Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Statue at Paddington

This statue is rather less impressive in person than it comes over in this blip. It feels a bit like a caricature and sits looking into the great cathedral-like space of Paddington in the broad passage through to the taxi-rank.

Paddington is of course the London terminus of Brunel's Great Western Railway, built to his Broad Gauge of 7ft 0 1/4 in to facilitate higher speeds. His vision was that passengers could travel from London to New York, changing from the GWR to the Great Western steamship in South Wales. Brunel surveyed the exceptionally level route from Paddington to Bristol and built the viaducts, bridges and tunnels along the route himself. Box Tunnel was the longest tunnel in the World, and Maidenhead Bridge over the Thames had the flattest arches in the World when opened.

He designed the station which was opened in 1854, himself of course.