Sonning Cutting

Sonning Cutting is on the original Great Western Railway built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

[2] The cutting was hand-dug without machinery and the spoil removed in wheelbarrows and horse-drawn carts.

Early on 24 December 1841, a mixed goods and passenger train ran into a landslide in the cutting, caused by earlier persistent heavy rain.

Among the casualties were artisans returning home after working on the new Parliament building.

The tragedy stimulated William Ewart Gladstone, while President of the Board of Trade (1843–1845), to introduce legislation to improve safety on the railways.