ABSTRACT
Robert Stephenson's appointment as engineer-in-chief of the London & Birmingham Railway in September 1833 marked a new stage not only in his career, but also in the general development of civil engineering in the British Isles. The earliest proposal for a railway between London and Birmingham was 'the line of the Central Junction Railway or Tramroad' projected by William James in 1820. It ran from London via Uxbridge, Thame and Oxford to the Stratford and Moreton-in-Marsh railway. The Act of Parliament gave rise to detailed surveying as a prelude to the purchase of land along the route, whilst capital had to be raised to finance the purchase and pay for the construction phase. At the northern end, Gooch and his assistants had fixed the route and determined where the structures should be by April 1834, after which preparation of detailed drawings began in the St John's Wood office.
