Back on the railways, Brunel's spectacular Royal Albert Bridge spanning the River Tamar at Saltash, Devon, opened. And there were some spectacular failures, notably his experiments with 'atmospheric railways' whose theo- ry, for once, he could not translate into practice. He was appointed in 1855 to the Legion d'Honneur for designing a prefabricated hospital for use in the Crimean War.

Brunel's last great challenge was the London-based construction of the gigantic SS Great Eastern, intended to carry 4,000 passengers nonstop to Australia. Unfortunately Brunel suffered a stroke before its completion and died at age 53, September 15, 1859. A lifetime of overwork, accidents and strain coupled with 40 cigars a day and the kidney disease nephritis had caught up with him, though his end may also have been hastened by the news of a disastrous explosion on Great Eastern during its sea trials.

Thousands of railwaymen and the public lined the route to London's Kensal Green Cemetery, where Brunel was buried on September 20, 1859. His trusted friend and colleague Daniel Gooch lamented the loss of 'the man with the greatest originality of thought and power of execution, bold in his plans but right.' Wrote Gooch: 'The commercial world thought him extravagant; but although he was so, great things are not done by those who sit down and count the cost of every thought and act.'

Great Eastern proved uneconomic as a passenger liner, but Gooch used it to lay the first successful transatlantic telegraph cable, enabling the New World to speak to the Old.

Brunel constructed nearly 1,200 miles of rail, including tracks in Ireland, Italy and Bengal. Alongside Thomas Telford, the Stephensons, Daniel Gooch and others, he created and inspired the innovative land and sea transport networks that carried the Industrial Revolution, not only around Britain but also around the world. He opened up global travel and communications. Jeremy Clarkson, TV presenter and champion of Brunel in the 2002 BBC poll of great Britons, remarked, 'Darwin told us where we came from, but it was Brunel who took us where we wanted to go.'

Throughout the year there's a varied program of celebrations, including group tours of the original Bristol Temple Meads terminus and a 'Nine Lives of Brunel' exhibition at Great Britain. For all the details of Brunel 200 events, see www.brunel200.com.

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This article was written by Siân Ellis and originally appeared in the May 2006 issue of British Heritage. For more great articles, subscribe to British Heritage magazine today!

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