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| 'Selfie' of Brunel looking fed up on a train goes on show in Bristol | |
| (1 day later) | |
| A "selfie" of engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel as he shivered on a rattling train in the 1830s is to go on show. | A "selfie" of engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel as he shivered on a rattling train in the 1830s is to go on show. |
| The self-portrait was drawn as he travelled on an "ice chiller" train on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. | The self-portrait was drawn as he travelled on an "ice chiller" train on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. |
| Brunel built the Great Western Railway between London and the West of England as well as several steamships including the Great Britain and Eastern. | Brunel built the Great Western Railway between London and the West of England as well as several steamships including the Great Britain and Eastern. |
| A number of Brunel's previously unseen notebooks are on show to mark the 175th anniversary of the GWR line. | A number of Brunel's previously unseen notebooks are on show to mark the 175th anniversary of the GWR line. |
| Matthew Tanner, of the ss Great Britain Trust, said the picture - on show in Bristol - "is the first selfie, really". | Matthew Tanner, of the ss Great Britain Trust, said the picture - on show in Bristol - "is the first selfie, really". |
| The previously unseen pencil drawing was done years before Brunel was appointed as chief engineer for the Great Western Railway Company. | The previously unseen pencil drawing was done years before Brunel was appointed as chief engineer for the Great Western Railway Company. |
| It shows a man shivering in a cold carriage, with his hands in his pockets trying to keep warm with the comment: "Travelling in an ice chiller - hands very cold, going 28 miles per hour on the Lion locomotive." | It shows a man shivering in a cold carriage, with his hands in his pockets trying to keep warm with the comment: "Travelling in an ice chiller - hands very cold, going 28 miles per hour on the Lion locomotive." |
| Mr Tanner said the young Victorian engineer would travel the nation's bumpy railway lines with a notebook in his back pocket trying to draw and write smoothly. | Mr Tanner said the young Victorian engineer would travel the nation's bumpy railway lines with a notebook in his back pocket trying to draw and write smoothly. |
| "He went on everybody else's railway to see how bad they were," he said. | "He went on everybody else's railway to see how bad they were," he said. |
| "And he tried to draw perfect circles as he was travelling along, as his measure of the smoothness of the railway." | "And he tried to draw perfect circles as he was travelling along, as his measure of the smoothness of the railway." |
| 'Uncanny self-portrait' | 'Uncanny self-portrait' |
| Two years later, he was appointed chief engineer for "God's Wonderful Railway", the length of which he personally surveyed in its entirety in a bid to find the smoothest, flattest route. | Two years later, he was appointed chief engineer for "God's Wonderful Railway", the length of which he personally surveyed in its entirety in a bid to find the smoothest, flattest route. |
| And Brunel's "selfie" picture, said Matthew Golton from GWR, could have inspired the engineer towards his achievement of building the rail line. | And Brunel's "selfie" picture, said Matthew Golton from GWR, could have inspired the engineer towards his achievement of building the rail line. |
| "The diary extract could well be documentary evidence of the moment of inspiration that gave birth to Brunel's vision of the Great Western Railway," he said. | "The diary extract could well be documentary evidence of the moment of inspiration that gave birth to Brunel's vision of the Great Western Railway," he said. |
| "The second - likely a self-portrait - bears an uncanny resemblance to one of the famous photographs by the landing chains of the ss Great Eastern, almost 30 years later." | "The second - likely a self-portrait - bears an uncanny resemblance to one of the famous photographs by the landing chains of the ss Great Eastern, almost 30 years later." |
| Brunel's diary entries and notebooks are on display at Brunel's ss Great Britain until 2 July. | Brunel's diary entries and notebooks are on display at Brunel's ss Great Britain until 2 July. |