Spaw - confessing your sercret passion for railways raises you in my esteem.

Steve - Concur - "A Transatlanic Tinnel, Hoorah !" was written by Harry Harrison. And I can recomend it as a superb bit of toungue in cheek "What If ???" Fiction - Also recomended for his 'Cameo' descriptions of real people in a fictional circumstances.

But more seriously folks - Brunel's vision did not include a fully Nation wide network. The Taff Vale Railway ( Cosher Bailey's Line ) was engineered by Brunel and built to 4 foot 8.5 Inches. Reason ? the curves and land needed to run down the Tave Vale from Merthyr to Cardiff made the 7 foot gauge impractical.

Again in Wales many local lines used different gauges - mainly narrower than 4' 8.5" - Fortunately many survive as museam/heritage places.

Gareth