Sonning Cutting

__NOTOC__ Sonning Cutting is on the original Great Western Railway built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Building the Great Western Railway, Reading History Trail, UK. It is to the east of Reading station and to the west of Twyford station near the village of Sonning in Berkshire, England. It had been intended to route the railway around the north of the hill past the village. However due to local objections, the railway bypassed the village in a cutting, over a mile long and up to sixty feet deep, through the hill, giving a more direct route between Twyford and Reading. Sonning Cutting, Network Rail, UK. The cutting was hand-dug with no machinery with the spoil removed in wheelbarrows and horse-drawn carts. It took two years to complete and several people were killed in the process. The line was opened on 30 March 1840. After the ending of the broad gauge in 1892 the railway was widened to four tracks. This involved a major rebuilding of the cutting, during which the slope of the sides was reduced. Sonning Cutting is a well-known location for viewing trains because of its impressively steep sides. It can be viewed from a number of bridges and is on the border between Sonning and the Reading suburb of Woodley, just off the A4 trunk road. Position:

Early railway accident

Early on 24 December 1841, a mixed goods and passenger train ran into a landslide in the cutting, caused by earlier persistent heavy rain. Railway Accidents near Reading, Reading History Trail, UK. Many passengers who were carried in open-topped wagons were thrown out or crushed between the wagons. Eight people died there and seventeen, one of whom died later, were injured. Among the casualties were artisans returning home after working on the new Parliament building. The tragedy stimulated William Ewart Gladstone, while President of the Board of Trade (1843–1845), to introduce legislation to improve safety on the railways.

See also

• Pre 1900 rail accidents in the UK
• List of British rail accidents by death toll, fewer than 10 killed

References

External links

• Image of Sonning Cutting, by John Bourne, 1845