Happy Birthday
The Engineer’s Birthday Present
Guest: Peter Maggs, retired engineer and physicist
Isambard Kingdom Brunel is largely considered one of the most important engineers in British history. He built a tunnel under the Thames, the world’s first ocean liner, and the Great Western Railway. But perhaps his most mysterious feat was the Box Tunnel—a project which many believe carries a secret. Peter Maggs he has been studying IK Brunel and the Box Tunnel for nearly three decades.
The Birthplace of Metropolitan Transportation
Guest: Robert Hulse, founding director (retired), The Brunel Museum, London, and co-author, "The Brunels' Tunnel" and "Brunel’s Great Eastern"
Constructed during the Victorian Era, the Thames Tunnel was the birthplace of the London Underground. But before trains ever started running, the tunnel had a life of its own—complete with a fairground, a ballroom, dancing horses, and a whole slew of pickpockets.