Note 60 — Chapter V · THE BROAD GAUGE.

Among many important advances in railway travelling made on the Great Western Railway, it may be mentioned that it was on this line that express trains running long distances without stopping were first introduced; and that, in 1845, within about a year of the completion of the line to Exeter, express trains ran from London to Exeter, 194 miles, in 4½ hours. This rate of travelling, which was accomplished without difficulty by the broad gauge in its early days, has scarcely been exceeded since on any railway.