric caper” was operational 1848 – Saltash Bridge’s work started 1852 – Brunel started work on building of the Great Eastern 1852 – Work began on the Chepstow Bridge 1854 - Crimean War started 1855 – Crimea prefabricated hospital started its work February 1855 – Brunel accepted the task of building the SS Great Eastern 1855 – Cornwall Railway Company designed the Royal Albert Bridge 1858 – Great Eastern was launched 2 May 1859 – Prince Albert inaugurated the Royal Albert Bridge 15 September 1859 – Death of Brunel due to a stroke June 1860 – Maiden sail of the Great Eastern BIBLIOGRAPHY Volti, Rudi. (2001). The Engineer in History. Peter Lang Halacy Jr., D. S. (1966). The Shipbuilders: From Clipper Ships to Submarines to Hovercraft. J B Lippincott Mende, Michael. (1993). Not Only a Matter of Taste but . . . of the Laws of Mechanics: The Adoption of British Models in Nineteenth-Century Continental Suspension Bridge Design. Journal of Design History Vol. 6 Word Count: 3,210 Read More